I doubt this news will shock anyone, but it’s always interesting when Hollywood people fight about money in public. The Hollywood Reporter have some information that Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson are – gasp! – asking for a significant pay raise to do the sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey, which will be Fifty Shades Darker. Keep in mind that Universal still hasn’t officially greenlit the sequel, perhaps because E.L. James is a pill and perhaps now because Jamie and Dakota want what can only be described as “hazard pay” to work with E.L. James again. THR has all the numbers:
With Fifty Shades of Grey looking to top out at more than $550 million worldwide, it should come as no surprise that stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan will be seeking a big payday for a second outing in the red room of pain. Sources say the pair received $250,000 each (plus tiered box-office bonuses) to star in Universal’s erotic hit based on the first of EL James’ trilogy of novels, and both signed three-picture deals. But like most stars of franchise films, they will try to renegotiate for seven-figure raises for Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. Neither Johnson, 25, nor Dornan, 32, received any backend compensation on the first film, according to sources.
Though the two leads probably are six months away from any renegotiations, insiders say they’ll take a page from the Twilight stars and Jennifer Lawrence’s Hunger Games deal as a jumping-off point (Lawrence landed a $10 million payday for Catching Fire — a significant bump from her $500,000 Hunger Games salary).
“It was a very basic franchise starter deal,” says an insider of the terms of Johnson’s and Dornan’s contracts. “Look at Twilight and Hunger Games, and that’s where it is heading.”
…The last thing Universal chair Donna Langley wants is two unhappy stars — or even one willing to ask out of his or her contract. The studio already must find a new director (Sam Taylor-Johnson is not expected to return after clashing with James) and writer (original scribe Kelly Marcel will not return). Because there is no script or director yet, Johnson and Dornan have been told to plan on an early 2016 shoot for a 2017 release, possibly around Valentine’s Day again.
There are more quotes in there from one of the producers, basically saying that he’s worried about “skyrocketing costs” for the sequel. Eh. The first film was made for $40 million (and you better believe Sam Taylor Johnson brought it in on-budget), and the film has already made $550 million, and that’s before DVD sales. Jamie and Dakota are going to get their raises. They might not get a bump up to $10 million each, but I bet they’ll be able to get a sizable raise.
Meanwhile, some of you have mentioned what Kim Cattrall recently said about Jamie. She told The Independent: “Maybe it’s my age, but he doesn’t look like a man to me. He looks like a young boy. I like men to look like men.” Kim then name-checked Brendan Gleeson as a guy she finds attractive. While I think Jamie’s hotness is very beard-dependent (he’s only really sexy with the beard and he’s utterly boring without it), I also think it IS Kim’s age. I find myself looking at some of the younger guys that are supposed to be “hot” these days and they just look like babies to me. I’m not even THAT old! But I look at those One Direction guys or those baby-faced Glee guys and I just feel nothing. The other day, I got lost in Tom Hiddleston’s glorious eye crinkles too. So maybe it is just my age. Sigh…name one guy in their early to mid-20s who has some kind of dirty-hot vibe that I might enjoy. Can you? Because I can’t think of anyone. (Oh I just thought of one: Liam Hemsworth. But he’s beard-dependent too!)
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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