The NYT today reveals that Leibovitz took out more than $15 million in loans from Art Capital Group—essentially a very high class pawn shop specializing in art.

Last fall, Annie Leibovitz, the photographer, borrowed $5 million from a company called Art Capital Group. In December, she borrowed $10.5 million more from the same firm. As collateral, among other items, she used town houses she owns in Greenwich Village, a country house, and something else: the rights to all of her photographs.

In addition to the lawsuit for more than $700k from unpaid vendors, Leibovitz reportedly used the cash to pay back taxes and finance "a lengthy, costly and litigious renovation on the three adjoining town houses." Why one would pawn their town houses in order to raise money to renovate them, I do not know.

Obviously, a $2 million per year income is no savior from hard times. And hey, Julian Schnabel also pawned some real estate with the same firm to help finance his goddamn monstrosity of a pink, constantly-discounted celebrity condo building, Palazzo Chupi. Pawn shops prey on the rich just as they do the poor. Fairness!

[NYT. By bullshit trend specialist Allen Salkin, but with actual value! Good story Allen. Pic via]

One of the problems is that Mr. Sanghoee wants to direct it himself. Also, it's a movie about Wall Street coming out during a recession. Also, it's a self-funded vanity project that will end in tears and massive debt. And films financed in this briefly fashionable style have all tended to do poorly. (Remember The Kingdom?)

A fund in Atlanta weighing a $7.5 million investment has cut back by $3 million. A $5 billion hedge fund group that was supposed to handle debt financing now has other priorities, namely liquidating 80 percent of its holdings.

Still, the world is full of suckers with money, and they're often willing to give it to fellow suckers with money. So this film will probably get made, in some fashion. And we'll all get to experience that increasingly common joy of watching bad things happen to bankers when it tanks. If we even notice it come out.

A Britney photo garners anywhere from $250 (for a run-of-the-mill shot of her at Starbucks) to $100,000 or more.

The photo agency X17, which has a team trailing her 24-7, estimates that Britney accounts for 30 percent of its revenue: It sold $2.5 million worth of Britney photos in 2007 alone, including $500,000 for its exclusive Bald Britney pics. Competitor Splash News says that Britney accounts for 10 to 15 percent of its business, boosted this year by $200,000 for photos of Britney in a hot tub. All told, Britney probably makes up a full 20 percent of the paparazzi business.

Of course, none of this should be news to economists, or even the dabbler: Readers of Alan Greenspan's best-seller The Age of Turbulence, for example, already know that the former Federal Reserve Chairman actually named his book for Spears's infamous head-shaving, umbrella-attacking antics, noting in the key chapter "The Britney Effect" that the very act of the pantiless pop star emerging from a limousine to expose her bald nether regions can, like a butterfly flapping its wings halfway across the world, lead to devastating financial consequences for global free markets.

[Photo: X17]

• The Britney Economy [Portfolio]

Carrey, star of hits like "Bruce Almighty," had been a big beneficiary of the 1990s' salary run-up during which he saw his paycheck hit the $25 million mark.

However, his recent big-budget movies like "Fun with Dick and Jane" barely topped $100 million in domestic ticket sales, leaving his star tarnished, the magazine said.

Will Ferrell's $20 million also made the list of risky bets given recent box office disappointments and Eddie Murphy's $20 million was considered downright "too pricey."

But Tom Hanks' $25 million was thought to be "worth every penny" because he remains "one of the most bankable brand names in the world." Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, at $5 million to $7 million a picture, and Rachel McAdams at $3 million to $4 million, were bargains.

It's easy to use 20-20 hindsight in noting the folly of dissolving your corporate health insurance program in order to cover your star's astronomical salary. But let's face it: With a three word pitch like "Carrey. Leoni. Remake," what sane executive wouldn't sign a blank check to cover Carrey's Third-World-hunger-eradicating-sized salary, which seems a tiny price to pay in exchange for the actor's priceless, improvisational takes on the set of Dick and Jane?

• Star salaries coming down in Hollywood? [Reuters]
• Face Value [EW.com]
• Who Will Rock the Summer Box Office? [LAT]

"It's a complicated question, and it is both the genius and the nefarious nature of these mini-majors," said Linda Lichter, a lawyer who sells films in the independent world. "The purpose of those mini-majors is to try to make movies that the major studios can't afford to make, for less money. But they don't make those movies unless they get big players who are willing to cut their price." [...]

