I guess this news has the whiff of a spoiler, yet not too big a surprise for Stan Lee fans, now that word has surfaced that the former Marvel Comics president and Iron Man co-creator has filmed his part in the forthcoming Iron Man 2.
And we even know whom Lee gets to get all Stanislavski on for the new film.
We hear a lot about how much money such-and-such movie made in theaters. With blockbusters such as The Dark Knight, Iron Man, the Star Wars franchise, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it’s hard to imagine that all parties involved didn’t make a fortune. Sadly, for those who are unaware of studio practices, they are often swindled. Not by a little bit, but out of millions of dollars.
David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in the Star Wars Trilogy, has received little money in the form of royalties from Return of the Jedi. The reason? Apparently, the movie has not made a profit. It would definitely seem like the movie made a lot of money right? Nope, in fact it is at a loss! That’s pretty surprising for a movie that grossed $475 million worldwide. The movie made a gross profit, but a net loss. The net income is calculated by subtracting various expenses from the revenue of the movie. Simple enough. The only problem is that the studios add on so many bogus expenses, that movies appear to have lost money when really they have made money.
This is just one of the many cases highlighting what is known as “Hollywood accounting”.
Note to self: don’t ever agree to percentage of the net profits for a movie, you want GROSS profits. You will rarely ever make any money off net profits.
Here are a few movies that, surprisingly, have actually lost money by using this accounting system…
It was a no doubt memorable and terrifying night at Spike TV’s third annual Scream Awards at the Greek Theatre, which honors the best in the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres, as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Wes Craven and Tim Burton were honored and Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Night,” swept 12 awards throughout the evening, including the the trophy for most coveted category, “Ultimate Scream.” Scenes from much anticipated releases “Friday the 13th,” “Watchmen” and “Twilight” saw their world premieres at the event as well.
Sir Anthony Hopkins received the “Legend Award,” while Tim Burton, who descended down to the stage in a hot-air balloon took home the “Scream Immortal Award” for his unique interpretation of horror and fantasy. Horror legend Wes Craven swept the “Scream Mastermind Award” for his contribution to the world of horror. The late Heath Ledger was also honored as he took away “Best Fantasy Actor” and “Best Villain.”
