Are Hollywood stars worth the money?
A string of megastar flops this summer fuels the suspicion that A-listers aren't worth their paychecks
Julia Roberts: Could box office troubles spell a pay cut?
(Corbis/Andrew Marks)
Stars are falling to earth in Hollywood, said Brooks Barnes in The New York Times. "The spring and summer box office has murdered megawatt stars like Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Eddie Murphy, John Travolta, Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell." Economists "have long argued that marquee names are not worth their expense," but don't expect the studios to give up on their biggest names -- they'll only try to pay them less.
That's what Hollywood gets for relying on star power to fill theater seats, said Gawker. The real problem this summer was that the movies "sucked." So instead of complaining about how the Internet is destroying their business and how the A-listers need to take a pay cut, maybe the studio bosses should consider focusing on better scripts and making "a product that's entertaining."
The megastar blockbusters have fallen short so far this year, said Nicole Sperling in Entertainment Weekly, but the losing streak will probably be broken this weekend, when director Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds -- a World War II revenge fantasy starring Brad Pitt -- hits theaters. (watch the Inglourious Basterds trailer) The film has generated tons of buzz, and the studio that produced it -- Weinstein Co. -- is betting on it for a much-needed financial shot in the arm.
"Brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein need a strong showing" from Quentin Tarantino's bloody Inglourious Basterds to stop rumors of their studio's demise, said Ronald Grover in BusinessWeek, but they're not alone. "This is shaping up to be a long, hot summer" for a lot of people in Hollywood. With big-budget films fizzling "like a wet firecracker" and DVD sales flat, it might be the movie moguls who end up losing their jobs.
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9 Comments
Posted by Mark, Friday, August 21, 2009, 3:04 pm Make better movies and we'll watch them. Try focusing on the writing and story. CGI at the Transformerslevel isn't always necessary.Another part of the problem: Transformers 1 and 2 made huge money so Hollywood thinks that Michael Bay is a good director and that a good script isn't necessary. But just think of how much more money those films would have made if they actually had those qualities see The Dark Knight and the Lord of the Rings trilogy as perfect examples.
Posted by JFS, Friday, August 21, 2009, 4:05 pm The stars do not draw me to the movies it has more to do with the story line. and there has not been much out there that even looks interesting. The good movies seem to be British.
Posted by APatt, Friday, August 21, 2009, 9:14 pm I don't see a movie based on who's in it either. In fact, I find it incredibly refreshing when the actors are not well known or new to the scene. SO refreshing. Also, I like it when the actors look down to earth instead of over the top beautiful it makes the movie more realistic, in my eyes.
Posted by nem0.n00ne, Friday, August 21, 2009, 10:23 pm Someday Hollywood will learn that big stars and CGI still need a well written script to make a good movie that people will want to see.
Posted by Jesse Levy, Friday, August 21, 2009, 11:38 pm Two words: hire me.
Posted by Mehitabel, Saturday, August 22, 2009, 2:53 pm It's the economy, stupid. all over again. Whether or not the movie is good or bad, there's not a lot of money in family budgets these days for a night out at the theater. A real whizbang movie will get them to the theater maybe, but it's going to have to be a real 'can't miss' story incredibly well directed and filmed. Hollywood is simply going to have to work harder to pry those few bucks out of tight wallets.
Posted by rogered, Monday, August 24, 2009, 2:36 am Its not just the actors who are overpaid, but each step of production puts additional costs on the film, with the big bosses taking huge payments. The whole system is over paid and over priced. It is absurd to be paying 20 for a date to the movies that's just to get in, with no refreshments and no parking. And to take your kids to a first run kiddie movie can run over 50. That is why DVDs are killing first run films. It just makes sense to wait, get the DVD, and enjoy it at home.
Posted by John_Galt, Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 2:29 pm Stop charging 12 to 15 for movie tickets during an economic downturn or ever! For me and my wife, dinner, 40 60, plus movie tickets, 20 30, plus concession, 10 20, makes a night out to the movies costs between 70 and 110. And we don't even have kids yet! So going to a movie in theaters isn't quite worth the risk. We'll go do something less expensive or just rent a movie. 1.00 at a Moviecube, or 0.99 through Amazon, iTunes...etc. Maybe Hollywood needs to think about their price points.
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