Inglourious Actors: Starpower Brownout
Meet Dave‘s head may be big, but his paydays are getting smaller… The NYT recently took on an ongoing trend story that New Medici has brought up in relation to the talent agencies: the downward spiral of A-list (with grade inflation forcing some B-listing) talent compensation. It’s definitely a “starpower brownout” in terms of how talent is being relegated to the coach seats of the Hollywood pay-or-play bus. Star vehicles, aka films, from the likes of A-listers Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise, Adam Sandler, John Travolta and even Denzel Washington have fallen in audience regard. Studios while not necessarily going “indie” in terms of concept, are definitely benching high-end talent in favor of niche and sometimes, ensemble casting. Witness the JJ Abrams, Judd Apatow (minus his latest), Quentin Tarantino, Michael Bay’s successes of late. Yes, Inglourious Basterds (Acterds?) leveraged Pitt’s name, but people went for Tarantino’s take on WWII. Bay’s career has been resuscitated via Hasbro and one assumes some behind-the-scenes’ producing from Spielberg. Abrams’ Cloverdale and Apatow’s use of young, gross-out talent is assuredly making studios and talent agencies rethink their strategies. Read more >>
Weinsteins’ Media Makeover: Project Add-More-Runway
Via the NYT’s The Weinsteins Scramble to Regain a Golden Touch in Hollywood story, there’s more personality restructuring going on within the Weinstein Company: talk of the relatively new “newco” being stretched too thin in creating a “Barry Diller-style conglomerate” with the 2005 $1 billion in private equity from Goldman Sachs, which Joe Ravitch set up. Ravitch is now working with William Morris Endeavor. A few directors “made” by the Weinsteins, via Miramax/Disney days, impart that the guerilla-style of old, indie studio days needs to return. Kevin Smith, following “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” suggests that the brothers succeeded when they were hungry, but now are “starving and desperate.” Harsh but perhaps realistic. Read more >>