Stars Cashing In On Hollywood Spending Frenzy

Mon., Aug. 14, 1995

From Wire Reports

Hollywood has gone crazy in the past week signing stars to huge contracts:

Confounding expectations, Columbia Pictures has managed to close its deal for Harrison Ford to star in “Devil’s Own” for somewhere between $18 million and $20 million. While studio sources were unable to give an exact figure, they said Ford would receive close to $20 million but definitely not more than that.

Sources said one reason the up-front total for Ford was less than the amount such stars as Jim Carrey, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone have received is that Ford gets a tremendous share of the box office pie. In recent films, Ford has drawn as much as 15 percent or 17 percent of the gross - the amount the studio receives from all revenue streams including theatrical, video, network, cable and pay TV.

Ford’s costar, Brad Pitt, will get from $8 million to $10 million.

“Devil’s Own” is about a member of the Irish Republican Army who moves into the home of a New York City cop played by Ford.

Jim Carrey has committed to Imagine Entertainment’s “Liar, Liar” for $20 million, which is what he is receiving for Columbia Pictures’ “Cable Guy.”

Perhaps of even greater importance for the actor - whose rise to the top of the film comedy world has been meteoric - “Liar, Liar” presents Carrey with an opportunity to expand his horizons by playing a more serious role, albeit in a comedy. “Liar, Liar” concerns a lawyer and inveterate liar who desperately tries to grant his young son’s wish that he not lie for a 24-hour period.

In the richest multipicture pact for an actor, Universal Pictures has signed Sylvester Stallone to a three-picture deal worth $60 million. Stallone, preparing for his role in Universal’s “Daylight,” has agreed to star in three more Universal films for $20 million apiece, sources said.

In “Daylight,” Stallone plays an emergency medical services worker who must rescue victims after a tanker truck explodes in New York’s Holland Tunnel.

In a deal reportedly worth slightly less than $10 million, Alicia Silverstone - the 18-year-old actress whose appearance in “Clueless” has cemented her position as one of the hottest young faces in Hollywood - will star in two pictures and enter into a three-year, first-look producing arrangement with Columbia Pictures.

The first picture that Silverstone will star in under the deal will be “Excess Baggage,” a comedy about a woman who stages her own kidnapping.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.