Chapter 263 Chapter 263

Hollywood's remuneration has been rising steadily, but the main driving force is the joint efforts of the three giants, Creative Artists Economics, William Morris Agency, and International Innovation Management. keep climbing.

In 1988, Arnold Schwarzenegger took over the filming of "Twins" and not only got paid, but also participated in box office dividends, which also opened a new chapter in the payment method of actors; after this in 1989 , Jack Nicholson participated in "Batman" as a supporting role, he completely gave up his salary, but got paid in the form of dividends, but the condition is that no matter how much the box office is, he can be divided according to the proportion of the contract signed , there is no lower box office limit, and even the peripheral sales of ancillary goods are also involved in the share. In the end, Jack relied on this movie to get 50 million US dollars in remuneration.

Since then, Hollywood actor remuneration has opened a new era: basic salary plus box office dividends.

Actor pay has always been a topic that people will never tire of, and its popularity is probably second only to gossip and scandals between artists. One of the important reasons is that these numbers are so huge that they are out of reach for ordinary people.

In fact, the media reports on actors' remunerations are largely based on misinformation. On the one hand, actors' remunerations involve competition within the industry and can be treated as trade secrets and not disclosed to the public; on the other hand, studios and actors are in some For special purposes, the actual compensation may be deliberately inflated or reduced, generally exaggerated to show off, and reduced to deal with the tax department - the wealth tax in the United States is staggeringly high. The most important reason is "deliberate simplification". In real life, an actor's remuneration may not be a number that can be explained clearly, but for the media and fans, the most impactful thing is that the right side consists of many zeros. numbers.

In Hollywood, actors' remuneration is originally very simple. The producer pays the actors a sum of money just like paying wages, and then completes the filming of the movie, that's all, but when the list of box office dividends also includes actors in the feasible scope, It becomes complicated, because the so-called box office dividends are already very complicated.

The North American film market is restricted by antitrust laws, so production companies, distributors and exhibitors are often different companies. Generally speaking, after the production company produces the film, it is handed over to the distribution company for operation, and the distribution company contacts the major theater chains for screening.

There are two ways to distribute dividends between the distribution company and the theater chain. The first is that the distribution company pays a certain rent to the theater chain. After the release, the theater chain takes a commission every week. It is higher than 40%; the second is that the distribution company does not pay the rent, and the theater chain directly takes the commission, which is 30% in the first week, and increases gradually, and the maximum does not exceed 50%.

Generally speaking, the box office generated by the theatrical screening accounts for 40% of the total box office that a film can generate. In other words, only 60% of the box office is left for production companies and distributors.

This 60% can be divided into two situations. One is that a large production company has its own distribution department, then 60% belongs to the production company; the other is that the production company will distribute The rights are handed over to professional distribution companies, so that the two have to divide up this part of the interests. Generally speaking, the production company occupies 30% to 35%, and the distribution company takes % Twenty-five to thirty percent.

No matter whether it is the first or the second, the part of the profit that the production company gets is about 30% to 35%, and this part of the profit needs to be produced by the production company. The company itself, the director, the producer, and the screenwriter are all divided, and now there is one more actor who has joined the share list.

Twenty-five percent is the largest share that Hollywood studios are willing to set aside for actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters. It is a combination of everyone participating in the dividend, not everyone. In other words, the final box office in the hands of the production company is 10% to 15% of the box office of a movie.

In fact, for large film production companies, the profit from box office revenue has never been their most important source of income. The real source of income of the film company, as high as more than 80% of the profit of the production company, is even higher than the box office of the film itself. Of course, the excellent box office will also drive other copyright and peripheral income, which are complementary.

The combined share of directors, producers, screenwriters and actors is about 20% to 35% of the box office. Of course, there are occasional exceptions, but they are all after entering the 21st century. Well, before the entire 1990s, the ratio was almost at this level.

