Breaking Dawn - Runs Afoul of Greed, But Whose?

'Breaking Dawn' Runs Afoul of Greed, But Whose?

Twilight stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner will bring home multi-million dollar paychecks for “Breaking Dawn” the final Twilight film or films. But what about secondary stars like Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz? How much do they deserve?

Apparently they want a pay day, too. And they deserve one. But how much is too much?

Someone is getting greedy as filming gets ready to start on a franchise that is approaching Harry Potter territory in terms of box office gross. But are the actors greedy or is Summit Entertainment way too stingy.

You may recall, Summit was a struggling independent studio when it filmed “Twilight” for $37 million. It was a make or break deal. If the film had failed, Summit could likely have gone under as well.

But the film became an international phenomenon and the rest as they say is history. The successful franchise will likely gross more than $1 billion when all is said and done.

Yet despite the almost guaranteed success of the remaining films, Summit continues to make them on the cheap.

“New Moon” cost just under $50 million to make, while “Eclipse” has reportedly cost around $65 million.

In contrast, the cost of “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,” was $250 million.

What’s more “New Moon” made back its cost on opening day! “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” pulled in $72.7 million, and is the No. 1 film for opening day gross.

In addition, “New Moon” sold 4 million Blu-rays and DVDs, topped only by such films as “Avatar” (cost $400 million) and “Dark Knight” (cost $180 million).

Not surprisingly, Summit is running into big salary demands as it attempts to sign the principal actors for Breaking Dawn, which is likely to be made into two films, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the story.

Summit is even going so far as to threaten to recast some parts. “We may have a situation where one of them is thrown out on the street to make a point,” a source told the trade paper.

The studio is close to finalizing agreements with Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner, all of whom will get big raises to return for a fifth installment, the Reporter says.

Summit has had no problems playing hardball in the past. It dumped Rachelle Lefevre, who played Victoria over money and scheduling and gave the part to Bryce Dallas Howard.

But that was early in the game, and Greene, who plays Alice Cullen, has developed a fan base of her own, as has Lutz.

Both have reportedly rejected offers from Summit that are 10 times more than they made in the first movie, but pale in comparison to the out-sized profits that Summit is raking in from the franchise.

Meanwhile, Summit is reportedly trying to cut costs even more, but shooting the final two “Breaking Dawn” films in Louisiana.

So is the studio being cheap, or are the actors being greedy?

Credit => The Improper / Source => Kellan Lutz Online