Josh500 1,615 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Does anyone know how much money JW gets for scoring a STAR WARS movie or a Spielberg movie (CD sales not included)? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeshopk 8 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 The book "On the Track" (which also had a forward by Williams incidentally) had his salary at $1,000,000 per score. But that was 15 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 It's definately got 6 zeros in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Skywalker 1,792 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Definately he has enough money to make a living Im sure he now earns more, since money changes have evolved... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fommes 153 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Whoa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeshopk 8 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 He and his wife recently donated an even 1 million to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Pretty nice. Now, he should donate to JWFAN.net for keeping up his posterity! (to be evenly divided among registered users of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixie_twinkle 48 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 We'd only go out and spend it on more JW CDs anyway! It'd go right back into his bank account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 So? Sounds like a good investment for him then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 He should donate to Andreas.Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Andrade 1,262 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 The book "On the Track" (which also had a forward by Williams incidentally) had his salary at $1,000,000 per score. But that was 15 years ago.Do you have the book? And if yes, could you post the forword here... i always like to read what Williams has to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Woods 555 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 A little bit of trivia... Alan Silvestri made $1 million for his 15 minute score to Cast Away... which essentially is one theme repeated!-Erik- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Hmmm.... Money.... Nice....- Marc, 8O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoby12 0 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Elf made 3 mill on hulk. I imagine john brings home 1.5 -2 salary per film Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry B 50 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 How much money does JW make?"Well, more wealth than you can imagine!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 I don't know, I really CAN imagine quite a bit. 8O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1700 4 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Elf made 3 mill on hulk. I imagine john brings home 1.5 -2 salary per filmHang on a sec. Elfman making 3 mill on the Hulk and JW only a mere 1.5 - 2 mill per film? Elfman is not THAT great and JW is not THAT bad.The book "On the Track" (which also had a forward by Williams incidentally) had his salary at $1,000,000 per score. But that was 15 years ago.Do you have the book? And if yes, could you post the forword here... i always like to read what Williams has to say.Close guys but sorry. No banana. It is Foreword. I know it's petty but I hate bad spellers. And my problem is that I work with the worst of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPFAN_2 0 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 I would imagine his worth is easily in the nine figure range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Do you have the book? And if yes, could you post the forword here... i always like to read what Williams has to say.Close guys but sorry. No banana. It is Foreword. I know it's petty but I hate bad spellers. And my problem is that I work with the worst of themNot everyones native language is English.Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 That's right, some speak Klingon.Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted November 25, 2004 Author Share Posted November 25, 2004 Do you think salary is dependent on length of the score? Like (I dunno) maybe 10,000 $ per minute of score heard in the film? That would mean JW got the same salary for Saving Private Ryan as for TPM, which seems quite ludicrous. Just a thought.Oh, by the way, if Alan Silvestri makes 1 mil. on CAST AWAY and Elfman makes 3 mil. on HULK, I could easily imagine JW making 20 mil. on a HARRY POTTER installment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon R. 10 Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Elfman, $3 million on Hulk!?!? I seriously doubt that... where does that come from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted November 25, 2004 Author Share Posted November 25, 2004 Elf made 3 mill on hulk. I imagine john brings home 1.5 -2 salary per filmHere's the source (dunno if it's true, though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1700 4 Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Do you have the book? And if yes, could you post the forword here... i always like to read what Williams has to say.Close guys but sorry. No banana. It is Foreword. I know it's petty but I hate bad spellers. And my problem is that I work with the worst of themNot everyones native language is English.NeilPoint taken. Thanks for reminding me, Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythos 0 Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 I remember that I've read in some books about filmscoring that money for a score is usually 5% of the whole budget for a movie. That makes $5 million for a $ 100 million budget blockbuster. If this is true or not, one have to remember that a composer if he signed a "package" or "all-in" deal have to pay for the recording (musicians, facilities, technicians, orchestrators etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoby12 0 Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 His agent told me. He saved the day - and they asked for a rediculous amount and got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 I remember that I've read in some books about filmscoring that money for a score is usually 5% of the whole budget for a movie. That makes $5 million for a $ 100 million budget blockbuster. If this is true or not, one have to remember that a composer if he signed a "package" or "all-in" deal have to pay for the recording (musicians, facilities, technicians, orchestrators etc.).Well, if it's USUALLY 5% of the whole budget, I have an idea that John Williams gets more . . . perhaps even as much as 10%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Do you have the book? And if yes, could you post the forword here... i always like to read what Williams has to say.Close guys but sorry. No banana. It is Foreword. I know it's petty but I hate bad spellers. And my problem is that I work with the worst of themNot everyones native language is English.NeilPoint taken. Thanks for reminding me, Neil.I think Miguel Andrade deserves an apologie. What do you think?