The reason Hugh Jackman took a considerable pay cut for ‘Logan’
There have been a few instances of high-profile actors taking a pay cut for the good of a film or its franchise. Just take Keanu Reeves, for instance, who donated a portion of his salary to the special effects team of The Matrix. It appears that Hugh Jackman also once followed suit.
The truth is that Jackman took a significant pay cut on Logan as he was desperate for it to be an R-rated movie. Perhaps this decision arose from Deadpool, which was released just before Logan and was a huge box-office hit, taking $760.3 million.
Whilst it’s considered common knowledge that fewer people will go to see an R-rated movie over its less graphic counterparts, Logan managed to buck this trend. Compared to the $414.8 million that The Wolverine took at the box office and the $373.1 million that X-Men Origins: Wolverine garners, Logan was more than worth the gamble, raking in a whopping $619 million.
Logan departed from what we know as the traditional superhero flick. It had severe violent Western vibes, and some said it was like a superhero film written by none other than Blood Meridian and No Country for Old Men author Cormac McCarthy.
The film depicted Logan, AKA Wolverine, at the end of his journey, which was made all the more touching by the fact that Jackman himself was hanging up his claws, having played the iconic superhero for so many years.
Director James Mangold once discussed the difficulties and pleasures of adapting Marvel Comic Book characters. He said: “It might as well be that the Wolverine is a true-life story. What people feel is true to canon, true to what ‘really happened’, or true to how they imagined it happening – is just as much of a minefield. I just set off trying to make the best movie I could with these elements. That’s the simple challenge I’m always facing. Whether it is about well-known characters or completely original ones.”
Mangold also noted the importance of just trying to make the very best version of a well-told story you can. He added: “Of course, I keep in mind how fans already see the character – you need to take them into account. But you also have to deal with the fact that for many in your audience, you may be introducing them to this character. More than anything, I feel a duty to bring a point “.
