The highest-paid actors in Hollywood — Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Keanu Reeves, and others — could easily command millions of dollars in upfront salary. For Avengers: Endgame, Downey Jr. earned a $20 million upfront salary and a $75 million total income. The precedent for these humongous salaries was Elizabeth Taylor’s upfront salary of $1 million for Cleopatra.
Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame | Marvel Studios
The British-American actress worked in the industry for nearly seven decades. She was cast in Cleopatra after she completed her contract at MGM Studios. 20th Century Fox, who produced the film, recognized her incredible talent and offered her a massive guaranteed salary along with a percentage of the gross profits.
Elizabeth Taylor Became The First Movie Star To Be Paid $1 Million Salary Elizabeth Taylor in a still from Cleopatra | 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox set aside a sum of $2 million for the production of their project Cleopatra.
Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame | Marvel Studios
The British-American actress worked in the industry for nearly seven decades. She was cast in Cleopatra after she completed her contract at MGM Studios. 20th Century Fox, who produced the film, recognized her incredible talent and offered her a massive guaranteed salary along with a percentage of the gross profits.
Elizabeth Taylor Became The First Movie Star To Be Paid $1 Million Salary Elizabeth Taylor in a still from Cleopatra | 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox set aside a sum of $2 million for the production of their project Cleopatra.
- 5/20/2024
- by Hashim Asraff
- FandomWire
Melinda Dillon, who received supporting Oscar nominations for her turns in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Absence of Malice and portrayed the doting mom in the holiday perennial A Christmas Story, died Jan. 9, her family announced. She was 83.
Right out of the gate, Dillon earned a Tony nomination and Theatre World award in 1963 for her debut performance on Broadway as the childlike wife Honey in the original production of Edward Albee‘s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Later, the Arkansas native played two characters opposite David Carradine — Woody Guthrie’s first wife, Mary, and a dark-haired folk singer named Memphis Sue — in the biopic Bound for Glory (1976), directed by Hal Ashby; was a lesbian hockey wife in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977); and portrayed John Lithgow’s wife in the family film Harry and the Hendersons (1987).
Her big-screen résumé also included Norman Jewison’s F.I.S.T. (1978), as...
Right out of the gate, Dillon earned a Tony nomination and Theatre World award in 1963 for her debut performance on Broadway as the childlike wife Honey in the original production of Edward Albee‘s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Later, the Arkansas native played two characters opposite David Carradine — Woody Guthrie’s first wife, Mary, and a dark-haired folk singer named Memphis Sue — in the biopic Bound for Glory (1976), directed by Hal Ashby; was a lesbian hockey wife in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977); and portrayed John Lithgow’s wife in the family film Harry and the Hendersons (1987).
Her big-screen résumé also included Norman Jewison’s F.I.S.T. (1978), as...
- 2/3/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s not been a good few days for the Royal Family. In a week the monarchy machine hoped would be dominated by celebrations for the Duchess of Cornwall’s 75th birthday and all-round admiration for her good works, the headlines have been dominated by other events.
First, Thursday saw Deadline’s exclusive that the behind-the-scenes story of Prince Andrew’s disastrous November 2019 interview with the BBC is to be brought to screen, possibly but probably not starring Hugh Grant in the royal role.
Now, this weekend has seen confirmation of the publication next week of a “tell-all biography” of Meghan Markle, penned by well-known author Tom Bower – a veteran of the through-the-curtains personal profile biography – and with the tantalising title, ‘Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors.’
The book, described as “one she will be dreading” and written without the cooperation of the Duchess, will be published...
First, Thursday saw Deadline’s exclusive that the behind-the-scenes story of Prince Andrew’s disastrous November 2019 interview with the BBC is to be brought to screen, possibly but probably not starring Hugh Grant in the royal role.
Now, this weekend has seen confirmation of the publication next week of a “tell-all biography” of Meghan Markle, penned by well-known author Tom Bower – a veteran of the through-the-curtains personal profile biography – and with the tantalising title, ‘Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors.’
The book, described as “one she will be dreading” and written without the cooperation of the Duchess, will be published...
- 7/16/2022
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Director Mike Nichols, late husband of Diane Sawyer, was never too far from celebrities — including, according to a new book, once watching Marilyn Monroe in dishabille during a particularly memorable moment with President John F. Kennedy.
In Life isn't everything: Mike Nichols, as remembered by 150 of his closest friends, a new oral history of the filmmaker behind The Graduate, Carnal Knowledge, Working Girl and other hits, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd remembers when Nichols saw Monroe croon “happy birthday” to Kennedy … while she wasn’t wearing underwear.
“When Marilyn sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jack Kennedy in the famous dress...
In Life isn't everything: Mike Nichols, as remembered by 150 of his closest friends, a new oral history of the filmmaker behind The Graduate, Carnal Knowledge, Working Girl and other hits, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd remembers when Nichols saw Monroe croon “happy birthday” to Kennedy … while she wasn’t wearing underwear.
“When Marilyn sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jack Kennedy in the famous dress...
