George Clooney says that a report claiming that he and Brad Pitt were paid $35 million each for their new film was false.
The New York Times reported that both of them were paid the above amount for the film. However, Clooney clarified the report on September 1 at the Venice Film Festival.
Clooney told People magazine, “[It was] and interesting article, and whatever her source was for our salary, it is millions and millions and millions of dollars less than what was reported. And I am only saying that because I think it’s bad for our industry if that’s what people think is the standard-bearer for salaries. I think that’s terrible, it’ll make it impossible to make films.
The film in question is called Wolfs and apparently deals with the subject of toxic masculinity. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Clooney and Pitt have given a portion of their salaries back after a deal for the movie’s release fell through. The movie now has a limited release.
Clooney also spoke about the intricacies of making and selling movies in Hollywood.
“Yes, we wanted it to be released [in theatres]. We’ve had some bumps along the way, that happens. When I did [Clooney-directed biographical sports drama] ‘The Boys in the Boat’ we did it for MGM, and then it ended up being for Amazon, and we didn’t get a foreign release at all, which was a surprise. There are elements of this that we are figuring out.”
“You guys are all in this, too. We’re all in this industry, and we’re trying to find our way post-COVID and everything else, and so there’s some bumps along the way. It’s a bummer, of course, but on the other hand, a lot of people are going to see the film, and we are getting a release in a few hundred theatres, so we’re getting a release. But yeah, it would’ve been nice if we [were] to have a wide release.”
The film Wolfs will see Clooney and Pitt back together on screen after 16 years. Their last film together was Burn After Reading in 2008.
Wolfs is about two fixers whose job it is to hush up crimes and at some point they end up working on the same assignment. The film will hit the cinemas on Sept 20 and will be available on Apple TV+ a week later.
