Chapter 103 Embark on the Journey
"...Dear passengers and friends, the flight is about to arrive at the destination of this journey, San Francisco International Airport. The plane will begin to descend immediately, and the bathroom will be closed in five minutes. Passengers, please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts..."
The in-flight announcement sounded. It was a short ninety-minute flight. It seemed that we had just boarded the plane a second ago and had not had time to adapt to the economy class seats. ;The next second the plane was ready to land and arrived in another city.
After the last audition, everything went smoothly and time flew by.
About the salary, Andrew O'Connell discussed with the "Princess Diaries" crew, and the crew quoted a figure of $200,000.
Considering that the total budget of the movie is only 25 million, and Anson's first movie appearance, although he is the leading actor but not the first role, this remuneration is already good, which shows Gary's sincerity.
Darren informed Anson of an inside story -
The casting budget of "The Princess Diaries" was mainly spent on inviting a legendary superstar, not to mention Anson, even the heroine's salary Not too high, because this superstar is the real core of the entire crew.
Julie-Andrews.
An actor who has gone down in history with "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music" has not only Oscars and Grammys on her resume, but she also won the Queen's Award at the beginning of this year. The DBE knighthood awarded is undoubtedly a treasure for British actors.
Although Julie Andrews has appeared in some works one after another in recent years, in fact, the last time she appeared in a widely released mainstream commercial film must be traced back to 1986. After that, she was more active in Broadway, show off your singing voice.
However, in 1997, Julie discovered a benign tumor in her throat and had to undergo surgery to remove it, which forced her to interrupt all work. After the successful operation, the doctor assured that she would be able to recover in six weeks.
But three years passed in an instant, and Julie’s voice still hadn’t recovered.
For three years, Julie had no job. Although she could speak, she could no longer sing. The sixty-five-year-old Julie was forced to retire early.
Until now, Gary Marshall has extended an olive branch and invited Jolie to return to the big screen.
Julie hesitated.
But Gary said that he has always wanted to work with Jolie since he watched her Broadway production of "The Tooth Fairy" in 1956.
When he got the project of "Princess Diaries", the first actor Gary confirmed was Julie. In the script, the heroine Mia has a grandmother who is also the current queen of an unknown small country in Europe. , in Gary's view, this role must belong to Julie.
Gary visited the thatched cottage three times, just hoping that Julie could show her grace on the big screen again.
Julie was so impressed that she returned to mainstream production after a full fourteen years.
Naturally, in the cast, all other newcomers and juniors have stepped aside, and Julie is the biggest star of the entire crew; Gary also hopes that Julie can become a mentor to the two young protagonists and inject some magic into the movie.
Of course, Anson already knew this in advance due to the memory of his previous life.
In other words, "Princess Diaries" has been very generous in terms of remuneration, and Gary's sincerity can be seen from the details. He truly believed that Anson was the best candidate, and he was not stingy with the corresponding remuneration.
Andrew was not prepared to push the envelope, but he still fulfilled his duties as an agent and tried his best to fight for the interests of his artists. He replied with a number:
Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
As a result... "Princess Diary" directly agreed, and it was very straightforward and refreshing.
In terms of pure numbers, Anson earned US$180,000 for his three guest appearances in "Friends". The salary of the leading actor in "The Princess Diaries" seems a bit pitiful, but considering that this is a mainstream commercial performance Opportunity, that's another matter.
Just look at the crew of "Friends" and you will know -
Originally, the renewal of the crew of "Friends" was undoubtedly the biggest suspense and focus of this summer, but the reality is slightly different. Same. Renewing the contract was not as exciting or stressful as expected.
David Crane planned everything and carefully planned it. The six leading actors worked together as one to advance and retreat together. They had already created momentum and gained control of people's hearts. NBC's negotiating space was very limited. After only three back-and-forth negotiations, NBC followed suit and nodded in agreement. Both parties Decide on a new agreement.
Everything is simpler than imagined.
Finally, NBC reached an agreement with the six leading actors of "Friends". They will renew their contract for the seventh and eighth seasons with a salary of US$750,000 per episode; of course, the producers, screenwriters, producers The team, shooting budget, etc. have also all increased, and everyone on the crew has benefited.
It was renewed for two seasons at once, and the next renewal negotiation was two years later, in the summer of 2002.
There is no doubt that this once again breaks the salary structure in the field of Hollywood TV dramas. Salary discussions of other top dramas have also been put on the table. "Friends" has undoubtedly become the focus of heated discussions in the summer.
Logically speaking, the six leading actors in the series should have opened champagne to celebrate.
However, this is not the case.
David Klein also did not expect that the biggest ambush in the salary negotiations would not come from NBC, but from within the crew:
Six actors.
They are hesitant to renew the contract.
Some people may think that this is a way for them to raise the price. David Klein also thought so at first, but after learning more about it, he realized the seriousness of the problem.
Starting from Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, the six actors are worried that their images may be completely tied to sitcoms. Even if they get higher pay, the actors' Their careers have no future, and once "Friends" ends, they will be without a job.
In Hollywood, there are actually not a few actors who have entered the film field from television and achieved brilliant success, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Will-Smith ), Bruce Willis, etc., the list can go on and on.
But in the end, it’s not as much as imagined.
Between television and movies—at least in 2000, when streaming platforms were still missing—there was an invisible thick film, perhaps among a hundred or even a thousand actors. Only then can a lucky person be born who breaks through the barriers.
Matthew Perry has already experienced it - "The Whole Nine Yards". This movie achieved good box office results in the first half of the year, but all eyes were on Bruce Willis, and Matthew has nothing to do with it.
Courteney Cox also feels deeply. She starred in "Scream" in 1996, but now, she cannot find a suitable movie job, and she also hopes to be able to take on the role. She also hopes to be the heroine of a romantic movie. She also hopes to have different opportunities to try out.
However, it is not easy.
Not only Jennifer Aniston has more ideas because of her marriage to Brad Pitt, the other five actors also still have movie dreams, eager to one day be on the big screen as the leading role and become movie actors , they rely on "Friends" for success but don't want to be tied here forever.
A little hesitation, a little hesitation, and then there will be variables in the negotiation.
David Crane spent a lot of time convincing all six actors. NBC also realized that this was not a smoke bomb. He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that "Friends" would end here, so he simply nodded. , the decision was made quickly, to avoid long nights and dreams, and this high-paying agreement was born.
Maybe the cast of "Friends" were envious of Anson's acting opportunities.
Fourth update.
(End of this chapter)