MovieChat Forums > Bruce Willis Discussion > Why Direct to DTV Movies ?

Why Direct to DTV Movies ?

posted 5 years ago by CoachGainz (453)
8 replies | jump to latest

Anybody have a good reason why he does Direct to Video movies?

He's a former A list and now he's kicking out 3-5 DTV movies per year.

Money? That's an easy answer for most DTV actors but most of them probably do need the money. But he's worth over 100 million and how much could those DTV movies pay? Not a whole lot of royalties or points to made with those. And if they are filmed on 5 million or less budgets how much could they possibly be paying him?

Enjoys acting but can't get leading roles in big movies anymore? I mean sure he may like to work but to take these super low profile projects with garbage scripts? Why not do smaller roles in quality movies or TV?

- Apparently he has some kind of contract with EFO films(which is production company for most of his DTV movies) that has contacts with several big names like the Arnold, The Rock, Cage, and Sly. So he may be obligated to finish a certain number of movies with them.

Just seems strange.

[–] exithereplease (3553) 5 years ago

Give him credit. At least he's still around...

You flamed out with Arnold, Cage and Sly.

It sounds like a troll post.

[–] johnlogan (230) 5 years ago

To anser your question.
1) those $3-15 mill EFO films are very successful but are a complete mess to make with 12-50 different producers.
2) target markets are S. America, Asia & Europe pluss streaming services.
3) EFO movie will are unsuccessful without a A-lister to brand the film.
4) BW is not under contract but are paid handsomely. He will work one or two days max on each film. He is paid $1++mill or more per day. All other actors are paid scale.
SAG Day Rate: $1,005 / Day
SAG Three-Day Rate: $2,545 / 3 Day Period
SAG Weekly Scale: $3,488 / Week
Other scenes play out using a BW body doubles and voice doubles.

In conclusion BW are paid over $6 mill per year for a total if 1 week of work on 3 x EFO films.
For A Good Day to Die Hard BW had to work for 4 months in pre production, shooting & post including diet & workout requirements and was paid $15 mill. Since BW hate to make films now he has become a sellout and is surfing on previous glory making my man Randall Emmett & George Furla a $hit load of money.

BW are doing DTV cuz its good money for little work.

[–] CoachGainz (453) 5 years ago

Good Points!

Any sources on the only having to work 1-2 days per movie. That sounds extreme. I know they body double a lot of actors(under 18 actors get doubled a lot due to work hour rules) but only 1 day for a feature length movie with 15+ scenes?

I guess seeing your points above it makes sense that he could make 5-10 Mil a year for spending movie for very little work.

[–] johnlogan (230) 5 years ago

If one is do disregard pre production and location scouting EFO films are shot in 9-30 days. This is the entire business model. Fast Food. Less than a year from production start to release for a maximum ROI.
Ask Steven how long BW was on set of Raiders :https://www.instagram.com/stevencmiller/
Have Steven confirm 14 days shooting schedule on Arsenal. Ask Brian the same thing: https://www.instagram.com/bamjuggler/

There is a big difference in costs for day one and day two. Stars like BW will only be on set for 1 x day.

[–] CoachGainz (453) 4 years ago

Wow! That would indeed explain why he's doing it. Getting 1 Million a day over 60 years old is a pretty good gig. That's some good walking around money. Thanks for the post!

[–] TMC-4 (20304) 4 years ago

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Bruce-Willis-in-so-many-crappy-movies-even-though-hes-supposed-to-be-an-A-list-actor/answer/Jon-Mixon-1

As to why he’s in so many crappy movies:

1. Willis is a mediocre actor - With rare exceptions like Nobody’s Fool, Billy Bathgate, and arguably Pulp Fiction, Willis’ roles have been him portraying himself. No one wants to hire a mediocre actor when so many others are available.

2. He needs the money - 30 years ago, Willis and several other name actors (I don’t want to type out their names) invested in the Planet Hollywood franchise. That alone should have made Willis so wealthy that he didn’t need to act. However it appears that he’s experienced some financial setbacks and he continues to act as a result.

3. Nobody wants to pay his salary - Willis still seems to believe that he’s worth the 20+ million USD that he used to command per film. Unfortunately for him, not too many people are lining up to pay him that sum, so he has to take what is offered to him.

4. He’s not particularly likeable - Many people don’t seem to care for Willis and they don’t hire him as a result. He basically has to take what is offered to him and that’s been mostly “the dregs” in the last few years.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8824) 4 years ago

I don't know but Bruce Willis's filmography over the last six years is hilarious. 15 of 20 movies are cheap direct-to-video bullshit. That dude has seriously stopped giving a fuck.

He's like an anti-Daniel Day-Lewis.

[–] TMC-4 (20304) 3 years ago

What Happened to Bruce Willis? - What factors led to Bruce Willis becoming a fixture of direct-to-video dreck?

https://collider.com/what-happened-to-bruce-willis-career-bad-movies/

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/otysa0/what_happened_to_bruce_willis_what_factors_led_to/