When you think of Tom Cruise, you think of one of the last real A-list stars left in Hollywood. But the days of A-listers getting paid $25 million up-front are long over. In fact on his next film, Cruise won’t be getting paid a fraction of his old salary. Instead he’ll be making minimum wage.
In order to help get MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4 made, Cruise will be working for scale or the minimum payment allowed under the Screen Actors Guild. (Cruise’s representatives deny he’ll be working for scale and instead claim he’s just taking a “substantially” reduced salary.)
So why would an actor who was once the top paid actor in Hollywood work for peanuts? Well, for one, it’s to help get a movie like M:I4 made after KNIGHT & DAY proved a box-office disappointment. For another, he won’t be making peanuts at all. He’s traded in a lot of the up-front money in exchange for a backend deal. So if M:I4 turns out to be a financial success, Cruise could wind up making a pretty penny. (Jim Carrey took a similar deal on YES MAN and wound up bringing home approximately $30 million when all was said and done.)
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