We can’t have anything nice without there being some kind of drama attached to it. Like Obsession.
It was a big deal. The Curry Barker-directed film is a highly profitable smash-hit. It pulled in $175 million at the worldwide box office.
Amazingly, it was made for around $750,000. Holy profit margins, Batman! So everyone will want a piece of the action.
Dark Horizons reports that Sally Choi, the art director on Obsession, made an Instagram post that has made things online kick off.
Choi said in the post that she made $300 per day as an art director on the film, this paid her $6,741.36 after taxes.
Choi also posted that many others were volunteers who were only paid in gas mileage.
The post thread goes on:
“I did know the rate beforehand and agreed to it, but I was living paycheck to paycheck. This is the reality of most filmmakers, especially those who work below the line.
We become a line in the budget sheet to keep as low as possible.
I kick myself every single day for not flipping this production. I was encouraged not to and I naively listened.
As is the case for most low-budget productions, everyone has to wear many, many hats. Though my official title is art director, I was also a PA, set dresser, graphic designer, background actor, driver, swing, and buyer. I was doing runs for the art dept (again, no mileage).
I was shopping, loading, and returning while the rest of the crew were on set.
If you were a crew member on Obsession and feel called to share your rate, maybe we can turn a tide in the film industry.”
The thread has taken off, but given the current cost of living crisis across the West, unsurprisingly a lot of the posts haven’t been that supportive.
A general theme developing is that people involved should be leveraging their part in the phenomenon to get themselves onto new productions a.s.a.p. rather than moaning about it online.
Is that fair? Or is there some sympathy for people who contributed to a $175 million success not being rewarded in line with that?
