Hollywood studios, according to Variety, are using the global recession as an excuse to cut talent salaries. The trade publication suggests that star salaries might never be what they used to be. Indeed, normal human beings (as opposed to Hollywood stars) might question why an individual should be paid millions of dollars just to pretend to be someone else (ie. act) for the few months it takes to make a film.
Meanwhile, the studios are waiting to see what happens with the civil war raging within the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and whether the Guild will strike.
The SAG situation and the recession are giving the studios more leverage in negotiatining not only talent salaries but gross participation in budgets as well. Industry insiders believe that studios, who prior to America’s economic collapse, had in the region of 40 films in their 2009/2010 slates, might reduce that number significantly.
It’s worth nothing that box office over the last year has been strong.
