Legendary director Steven Spielberg has a big rule movie stars must adhere to when working on his films – and it’s left some fans amazed.
The veteran Hollywood pro boasts an illustrious career, having been at the helm of wildly successful films including 1975’s Jaws, 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, as well as Schindler’s List and Jurassic Park, both released in 1993, and many more.
Many of his films have been critically acclaimed, as well as proving to be big hitters at the box office – but any major movie stars signing onto a Spielberg project must agree to one big rule: forgoing a base salary.
Working without the guarantee of a paycheque isn’t a risk many people can afford to take but for the titans of industry getting to work with Spielberg, it usually pays off.
Instead of a standard salary, the director offers payment based on a profit-sharing agreement. This method proved very lucrative for Hollywood heavyweights including Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks.
Speaking to the New Zealand Herald, the famed director discussed behind-the-scenes insight into the making of the 2002 action sci-fi film, Minority Report.
Tom Cruise played the lead role and, even with all his star power, agreed to take no salary upfront. At the time, Spielberg explained: “He took no money upfront at all, not a cent and no guarantee that he will get money if the film doesn’t perform.
“Tom Hanks took no cash for Saving Private Ryan but he made a lot of money on his profit participation.”
Elaborating on this unusual approach to working with A-Listers, the director added: “I haven’t worked with many movie stars – 80% of my films don’t have movie stars – and I’ve told them if they want to work with me, I want them to gamble along with me.
“I haven’t taken a salary in 18 years for a movie, so if my film makes no money I get no money. They should be prepared to do the same.”
Of course, this is only a rule for big stars – Spielberg famously pays lesser known actors, and especially children, fairly for their work.
Recently, the director’s movie star rule was discussed on Reddit, with some people keen to praise the iconic filmmaker’s tactics. One user penned: “TIL [today I learned] Steven Spielberg told movie stars that if they wanted to work with him, a prerequisite was that they gambled along with him by not taking any salary upfront and instead only taking backend compensation.”
In the comments section, people were keen to share their thoughts. One person said: “I think it’s almost fair except if Spielberg makes no money it’s kinda on him as he was the train conductor but if an actor jumps onboard, they’re not really in control of the project”.
Another shared: “Yeah this makes sense especially if we are talking about movie stars like the title says meaning they aren’t struggling. And they get a chance to work with Steven Spielberg. Seems like a win-win.”
A third commented: “Hindsight is 20/20 for a big name like Spielberg and all the blockbusters he’s put out, and luckily it worked out for him, but this sounds like a s*** deal lmao.”
To which, someone else added: “It specifies it’s for movie stars, not everyday actors who need a paycheck protection to get by. Stars are established and financially secure already.”