Guess Who? Blind Item

Guess Who?

The bigger the hit, the more stingy you get. That's the exact opposite of the norm but a maxim nonetheless practiced by some filmmakers. It's a practice followed by this filmmaker, who has been delivering successful movies, one after another. He has no qualms about paying hefty sums to the big actors but when it comes to lesser known actors, he starts pinching pennies. His reasoning: Since he's a reputed filmmaker, character actors derive valuable mileage by being cast in his movies. And that, he believes, is its own reward!

So, this filmmaker signed on this character actor, who also happens to be his friend in real life, for a very small sum. The actor didn't mind this as it was a big project for this filmmaker, who was starting his career then. The movie became a huge success and the filmmaker became much sought-after.

The filmmaker decided to make a sequel and this character actor was again signed on. The actor didn't discuss his remuneration because he assumed that the filmmaker had hit big time and was making a BIG film. This meant he would be paid adequately. Guess what? Even though the film became a money-spinner at the ticket counter, this character actor was paid less than half the price he usually gets when working in other movies!

The actor decided he would never work with this filmmaker again as he didn't want to lose a friend over money matters. Then the filmmaker offered him a fantastic role in one of his productions and the actor was in a fix. Last heard, the actor had agreed to be a part of this film despite being paid less than he should have. Sigh!