- 11/13/2019
- by Sam Gillette
- PEOPLE.com
Melanie Griffith remembers her famed Working Girl director Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Carnal Knowledge) in a new oral history, Life Isn’t Everything: Mike Nichols as remembered by 150 of his closest friends by Ash Carter and Sam Kashner. (Nichols died in 2014 at the age of 83.)
Recalling one of the more humbling moments of her life, the 62-year-old actress goes into detail about how much she upset Nichols when she appeared intoxicated on the set of the 1988 classic. Griffith said she was asked to pay $80,000 in compensation for production time lost.
“There were a lot of things that happened on Working Girl...
Recalling one of the more humbling moments of her life, the 62-year-old actress goes into detail about how much she upset Nichols when she appeared intoxicated on the set of the 1988 classic. Griffith said she was asked to pay $80,000 in compensation for production time lost.
“There were a lot of things that happened on Working Girl...
- 11/12/2019
- by Sam Gillette
- PEOPLE.com
Get ready, royal family fans! A new TV special that will take a riveting deep-dive into the extraordinary life of Meghan Markle is coming to the small screen and we can't wait to watch. Meghan Markle: American Princess — which is set to air on Friday, April 20 at 10 p.m. Est on CBS — will chronicle Meghan's life from grade school, to acting, to meeting her future husband Prince Harry and feature personal interviews from her friends and family including her sorority sisters, high school teachers, and fellow cast members from the TV series Suits. Hosted by CBS This Morning's Gayle King, the documentary special will also feature CBS News royal contributor Tina Brown. In addition, royal experts and media types will offer insight on the couple's future nuptials, and perhaps the most moving part, explain why their romance is so important for the progression of the British monarchy. (Photo Credit: Getty Images...
- 4/20/2018
- by Melissa Copelton
- Closer Weekly
The actors talk about playing Hollywood's most star-crossed lovers, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
"Well, there's no point in trying to look like her, is there?" Helena Bonham Carter says, as she twiddles her monstrous fake £1m diamond ring. "And if you do try, you're just going to be perpetually disappointed."
"On no," Dominic West says. "Pointless. The thing we had going for us is, we're playing them when they're not in their prime. And we're younger than they were at the time."
Bonham Carter and West are playing the ultimate celebrity couple, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, in a new BBC4 film. It wasn't simply their level of celebrity that made them special; it was the scale of their lives. Both actors dealt only in superlatives raised to the power of X. So Taylor became the world's biggest child star when she made National Velvet at 12, and went on...
"Well, there's no point in trying to look like her, is there?" Helena Bonham Carter says, as she twiddles her monstrous fake £1m diamond ring. "And if you do try, you're just going to be perpetually disappointed."
"On no," Dominic West says. "Pointless. The thing we had going for us is, we're playing them when they're not in their prime. And we're younger than they were at the time."
Bonham Carter and West are playing the ultimate celebrity couple, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, in a new BBC4 film. It wasn't simply their level of celebrity that made them special; it was the scale of their lives. Both actors dealt only in superlatives raised to the power of X. So Taylor became the world's biggest child star when she made National Velvet at 12, and went on...
- 7/13/2013
- by Simon Hattenstone
- The Guardian - Film News
With Cannes screening Cleopatra (marking its 50th anniversary) two nights ago and yesterday’s re-release screenings at 75 theaters countrywide, we’re feeling the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton love. The twice-divorced, Vatican-condemned couple continues to capture the public’s imagination and interest. In the past three years, we’ve seen Sam Kashner’s Furious Love and Richard Burton’s diaries become bestsellers, Liz & Dick being the most notable thing in Lifetime’s line-up, and John le Carré writing in The New Yorker just last month about working with Burton on The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and those are just a few things that spring to mind. Although their film collaborations have gotten a bit of a bum-rap over the years (somewhat deservedly), here are five Taylor-Burton films that we think are worth watching, out of the eleven that they made together. Feel free to share your own...
- 5/23/2013
- by Diana Drumm
- SoundOnSight
There are few movie stars of the classic era who continue to captivate -- perhaps for more salacious reasons -- than Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Their relationship was tabloid fodder at the time, and since then, people have continued to be fascinated by their on-screen pairings and their off-screen ups and downs, which included being married twice in less than two years. Last year, we saw what a cheapie version of this story looks like with the Lindsay Lohan and Grant Bowler-starring "Liz & Dick," and while we wait to see what Paramount does with the rights to Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger's book "Furious Love," across the pond the tale is being tackled. Dominic West (McNulty!) and Helena Bonham Carter will take the titular leads in "Burton & Taylor" for BBC Four, but it will focus on a rather interesting footnote in the Burton/Taylor saga. The 90-minute...
- 2/12/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Though they'd parted ways years before, 2010 was a really big year for Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. First, there was Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger's book, 'Furious Love'--a chronicle of Burton and Taylor's passionate love affair (with each other and the bottle), then the Vanity Fair cover story which seemed to breathe life into the Burton-Taylor saga.
Now, after Taylor's death, come the films. Last month, Paramount Pictures optioned 'Furious Love,' and reportedly, the film will be directed by Martin Scorsese.
