It’s no surprise that some actors get paid more than others when signing up to star in a movie, but to be paid more than someone on the production team? That’s wild.
Well, this is exactly how fans feel after finding out about the Wolfs film, which is set to star Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
Oh, yes - we’re getting a double whammy with both of Hollywood’s most famous actors and it’s going to be fantastic.
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I’ve not seen these two together since Ocean’s Thirteen and Burn After Reading It.
The star power on set will be unmatched, that’s for sure but that’s not really what everyone is focusing on.
It’s actually down to the payments.
While Pitt and Clooney agreed to be in the flick if it would get a theatrical release, that doesn’t seem to be the way Apple is heading.
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“Brad and I made the deal to do that movie where we gave money back to make sure that we had a theatrical release,” Clooney said last year in an interview with Deadline.
But this month, just before the film was due to be shown in theatres around the US, Apple announced it’s only going to be shown in a limited number of theatres for one week before going straight onto the company’s streaming service on 27 September.
It won’t even appear internationally, apart from the Venice Film Festival on 1 September.
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While Pitt and Clooney cut some of their own pay for it to reach theatres, that’s not the payment issue that everyone is talking about.
It’s more about the fact that the actors allegedly made $35 million to star in the flick, while the film’s director, Jon Watts was paid $15 million.
When this information was shared on X, formerly Twitter, fans were not please.
One person wrote: “There is no way this makes financial sense.”
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Someone else criticised the choice: “No actor/actress should be paid that much for being in a movie.”
Another wrote: “So you’re telling me CEO’s deserve to be paid millions more than workers but Movie Directors should be paid millions less than actors?”
To this backtracking of agreements, Matt Dentler, the head of features for Apple Original Films, said in a statement: “‘Wolfs’ is the kind of big event movie that makes Apple TV+ such an exceptional home for the best in entertainment.
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“Releasing the movie to theaters before making it widely available to Apple TV+ customers brings the best of both worlds to audiences.”
Watts was stumped by this and told Vanity Fair that he found out about the change in plans just days before it was officially announced.
He said: “The theatrical experience has really made an impression on me, of how valuable this thing is and how important it is.
“I always thought of this as a theatrical movie. We made it to be seen in theatres, and I think that’s the best way to see it.”
Maybe Apple will change its mind again?
UNILAD reached out to Apple for comment.
Topics: Film and TV, Brad Pitt, Celebrity, Money, Apple TV+
Britt Jones