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WR810 t1_ixxj028 wrote

Reply to comment by zombieinferno in TIL for the Untouchables Brian De Palma casted Bob Hoskins in case De Niro could not appear. De Palma mailed Hoskins a check for his contracted fee of $200,000 with a "Thank You" note, which prompted Hoskins to call up De Palma and ask him if there were any more films he didn't want him to be in. by KongoOtto

To be fair Hoskin wasn't paid for "not doing stuff".

He was paid for being a marketable, talented actor and for potentially having unwanted downtime. Less marketable and talented than De Niro but enough so that he was worth paying to have as a second choice.

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FastWalkingShortGuy t1_ixxm2x9 wrote

I wouldn't say less talented than DeNiro.

Less marketable for sure.

I know that's a high bar, but Hoskins could act.

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WR810 t1_ixynnmi wrote

I'd say something like that is hard to quantify. But what we can quantify is De Niro was wanted more than Hoskins.

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Azudekai t1_iy0r9q4 wrote

Which is covered by "less marketable"

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WR810 t1_iy0umrf wrote

Which is what I said in my first comment.

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No_Pen9448 t1_ixyhw72 wrote

It still seems like a stupid decision and I hope the money came out of De Palma’s OWN WALLET and not counted as production costs. You pay people to do a job, not pay them IN CASE something happens. That’s why Hollywood is so hated because they pull this kind of shit .

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inflatablefish t1_ixyjr95 wrote

>You pay people to do a job, not pay them IN CASE something happens.

I'm gonna guess you've never heard of insurance?

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No_Pen9448 t1_ixyl5p4 wrote

I’m gonna guess that you’re an idiot.

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KappuccinoBoi t1_ixymrpr wrote

Tell me you lost an argument on reddit without saying you lost an argument on reddit. Gg champ, better luck next time.

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alexkidd_in_world t1_ixymcj3 wrote

The role of Capone was pretty critical to the movie. De Palma couldn't risk having some idiot who didn't have any work come time to shoot so he took $200k of the production cost to ensure that no matter what, the shoot could go ahead. It's not that wild.

A delay in shooting would have cost considerably more money. Seems like a smart move to have a contingency plan.

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WR810 t1_ixyni33 wrote

You're going to lose your head when you find out play or pay contracts are pretty standard in Hollywood.

The whole main cast of Westworld just got paid for a fifth season that will never happen for instance. Billy Dee Williams famously had one for Harvey Dent / Two Face in the early '90s.

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overlord7517 t1_ixywgrh wrote

They kinda did pay him to not pursue other projects while De Niro was up in the air. No one hates Hollywood for this.

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critch t1_ixz0g2g wrote

He was paid to be 'on call' in case he was needed. That happens millions of times every day.

Nobody in the world besides you cares about someone getting paid for a pay-or-play contract. Hell, it's a part of the Animaniacs opening.

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Solidsnakeerection t1_ixz8btd wrote

Its basically a retainer. They werent sure if they could get De Niro and wanted a guranteed back up that was acceptable. And actor isnt going to turn down work with out compensation.

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