Clooney and Pitt deny $35M salaries for "Wolfes" thriller

In "Wolfes," George Clooney and Brad Pitt play specialists in dirty work. Someone wants them to work on the same task—they need to cover up a mistake made by a powerful New York politician, which triggers a series of bizarre events. Many were surprised that even though viewers can currently only watch the film's trailer in theatres, there is already information about when it will be available for streaming. The film will be released in American theatres on a very limited basis on September 20 at 8:00 PM ET, and a week later, on September 27 at 3:00 AM ET, it will be available on the Apple TV+ platform.

"Wolfes" is unlikely to become a "box office hit." It only has a chance to shine in streaming. Therefore, many were even more surprised by reports that the stars were set to receive astronomical sums for their participation in the film.

In August of this year, "The New York Times" reported that Apple was to pay the actors $35 million each, while director Jon Watts was to receive $15 million. It is rare for stars to comment on such reports. Well, they are usually true, and it probably doesn't surprise anyone that in the entertainment industry, the biggest stars could earn that much, especially in the golden age of streaming, where hundreds of millions are spent on new productions.

Meanwhile, Clooney reacted unexpectedly to reports about the payouts during the film's premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Clooney was annoyed when this topic was brought up at a press conference. "It was an interesting article and whatever her source was for our salary, it is millions and millions and millions of dollars less than what was reported. And I am only saying that because I think it's bad for our industry if that's what people think is the standard bearer for salaries," Clooney said.

"It's terrible, and it could make filmmaking soon impossible," the actor added.

Clooney admitted that he and Pitt returned some of the money when it turned out that "Wolfes" would have limited theatrical distribution. They wanted to support the production so the film could still be shown in some American theatres. "We wanted the film to be seen in theatres, but there were various obstacles," Clooney said, noting that after the pandemic, not all productions can still enjoy success.

Notably, "Wolfes" is Pitt and Clooney's first collaboration since the 2008 film Burn After Reading.