Hollywood A-listers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are, unknown to many, also enormously successful movie producers. Hence it came as no surprise that they have formed a new production company. The interesting bit, the company, titled Artists’ Equity, will aim to move to a more profit participation model of remuneration for the artists of their projects, so they can stand to earn more if the project ends up a huge success.
This model is different from the usual remuneration scheme big studios usually offer as per reports, which is to give the artists a front pay and then reap all the profits. Only huge talents can demand profit participation, an example being ‘Gravity’ star Sandra Bullock who besides taking her fixed salary also negotiated a part of gross receipts from theatres and other revenues the 2013 film earned. With the movie grossing $700m in theatres, the deal ended up giving Bullock more than 4 times her usual pay. With the new production company, Affleck and Matt will be giving similar profit portions to not just the stars and directors, but to technicians as well. This would mean all would benefit if the film is a success.
Paying profit percent was the conventional way of remuneration to stars in Hollywood. Keanu Reeves from the Matrix Trilogy got a similar deal and at the end of the three movies, had gotten a combined remuneration of reportedly over $100M, which even 2 decades later is one of the biggest film deals ever made. It seems the frequent collaborators’ duo of ‘Argo’ is trying to bring the old ways back.
The downside to the move is that if the project is unsuccessful, the artists will end up earning very little, which is a gamble not many are fortunate enough to take. Affleck is reportedly looking to work exclusively with Artists’ Equity from now on, with Matt Damon also rumored to be committed to many ventures of the company.
The first project from the newly founded company will be a true story behind the creation of the Air Jordan shoe brand, which is slated for release in 2023 in partnership with Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports, and Mandalay Pictures. Two more projects will be released in 2023, with the company looking to have 5 releases a year going forward.
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