Salary Hike for Hunger Games Trio

THR says:

Jennifer Lawrence, whose performance as Katniss Everdeen helped The Hunger Games gross $683.8 million worldwide this spring, is getting a major raise for the sequel.

The actress is in the final stages of negotiating a rich deal to return for Catching Fire that will pay her somewhere in the $10 million range, according to sources close to the deal. The figure is a combination of salary, bonuses and escalators. Depending on the box-office performance of the film, she could earn much more.

The Hollywood Reporter reported in February that the Oscar-nominated actress was paid just $500,000 upfront for the first film, plus bonuses depending on box-office performance. Her original deal with studio Lionsgate locked her into four planned films based on the best-selling Suzanne Collins trilogy, but producers -- recognizing the success of the franchise -- moved to renegotiate her contract as the film became an international sensation. Such renegotiations are common on major film franchises. The Twilight stars, for instance, received significant salary bumps in subsequent movies.

Lawrence’s co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth also are said to have renegotiated their contracts, but each will receive far smaller raises, according to sources. Lawrence, whose gritty performance was central to the film, is seen as the marquee star.

The alleged Salary dispute is allegedly over

NY Post reports:

Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz have closed deals to reup their roles in the next Twilight movie, "Breaking Dawn."

Greene and Lutz signed contracts last nights, acccording to sources close to the deal.

Movie studio Summit Entertainment, which has made billions off the franchise,
had been in negotiations with the two supporting characters since last
week, but the two actors reportedly wanted pay increases for the next
movie since the studio did not allow them to renegotiate on the second
and third films.

Summit caved in after the two actors held out for more cash. "The studio realized how valuable Ashley and Kellan are
to the franchise and did what they needed to do to keep them," said a
source close to the situation.







Reports said the kids have been trying to score paydays of $1.5 million. Sources said they two will receive close to that amount to
continue on in their roles. "It was a good deal," said the source.

The money is still much lower than what Twilight stars Robert Pattinson and
Kristen Stewart are supposedly pulling in.

"Breaking Dawn" will be the fourth and fifth movies of the Twilight franchises.

Mandy's Mind-

I still stand by my previous statements that this "Dispute" was actually just normal negotiations, everyone plays hard-ball to get the best (Sumjit wants to pay less to save, actors agents want them to make more and they meet in the middle)

I am glad to hear this news - I did always think it was simply a scare tactic from Summit to "replace them" in hopes they'd setllte lower (well, their people [lawyers, agents etc.] would settle lower)

Elizabeth Reaser weighs in on alleged "salary disputes"

As soon as the news of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn being released hit the world like a rocket, the whispers of contract disputes soon followed. The Matriarch of the saga Elizabeth Reaser aka Esme Cullen voices her opinion on the topic.



The matriarch of the Cullen family in the “Twilight” films says talk of contract disputes are overblown.Elizabeth Reaser, who plays Esme Cullen, says people need to understand contract negotiations are a part of showbiz.


It’s been reported online that Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz, who play vampires Alice and Emmett Cullen, originally had a three-picture deal and needed a new contract for the fourth installment of the franchise.


Summit Entertainment says it won’t comment on negotiations or business discussions on its films.


The studio also won’t say when filming is expected to begin for “Breaking Dawn,” and Reaser hasn’t been given a time line, either.


She says: “I really want to know because I’m trying to plan my life.”



[Source]

Salary Dispute holding up Breaking Dawn Announcements

I will start by saying I know that The Hollywood Reporter is usually reliable.

I will also preface this post by saying I do not ever claim to have all the answers, and I know I have haters out there who are fiends for these kinds of posts, waiting to "prove Mandy wrong" but I have to say that this article isn't entirely true.

I know for a fact of least one inaccuracy which makes me doubt the rest of the information. With me it's about reliability.

If I read an article and see false things, I in turn, doubt other things that source says. It isn't always because I have "insiders" feeding me information, often, it is common sense and research.

I am human, human's make mistakes. I am also VERY opinionated and so I offer a strong perspective on almost everything which makes some people love my blog and others hate it... and in turn, me.... but I disgress...

