"Beckinsale paid 'paltry' salary for 'Pearl Harbor'"

Wednesday, May 30, 2001

With all the talk of "Pearl Harbor's" sky-high $135 million budget, what about actress Kate Beckinsale's relatively paltry fee?

The British movie news site www.popcorn.co.uk reports that Beckinsale ("The Last Days Of Disco") was paid $200,000 for her female lead performance in the World War II epic.

Her co-star, Ben Affleck, has said publicly that he took a salary cut to star in the film. Director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer also forfeited their salary in return for a percentage of the film's box-office gross.

Stars who have made similar arrangements -- such as Jack Nicholson, for his appearance in "Batman" -- have ended up earning far more than they could ever hope to receive had they taken a straight salary.

Beckinsale, however, waived any chance to participate in "Pearl Harbor's" box office. Popcorn said she has said in recent interviews that she was ignorant of the film's scale and blockbuster potential, but signed on simply because the screenplay made her cry -- something her accountant is probably doing right now.

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