Brooks' financial yardsticks (Spoilers)
Spoilers --
Great movie. It's been years since I have seen it on TV. Had to stream it off the internet for a chance to see it again.
$65,000 is the amount that Daniel Miller is determined to hold out for on his first job in advertising..... not clear what age he is supposed to be (26 - 27?) or what year this would be in context of the movie but if we take the approximate year of the movie 1990 /1991 and Brooks's age is 43/44 (assuming the movie is taking place in the current time and the character in the movie is Brooks' age or close) then we arrive at the time for the job interview being in the mid to late 70's ---so lets say its 1977. There are a hundred calculators on the internet for historical wages and income --so its hard (for me anyway) to do a reliable comparison --but the median household income in 1977 was around 12,000 bucks and thus he was asking for over 5 times the median income. You have to multiply the amount by 4 to match 2013 dollars -----so he wanted as his starting salary for his first job in advertising the equal amount in 2013 of over a quarter of a million dollars. Could this be correct? He ended up being low balled and got $49,000 which would something like $200,000 in 2013. Not very shabby. I wasn't around in those days but the amounts seem unrealistic for someone with no track record just entering the field.
$9,000 is given as the amount Daniel Miller has right after his divorce and some financial reversals and his lawyer (Rip Torn at his best) makes him out to be one step away from being on the street ---but still willing to plunk down $3,100 for a ticket to Hong Kong. Its hard to pin down the year this may have happened in the context of the film but I am guessing the mid-eighties. By the time Brooks' character gets hit by the bus he is prosperous again (he can write a $39,000 check for the BMW)---but in the mid-eighties (or thereabouts) he is down to his last $9,000. I know that part of the point here is that his lawyer is trying to exaggerate Brooks' bravery in the face of adversity ---but Brook's plays it semi-straight as if it was a modest show courage ----the thing of it is though is that it is hard to consider that in the mid-eighties (much less now almost 30 years later) ---that an unemployed professional young single man (no kids) with $9,000 or even $6,000 bucks in his pocket is in deep, grave financial straits. Maybe a few lifestyle adjustments until the next job rolls along. How much was $9.000 in 1986? Has to be like $20,000 or more in 2013 dollars.
None of this is criticism of Brooks ---just interesting to consider his perspective. I see he was born in Beverly Hills ---guessing his take on life and money may be influenced heavily by that.