With a fan-base far larger than most movies can dream of, the last installments of Twilight were sure to hit snags. But while Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are set to return, the big finale may be missing some names.
The three leads are on-board [with big raises] to star in part five, and director Bill Condon has also signed on. But Summit Entertainment now say some of the smaller players are trying to game them for money, and so far the studio has not given in.
Contracts for Peter Facinelli (Carlisle) and Billy Burke (Bella’s dad, Charlie) are signed, but Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene are refusing to sign unless they also get raises.
“We may have a situation where one of them is thrown out on the street to make a point,” an insider tells
Bear in mind that Rachelle Lefevre lost her job as ‘Victoria’ for playing this game, Now, with just two films behind them, Lutz and some of the minors are getting job offers and using those to blackmail the studio for money.
The core problem is Twilight’s success; The three leads all signed a three-picture deal, but after Twilight became a huge hit in 2009 they all renegotiated – and that drove up the bills.
Then Summit realized Stephanie Myer’s 900-page series finale, ‘Breaking Dawn’ should be made as two movies – making five films in total. But the cast only signed to do four.
The suits even considered making ‘Dawn’ as one film, but that wouldn’t work;
“This thing is gonna be two movies,” one insider says. “With or without the cast intact.”
Even Stephanie signed off on the plan to make ‘Dawn’ as two films. But Taylor Lautner is asking north of $7.5-million to get involved, and the minor actors are also trying to dig more gold to take part.
“Eclipse,” which opens June 30, cost around $65 million to make, and the two-part finale will cost a lot more. Summit is trying to ease the pain by shooting both simultaneously in Louisiana, rather than Portland [where part one was shot,] or Vancouver, where they shot most of part two.
And Louisiana’s movie-making tax credits alone could save them a bundle.
Insiders say firing an actor at this stage in the franchise could be risky, but the studio’s view is that as long as Edward, Bella and Jacob return the fans wouldn’t care – They’re guessing those lines at the theaters will still be there as long as the three stars are in place. Which they are.
But there’s a lot of money at stake if they’re even slightly mistaken.
In my view, what we have here is Summit’s first salvo in its tiresome campaign of hype for each film. “Dawn’ does not even bow until November next year and they’ve started already.
So, would you go see “Breaking Dawn’ if the minor roles were dropped or re-cast?…
The three leads are on-board [with big raises] to star in part five, and director Bill Condon has also signed on. But Summit Entertainment now say some of the smaller players are trying to game them for money, and so far the studio has not given in.Contracts for Peter Facinelli (Carlisle) and Billy Burke (Bella’s dad, Charlie) are signed, but Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene are refusing to sign unless they also get raises.
“We may have a situation where one of them is thrown out on the street to make a point,” an insider tells
Bear in mind that Rachelle Lefevre lost her job as ‘Victoria’ for playing this game, Now, with just two films behind them, Lutz and some of the minors are getting job offers and using those to blackmail the studio for money.
The core problem is Twilight’s success; The three leads all signed a three-picture deal, but after Twilight became a huge hit in 2009 they all renegotiated – and that drove up the bills.
Then Summit realized Stephanie Myer’s 900-page series finale, ‘Breaking Dawn’ should be made as two movies – making five films in total. But the cast only signed to do four.
The suits even considered making ‘Dawn’ as one film, but that wouldn’t work;
“This thing is gonna be two movies,” one insider says. “With or without the cast intact.”
Even Stephanie signed off on the plan to make ‘Dawn’ as two films. But Taylor Lautner is asking north of $7.5-million to get involved, and the minor actors are also trying to dig more gold to take part.
“Eclipse,” which opens June 30, cost around $65 million to make, and the two-part finale will cost a lot more. Summit is trying to ease the pain by shooting both simultaneously in Louisiana, rather than Portland [where part one was shot,] or Vancouver, where they shot most of part two.
And Louisiana’s movie-making tax credits alone could save them a bundle.
Insiders say firing an actor at this stage in the franchise could be risky, but the studio’s view is that as long as Edward, Bella and Jacob return the fans wouldn’t care – They’re guessing those lines at the theaters will still be there as long as the three stars are in place. Which they are.
But there’s a lot of money at stake if they’re even slightly mistaken.
In my view, what we have here is Summit’s first salvo in its tiresome campaign of hype for each film. “Dawn’ does not even bow until November next year and they’ve started already.
So, would you go see “Breaking Dawn’ if the minor roles were dropped or re-cast?…
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