VARIETY: STUDIOS PROCEED CAUTIOUSLY FOR 2010, INCLUDING NEW MOON
Variety.com Last fall, studios were bullish with plans to put 40 or more films in production to fill 2010 and 2011 slates. The majors might still meet that goal, but it hardly feels like a bull market so far.
Studios are proceeding cautiously as they wait for the SAG dispute to play itself out. And they are using economic hard times to slash talent salaries to the point where, even when the business is back, it won’t nearly be the same as it used to be. They are working through the volume of pre-strike films they put into production in early 2008 and are still in need of product for 2010 and especially 2011.“Studios are telling us, we need movies, but they want us to proceed with projects without spending money, and without actually pulling the trigger and making commitments,” said one studio-based producer with projects in limbo. “Producers have been wedged into this netherworld where it’s like hurry up and wait.”
An unanticipated aspect of the preparations to line studio slates is the bruising negotiations now associated with every picture, as studios seize on talent salaries and gross participation as items in the budget that are not fixed costs, and where they finally have some leverage.
“Box office has been strong, but many of us feel that studios are using the strike and the economy as an excuse to get into long-desired conversations about gross and final cut,” one agent said. “Talent and their unions opened a Pandora’s box, and it feels (as if) there is a new world order out there. You hope the business will get back to normal, but we fear this may be the norm.”
The stars of “Twilight,” Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, who are still in talks, will likely cash low-seven-figure upfront paychecks for sequel “New Moon.” They likely won’t, however, be allowed to sink their fangs into first-dollar gross as they hoped. That film’s financier, Summit, hasn’t yet paid first-dollar gross and sells off its foreign territories. One possible compromise is bonuses pegged to box office performance.
Dealmakers said studios that once bought projects that could be bait for movie stars now prefer high concepts that don’t require big stars and directors with their big paychecks. The perfect example is “Twilight,” which became a big hit despite the lack of bankable stars.
“There is no such thing as a quote anymore,” said one agency chief. “You tell them your client’s quote; they smile and say, ‘Here is the offer.’ Even when you agree on a deal, it’s harder to get the trigger pulled, with more signoffs than in the past.”
In every segment of the film community, the current feeling of paralysis brings with it a high level of anxiety. Studio executives, under orders from above, are driving the hardest deals in memory and eviscerating the backend deals of stars and directors (who are also being challenged on final cut). Writers have been cut to a fraction of the quotes they received before the WGA strike.
Lit agents who last year attributed lowball writer offers to studio bitterness over the 100-day writers strike now feel that discounts are permanent. Writers who once got $500,000 for a script and a set of revisions now receive $300,000 for a draft, with no guarantee they’ll be asked back for a second pass. The spec script, pitch and book markets have been sluggish.
Complete article here
(thanks Sarah)
After what Twilight made at the box office, Summit can afford to be generous with the cast. I hope they’re fair about salaries and how much money is necessary to make New Moon a success.
I worry that with the tough economic times, New Moon will be negatively affected including the script, the cast and all the production costs.
I worry most because I saw how theY cut corners with Twilight and I was really hoping, after the box office take, that Summit would realize how important it is to be more generous with New Moon.
I hope that negotiations work out with Rob and Kristen. New Moon would suffer badly if it didn’t work out.
What do you think? Do you have the same worries? Or do you think it will work out fine despite the issues with the economy?
