Disney had to pay Paramount seven figures to secure J.J. Abrams for Star Wars 9
Disney had to pay rival studio Paramount in order to secure J.J. Abrams as the new director of ‘Star Wars 9’, according to reports.
But it means that the director, who has been in a long term deal with Paramount – said to be one of the most lucrative in Hollywood – now owes the studio big time for letting him fly off to a galaxy far, far away for a second time.
The Hollywood Reporter places Abrams’ deal with Paramount at around $10 million a year, despite the fact that he’s not made a movie for them since ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ in 2013.
The deal has been in place since 2006, and it’s not the first time that Abrams has cheated on Paramount with another studio while being paid by them for his work and ideas.
Abrams was signed to Paramount when he decided to take the job making ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ in 2013, a move which was said to have both baffled and angered the studio’s then-boss, the late Brad Grey, not least perhaps because of the added insult of defecting from ‘Star Trek’ to ‘Star Wars’, two properties with decades of rivalry.
However, Abrams was allowed to take it on providing his deal was renegotiated, and that his next movie would be for Paramount.
So in taking the job on ‘Star Wars 9’, which came up unexpectedly after ‘Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow was fired, Abrams has once more snubbed his paymasters at Paramount.
As a result, THR reports that Disney has had to pay Paramount for the privilege of using Abrams, one source saying it’s a figure less than seven figures – which seems paltry given the circumstances – while sources at Paramount claim it’s over seven figures.
New Paramount chairman Jim Gianopulos, who took over in April this year, is now said to be somewhat over a barrel, risking alienating Abrams by not letting him go, and in falling out with him, allowing another studio to snap him up.
On letting Abrams go to work on ‘Star Wars’ for two years, one source told THR: “You might not put him in the pantheon [alongside Spielberg] but he’s a writer, producer and director. There aren’t too many of those guys.
“You can’t be an a**hole and say no. You do the right thing, and hopefully people repay that.”
‘Star Wars 9’, which will be written and directed by Abrams, is due for release in December, 2019.
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