Here is the article causing a stir over salary bidding wars, delayed announcements, location switching rumours and more Breaking Dawn Drama...

EXCLUSIVE: Summit Entertainment is working furiously to close the talent deals required to split Stephenie Meyer's fourth "Twilight" novel into two films. But an unlikely roadblock is holding up an announcement -- and could even lead to cast changes for the series' final installment.

The studio is close to finalizing agreements with leads Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, all of whom will get big raises to return for a fifth installment of the vampire romance saga. And director Bill Condon is already signed to film two "Breaking Dawn" movies, which would be shot back-to-back starting in the fall and released in November 2011 and summer 2012, respectively.

But Summit is having a harder time locking in some of the franchise's secondary characters. Deals for Peter Facinelli (who plays Carlisle Cullen) and Billy Burke (Bella's father, Charlie Swan) are done, but we're told the actors who play the Cullen kids (especially Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene) are trying to sink their teeth into bigger paydays that, at least at this point, the studio behind the billion-dollar franchise is unwilling to provide. "We may have a situation where one of them is thrown out on the street to make a point," says a source close to the dealmaking.

So are we headed for a recasting on the final "Twilight"?

There is precedent for such a tactic. After the success of the first film, Summit axed Rachelle Lefevre, who played Victoria, in part because her reps played hardball on money. (Bryce Dallas Howard got the job instead.) Now, two films into the series, even the minor Twilighters (Lutz in particular) have become sought-after stars, so it makes sense they'd want to be paid more for the final film. But we're told that the offers from Summit -- which are said to be at least 10 times what the actors made on the first movie -- were deemed "offensive" given the mega-money the franchise has generated.


Summit declined to comment on the situation. But the studio wants to move quickly to pull the trigger on the two movies -- which it won't until the talent deals are further along -- and it isn't afraid to recast if agreements can't be reached. Plus, it has even more reason to be concerned about costs this time around. As is typical with blockbuster franchises, the "Twilight" movies are becoming more expensive with each installment. The leads are going to do especially well if "Breaking Dawn" is split into two parts. The trio were initially signed for three films (remember, this was back when "Twilight" was a low-budget adaptation of a niche YA novel), but in the spring of 2009 -- after the first movie became an international hit -- they renegotiated all their deals so Summit could lock them for a fourth movie.

The studio then realized that "Breaking Dawn," with its 900-plus pages and narratives told from two perspectives, was dense enough to be split into two installments (as Warner Bros. announced it would do for the final "Harry Potter" book). Just one problem: The cast wasn't signed for a fifth movie. They're all huge stars now, with Lautner in particular running up his quote to the $7.5 million range, so another renegotiation commenced.

That meant ponying up big-time for the leads, which will make the final movie far more expensive than the others ("Eclipse," which hits theaters June 30, is costing around $65 million, a figure sure to be dwarfed by the fourth and fifth, even if costs can be amortized by shooting them at the same time). For that reason, Summit is still holding out the option of simply doing one "Breaking Dawn," although multiple sources say they'd be shocked if the fifth film doesn't happen. "This thing is gonna be two movies," one source says. "With or without the cast intact." Meyer has already signed off on the plan to make two — a key hurdle, given the approval rights she has in her deal.

Summit also is eyeing another cost-cutting measure for the final installments. A deal is currently being negotiated to move the production to Louisiana (the first was shot in Portland and the second two in Vancouver and Italy). Luring "Twilight" would be a huge "get" for the state -- and, given the tax credits, a money-saver for the studio.

"Twilight" has thus far been the rare tentpole franchise made on a non-tentpole budget. It'll be interesting to see the lengths that Summit will go to to keep it there. Booting an actor from the final installment of a successful series could be a risky move, though we're betting that as long as their precious Bella, Edward and Jacob return, fans would get over any disappointment pretty quickly.

Mandy's Mind - I wish I could disect this article to examine all it's parts... and I suppose I could, but the time and effort involved is not worth it.

