It is by far and away no secret that Hollywood compensation for a certain cadre of stars have been rocketing beyond the stratosphere for some time now, but one A-lister, in the form of Brad Pitt, says that the era of paychecks reaching into the tens of millions for some may be coming to a close.
Both he and his partner Angelina Jolie have topped (or nearly so) the scales for their movies in the past decade, with Pitt garnering a cool $25 million per pic. Not bad, but almost a paltry sum when compared to Tom Cruise, for instance, which Forbes listed as commanding a cool $75 million in 2012. But Pitt says he thinks that the conditions for unbelievable sums (at least for the bottom 99.7 per cent) may be heading back down to the mere stratosphere.
“Yeah, that thing died,” Pitt said when asked if fellow A-listers can still easily command a $10 or so million per movie, according to BBC. “That arithmetic doesn’t really work right now…that deal’s not flying these days.”
Going further on the economics of Hollywood right now, Pitt added, “”It’s a really interesting time. A lot of the studios have been challenged because of the economic downturn as well, so they’ve been betting on bigger, more tent pole kinds of things. At the same time that opens up a vacuum for really interesting new filmmakers to come in.”
Pitt debuted Killing Them Softly in Cannes and is a producer on the title that will head to U.S. theaters next month. But not all films will automatically bring out the masses simply because their idols are in them. Nearly two hours of staring at Robert Pattinson sans vampirism failed to bring out the legions of…
Full Story »Will it be as cool as Jonah Hill’s Rolex? “It is an expensive watch. My dad said — my dad’s a watch guy — when you get any little bit of money, I want you to go out and buy a watch that you can’t afford, because you’ll have it for the rest of your life, and every time you look at what time it is, you’ll see how hard you’ve worked. That you’ve worked for that watch.” [The Awl]
Full Story »“I think that we have an opportunity with the third Iron Man to make the best of the three, and maybe one of the better superhero movies that’s ever been made. But I think we have to remember what made the first one good. It was very character-driven. It was very odd. It was kind of outrageous. And so I think we have to have the courage to trust that the audience is really kind of cool, and smart.” Ah yes, Robert Downey Jr., “cool audiences” — the elusive fifth quadrant. Here’s to hoping Iron Man 3 doesn’t repeat the series sophomore slump. [Omelete via Collider]
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For generations, Time has taught you, your kids, and your step-grandkids what is “cool” in popular culture, and today they’re dropping a bombshell on you: Ryan Gosling, who played the most alpha, well-jacketed dudes in cinema this year, is the magazine’s “Coolest Man of 2011.” Right, right, yawn, yawn. Does anyone else here object?
First things first, while I enjoyed Drive and The Ides of March like y’all, Gosling’s “cool” is really just facial symmetry. Yes, it’s a lot of facial symmetry, and I want to measure it with “a protractor” (code for “my trembling, loving hands”), but it just qualifies Gosling to be a cool actor, not a cool person. Those tumblr memes have to stuff words in his mouth to make him seem awesome, you know? Hey, girl, that makes him more of a cipher than a pillar of cool — and I don’t care what street brawls he broke up.
Here are the best alternative choices:
1. Ellen Barkin. You may have heard of her. You may have also heard that I spill little worlds of tears and LOLs when she tweets. She emerged from nowhere to become a 140-character phenomenon, and now when I watch Sea of Love, I feel connected to her “Bronx bitch” beginnings. She’s dating Barry Levinson’s chatty, amiable 25-year-old son Sam, too, which makes her especially cool — because she definitely starred in Barry’s Diner back in ‘82. WHAT.
2. Uggie the dog. He arrived unceremoniously, added a heart to the otherwise formulaic The Artist, and is the key to the film’s lofty Best Picture chances. He also emotes on command. He’s our Tatum…
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Samuel L. Jackson has contributed indelible performances to the oeuvre of Quentin Tarantino, most notably as the cool Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, which nabbed him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod, and as the unhinged L.A. gun-runner Ordell Robbie (“O-R-D-E-L-L R-O-B-B-I-E”) in Tarantino’s follow-up, Jackie Brown, which garnered him a Golden Globes nomination. Jackson even lent his voice to 2009’s Inglourious Basterds and will appear in the upcoming Django Unchained. But which film does the frequent Tarantino player consider the director’s best, in which “the action plays out suddenly and completely for every character?”
Watch Movieline’s exclusive clip, taken from an unreleased interview shot for the Pulp Fiction Blu-ray release:
There you have it! I’ve got to agree with Jackson; his favorite Tarantino is also my favorite Tarantino. (If you missed it, read our interview with legendary actress and QT muse Pam Grier.)
Meanwhile, catch more behind-the-scenes tidbits and nostalgic interviews on this week’s Blu-ray releases of Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, both out today.
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And there’s Heather Mills lurking in the background waiting for the perfect moment to douse her future replacement with tap water and cunt-infused saliva. (Note: It’s actually Michelle Williams, but facts always take a backseat to fictionalized drama.) 69-year-old Paul McCartney will try this whole marriage thing for the third time with his 51-year-old serious businesswoman girlfriend of 4 years Nancy Shevell. Paul and Nancy met in the Hamptons back in 2007. This will be Nancy’s second marriage. A source type tells People:
“Nancy and Paul are getting married. Ring and all – very exciting. They have the right chemistry. They’re both cool, chilled out and optimistic.”
Yes, I’m sure Paul remembered how he spent many a night picking the scabs off of his b-hole after getting burned by the cuntress of cunts Heather Mills, so he proposed to Nancy with an engagement ring made out of prenup documents. Good move.
The source says that they are both cool and optimistic, but you know they are going to get married while surrounded by a moat, a circle of hot coals, an army of woodchoppers and slabs of bloody beef. That’s one way to ward off the evil spirits (aka Heather “Gimmebills” Mills).
