Gerard Butler set to pocket at least $5m for new sci-fi film Geostorm

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/gerard-butler-set-pocket-least-5921897


Gerard Butler set to pocket at least $5m for new sci-fi film Geostorm

DETAILS of Butler's pay package were among thousands of internal discussions made public when Sony's servers were hacked last year.

SCREEN hunk Gerard Butler is set to pocket at least $5million for new sci-fi film Geostorm.

But the Paisley-born star’s deal could rocket even higher when lucrative profit-share bonuses kick in.

Details of Butler’s original pay package were outlined in leaked emails between producers Skydance and Sony Pictures.

The memos were among thousands of internal discussions made public when Sony’s servers were hacked last year.

Sony later passed on the project claiming the film “lacked originality” but Warner Brothers decided to go ahead with the movie.

Geostorm – which also stars Andy Garcia, Ed Harris and Jim Sturgess – is due in cinemas next year.

The plot sees Butler playing a satellite designer who has to work with his estranged astronaut brother, played by Sturgess, to save the Earth from a meteorological catastrophe.

But Sony’s senior creative director Adam North was less than impressed in a scathing memo to studio head Amy Pascal, who has since quit over the hacking scandal.

David Ellison, head of Skydance Productions, had previously emailed Pascal asking her to back the film.

He wrote: “I’m very hopeful that you respond to the material as I absolutely love this film creatively and think it could be a home run financially.

“It would also be a privilege to be in business with you and your entire team at Sony, and hopefully Geostorm could be the first of many
collaborations.”

Ellison, who co-wrote the hit films Independence Day and Godzilla, also outlined the estimated cost of making the film, including the revelation that Butler would take up to a fifth of profits if it was a success.

The Scot would be given a guaranteed $5million (£3.1million) but his profit share would increase the more money the film grossed at the box office. Ellison’s email read: “Gerard Butler (Jake) Deal: $5M. Back end is 15 per cent at Cash Break 10 escalating to 20 per cent at Cash Break 20.”

But North hated the pitch and told Pascal: “The script is a jeopardy machine without originality and the idea is so far-fetched that the script is sort of Dead On Arrival.

“The story lacks emotional drive, as the only relationship we should care about is the one between the brothers and they are separated for most of it (one in space and one on Earth).

“Nothing about the script feels special.”

The emails were published by website WikiLeaks and are the latest to emerge since the cyber attack provoked an international incident.

The Geostorm email was among more than 30,000 documents and 173,000 emails released by WikiLeaks.

North Korea was suspected of ordering the hack attack.

The hardline dictatorship is thought to have acted in retaliation for Sony backing the film The Interview, about a plot to overthrow the North Korean government and assassinate its leader, Kim Jong-un.