George Clooney’s ‘Gravity’ Contract Got Him a Custom Built Beach Hut Style Private Residence
George Clooney may be a step above A list. He’s certainly a star, with international name and face recognition. Additionally, his philanthropic activities have elevated him even above star status. To many, he’s a hero.
However, his passion is still acting, and he’s very good at it. Clooney has been around so long that he can basically ask for anything in his contracts. So, that’s exactly what he did when filming Gravity.
‘Gravity’ was a big movie for George Clooney and Sandra Bullock
Gravity was a hit by almost every metric. The movie earned hundreds of millions of dollars. The stars, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, took home large chunks of their own. Bullock made around $70 million for the movie, while Clooney netted $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Additionally, Clooney wrote a generous revenue share into his contract, adding more money to his payday from the film.
Those impressive salaries were justified. Bullock and Clooney were more than just the stars of Gravity. For the majority of the movie, both of their characters are alone, floating in space. Clooney and Bullock’s acting alone carried the movie, which was filmed in front of a green screen that was made to look like space in post-production.
Clooney’s Gravity contact didn’t just have a generous revenue share percentage. It also contained clauses about the actor’s on-set accommodations. They were very specific.
George Clooney’s ‘Gravity’ contract contained some odd provisions
According to Irish Central, George Clooney required a “custom-made beach hut” on the set of Gravity. It was basically a luxury home where Clooney could go during or after filming to relax on set. However, it wasn’t just Clooney who used the impressive complex, which contained a private basketball court. Bullock enjoyed the so-called hut, too, and even brought her son. Louis was a toddler at the time. Sources say that Clooney, Bullock, and the baby all got along great, and Clooney really enjoyed spending time with the little one.
A source told Irish Central, “Because he’s such a big star he can request pretty much whatever he wants and he usually gets it. Scene builders can build anything on a film set – and that goes for facilities for the actors too. It’s quite a sight.” Anything with a private basketball court sounds a little too luxurious to be officially considered a hut, but for whatever reason, that’s what Clooney’s accommodations were called. Furthermore, it probably wasn’t exactly beachy, considering the movie was filmed in London.
‘Gravity’ was filmed in London
According to Irish Central, Gravity was filmed in London’s Shepperton Studios. Although the capital of the U.K. is on the water, it is hardly considered a beach destination. Still, Clooney wanted a beach hut in London, and he got one.
George Clooney isn’t the only celeb with weird clauses added to his contract. According to Buzzfeed, some of them are sweet. Garry Marshall had it written in his contracts that his friend Hector Elizondo had to have a part in his films. Kind of like Clooney insisting on a beach hut for his friend and her son to play in.
Other celeb demands are just weird. Julianna Margulies insisted on wearing a wig for The Good Wife. Any character Queen Latifah plays must be alive at the end of the movie. Latifah has it written into her contracts that her characters cannot die. Uma Thurman didn’t want anyone to have a better dressing room than her, according to her Eloise in Paris contract. The movie was never actually made, ironically because of contract disputes with Thurman’s team.
