This week we get another Adam Sandler movie, “Pixels.” Insiders say it’s not good (actually word from last week’s screening was worse, I’m being kind.) Sandler’s continuing decline at the box office has sent him to Netflix for a four picture deal. The first one, “The Ridiculous Six,” sounds like it’s a parody of Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.” We’ll see how that works out.
Sandler’s expenses at Sony, home of “Pixels” and his other projects, continue to climb however. In the emails from the Wikileaks Sony hack, there are some eye opening conversations about Sandler’s rising costs.
In one, titled “Sandler Jet Fund,” one exec says he’s “stressed out” about the money Sandler is spending on flying around on Sony jets:
Fwd: Sandler jet fund
This is stressing me out.
I don’t know how to solve so you don’t have to go to ML without creating some kind of new fund on Pixels or something.
Let’s put our heads together later today and figure it out with Sandy.
That email was in response to this one:
Adam had $168,500. he took a trip LA/NY/FL/LA over Thanksgiving that cost $69K, so he had $99,500 left.
now there’s a NY trip planned for Dec. 12 – 15 for about $55K.
then there’s another trip planned to HI for Dec. 23 – 31 for about $68K.
his $99,500 minus the HI trip for $68K leaves him $31,500.
if he & Amy [Pascal] share the cost of the NY trip ($27,500 each), then he’d have $4K left.
Sony execs also hoped the Netflix deal would mean having a partner to fund Sandler’s offices on their lot:
ML/AP: further to yesterday’s meeting, of the $2M annually we are incurring for happy madison’s oh, approximately $750K is for office space and office expenses. I’ve spoken with WME, and given Sarandos’ certainty re: the 4 pics being produced AS WELL AS the fact that pic #1 may very-well be the “Riddiculous Six” western project, the rights to which we still control, I just might be able to get Netflix to pick up $1M of the $2M oh (500k has already been offered, so I’m trying to get another 500k).
If I can get $1M/yr from Netflix, then we’re really just covering approx 250k in salary contribution since the other 750k is essentially a cost that would be incurred with or without Sandler occupying the Garland space he presently occupies.
I will keep you updated.
Here’s a clip from the short film upon which “Pixels” is based:
PIXELS / The short film from ONE MORE on Vimeo.