Sometimes, actors are just looking for a payday, even though the film doesn't appear to be essentially the most promising of artworks.
The commodification of artwork is a touchy matter and one who artists are destined to struggle with as long as our species exists. That perpetual struggle can most likely be easiest summed up within the Black Mirror episode: "Fifteen Million Credits", where, after an impassioned monologue about the evils of the society he lives in, Daniel Kaluuya's most commonly reticent persona finally ends up becoming a a part of the very gadget he hated so much.
That's now not pronouncing there's anything mistaken with getting paid for your artwork: entertainers were lauded by way of humanity for hundreds if now not hundreds of years for a explanation why: there's something inherently powerful about trustworthy human expression. However, it's transparent, oftentimes, that some actors are taking on initiatives which can be more inspired by means of a paycheck than anything else. Sometimes, actors even admit that the paycheck installed entrance of them is so tantalizing, they just can not say no to it.
And whilst each and every actor on this list hasn't expressly stated that they just participated in a movie because the payday was just right, it's laborious to consider that they were tackling these roles because they presented themselves as unique ingenious demanding situations or techniques of enriching themselves. Or possibly they firstly have been and for whatever reason why the movies simply did not pan out the way in which manufacturing envisioned them.
Ben Affleck - 'Paycheck'
We have to start with the most obvious here. I do know, it's manner too on-the-nose, particularly when you consider that right through a 2003 interview with Conan O'Brien, when Ben Affleck was requested by the Late Night host why he determined to star in Paycheck, he said, "The answer lies in the title."
The motion movie was part of a slew of big-budget flops starring Ben Affleck that had been additionally significantly panned.
Paycheck had a $60 million production finances and in the long run grossed relatively over $117 million worldwide. Its domestic opening weekend wasn't nice, and netting Affleck at the time most likely value the studio a pretty penny.
There are another "cash grab" movies that Ben Affleck participated in that are supposed to be discussed as smartly: particularly Daredevil and Gigli. His foray into the world of Marvel was met with vital ire (although the film made cash) and he even admitted in interviews he did it for "fun".
Gigli which starred both him and Jennifer Lopez had a lot of buzz, specifically as a result of tabloids were popping with tales about the relationship that blossomed out in their filming of the flick and the "Bennifer" dynamic they created. The film was once pulled from theaters after most effective 3 weeks making it one of the vital shortest theatrical runs for a broad free up flick.
Reese Witherspoon - 'A Wrinkle in Time'
While Reese's exact salary for the project is not recognized, the film manufacturing funds for A Wrinkle in Time was a whopping $103 million, leading to a $131 million box workplace loss. CBS News experiences that Witherspoon earns any place from $15 to $20 million in line with picture, alternatively, actors oftentimes negotiate their salaries and can do projects for a lot not up to their initial quotes.
While the film broke new flooring and many critics praised its intention and heart, many stated that the movie was once in the end slowed down by way of a confusing plot, and "all over the place" narrative.
Mark Wahlberg - 'Max Payne'
Mark Wahlberg is among the global's highest-paid actors, and it is not unusual for him to earn about $15 million for a film. Again, salaries are negotiable, and choices to get a minimize of the box workplace are normally par the route for big-name stars. While Mark Wahlberg has been maligned for being part of some stinkers like Mile 22, and ho-hum flicks like Shooter and Contraband, Max Payne received a ton of flack from reviewers.
It did not help that Mark was once gassing up Max Payne as being the "baddest" dude in a movie that 12 months, including name outs of Bruce Wayne from The Dark Knight.
The movie did not do too poorly at the field workplace - it is $35 million price range saw a worldwide gross of $87 million, nevertheless it was universally panned clocking in a tough 16% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Jeff Bridges - 'R.I.P.D.'
R.I.P.D. starred Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges, with other notable appearances by means of Elizabeth Perkins of Weeds status, and mixed components of Ghostbusters at the side of Men in Black, so what is to not love?
Apparently, no longer a good deal. People weren't excited about seeing a comedic model of Bridges' True Grit character looking ghosts for the "Rest in Peace Department."
Bridges himself didn't in point of fact respect the final cut of the flick either. In an interview with GQ he said, "I had such a great time working on that movie. I remember what we were doing. I thought this could be fun to see. And when I saw it, I was a little underwhelmed. For my mind, the studio made some, uh, choices that I wouldn’t have made."
