Bills, Bills, Bills

Here are typical costs associated with producing a major Hollywood studio movie. The figures come from interviews with studio executives, filmmakers, trade union officials and vendors conducted for this story.

THE STAR

“A-list” male star: $20 million

“A-list” female star: $15 million

Star “perk package”: $1 million to $2 million

Perk packages include:

--Star meals: $3,000-$5,000 a week

--Personal hairstylist: $4,500 a week

--Personal makeup artist: $4,000 a week

--Personal masseuse: $3,000 a week

--Personal bodyguard: $1,000 to $2,000 a week (extra for wife and kids)

--Personal chef: $22 an hour

--40-foot trailer (includes bedroom pop-out, rear living room, 32-inch color TV, VCR, AM/FM stereo, dual cassette player, CD player, refrigerator, microwave, generator, dual air conditioner and heating, satellite dish): $1,400 to $1,500 per week

--Gulfstream 4 jet: $40,000 round-trip from L.A. to New York; L.A. to London, $140,000 (includes flight crew)

OTHER A-LIST PRINCIPALS

Director: $5 million to $6 million

Screenwriter: $1 million to $1.5 million

Script doctor: $100,000 to $125,000 a week

Producer: $200,000 to $3 million (depending on status)

Composer: $1 million to $1.5 million

Director of photography: $25,000 a week

Production designer: $10,000 a week

Costume designer: $8,000 a week

Editor: $8,000 a week

BELOW THE LINE

Labor:

SAG minimum for daily performers: $576

SAG minimum for weekly performers: $2,000

SAG per diem for each principal performer:

Breakfast: $10.50

Lunch: $15.00

Dinner: $27.50

SAG travel expenses for principal performer: $70

Per diem for crew: $35 to $75 a day

Sound mixer: $3,300 a week

Key grip: $28.62 an hour

Best boy: $25.88 an hour

Dolly grip: $26.82 an hour

Grip: $24.72 an hour

Gaffer: $28.62 an hour

Rentals:

Sound stage (medium): $2,000 a day to prep; $3,500 to $4,000 a day to shoot

Camera equipment: $17,500 a week

Sound equipment: $1,800 a week

Cars:

Ferrari Daytona: $850 to $1,000 a day

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud: $650 to $850 a day

1957 D-type Jaguar: $1,500 a day

1962 Bentley (long wheel base): $750 a day

Ammo:

Firearm blanks (typical film uses 300,000 rounds): $65 per 100 rounds

50-caliber machine-gun blanks: $3 each

Breakaway furniture:

Balsa wood chair: $200 per chair

Chairs and tables: $2,500 to $10,000 per scene (usually two or three sets are built per scene)

Catering: $13 to $15 per person per day (catering staff additional)

Animals rentals (trainers and transportation costs not included):

Cockroach: $25 a day

Spiders: Up to $300 a day

Dog or cat: $200 to $300 a day

Parrot: $200 a day

Camel: $500 a day

Rattlesnake: $400 a day

Cobra: $600 a day

5- to 7-foot alligator: $500 to $1,000 a day

Kangaroo: $600 a day

Ostrich: $750 a day

Grizzly bear: $900 to $2,500 a day

Siberian tiger: $1,000 a day

Elephant: $1,500 to $2,000 a day

Mouse: $50 to $150 a day

Lion: $1,500 a day