Although audiences might know Michael Shannon from the likes of Boardwalk Empire or Man of Steel, he's also got some serious credentials in indie filmmaking.
A quick skim through his iMDB page shows that when he's not destroying cities or beating the crap out of Irish people in the '20s, Shannon's starring in a wide range of lesser-known films with some equally well-known actors.
In fact, at a recent Q&A for one such film, Shannon went to town on something that's not all that discussed in acting circles - namely, the process of working for free. "I think as a group actors need to stop enabling this behavior. There’s no reason it should be that way. If somebody’s got a good script and you want to put good actors in it then everybody should be taken care of," said Shannon.
It's not something you'd think would be an issue, especially at that level - but apparently, it is. And Shannon's had enough. "We’re not asking for millions and millions of dollars. It’s gone too far in the other direction really. If it was just me I wouldn’t care. I probably would do it for free. But I have a family."
It's always been a thing in mainstream Hollywood, to one for them and one for you, but it always seemed like the smaller ones still did enough business to actually pay people. Clearly, that's no longer the case. Shannon's not alone on the topic, either.
Robert Downey, Jr. pretty much blasted all indie films last year when he was asked about them. "(They're) exhausting and sometimes they suck and then you just go, ‘What was I thinking?... Sometimes the little movies are the ones that wind up taking the most out of you because they’re like, ‘Hey, man, we’re just running a couple of days behind. Do you think you can stay through your birthday and then come back on the fourth of July?'"
Guess Downey, Jr. won't be getting an invite to the Independent Spirit Awards any time soon, so.
Via Variety