----------------Alex Cremers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Andrade 1,262 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Do you have the book? And if yes, could you post the forword here... i always like to read what Williams has to say.Close guys but sorry. No banana. It is Foreword. I know it's petty but I hate bad spellers. And my problem is that I work with the worst of themNot everyones native language is English.NeilPoint taken. Thanks for reminding me, Neil.I think Miguel Andrade deserves an apologie. What do you think?----------------Alex CremersNo need for that... I don't like either when I get a bad speller in Portuguese. Now, I do know how to write foreword, only missed a letter. No problem here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 I'm sorry, I will never again try to post in Portugese on your site . I always thought you appreciated that. Forgive me, that was wrong of me. I guess "trying" wasn't good enough :oops: . I should've known it would irritate people, even arouse feelings of hatred. What was I thinking! Again, sorry for everything.----------------Alex Cremers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Andrade 1,262 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 I'm sorry, I will never again try to post in Portugese on your site . I always thought you appreciated that. Forgive me, that was wrong of me. I guess "trying" wasn't good enough :oops: . I should've known it would irritate people, even arouse feelings of hatred. What was I thinking! Again, sorry for everything.----------------Alex CremersFeel free to post on my site whenever you want... I have a problem with bad spellers that are Portuguese and still write and talk in a poor manner, not with bad spellers that do not talk Portuguese. That's natural to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxbabe 28 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 5% would mean Patrick Doyle would be getting $16 or $17 mil for GOF. That's a whole LOT of money.Wonder how accurate the estimation is? I'm sure it varies highly depending on many various factors that play in. The producers, the name, the project size, the story, etc.Like...I could see a composer taking less to do an independent film with a small budget if it was a certain story/subject matter he was really keen to score.I would think movie composers' salaries would work like actors in that, the bigger the name, the more $$$ they cost.So, JW may be one of the highest paid movie composers...and rightly so. Question: How about when there is a rejected score????There must be a contract clause, that they have to still pay the composer X amount, for all the time spent to write the score. I'm very curious about how that works. And do they just pay the new composer what they paid the original one? That would make it awfully expensive to reject scores. That would also mean it would be just the bigger budget movies that would be able to do it.Or do they pay the new composer INSTEAD of the old one? What about the first guy's recording/music prep, etc costs? It makes me green to think of Gabriel Yared getting shafted for Troy like he did, I mean I really hope he got fairly compensated for all his work, because he sure got unfairly treated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoby12 0 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Most of the time a fired composer if completed (the score) will get full compensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 So how much does a middle of the road composer make? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Between a lot and a little.Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlock 11 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Or pro bono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoby12 0 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 750,000 - 500,000 for a B list composer most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Man, how do they pay the bills?Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlock 11 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Yeah- That's not America! That's not even Mexico! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoby12 0 Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Well that is salary. They have a music budget also - unless they work on a package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue_Leader 2 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 OH man he makes out just terrible didn't ya know? I think I tripped over his box the last time I walked through the NY Subway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kradia 1 Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Heard he has a house in LA and Boston. So....he must be doing well financially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Elfman, $3 million on Hulk!?!? I seriously doubt that... where does that come from?It's possible, remember that they rejected the score by another composer and had to find a replacement FAST.I'm sure that means offering some big bucks to find a A list composer willing to work in a highly stressfull situation for 2 weeks.I'm sure Goldsmith got a boatload of money for Air Force One, same for Horner when he did Troy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tharpdevenport 4 Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 James Horner made a lot of money on Titanic. And we all know Williams must make more, on average, more.(I forget how much.)And I also just the other day got a reply about it - you must be fired to get payed for a rejected score, you walk out and it doesn't quite work the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 James Horner made a lot of money on Titanic. And we all know Williams must make more, on average, more.(I forget how much.)Maybe, but if you unclude what Horner must have earned from the album sales of that score... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 But that was just ONE album. Imagine what JW earned with 5 (so far) Star Wars movies and the 3 Harry Potter installments. Horner had only ONE comparable hit, to wit Titanic. But then again (to give Horner some credit) he's a few years younger than JW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 That one album sold well over an amazing 25 MILLION copies!Not even Star wars sold nearly as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 But I imagine Horner got to split the money with Celine Dion . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 I doubt it, she was merely a hired performed, and only had one song on that CD.Though she must have made a Gazillion dollars also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 I agree that Horner got a lot for Titanic, but I have an idea too strong to deny that JW earned even more on TPM. For one thing, SONY paid a small fortune just for the RIGHTS to release the albums, and for another STAR WARS remains, after all, the most successful franchise in movie history . . . (Plus, there was no Celine Dion to split the royalties with.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 I agree that Horner got a lot for Titanic, but I have an idea too strong to deny that JW earned even more on TPM. For one thing, SONY paid a small fortune just for the RIGHTS to release the albums, and for another STAR WARS remains, after all, the most successful franchise in movie history . . . (Plus, there was no Celine Dion to split the royalties with.)TPM sold well for a soundtrack release, but no were close to Titanic figures.It's a good possibility that Williams was payed more in advance, but Horner made a lot from album royalties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now