Like the industry: producers take a stand against high actor fees; Mid-level stars fight for new movies

Earlier in the year, we exclusively wrote (Read here) on how talent management agencies play an active role in ruining the market for hindi film industry by pushing their actors to charge exorbitant fees in order to obtain higher commissions. Several projects were put on hold due to financial complications and there was hope for actors to rethink their fees for starring in feature films for the time being.

Players are tempted by OTT offers

As midsize films struggle to find their footing, as actors fail to stay true to the theatrical medium, producers have taken a strong stand against actors and talent management agencies. The latest vine from the industry says every production house has put their feature film projects with mid-tier stars on a slowdown mode until they decide to cut their acting fees. Talent management agencies have also been told the same as higher fees are not good for the ecosystem at present.

An angry producer on condition of anonymity says: An actor, even after all the flops, asks for 9 to 10 crores for a feature film. How can that make sense? He started as a character artist and worked hard to reach that position, but nowadays when the market forces have changed, it is better for him to consider the conditions of the producer as well. Hybrid models can also be adopted, but it seems that talent management agencies are playing a role in ensuring that actors’ fees don’t go down. There is another player who used to charge Rs 31 crore until his latest dud has now said, I have reduced the price according to market demands. And guess what its new price is? Rs 25 crore, which is more than the shelf life of its last theatrical release. Some of the actors who are really adjusting to the new normal are those who don’t really have a dedicated agency with money varying from movie to movie depending on potential.

Actors struggle to get cinema movies

A look at the mid-to-smaller star lineups, none of which has a concrete movie on paper. Everyone has had conversations, but things haven’t gotten to paper yet due to financial mishaps. Agencies make them work from OTT because OTT pays the requested money. The stars don’t realize that doing OTT is further eroding their theatrical market. But for quick and easy money for stars and agencies, OTT projects are greenlit, another producer shared.

To be sure, actors and agencies say we’re picky about theatrical choices, but the reality of the matter today is that they don’t get the money they ask for, which slows down the process of editing these medium-sized movies. But yet, there are relatively new producers who fall for the traps of getting the dates from celebrities. They make movies with mid-range actors signing them at higher rates. But a look at the production quality of these films indicates that they died when they arrived in theaters. Price hikes by players only hurts the ecosystem even more, as good projects don’t get done due to higher prices and players make bad choices for money or go the digital route, shared an industry source.

Film production at a standstill

There are a few movies that are on the floors with the cast but have been put on hold due to budget issues. These are films that are no longer financially viable. The producers plan to take a minimal loss at the production stage rather than complete the film and take it into post-production for release, the industry source informed, further adding that some of the films have completed production. pre-production, but do not go on the floors because the producers no longer want to take risks.

In these difficult times, it is essential that players sit down with producers and align their prices with market value. If that doesn’t happen, we’re in for an apocalypse with players losing their theatrical market due to poor choices and too much exposure on OTT. Hopefully someone is brave enough to take the risk of lowering fees for the greater good.

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