John Cusack has taken to Twitter with some compelling thoughts about the importance of the SAG-AFTRA strike and the business practices that have resulted in the studios (and studio CEOs) making ever more money while many actors can barely make a living wage. His comments on then-20th Century Fox’s 1989 Cameron Crowe film, which became a beloved classic on home video, are particularly interesting.
“The greed is almost a legendary comic trope,” Cusack tweeted. “One fun fact – when I was a youngin- I did a film (with a boom box ) and somehow I got points – net not gross. Never expected to see any money – but the film became quite famous – so about 10 years ago – I looked again at the financial statements they were obligated to report – and to my shock – they claimed they had LOST 44 million dollars on the film – I thought wow , I almost bankrupted Fox! ( not really ) The film cost about 13 million to make – and money spent to release was minimal at the time – 30 years in – that film lost millions every year ! A neat accounting trick don’t ya think ?”
“Say Anything” grossed $20.7 million at the time. But the issue Cusack is referring to aligns with why the actors last went on strike in the ’80s: residuals from home video grosses. “Say Anything” became a huge cult hit over the years, and that image of him with the boombox over his head was a meme even in the earliest days of social media. He seems to be implying that some “neat accounting trick” by Fox under its old regime (pre-Disney acquisition) allowed them to not pay residuals — that acting like the film was a flop was in the better business interest of the studio than if it had been a success.
If there was any doubt about Cusack’s implication here, a follow-up tweet puts that to rest:
The actor has not held back, elaborating on how Hollywood is subject to the same corporate greed as the rest of America and suggesting that the David Cronenberg film he starred in “Maps to the Stars” is the best film about Hollywood working conditions. “The entertainment industry is only as corrupt as the rest of corporate America – it’s the same issues the same predatory – let them eat cake attitude – just greed filled capitalist bullies and whores and pimps.”
As of this morning, SAG-AFTRA has officially taken to the streets of L.A. to picket major studios with the union’s leadership, starting at Netflix headquarters. Read more about what SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher had to say yesterday and what rules actors have to follow during the strike.