Eddie Murphy - 'Best Defense'
The '80s and early '90s were pretty much ruled through Eddie Murphy. The guy used to be, and nonetheless is, thought to be one of the crucial greatest stand-up comedians ever. The good fortune that he attained at such a younger age and his jokes were the perfect combinations of wit, brevity, enthusiasm, and surprising honesty that modern comics still attest to their greatness.
That skill translated into a very a success movie career with a slew of box-office hits for the actor.
This is why Paramount concept it'd be a good concept to convey Eddie in for the ill-fated Dudley Moore flick, Best Defense. He became down the position, but then the studio was once determined to deliver him in for some celebrity energy to take a look at and "save" it. Eddie admitted his decision to take the part was influenced by means of dollars.
"Paramount was determined to get me in the movie. They finally came back with an offer of a million dollars for something like a couple of weeks' work. Now, I want you to tell me a 22-year-old is going to turn down a million dollars for two weeks’ work?" Eddie said.
Best Defense would cross directly to flop in theaters and get panned by way of critics - a couple of weeks' price Eddie dropped at the film, despite the fact that his scenes have been great, did not do sufficient to make the production a success. It didn't hurt his profession, on the other hand.
Jamie Foxx - 'Robin Hood'
Taron Egerton has made a name for himself in the Kingsman flicks and handing over a righteous portrayal of Elton John in Rocketman, so it is not like Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx is the one one with superstar energy on this flick. But the comic-turned-legitimately-incredible-actor had to have recognized there used to be one thing off about this film when he arrived on set and noticed that a duration piece about a wealth-distributing vigilante had its actors walking round in clothing that was taken directly off the Zara clearance rack.
Jamie Foxx makes a reported $10 million in line with flick, give or take, and seeing as this is a high-profile IP that is spawned numerous flicks, it's difficult to consider he didn't bank massive money for this film that was severely panned and did not in reality figure out in the field workplace. Deadline experiences that 2018's Robin Hood lost some $83.7 million. Yikes.
A extra notable "cash grab" flick that is both forgettable or terrible depending on who you ask is Stealth, which gave Foxx most sensible billing after his Ray Oscar win.
But in all honesty, that is more of a money grasp at the studios' section. Jamie Foxx explained the part in an interview with The Movie Blog: "I’m not even the lead in it. I’m the guy who makes a couple of jokes and then I die. It’s the classic black role."
Helen Mirren - 'National Treasure: Book of Secrets'
Dame Helen Mirren is a wonderfully prolific actress who gained an Oscar in 2007 for her paintings in The Queen and shortly after that she pulled the classic post-Oscar transfer: get a fat paycheck for a film that's more or less exactly the other form of flick that got you an award in the first place.
There are two circumstances of this for the actress: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets where she plays Nicolas Cage's professor mom, and Inkheart, where she is Brendan Fraser's finicky aunt Elinor.
While Rotten Tomatoes is not the end-all-be-all decider of a film's greatness or lack thereof, either one of those movies did not take a seat in particular smartly with critics. National Treasure 2 did make a boatload of cash with a $459 million worldwide box workplace gross, with Inkheart making a fraction of that at $62.45 million.
Michael Caine - 'Jaws: The Revenge'
The first Jaws flick was one of those movies that just do not need labored. With persistent issues plaguing the animatronic shark, production taking 3 times longer than it will have to have heightened tensions of the set, the movie should have failed. But the constant behind-the-camera drama ended up leading to a huge win for Steven Spielberg's first feature film and his creativity in fixing these problems led to some truly frightening new camera angles (first-person shark-attack view, for instance) that give audiences to at the present time palpitations each time they're swimming in the ocean.
The movie is the blueprint for the summer blockbuster and made Spielberg a legend. Jaws: The Revenge, did not. In truth, it is a terrible flick nevertheless it stars Michael Caine, who is the opposite of horrible. The more than one award-winning actor had this to say about the movie: "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific."
Orson Welles - 'Transformers: The Movie'
Sure, the 1986 animated version of the caricature about robots in cover that brought their intergalactic war to earth for some reason why or any other holds a position that's near and expensive to former kids all across America who howled at each new Toy Store unlock from the franchise. You would possibly even recall the bodacious White Lion identify theme observe or weeping at the symbol of Optimus Prime being killed to start with of the film.
