Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph
April 7, 1996
Q Can you tell me why stars like Richard Gere and Goldie Hawn. who haven’t had a big hit in years, still get huge .salaries.’S . F . Reno. New
A Hollywood is a town run by fear, and when executives put together a movie, they look for “insurance.” One method is to package films with stars who have high name recognition with audiences, like Gere and Hawn.
The film then has a better chance of succeeding –and if it bombs, the studio can blame the actors.
I .Mso. Gere, 46. and Hawa 5(). have shrewdly maintained their star status with frequent appearances in magazines and on TV. Both continue to get work from play-it-safe producers but no longer command top-tier salaries. Gere, who gets S7 million to S8 million a film, opened this week in “Primal Fear.” Hawn. who gets S4 million, will appear this fall in “The First Wives Club,” with Diane Keaton and Bette Midler, who also could use a hit.
