For Film Companies, A State of Flux
When Brad Pitt dropped out of the political thriller “State of Play” at the 11th hour on Wednesday, he did more than throw a wrench into the works of one of the highest-profile movie productions under way in a Hollywood already overheated by strike-related contingency planning. He might have helped tip the balance of power between actors and studios, at least temporarily, in the employers’ favor.
For weeks, lawyers and agents say, employers have had to pay a premium of as much as 10 to 15 percent over actors’ normal salaries to book them into the dozens of movies that are filming between now and June, when the Screen Actors Guild’s contract expires. But with talks set to resume on Monday between striking writers and the movie and television companies, the chance of a quick settlement has added a gust of uncertainty, which producers say could work to the advantage of studios that are trying to lock in their last few deals with actors.
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