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re: Cate Blanchett says no one got paid on Lord Of The Rings
Posted on 1/18/26 at 9:31 pm to HueyLongJr
Posted on 1/18/26 at 9:31 pm to HueyLongJr
quote:
Rudy lost money at the box office. He was a child actor in an ensemble in Goonies. I like the guy but the idea this guy deserves to be a highly paid actor is laughable. He was awesome as Sam.
The 1993 film Rudy earned approximately $22.8 million at the domestic box office against a $13 million budget, making it a modest success initially, but it became a beloved classic through home video and reruns, solidifying its status as an inspirational sports film
Rudy probably made them 100 million when all said and done
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Posted on 1/18/26 at 9:57 pm to Frac the world
quote:
What big blockbuster movies had Mckellan been in
He played Magneto. That was pretty big for the targeted demographic. And Christopher Lee was never a superstar, but again, the targeted demographic for LOTR were at least aware of him.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 8:21 am to shinerfan
X-men came out in 2000. Production for LOTR started in 1999
Posted on 1/19/26 at 10:25 am to TigerMyth36
quote:
She had a SMALL role so she was paid for a small role.
This is what I was thinking.
Here's the time she's on screen:
quote:
Screen Time Breakdown (Approximate):
The Fellowship of the Ring: Around 5 minutes (Theatrical), up to 7.5 minutes (Extended).
The Two Towers: A few minutes.
The Return of the King: Around 1-2 minutes, mostly at the end
It's an important role, but not one that spends a lot of time onscreen.
Even if you limit it to female characters, hers might be top 3? Definitely WAY less screen time than Arwen and Éowyn.
Éowyn has the most impact in regards of story interaction, and one could argue that Arwen saving Frodo from the Ringwraiths is one of the most critical moments in the entire trilogy.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 4:59 pm to HueyLongJr
He had done a few things, but the glaringly obvious mistake you made was omitting Rudy, a film in which he played the titular character and was in 95+% of the scenes.
That is quite an omission.
That is quite an omission.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:47 pm to WheyCheddar
Rudy is a great movie, but broke even at best at the box office. Astin had no pricing power.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 6:20 pm to HueyLongJr
Time to admit you screwed up on this one, chief. No one will think less of you.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 8:01 pm to WheyCheddar
I think the point of this whole rhetorical exercise is the fact that none of these actors were that well-known to American audiences beyond a few films here and there. John Rhys-Davies had been in Indiana Jones, Sean Astin was recognized as a child actor from The Goonies, Sean Bean had been in Goldeneye and Patriot Games, Liv Tyler had been in Armageddon, and Ian McKellan had recently starred in X-Men. All of them had played supporting characters in those films and none of them were what I would have called A-list in 2001.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 8:13 pm to GoCrazyAuburn
quote:
I think Sean Astin was around $250k. Wood got $250k for the first one but big bump the latter two. Liv Tyler got like $2M for the first one I think.
Given the low upfront fees (if accurate) and if this is all they were paid, all of these people should have fired their agents the second the first one was a success.
If one does a lower budget, risky film, it is common practice to negotiate points or back end IF the film takes off. If an actor, director, composer, cinematographer etc doesn't at least TRY to negotiate that on something like this, they are a fool. And if they don't try to circumvent what happened to Dave Prowse via "Hollywood Accounting", they fools.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 9:05 pm to molsusports
quote:
The footnote to the story is that Sean Connery supposedly turned down the Gandalf role and a notable percentage of the profits.
Russell Crowe turned down the role of Aragon because he said he could tell Jackson didn't really want him. Said he could tell he had his guy and the studio wanted Crowe.
Thought Jackson should be able to have the actor he wanted.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 9:06 pm to johnqpublic
quote:
Given the low upfront fees (if accurate) and if this is all they were paid, all of these people should have fired their agents the second the first one was a success.
They filmed all three movies at the same time. It's not like they did one and took 3-4 yrs to do the next.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 8:33 am to shinerfan
quote:
He played Magneto. That was pretty big for the targeted demographic.
This topic is in regards to them getting paid for LOTR. McKellen was cast as Gandalf while filming for X-Men was going on, that movie had not released yet so that would’ve been a non factor in salary negotiations for LOTR.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 3:25 pm to bluestem75
quote:
Bloom has talked about this frequently and always says that the movies set him up for his Pirates pay day.
I would bet that Karl Urban would say the same for his career.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 4:02 pm to HueyLongJr
Rudy lost money at the box office
You keep changing your story which is it
cost 13 to make and made 22 million. Plus probably 100 million after it left the movies
quote:
Rudy broke even at best at the box office
You keep changing your story which is it
cost 13 to make and made 22 million. Plus probably 100 million after it left the movies
Posted on 1/20/26 at 4:25 pm to GaryHobson
If Rudy cost 13 to make it would need about 30 million in box office to break even. Assuming 50 percent of ticket sales, Rudy didn't even make its production budget, much less marketing and advertising. Not sure where you got your 100 million, but let's say between home video, rentals, and streaming Rudy made 100mm in sales. Producers would see about 25 million of that, so adjusting for the approximately 8 mm loss at on theatrical release (including m&a), Rudy made 17 million over 33 years. That's an IRR of about 1 percent. BuT TeLl mE I kEeP cHaNgInG mY sTorY! Sean Astin cannot put asses in seats, especially at the time LOTR came out. He would have done that role for scale if they asked him to.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 6:08 pm to HueyLongJr
quote:
If Rudy cost 13 to make it would need about 30 million in box office to break even
not in those days. It definitely made money
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:55 pm to GaryHobson
Cool story bro. Rudy did not make any money on its theatrical release. To pretend otherwise is 50 proof buffoonery. Even if it broke even, it still was a shitty return over 30+ years it earned “100mm” in top line revenues it supposed made after the theatrical.It’s a great movie that lost money.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:58 pm to HueyLongJr
quote:
Astin's biggest claim to fame was his family name. Guy really hasn't done anything before or after LOTR.
Notable Movies he made before LOTR
Goonies
War of the Roses
Memphis Belle
Toy Soldiers
Encino Man
Rudy
Courage Under Fire
Bulworth
Notable movies he had made since LOTR
50 First Dates
Click
Lot of animated voice work.
Not saying he is or ever has been an A lister but he definitely was a known actor even before LOTR
Posted on 1/21/26 at 7:13 am to Kingshakabooboo
quote:
Not saying he is or ever has been an A lister but he definitely was a known actor even before LOTR
These days he is the president of the Screen Actor's Guild (the union) and he's going to war with AI content creators.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 10:31 am to Kingshakabooboo
The entire point of this thread was that Astin and others were underpaid in LOTR. My point is that Astin's never been a box office draw and he was likely overpaid for LOTR given his work before and after LOTR. Rudy is a great movie that, at best, had a bad return for producers over 30+ years. All the other movies he's in besides LOTR and Rudy, he's a bit player. In all th movies listed you could have easily swapped him out with anyone and the movie would be just the same. President of SAG? LOL gimme a break. It's literally where you go when you're semi well-known and can't work anymore. Among other SAG presidents; his mom, Melissa Gilbert, Ken fricking Howard. A literal constellation of Hollywood stardom!. (Well, his mom could get it in her day.)
This post was edited on 1/21/26 at 10:47 am
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