George Clooney and Brad Pitt took a pay cut to ensure their new film could hit cinemas

Virgin Radio

28 Jan 2022, 14:37

They are two of the world’s biggest movie stars, but George Clooney just admitted getting a theatrical release for his next movie with Brad Pitt involved a lot of persuasion. 

The Hollywood duo are teaming up with Apple for a currently untitled thriller-drama, and while very little is known about the project, George explained it took a bit of a ‘bidding war’ to get it green-lit for a big-screen release. In the end, both him and Pitt had to take a pay cut.

In a new interview with Deadline, George explained: “It was an exciting time because it got to be one of those weird bidding wars which happen every once in a while, and it ended up being pretty extreme. 

“Apple came in with a really big number for Brad and I, and we said we’d like to take less as long as we can guarantee that we can have a theatrical release, and they said great. So, I do think that there’s a way that we can all co-exist.”

George is currently filming with Julia Roberts for his upcoming movie Ticket To Paradise, and he cited that release as a good example of why some films are just better when they’re bigger. 

He continued: “I do think that there is a version of this that we can do. There’s a lot of movies that are fun to still see on a big screen. You know, the film I’m doing with Julia right now is a Universal film, and it’s a comedy, and comedies are fun to see in a room full of people.”

While we’re sure George and Brad were still paid a pretty penny for their starring roles, George is not exactly too hard up, having recently admitted to ‘turning down £26m for one day’s work.’

The A-lister has got enough money in the bank after a successful Hollywood career, selling his tequila company for £780m and, of course, being the king of coffee.

When asked if he ever thinks he has enough now, the superstar actor told The Guardian: “Well, yeah. I was offered $35m (£26m) for one day’s work for an airline commercial, but I talked to Amal [Clooney, his wife] about it and we decided it’s not worth it. 

It was [associated with] a country that, although it’s an ally, is questionable at times, and so I thought: ‘Well, if it takes a minute’s sleep away from me, it’s not worth it.’”

George’s latest movie - The Tender Bar - is out now on Amazon Prime, and George went behind-the-camera for this one. 

On directing the coming-of-age film, he continued: “In general, there just aren’t that many great parts – and, look, I don’t have to act. My wife and I had this conversation when I turned 60 this summer. I said: ‘I can still bounce around pretty good, and we both love what we do. But we gotta make sure we don’t book ourselves silly.’