Without a doubt, this would be a match made in cinematic heaven. But, this Sunday, The New York Times posed a question: How could anyone ever recreate the intrigue, passion and power of Dick and Liz?
Kim Kardashian gave it a whirl in the March issue of Harper's Bazaar and Angelina Jolie will star in a remake of 'Cleopatra' but who will...
Now, after Taylor's death, come the films. Last month, Paramount Pictures optioned 'Furious Love,' and reportedly, the film will be directed by Martin Scorsese.
Without a doubt, this would be a match made in cinematic heaven. But, this Sunday, The New York Times posed a question: How could anyone ever recreate the intrigue, passion and power of Dick and Liz?
Kim Kardashian gave it a whirl in the March issue of Harper's Bazaar and Angelina Jolie will star in a remake of 'Cleopatra' but who will...
- 7/12/2011
- by Jessie Heyman
- Huffington Post
Consider: Top Ten Actors, Actresses for Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton in Scorsese's Furious Love
Who could possibly play Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Furious Love? They are iconic roles and the field of thesps that could play them is limited by age, ability, celebrity and physicality. We've scoured the web for casting chatter. Many names have been thrown in the mix. Some we like, some we don't. We've added some of our own picks for who could pull off these roles. The first time Taylor and Burton met, recounts Vanity Fair's 2010 excerpt from Furious Love (written by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger), was in 1952 at a Bel Air pool party. Welsh-born Burton was 26 (and already had a reputation as a drinker, raconteur, and irresistible lover) and Taylor was just shy of ...
- 6/21/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
Martin Scorsese recently wrapped his period epic Hugo Cabret with Sacha Baron Cohen and he continued to look towards the past for his next project. According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures and producers Julie Yorn, Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff worked to put together a drama for Scorsese to direct based on the book Furious Love, about the stormy romance between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Scorsese would also join as a producer via his Sikelia banner. Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger wrote Furious Love with an emphasis on the love affair between Taylor and Burton instead of their Hollywood careers.
- 6/1/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Martin Scorsese recently wrapped his period epic Hugo Cabret with Sacha Baron Cohen and he continued to look towards the past for his next project. According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures and producers Julie Yorn, Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff worked to put together a drama for Scorsese to direct based on the book Furious Love, about the stormy romance between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Scorsese would also join as a producer via his Sikelia banner. Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger wrote Furious Love with an emphasis on the love affair between Taylor and Burton instead of their Hollywood careers.
- 6/1/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Martin Scorsese recently wrapped his period epic Hugo Cabret with Sacha Baron Cohen and he continued to look towards the past for his next project. According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures and producers Julie Yorn, Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff worked to put together a drama for Scorsese to direct based on the book Furious Love, about the stormy romance between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Scorsese would also join as a producer via his Sikelia banner. Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger wrote Furious Love with an emphasis on the love affair between Taylor and Burton instead of their Hollywood careers.
- 6/1/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Here’s one way to stir up interest in a long-out-of-print book: do a cover story on it. Vanity Fair’s October article by contributing editor Sam Kashner on the making of The Death of a President, William Manchester’s bestselling 1967 account of the Kennedy assassination, has produced a surge in sales of the book, which Jackie Kennedy—after originally commissioning it—fought to have killed before its publication because it contained uncomfortable details about her husband and family. The book, which was published by Harper & Row but went out of print just years after it was published (Manchester’s son claims the Kennedy family has prevented new printings), was the No. 1 best-seller on AbeBooks.com during the month of September, according to spokesman Richard Davies, and continues to sell well. The most expensive copy—at an asking price of $1,603.81—is one Manchester inscribed to historian and former Kennedy aide Arthur Schlesinger.
- 10/14/2009
- Vanity Fair
William Manchester in Hartford in 1962; the photo of J.F.K. behind him was taken by Arnold Newman. Right, Jacqueline Kennedy in 1964. From John Manchester; by George Silk/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images. Sam Kashner’s cover story for the October issue unearths the story behind the best-selling book about the events of November 23, 1963: The Death of a President. Vf Daily sat down to talk with Kashner about J.F.K.’s assassination, the Kennedy family, and the chilling echoes of anti-Kennedy radicalism in today’s town-hall debates. Vf Daily: Do you think that The Death of a President is among the best books about J.F.K.'s assassination? Sam Kashner: Somewhere in the piece it says that there are about 2,000 books on the assassination, in every imaginable language. So I can't say I've read them all—I haven't read all of Nabokov—but I think Manchester's is a masterpiece.
- 8/31/2009
- Vanity Fair
Within months of J.F.K.’s death, the president’s widow asked William Manchester to write the authorized account of the assassination. He felt he couldn’t refuse her. Two years later, nearly broken by the task, Manchester found himself fighting a bitter, headline-making battle with Jackie and Bobby Kennedy over the finished book. The author chronicles the toll Manchester’s 1967 best-seller, The Death of a President, exacted—physically, emotionally, and financially—before it all but disappeared.
- 8/31/2009
- Vanity Fair
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