Renee's huge pay day

[FilmBuff84]

According to IMDB

Bridget Jones' Diary beauty Renee Zellweger has scored the biggest deal of her career after agreeing to appear in the sequel. Producers of Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason were so desperate to sign the Hollywood superstar that they upped their bid to $22.5 million. Renee, who only took home a measly $3.75 million for the first installment, will put on 20lbs for the role, which sees the character end in up in a Thai jail accused of drug smuggling. Colin Firth and Hugh Grant have both reportedly agreed to reprise their roles as well

I'm glad they're making a sequel, and Zellweger's on the way up, plus Colin Firth and Hugh Grant back is a good deal. Is that thai jail stuff, really in the sequel book? Interesting premise, wonder how they'll make it really funny though.

[bob]

22 mil for Renee Zelwegger is ridiculous, but if they want to pay her that much, their funeral.

[Lynn7]

I htink if she has to gain 22 lbs for the role then she should make 22 mil. I think she's crazy to keep gaining weight like this. It's the movies- can't they pad her? I read both books and they are both good. The jail part is in the sequel but that is the part of book 2 that I didn't really like.

Glad Colin Firth is back- his character in the book is based on the character Firth portrayed in A&E's Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Darcy). The author liked him in that movie so much she wrote the character DArcy in Bridget Jones based onhim and his portrayal. Lots of funny stuff in book 2 about Bridget's obsession with Colin Firth, the actor- wonder if they will incoporate that? Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favorite movies but it is 6 hours long!

[this one dude]

she should get 22 million dollars to put on 20 fucking pounds?!?!?! are you nuts?!?!?!

[arto_j]

I wouldn't really count on this story...No one else but Imdb seems to be reporting it, and they're not really the most reliable source in the world. Plus, as far as I know they've not even started writing a script yet, and I doubt Renee would sign on to a sequal she hasn't been that eager to make without reading a script, no matter how big the payday is...I'm not buying this.

[herculeez]

I have to agree with some of the people here. $22m is a little over the top.
Let's take it into hand: -
It's a sequel to a movie that wasn't really all that huge...it's not like it had the success of The Matrix or anything, so to give her that sum of money is quite over the top.
Are they paying her alot because she is putting on weight? I mean it's not an easy or pleasant thing for ayone to do, but...$22m? Surely that's asking too much.
And lastly, they are giving her this sum of money to star in a sequel which seems like it doesn't really have a good plot. Granted, I haven't much about it, but ending up in jail accused of drug smuggling doesn't seem like a brilliant romantic-comedy movie to me. I just really don't like the sound of it and Hugh Grant, back in that bloody role is just hellishly annoying!

Plus, i absolutely hated the first movie, i actually fell asleep in the cinema. This is how bored i was, it's quite unbelivable. The only thing i liked was the fight scene between colin firth and hugh grant...i higgly doubt they will be having another one of them...so nothing good for the next movie as far as i'm concerned.

[Lynn7]

"she should get 22 million dollars to put on 20 fucking pounds?!?!?! are you nuts?!?!?!"

I guess I was just trying to make the point that it is crazy to gain 20 lbs for a movie- not so much she should be paid that much for doing it. I think the money these stars get for movies is crazy and probably unneccesary. Although I guess a lot of people will go to see movies if their favorite stars are in it= for instance Bridget Jones established Renee as Bridget so it would be weird to switch actresses now. They should have made her commit to both movies before filming the first, when she was still hungry to do it.

[Kastman]

Thats fucking over 1 million per pund she gains. fucking ridiculous.

[MarkItZero]

I've been gaining a lot of weight recently, and no one is offering to pay me.

I personally think she should keep the weight on after filming the movie. She never looked so good as she did as Bridget Jones.

[Grebdron]

She needs 20 pounds.

I need $20 million. And have a spare 20 pounds. She's welcome to it.

[bob]

You know, they might be giving her the 22 mil because they want her as an actress in the role, NOT because she's willing to put on 20 pounds.

I still think it's ridiculous, but I'm not sure this is the dollars-for-pounds equation you guys think it is.

[Bullet Tooth Tony]

Originally posted by this one dude
she should get 22 million dollars to put on 20 fucking pounds?!?!?! are you nuts?!?!?!

I should have got 22 million for putting on 20 pounds

[Nate6]

$22 million for Renée Zellweger?

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Lynn7]

But look at Willis, Stallone, Cruise, Ford etc. I think these guys are good but mostly I think they happen to have been in some great movies. Why do they get the big bucks when another good actor could be equally good in the role for much less. It's casue they are recognizable and sell movies- Renee is getting to this point too. JUlia Roberts, Demi Moore and Meg Ryan are others who have made some big money in roles others could have done- and to tell the truth I get sick of seeing the same actors in movies all the time. There are thousands of actors- give someone else a turn.

[Trinity]

Originally posted by herculeez
Let's take it into hand: -
It's a sequel to a movie that wasn't really all that huge...it's not like it had the success of The Matrix or anything, so to give her that sum of money is quite over the top.

Saying that Birdget Jones's Diary wasn't all that huge is overlooking the simple facts and here they are:
Budget - $35 million
US gross - $71.5 miilion
International gross - $208.6 million

It may not be The Matrix, but then most movies aren't, and those numbers look pretty huge to me. Certainly more than enough to warrant a sequel and to be ready to shell out the big bucks to get the person who is the main reason the first moive was so successful.
Now, I don't believe she's actually getting 22.5 million, I'm just saying that if she was it wouldn't be undeserved.

[Tuukka]

If several male "stars" get 20 million a film after making bomb after bomb, why not Renee?

Bridget Jones made 208 million on wordwide theatrical release and around 40 million in DVD and VHS on USA alone. It probably got at least 65-80 milllion outside USA on the homemarket.

So that's more than 300 million for a 35 million film. And there is no way they could do the sequel without Renee. Nobody else would be accepted by the audiences at this point.

And she just got an Oscar nomination for Chigaco, which is a massive hit. That raises her status a bit.

I do agree that 22 million is too much. I would see 12-15 million more fitting. But maybe she can afford to ask that much. Studio wants a sequel, and they can't do it without Renee.

IMDB is not known for being a trustworthy news source, thought.