I will say that I too heard of potential cast changes because of a salary dispute but it wasn't as listed in this article. In fact, this article seems to have switched up who is signed and who was in negotiations but who knows what happened over the weekend?!?

I still believe it will be filmed in Vancouver and I hope it will involve all the current cast though I wouldn't be surprised if one or two are replaced or cut (again not the ones listed as being in dispute right now)

I don't know what is happening, I can't wait for official word since everyone who has "inside sources" seems to have conflicting answers on the next move... it's no wonder the usually reliable sources all contradict each other, Summit clearly has no friggin' clue what they will do next.... never a good sign.


Let's just agree that in time Breaking Dawn will be announced, and let's be happy we have a director at least. Once Breaking Dawn is announced we can re-read all the gossip and rumours and see who had it right and who is still most reliable for information.

Time will Tell.

Jersey Shore Cast wants more money?

NY Post reports that the cast of Jersey Shore are sticking together to get a pay increase for Season 2.

The cast -- including Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, "Pauly D" Delvecchio, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Jenni "J-Woww" Farley -- earned only a few hundred dollars each per episode for the first season, and now want a huge raise for the next one.

A source close to the crew told us, "They want $10,000 an episode, arguing that the stars from 'The Hills' get $100,000 per episode and that show doesn't even rate as high. They're hanging together like the cast of 'Friends' and saying if they don't all get the pay increase, none of them will return."

Mandy's Mind - These guys act like morons on television. They're ratings are high because they are drunk, fight, act like idiots and, like a train wreck, you can't help but gawk in wonder....

I can't believe they'd be paid that high, in fact, I can't believe The Hills people are paid that high... I've never seen an episode of The Hills or the other one that was a spin off or that it was a psin off for or whatever....

I know Heidi and Spencer came from that show and are also idiots... it's amazing what people can become rich and famous for these days...

I guess I should go make an ass of myself on television so I can pay some bills eh?

Taylor Lautner highest paid teen star?

 ***"UPDATE! Deadline Hollywood seems to have gotten the story wrong on this one. We've been sent new information by a rep for David Ellison at Skydance productions. They say Tom Cruise is not going to be in this film and that there's no billionaire father involved in the storyline."
[Thanks Pam]

Original Post January 6, 2010:
It is being reported that Taylor Lautner snagged an amazing 7.5 million to star in Northern Lights opposite Tom Cruise. Nikki Finki has deduced that with this sum of money Lautner has sky rocketed to being the highest paid teenaged actor in Hollywood over Zac Efron and Miley Cyrus. Fans of Twilight might think he’s worth the price tag, but as Cinema Blend points out, Lautner hasn’t carried a film on his own yet which makes the paycheck that much more impressive.

“Given that Lautner hasn’t carried a single movie without the word Twilight in the title, that’s a pretty significant gamble. Robert Pattinson’s projects beyond Twilight haven’t really gone anywhere, though granted, he hasn’t been groomed as a new star by a studio in the same way. But can the Twilight effect carry on without Bella lurking somewhere in the frame?”

[Twilight Lexicon]

Taylor, Kristen, Rob stick together to negotiate Breaking Dawn pay Cheques

TwiFans posted this:

In a smart move by Taylor, Kristen, & Robert's agents, rumor is, they are sticking together for the best possible paycheck for all. Meaning that the 3 actors are not signing on for "Breaking Dawn" without the other actors to play the part and also making sure they get the money they all want and deserve.

This should make twifans happy to insure we have continuity for the last films with the actors we love.

According to the Chicago Sun Times:

"As the trio approaches negotiations for what may be two films based on the Breaking Dawn novel in author Stephenie Meyer's vampire saga, word has it Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner are joining forces to negotiate as a team. The story is reminiscent of the approach taken by "Friends" stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc -- who famously stuck together for all of their contract negotiations in that hit TV series' long run.

Though nothing is yet on paper, there is word the huge box-office hauls of both "Twilight" and "New Moon" -- and the likely success of "Eclipse," already shot and due in June -- has the three actors likely to be able to demand paychecks well into eight figures for the next two films."

I think this is such a smart move... they all deserve big paychecks. What do you think?