Viacom CEO says actors and directors paid too much
USA Today
By David Lieberman
December 7, 2009
Arnold Schwarzenegger has nothing to fear from Philippe Dauman. But the diminutive Viacom CEO was talking like a Hollywood tough guy at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Monday when former Disney CEO Michael Eisner asked about the high salaries paid to A-list actors and directors of blockbuster movies.
“That has to change,” says Dauman, whose company owns Paramount Pictures. With the steep decline in DVD sales, “it’s no longer possible for a studio to make a big budget picture, and pay (actors and directors) a huge percentage of gross (revenues from ticket sales) before you recover your costs. They have to share the risk.”
The tough talk pretty much ended there.
Dauman defended his company’s agreement to provide newly released DVDs to Redbox, which has riled other studios by renting flicks at its kiosks for $1 a day. “We’re going to analyze the data and see where it takes us,” he says.
He said that Viacom’s copyright infringement suit against Google’s YouTube has resulted in “more respect for copyrights” online, although he bemoaned “how long the litigation process can get dragged out by defendants.”
Dauman also stood by Paramount’s decision to yank its movies from CBS’ Showtime and join MGM and Lionsgate in launching a premium cable channel Epix. Although cable and satellite companies yawned at the channel — it’s only carried by Verizon’s Fios systems — “we’re working on several other (carriage) deals, yet to be announced.”
Asked what they think about Comcast’s deal with NBC Universal, Eisner demurred: “I just don’t know,” he said. And Dauman? “I’ll endorse Michael’s answer.”
