Uma Thurman’s Contract Had Extensive Demands For 1 Failed Kids’ Movie
Uma Thurman is a living legend. Her performance in classic movies like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill will go down in cinema history.
However, like all actors, not all of Thurman’s projects turned out to be hits. In fact, some of them were never even started. Thurman was set to star in Eloise in Paris around 2010, but it never got off the ground. Apparently, Thurman’s demands may have been what killed the movie.
‘Eloise in Paris’ was to star Uma Thurman
The movie Eloise in Paris was meant to be an adaptation of the popular children’s book by the same name, according to Express. The book, written by Kay Thompson, was published in 1958, per Goodreads.
It is another installation of Thompson’s popular Eloise books with a twist. Little Eloise is best known for living in the Plaza Hotel in New York City. In Eloise in Paris, she’s obviously in the City of Light, Paris.
All of Thompson’s books had staying power. They’re still popular today, decades after they were published. Eloise in Paris was apparently so charming that it generated a feature-length movie script.
Unfortunately, the movie will probably never be made. Thurman was set to star in the movie, but the production studio behind the film backed out, and Eloise in Paris was scrapped and may never see a revival.
Uma Thurman had some interesting demands in her contract
When Thurman’s Eloise in Paris contract was leaked online, it became clear that there were a lot of potential clauses to breach. Her contract was detailed, complicated, and in some cases, very subjective. Thurman wanted a lot of extras that may have been difficult, if not impossible, to give her.
For example, she demanded the most “favorable dressing facilities,” according to Express. She also wanted to be able to buy any of her costumes or wigs at a steep discount. She reportedly demanded 50% off the cost of the item. Thurman also required three cell phones during shooting and wanted her hotel suite to have three bedrooms.
Thurman was to star in Eloise in Paris alongside Pierce Brosnan. But filming never began. Instead, the British-based production company Handmade Films canceled the film. Thurman was paid a cancellation fee of $1.5 million, but she eventually sued and settled for the money she expected to make on the project — $10 million, reports Reuters.
Uma Thurman isn’t the only celebrity to have a demanding contract
Even though Thurman’s is quite demanding, other celebs are known to have some wild things written into their contracts. Filming The Fast and Furious franchise must have been difficult since many of its stars have strict rules about how often their characters can be hurt. According to GQ, Vin Diesel doesn’t want to take more punches than his on-screen opponents in fights.
The Rock can’t lose on screen, and neither can Jason Statham. Their tricky contracts have led to scripts being rewritten to accommodate demands. Both action heroes need to maintain their image in order to keep the roles coming in.
The Rock, Diesel, and Statham are just following the footsteps of other action stars who came before them. Steve McQueen, one of the most prolific action heroes, demanded he has the same number of lines as his co-star for 1974’s The Towering Inferno.
