Jennifer Lawrence is finally getting the paycheck she deserves. The Oscar-winning actress and action star will be paid $20 million — plus 30 percent of the film’s profits after it breaks even — to star in Sony’s upcoming romantic sci-fi drama “Passengers.” Her co-star, Chris Pratt, will earn $12 million (an increase from his original fee of $10 million due to the wild success of “Jurassic World”).
George Clooney recently stated, “One good thing to come out of [the Sony hack] is the conversation in very liberal Hollywood that women aren’t being paid the same.” The hack revealed that Lawrence and Amy Adams earned less than their male co-stars in “American Hustle.”
Former Sony chief Amy Pascal’s advice to women to “know their worth” and “walk away” doesn’t get women paid their quotes. The fact that their is a huge pay gap in Hollywood is the issue.
That being said, it looks like this time around, Lawrence was convinced of her worth and willing to walk away. The Hollywood Reporter refers to “quite a bit of behind-the-scenes drama” resulting from issues with the film’s $150 million budget. Tom Rothman was nervous about the budget and tried to get the quotes down.
But let’s remember that Lawrence, in addition to racking up three Oscar nods in four years (with one win), has starred in the third, first and second highest grossing films of 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively, as Katniss Everdeen. Based on “The Hunger Games” franchise alone, Lawrence is a bankable star — and that’s not to mention her role in the lucrative “X-Men” cinematic universe.
Pratt seems well worth the $12 million he’ll be paid. “Jurassic World” just had the biggest opening weekend in history, and Pratt led a ragtag group of misfits to box-office success in 2014’s third-highest-grossing movie, “Guardians of the Galaxy.” He also voiced the protagonist of “The Lego Movie,” the fifth-highest-grossing movie that same year.
Still, it’s refreshing that, for once, a woman is making more than her male co-star. Pratt’s had an undeniably amazing couple of years at the box office, but Lawrence has been around longer, at least in the film world, and has a proven track record at driving ticket sales, not to mention a full mantel’s worth of trophies. Who knows, this could become another box office juggernaut that also racks up awards.
“Passengers” is scheduled to start filming in September.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]
