The White Lotus
The big news around HBO’s hit series The White Lotus is that all its regulars are paid the same, regardless of the size of their role or their star status. This means that veterans like Parker Posey and Jason Isaacs and Walton Goggins are paid the same as relative newcomers like Sam Nivola or Tayme Thapthimthong. Reportedly, that amount is $40,000 per episode over the eight episode season, or roughly $320,000 for the six-month shoot in Thailand.
“Everyone is treated the same on The White Lotus,” producer David Bernad told The Hollywood Reporter. “They get paid the same, and we do alphabetical billing, so you’re getting people who want to do the project for the right reasons, not to quote The Bachelor. It’s a system we developed in the first season because there was no money to make the show.”
Apparently Woody Harrelson originally auditioned for the role of Rick (Walton Goggins took the role in the end) and wanted to renegotiate the salary, taking his negotiations all the way to the top. He was refused, but initially took the role before turning it down due to scheduling conflicts. The salary is not negotiable, but “Our series regulars are pretty much doing this for scale,” according to casting director, Meredith Tucker. “Everyone auditions for The White Lotus,” star Carrie Coon said in the interview.
The reaction to this online has been incredibly positive. Equal pay is a big deal in many circles, especially when it comes to the gender gap, so it’s understandable that people would be excited to see all the series regulars paid the same amount regardless of their gender or star status.
I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the gender gap is a real issue. On the other hand, so is star status. Someone with a bigger draw, more time in the business, who brings more viewers to a movie or TV show absolutely deserves a paycheck that matches. There was much discussion during the Shameless years of the pay gap between stars Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy. I’m happy that Rossum was able to negotiate equal pay in the end, because after many seasons of that show she was clearly one of its main stars and a big draw in her own right (however frustrating I found her character).
I would also argue that Rossum wasn’t paid less just because she was a woman and Macy was a man. William H. Macy is a veteran actor and Frank is the reason many people kept coming back to Shameless. You would expect a pay disparity between someone with Macy’s status and a relative newcomer like Rossum. I would also hope that over time, that pay gap would decrease.
In any case, my question for everyone happy about the equal pay policy on The White Lotus is this: Who really benefits? The answer seems pretty obvious: HBO and Warner Bros. As a writer of online content, I’m almost triggered when I read a line like “Our series regulars are pretty much doing this for scale.” It reminds me so much of “writing for exposure.” How many young writers are convinced to trade their hard work and time for “exposure” in an online publication rather than tangible money? If you pay everyone nothing, it’s equal pay, but nobody benefits. Equality isn’t necessarily a good thing. It’s not like HBO chief Casey Bloys is earning the same amount as the series regulars on The White Lotus.
Removing negotiations from actors’ contracts might make it “so much easier” for the producers of the show, but is this actually an unfettered good? Clearly, they’re not making peanuts and I’m not suggesting anyone working on the show is getting worked over, but I also worry about this model because negotiating pay is important in this business. I don’t blame Harrelson for trying to work out a better deal. I don’t want Hollywood to adopt this model. Everyone earning equal pay without the ability to negotiate salaries sounds like a real gift to the studios and a raw deal for actors in the long run.
