It’s no secret that A-list celebrities get multimillion-dollar paychecks to star in high-profile films. Actors Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are among the few stars who can easily command over $10 million for every movie they make.
Even more impressive is that the duo’s star power was enough to earn them $13 million each to play themselves in a film that’s just 15 minutes long.
Star-Studded Affair
The project, which was financed by a Hong Kong-based resort and casino company, reportedly cost a total of $70 million. While that number seems to be on par with most big-budget Hollywood movies, it’s worth noting that it was used to fund a short movie and not a full-length feature.
Completing the star-studded team hired on the all-out production are acclaimed director Martin Scorsese and veteran actor Robert De Niro. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to watch the film at just any theater.
The film titled ‘The Audition’ was specifically commissioned to be screened at Studio City, a resort and casino in Macau, China.
Brokering the Deal
One of the people that made the lucrative deal happen is James Packer a businessman who has stakes in the company that owns Studio City. He is also reportedly business partners with both De Niro and Pitt, which might have made negotiations easier.
Although he didn’t confirm nor deny the reported $70 million that went into the film, Packer did reveal that there were a couple of people who came together to funded the project.
The Australian billionaire also said that $70 million wouldn’t seem like such a big number considering allocations and the fact that the film is ‘the best marketing campaign in the history of the world’.
What It’s About
It’s rumored that De Niro, Pitt, and DiCaprio all received $13 million each for less than two days of work.
In the film, we see De Niro and Dicaprio meet up with Scorsese at the City of Dreams, a luxury casino, and resort complex in Manila, Philippines. The actors star as themselves and compete for the same role in the director’s new project.
The three of them then travel to Studio City and, later on, Japan where the two actors make their final cases. In the end, De Niro and DiCaprio realize that it was Pitt who was chosen by the director.
The 15-minute film commercial was never got a wide commercial release. You can watch a low-quality copy of it on YouTube though.