"Good Night, and Good Luck," from Warner Independent, cost a mere $8 million to produce, with the actors earning the lowest permissible union fee, known as scale, an executive involved in the film said. Warner Brothers spent about $25 million to promote the film for the Oscars and in its general release, so while the movie took in $51 million around the world, there will be no profit to share in, the executive said. (Distributors share box office revenue with theater owners.)

So far, Good Night hasn't run into the same legal trouble as Brokeback, though Warner Independent's counsel has been put on high alert should an angry Tate Donovan suddenly realize that George Clooney's rousing "You're not just taking scale for this movie. You're taking scale for your country!" speech was just a cynical ploy to free up some budget for the movie's Oscar print campaign.

• Lawsuit Over 'Brokeback Mountain' Reveals Unease Over Pay for 'Arthouse' Films [NY Times]
• Previously: Randy Quaid Craves Backend For 'Brokeback' [Defamer]

"Let's say you had a salary cap of $5 million," he said. "Then you find yourself in the situation where a lot of people could potentially come up with $5 million to pay an A-list actor, then their [the actor's] decision is going to have to be based on 'which is the best of these scripts that I'm going to get paid $5 million to make?'"

Soderbergh said this levels the playing field, giving everyone the same access to talent and the same ability to make a good film.

We can only hope Hollywood's $20 million club sees Soderbergh's reasoning and sacrifices a large chunk of their salaries in exchange for improving the overall product. If they don't, there's a good chance that quality entertainment like Ocean's 13 through 28 will never see the light of day.

• Will 'Bubble' Mean the End of Movies as We Know Them?
• Previously: A Modest Proposal For Hollywood Revenue Sharing

"The budgets [of big movies] are just too high," said Disney production chief Nina Jacobson, who declined to comment on the "Pirates" deal. "You can find yourself, under a traditional first-dollar gross deal, writing huge checks while you are bleeding. It just doesn't seem fair. It feels great to be writing checks in success. But it kills you to be writing checks in failure." [...]

Peter Nelson, an entertainment industry lawyer whose clients include Peter Jackson of "King Kong" and Andrew Adamson, the filmmaker behind "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," worries that the new compensation formula is more an accounting ruse than a true partnership.

"The studios have made a fine art out of creating contract definitions that have no relation to reality," Nelson said. "These definitions just create new profit streams for the studios."

Both the first-dollar gross and cash-break-even solutions seem flawed to us, and the mistrust from both sides in money matters has been well-earned. We offer a more even-handed proposal: Every Monday morning, the execs, producers, and talent are gathered in the commissary of the distributing studio, where their hands are bound behind their backs as a pile of cash equal to that weekend's box office gross is dumped onto the floor. After a bell sounds, all participants dive into the money hoard, entitled to every dollar they can snag in their mouth and deposit in their own cash receptacle. (Or, in a less savory, but arguably just as effective tactic, swallow and then later excrete.) Kicking, biting, and other kinds of below-the-belt attacks are not only tolerated, but encouraged; after all, this is Hollywood, where those with the sharpest teeth, hottest-burning desire, and smallest regard for personal safety inevitably flourish.

• Hollywood Studios Rewriting Pay System for Their Talent [LAT]

Looking for short term bridge loan for development funds!
We are a new film production company raising 100K for the development of an unbelievable film project. We already have investors who have documented they want to finance the production on a 2.5 million dollar budget, but we need the development funds to fulfill the conditions that they are demanding to secure those funds. The amount provided will be returned with interest once the money is secure, and in addition the investor will recieve an associate producer credit, financial interest in the film, as well as get to be a part of the film process from beginning to end. If you are looking for a ticket into Hollywood, this is it. You will be able to attend the auditions, the premiere, and travel with the producers to promote the film. If the financing falls through, we are willing to have a promissory note clause so that the company will still be legally responsible for returning the money with interest. Please e-mail ASAP for details. If you do not actually have this kind of money, please do not waste our time or yours. Thank you.

You know that they're serious; these enterprising development execs are not only offering the coveted "associate producer" credit, they show admirable savvy by playing a little hardball to weed out poseurs, politely telling small-timers lacking the appropriate funds not to waste anyone's time. With anonymous Craigslisters in the game, no one's going to need filthy German tax shelter money to realize their dreams ever again.

• Looking for short term bridge loan for development funds! [Craigslist]
• Previously: Defamer Location Scout: Hot Lesbian Action In Your Home! [Defamer]