But the movie used to be a flop and it's been severely annihilated since its free up, nostalgia apart. What you may not know is that Unicron, one of the vital villains in the film used to be actually voiced by a Hollywood screen legend and the man behind was cinephiles imagine the best film ever made: Orson Welles. That's right, the Citizen Kane director, producer, co-writer, and famous person finished the voice paintings of Unicron about 5 days ahead of he died.
Today reported that Welles was once in such poor well being while recording his voice for the nature that his recordings had been synthesized to provide it a extra "Wellesian" taste, and he didn't have sort issues to say about his participation in the undertaking either: "You know what I did this morning? I played the voice of a toy. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen." That was once his endorsement of the now cult classic animated feature.
Hugo Weaving - 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'
Yes, some other Transformers access in this list, and it does not sound like Orson Welles is the one actor that had a tough time doing voice-over paintings for the movie. Hugo Weaving, who is not any stranger to big-budget franchises like The Matrix and Lord of the Rings equipped voice-over work for long-standing Transformers villain Megatron, but his enjoy running on the films was something he mentioned he'd be reluctant to ever do again.
He told Collider, "It was one of the only things I've ever done where I had no knowledge of it, I didn't care about it, I didn't think about it. They wanted me to do it. In one way, I regret that bit. I don't regret doing it, but I very rarely do something if it's meaningless. It was meaningless to me, honestly. I don't mean that in any nasty way."
He also stated that his interaction with director Michael Bay was "minimal."
"My link to that and to Michael Bay is so minimal. I have never met him. I was never on set. I've seen his face on Skype. I know nothing about him, really. I just went in and did it. I never read the script. I just have my lines, and I don't know what they mean. That sounds absolutely pathetic! I've never done anything like that, in my life. It's hard to say any more about it than that, really."
Bay didn't in point of fact take too kindly to Weaving's feedback and answered to them in his personal weblog. Despite no longer citing the actor by way of name, it's pretty transparent who he is talking about:
"Do you ever get sick of actors that make $15 million a picture, or even $200,000 for voiceover work that took a brisk one hour and 43 minutes to complete, and then complain about their jobs? With all the problems facing our world today, do these grumbling thespians really think people reading the news actually care about trivial complaints that their job wasn’t ‘artistic enough” or 'fulfilling enough'? I guess The Hollywood Reporter thinks so. What happened to people who had integrity, who did a job, got paid for their hard work, and just smiled afterward? Be happy you even have a job – let alone a job that pays you more than 98% of the people in America.I have a wonderful idea for all those whiners: They can give their 'unhappy job money' to a wonderful Elephant Rescue. It’s the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Africa. I will match the funds they donate."
Jeremy Irons - 'Dungeons & Dragons'
There are a lot of Hollywood actors and artists who in fact experience enjoying Dungeons & Dragons in tight-knit groups. If you will have ever engaged within the make-believe recreation, it's a super fun job to engage in with your folks, something that Vin Diesel, Joe Manganiello, Vince Vaughn, Tom Morello, The Big Show, and heaps of other high-profile celebs interact in.
But the kind of pleasure and glee that comes from enjoying these games do not actually translate well to the massive display.
That's something audience of 2000's Dungeons & Dragons film realized the hard way. When Irons was requested what caused him to leap on board with the flick, his excuse was a pretty regal one: "I just bought a castle! I had to pay for it somehow. Like Alec Guinness in Star Wars, I had to give the project some gravitas," he said in an interview with The Guardian.
Sean Connery - 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'
Sean Connery reportedly took on the lead function in 2003's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, because he grew to become down the function of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. Why did he refuse to partake in Peter Jackson's epic trilogy that absolutely altered the landscape of delusion films and become a massive cultural phenomenon? Because he didn't "understand it."
He informed The New Zealand Herald: "I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don't understand it." Although The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen purportedly did not make a lot sense to Sean Connery both, he concept that there might be something to the script that he wasn't seeing, as was the case with LOTR, and Jurassic Park, and The Matrix.
LXG went on to be a comically bad flop with probably the most unintentionally hilarious finish scenes in fresh cinematic historical past.
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