It is precisely for this reason that many big-name actors - such as Tom Cruise after becoming famous - are reluctant to use first-line actresses as partners, because it will mean that the actors participating in the dividend will increase, thereby reducing their own performance. However, Tom is willing to cooperate with Steven Spielberg, because he attaches great importance to the box office influence brought by the big director, and the ultimate economic benefits will exceed the sacrifice of the share ratio. And for any work that an actor participates in with a high proportion of shares, the actor will definitely spare no effort to promote it. From the exposure density of the actor during the publicity period, you can guess the actor's economic interests to some extent. Of course, this also ties the actors to the box office more deeply, increases the responsibility on the shoulders of the actors, and improves the enthusiasm of the actors, which is also positive.

In this part of the box office that directors, producers, screenwriters and actors can be divided into, the proportion of big names in each position will fluctuate to varying degrees. The proportion of actors is from 5% to 50%. There is a wide range of fluctuations, and the influencing factors include whether the co-stars are eligible for dividends, the level of appeal of the actors themselves, and the level of big names of directors and producers, etc. In the final analysis, it is still a question of Hollywood power.

So what role does an agent play in this?

First, it is precisely because of the existence of the three major brokerage companies that the box office dividends of directors, producers, screenwriters and actors can be distributed, and even the proportion of dividends has been continuously increased, which has greatly reduced the voice of the production companies and allowed Hollywood's The direction of power has fundamentally changed. Moreover, the actor can become a part of the box office dividend, and the brokerage company is the decisive factor.

Then there is the decisive role of the agent in negotiating the actor's remuneration. The most basic ability of an excellent agent is to maximize the interests of the actor, and the remuneration and performance treatment are the core links. For example, Lang was able to get $6 million for Hugo, but Joseph only got $3 million for Hugo. That's the difference. For another example, after Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jack Nicholson set a precedent, actors who can receive dividends are still rare, and the agent's eloquent lotus will play a decisive role.

To put it simply, a broker is a good seller. He has a deck of cards worth three million dollars. If he only sells three million, it can only be said that he is in good order; if he sells two million cheaply, then Just incompetent; of course, if he can sell six million and even get a dividend, that's a truly outstanding broker.

Hugo's current situation in Hollywood is at a crossroads of opportunity. After "The Righteous Sea", the media generally believed that Hugo could become a first-line actor, that is, a salary of 8 million US dollars, but the problem is that so far there has been no A production company offered this remuneration to invite Hugo, so the so-called front line is just the media’s own shouting.

But it is undeniable that, after experiencing the foreshadowing of "Smell the Fragrance and Know a Woman" and "Heroes of the Sea of ​​Righteousness", Hugo had a certain qualifications in Hollywood for ten years, so his salary is more than three million US dollars. Going back to the $6 million of the "Hudson Eagles" days isn't a problem either.

However, the salary of 6 million is not just a matter of lip service. After the Golden Globe Awards, Hugo's situation took a turn for the worse. Although it will not have an essential impact on his salary, the impact is inevitable. Therefore, whether or not he can get a salary of 6 million will be the test of Joseph's personal ability!

If it were that simple, Joseph had a lot of confidence in winning six million dollars, and he was willing to fight for Hugo, but the problem is, "Sleepless in Seattle" is not a rich team, although Joseph wasn't sure, but as far as he knew, the budget for the work was only $20 million.

In addition, Joseph also heard the latest news that the heroine of "Sleepless in Seattle" has invited Meg Ryan to play. Meg is a big-name actor than Hugo, although actresses have always been paid more than male actors. It is not surprising that it is low, or even 50% lower, but even if Meg has been quite sluggish in the past three years, there should be no problem with the salary of around 4 million or 5 million.

In this way, if Joseph also asks for Hugo's salary of six million, then the actor's budget alone accounts for 50% of the film's cost, which is almost an impossible task. What's more, Hugo was able to get the opportunity to perform in "Sleepless in Seattle". It can be said that he has experienced countless difficulties, and Hugo is also full of confidence in appearing in this work, so now Joseph can't stand up to Nora. Said, "We don't play without six million."

Joseph couldn't help but feel a headache. How should this salary scale be calculated? This is also the reason why Joseph did not respond immediately when Nora raised the issue of remuneration, because he did not expect that Hugo would actually succeed in the audition, and he did not expect Hugo to receive the first film after "The Hero of the Righteous Sea" The work is actually a chick movie.

"Don't tell me, do you really want to propose a form of box office share?" Joseph thought of this method, but the problem is: Hugo has not reached the level of asking for box office dividends!