Sylvester Stallone has been known to command high movie salaries since writing Rocky helped establish his A-list status. But Meryl Streep once scoffed at the high pay movie stars like Stallone often earned, which was a sentiment Stallone didn’t agree with.
The conversation surrounding unequal pay in the film industry has been a topic for decades. Many female actors have spoken out about not earning as much as their male counterparts – from Jennifer Lawrence to Meryl Streep. In a 1994 interview with Entertainment Weekly, a younger Streep even referenced an unnamed male star known for commanding huge paydays. But this was despite his films not earning much at the box office.
“Now I love [she goes off the record to name a major male movie star], but he doesn’t bring in the box office. But he will command a big salary,” Streep said.
Streep believed the star’s image created the illusion that he was a bigger box-office attraction than he actually was.
“That’s right, because he’s a guy, guy, guy,” she said. “People who are paying him feel, oh, I wish I were like that! So he seems valuable, but really, in terms of box office, if you put his name on that marquee, it’s not going to bring in the people who watch Beavis and Butt-head. Am I wrong?”
According to Chicago Tribune, Streep once called the large amounts of money her male contemporaries earned preposterous. Stallone, however, felt he and other actors were simply paid what Hollywood thought they were worth.
“No, they’re mot preposterous,” he said. “She’s a great actress, but movie companies add up her box-office scores and when she’s in the red, she’s not going to get the big bucks. This is the toughest business in the world – all dollars and cents, no dreams, smoke or mirrors. If they pay me $30 million, it’s because the movie has been pre-sold worldwide. There’s no gamble. It’s a done deal.”
Meryl Streep once shared what she thought it would take to eliminate pay inequality in Hollywood
Streep once confided that she still experienced inequality in the film industry from time to time. But she believed this pointed to a much larger issue that affected the entire country.
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“I experience it [sexism] and I become a tiny bit enraged,” she once told BBC. “It’s not just show business; it is in every single enterprise. Women are graduating from film schools, law schools and medical schools in equal numbers as men but they are shut out when they get to the leadership positions. We have to think why that is.”
But the Oscar-winner also confided that the situation between female and male actors were steadily improving. Especially since contemporary male stars were just as bothered by the wage gap.
“Men are ashamed that they’re getting that money,” Streep once told Time. “It used to be, everybody didn’t say anything about it, so it was kind of fine. Now they’re a little more nervous that somebody will find out what they make vis-a-vis their co-star. That’s the best vigilance: the vigilance of privilege. People will always be battling and whining about it. When the other side says, ‘You know, I think that sucks’—that’s great.”
Sylvester Stallone was almost paid $34 million for a ‘Rambo’ sequel
Stallone once revealed how much the film industry thought he was worth when he shared he was offered $34 million. He would’ve earned the his paycheck for another Rambo film, but at the time he wasn’t too keen on continuing the franchise.
“We were doing Rambo III. We thought it was going to be the biggest hit — this was before it came out. And I was paid a fortune for it. Then they go, ‘We want Rambo IV. Here it is: Pay or play, 34.’ I go, ‘Let’s not jump the gun here,” Stallone told The Hollywood Reporter not too long ago.
Adjusted for inflation, the publication noted that Stallone would’ve made $85 million for the role in today’s dollars. Which would’ve given his already high net worth a nice boost.
“For real. That’s not a joke. Oh boy, what an idiot. Now I think about that and … wow,” he said.
Ironically, he would find himself making a fourth film anyway in 2008 simply titled Rambo.
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