France 'to cut' movie stars' astronomical salaries

The state-owned National Centre of Cinematography (CNC), which helps finance French productions, was set up to ensure homegrown films could compete with Hollywood blockbusters. But in recent years, it has come under pressure to crack down on French movie stars demanding unreasonably high salaries.

French media have singled out the likes of Gérard Depardieu, Vincent Cassel and Marion Cotillard for demanding up to €2 million a film for French productions that barely make an impact outside of the domestic market, while accepting a fraction of the pay for American films with global releases. In one case, Los Angeles-based actor and director Dany Boon picked up a whopping €6 million for his part in the comedy “Supercondriaque”, which did well in France but barely got a mention abroad.

According to business daily Les Echos, the CNC has responded by ruling that actors’ salaries should not exceed a certain percentage of a film’s production costs. The limit is set at 5% for films that cost between 7 and 10 million euros, 8% for budgets ranging between €4 and 7 million, and 15% for cheaper productions.

As a rule, the CNC says no actor should earn more than 990,000 euros for starring in a French film. Producers who don’t abide by the new rules will still be allowed to go ahead, but without state subsidies.

‘Bankable’ stars

Cinema is considered a strategic industry in France and many film productions depend on generous public funding – particularly the low-budget “auteur” works that would otherwise struggle to drum up the necessary funding.

But critics say this has led to a dysfunctional system that sees millions of euros of taxpayers’ money pumped into costly productions that offer little or no return on investment. According to a widely quoted op-ed published in 2012, only one out of the ten most expensive French films released that year actually made a profit.

The article in French daily Le Monde kicked off a heated debate in France, with many leaping to the defence of a system credited with maintaining a robust domestic film industry despite fierce competition from Hollywood.

Industry experts say the CNC’s move is unlikely to spell the end of fat-cat salaries for movie stars, which are mostly paid for by private TV channels eager for “bankable” actors. “[The salary cap] is legitimate,” said one producer quoted by Les Echos. “But it merely deprives big-spending films of CNC approval. The big productions will still go ahead, with the same salaries, because TV channels will want the same actors.”