Stars Accept Pay Cuts as Hollywood Profits Slip

Hollywood has been perplexed for many years over slumping box office sales. Now the pay scales of the top stars are coming down. Not that we need to pass the hat, the top is still $10-20 million per film, but the reality is that Hollywood is missing something. People are not going to theaters as they once were.

Facing declining cinema audiences, Hollywood is trying to persuade its top actors to set an example by cutting back a lucrative arrangement known as "first dollar", under which the director, producer and stars receive a share of a film's box office take regardless of whether the studio has covered its filming costs.

Hanks had been expected to share 40% of the takings of The Da Vinci Code — to be released in May — with Ron Howard, the director, and Brian Grazer, the producer, in addition to their own fees. Instead, they will reportedly settle for 25%. Studios hope this will become the industry standard, claiming that this will leave them with more money to spend on the films.

No actors will publicly admit that they have lowered their price but industry reports suggest that Hanks is not alone. Cameron Diaz, who is second only to Julia Roberts in the female stars' pay scale but still earns on average half a top male star's salary, is said to have agreed to forgo her "first dollar" deal to star in a romantic comedy called Holiday.

Family groups have complained that their tastes are ignored and rightly so. The studios ignored the evidence that GP rated films did better than R rated. They held to the maxim that religious films were money losers. They also catered to the plea for "artistic integrity" on the part of Directors and producers over commercial viability. The greatest failure has to be the drive to win the big awards over the box office, a myopic pitfall where one seeks to please their friends rather than their customers. Brokeback Mountain is a case in point.

Spielberg supporters blame Universal chief Stacey Snider, an enthusiastic "Brokeback" cheerleader, for the Olympic drama's sagging box office sales.

"Stacey and her team believe 'Brokeback Mountain' is their winner this year," complained a well-placed studio insider to the Drudge Report. "The movie has been spoiled, spoiled and spoiled again, with endless promotion and support. 'Munich,' on the other hand, has been horribly neglected."

Even with that it's their cluelessness about what people want to look at that is hurting them. The Passion of the Christ revealed a market for the religious film, but their answer to that is The Da Vinci Code, more sci-fi than religion. They can't handle anything related to 9-11 because they can't bring themselves to be patriotic. Munich is the best they can do and it's neutral at best. They feel so compelled to send a message that they are driving the audience away. The entertainment industry as the domestic auto industry is failing because neither can understand their customers. They both behave as if they know best.

The ticket and refreshment costs have become so excessive that DVD and home theater have become a real alternative to the box office. It doesn't take long for a DVD come from Netflix. Rental, Pay per View and Tivo are just too convenient. The customer doesn't need the box office. The movie industry is becoming ala carte and people aren't choosing the creamed corn.