The 9 Most Memorable Paycheck Roles in Modern Cinema
5. Ben Affleck, Paycheck (2003)
Throw Thurman and Aaron Eckhart in here as well, because, well, from the title on down, at least they were honest about it.
4. Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
A phoned-in performance in a cynically contrived and unwanted film, Ford's return to the Indiana Jones franchise achieved a watershed in how Paycheck Roles are paid. Ford's back-end deal wound up being worth more than $30 million in the end -- probably closer to $40 million after DVD is factored in. Only he and George Lucas will ever know, and thus he and Lucas are the only ones who have to live with it. (NB: Jack Nicholson earned his own staggering back-end windfall for 1989's Batman, of course, but the difference between his Joker and Ford's Indy is that Nicholson actually worked for his payday.) And you know what? For this kind of money, they'd do it again in a heartbeat. Be very afraid.
3. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 2012 (2009)
The vast majority of Roland Emmerich's $200 million budget went to disaster-film visual effects. Nevertheless, don't cry for its relatively low-profile (for a blockbuster, anyway) cast of John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Tom McCarthy -- and especially Ejiofor, who may have earned his biggest check to date as the film's scientific-humanist conscience. "Wait," you say, "2012 has a conscience?" Believe it! Not only that, but he's believable while uttering some of the most brain-dead dialogue this side of The Twilight Saga. If there's any justice, Ejiofor's range against all narrative odds give other excellent actors hope for future Paycheck Roles of their own.
2. Marlon Brando, Superman (1978)
The Grandaddy of all Paycheck Roles had Brando earning $3.7 million for two weeks' work. He literally never opened the script; his lines were placed in a conspicuous spot off-camera. For sheer Paycheck chutzpah, you can't really beat that.
1. Michael Caine, Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
But you can beat Brando's cynicism, as Caine proved repeatedly throughout a decade of Paycheck Roles in films from 1978's The Swarm through this big, wet franchise fart. Like Mirren, it too followed an Oscar triumph (for Hannah and Her Sisters), but not so like Mirren, it resulted in the infamous Caine quip: "I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific." Now that is some Paycheck pride. Hats off.
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I also like to add Michael Caine's tour de force work with Steven Segal in "On Deadly Ground"
Must add some love for Ed Norton in the remake of The Italian Job, though it's a legitimately entertaining movie. Paramount supposedly held an option on him for $1 million for a picture, going all the way back to Primal Fear, and he was none too happy that they exercised it.
Also, props to Morgan Freeman. With a straight face, he said he signed up for Batman Begins because he just wanted to get paid for once. You know, unlike all those other giant hits he starred in.
How about Angelina Jolie in almost anything?
That baby grew up to be a man who would get laid by using one of two lines>
1. - "You know, I have worked with Marlon Brando."
2. - "You know, I played Superman."
In an emergency, he sometimes has to use both...
Weird, Hannah and her Sisters is being delivered to my mailbox as we speak.
Johnny Depp should also be added for his participation in the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie...especially since half of the lead actors and the director dropped out of this one
This could be a technicality, but I nominate Halle Barry for "Swordfish", where she got an extra half mil for losing her top.
I think Sean Connery in "Prince of Thieves" warrants a mention here. In 1991, he was paid $250,000 to deliver four lines in two days of shooting and supposedly gave the money to charity.
Eh, Johnny Depp was actually nominated for an Oscar for POC. Not that he expected that outcome, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he took the role because he thought he could have fun with it and the movie wouldn't completely suck.
Not exactly in the same league, but David Cross took a lot of shit for taking part in the Chipmunks movie. His response was pretty much "I wanted to buy property, and if you think I sold out, fuck you."
Ralph Fiennes in Maid to Order. Inexplicable except for the paycheck.
At this point in my life, I'd take one of those pay checks too! Jack, Robin, Harrison, and all of them know what I'm talking about that any one of those paychecks is more than I've made so far in this life time! Suppose I wasn't thinking about how expensive things would get as people I cared about got older. Money does make a lot of difference in how you can help people or live your life. Nothing worse than struggling when a few pennies, dollars, or barrels could make all of the difference in the world... Never know when the roles are gonna stop coming their way so...Can't blame them for taking an awesome paycheck and trying to maintain the lifestyles they or many of US all expect them to have. At least some of them try to help others in their own way.
I'd like to make 250k for four lines... at least he donated the money - because he probably has enough for himself and all of his "hobbies".
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