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Sound Fiscal Policy Rules Hollywood.

Yes, that’s a joke. H-wood has had a horrible year. Picture are too expensive to make. The audience isn’t plucking down the moolah to see the stinky films. So how does H-wood handle the situation? Fire studio heads. OK. Fine. But what about cutting costs? Well….

In an industry rife with bloated salaries, talent pay is the most obvious area to cut. Some stars receive astronomical fees for their work and the “20 and 20” pay day – referring to a $20m upfront payment plus 20 per cent of the film’s gross before the studio earns a penny – is not uncommon.

Universal’s new management team refuses to be drawn on star salaries, with Donna Langley, the new co-chairman, insisting there are other areas to consider, such as the rising cost of energy and materials.

“Greenlighting any film is becoming more and more difficult [because] the cost of making movies has risen,” she says.

Top talent will continue to command a premium price, according to Barry Katz, president of New Wave Entertainment, which represents stars such as Dane Cook.

“I can guarantee you that the big stars aren’t going to take a pay cut,” he says. “Studios need them to bring in the audiences.”

So they have several flops Land of the Lost, Gamer, Surrogates, Funny People, Love Happens, The Taking of Pelham . . . all with big names like Farrel, Travola, Jackson, Aniston, Willis, etc, and they flop. Yet the studios still think these “big stars” bring in the audiences????? Some one should probably tell these studio guys that its not the 1940’s anymore. Stars don’t attract audiences like they once did, especially not in a recession. Eh, then again, don’t tell them. I like to watch Hollywood squirm.

PS. Surrogates was not a bad film. Rent it when it comes out on DVD.

PPS. Don’t know if you noticed, but many films are being released in 3-D. Earlier this year, Speilberg, Lucas, and everyone else was touting this as the miracle technology that would save Hollywood. I wonder if the big wigs are rethinking this expensive strategy. Note it’s not mentioned in the article, so probably not.