When the DCEU blockbuster, black adam, bombarded the masses on October 21, 2022, fans of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson noticed that the character rarely, if ever, loses fights in the film. Digging deeper, it looks like The Rock’s contract clause of Fast & Furiouss was unofficially retained for black adam, which basically states that the actor can’t lose an on-screen fight.
Of course, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson isn’t the only bankable movie star with weird contract terms. In fact, some of the most famous actors in history have been known to impose unbelievable conditions on a movie set.
The Rock can’t lose a fight
According to the wall street journalboth The Rock and his fast furious the co-stars, Vin Diesel and Jason Statham, have negotiated terms in their movie contracts that limit the number of beatings they can take and the severity of their on-screen injuries. As the three male movie stars battled for on-screen supremacy, none of them was ready to back down and look weak compared to the others. Weird indeed.
According to the report, it was Diesel’s idea before the seventh installment of the franchise to start counting the number of kicks, punches, headbutts and body blows his character received in the screen to ensure a fair fight between the characters. Subsequently, Statham passed the clause to limit how much his character is beaten on screen, with The Rock negotiating his contract to ensure his character “always gives as much as he receives” in terms of harmful bodily harm. .
Queen Latifah has an anti-death clause
After the tragic death of her character Cleo at the end of the 1996 crime thriller turn it off, Eventual Oscar nominee Queen Latifah never wanted to experience such a fate on screen again. Despite being one of Latifah’s best films, she negotiated a clause in her contract that would ensure that all of her movie characters would now survive until the end of each film.
In a 2017 interview with James Corden, Latifah joked that she was getting too good at dying on screen in movies like Disable it and Spheresaying, “I put a death clause in my contract after that movie. I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I’m starting to die way too well in these movies and if I die, I can’t be in the after.’ “
Uma Thurman demands better locker rooms than her teammates
During the filming of the 2010 film Eloise in Paris, Uma Thurman and her agents drafted a contract stating that she would receive financial discounts if she personally wished to purchase clothes or wigs to use on set. Even more diva, the wording of the contract stated that “no cast member can enjoy more favorable locker rooms” than Ms. Thurman (New York Daily New).
Additionally, the clause also provided that Thurman would be housed with at least one three-bedroom hotel suite and three cell phones to use for the duration of filming. Although the film was ultimately dropped due to payment disputes, Thurman’s list of demands on Eloise in Paris is quite strange, to say the least.
Samuel L. Jackson needs a golf break twice a week
With over 200 acting credits under his belt, Samuel L. Jackson deserves a luxurious break every once in a while. As such, the beloved actor has added a clause in his movie contracts that gives him the opportunity to play golf twice a week while filming a movie (vanity lounge).
The condition also includes production paying for Jackson’s golf outings and providing transportation to and from local golf courses. Jackson has been known to play up to 36 holes on days when he’s not scheduled to film, giving the actor plenty of time to work on his 3 iron. BuzzFeedJackson also refuses to do multiple takes of a shot if he feels he has already captured what is needed on camera, although this is not an official contractual clause.
Will Ferrell wants random things on wheels
According to a contractual clause obtained by The smoking guncomedian Will Ferrell demanded a slew of head-scratching items while doing basketball comedy Semi-pro, including a large rainbow on wheels.
While the film is silly, absurd and full of slapstick set-pieces, for some reason Ferrell felt the need to have an electric mobility scooter, a headset microphone (Janet Jackson style), a staircase on wheels (six foot tall), a faux tree on wheels (15 to 20 feet tall), and a rainbow (which can be painted on canvas) on wheels for personal entertainment. Even for Will Ferrell’s most likable characters and his brand of extreme comedy, those demands are as outlandish as they come.
Barbra Streisand needs rose petals in her toilet
Oscar-winning actress Barbra Streisand is no stranger to weird diva requests when she’s filming a movie or performing at a concert. According Daily Mail, Streisand demands rolls of peach-colored toilet paper at all times to match her skin tone. And according to private soldierStreisand’s acting clauses also include rose petals placed in her toilet bowl during filming.
While no specific reason is provided for her bizarre request for rose petals, Streisand’s status as the all-time major EGOT winner speaks for itself. However, Streisand also requires his security team to wear “dark, neat sweaters” and use metal detectors at all times, presumably on a film set and in a concert hall.
Aamir Khan demanded an end to the moving franchise
As Queen Latifah’s death clause proves, most actors tend to prefer appearing in franchise sequels. However, after starring as villainous gymnast Sahir Khan in the 2013 Bollywood film Hollywood rip-off Dhoom 3Bollywood actor Aamir Khan had an exclusivity clause written into his contract that required the blockbuster franchise to end once the film was completed.
According IBTtimesKhan” pushed Yash Raj Films (YRF) to add an exclusive clause in the contract which states that the production company will not make any more sequels after ‘Dhoom 3’. While a YRF representative claimed the report was false and that the franchise would continue, there was not a fourth Doom film made in the last decade. Whether the Khan Clause is the reason, there’s no denying what an odd request it is to end a movie franchise.
Julianna Marguiles demanded to wear a wig
According Varietyfamous TV actress Julianna Marguiles only agreed to play the role of Alicia Florick if she was allowed to wear a wig The good wife whenever she felt like it, which was written in her contract to meet the demand. The reason Marguiles gave was that she didn’t want Alicia to look like her character Carol Hathaway on the hit medical TV drama, Emergency room.
While it’s not that strange for an actor to want to change their appearance from project to project, legally mandating it in their contract is a bit extreme. According to Marguiles in an interview with David Letterman (above), one of the wigs cost $10,000.
Dolph Lundgren insisted on 3 takes for He-Man
When Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren rose to prominence in the 1980s, he was well aware that his heavy accent could hurt his box office stardom. Thus, when filming masters of the universeLundgren included a clause in his contract that allowed him precisely three attempts to properly deliver lines of dialogue as He-Man before another actor was hired to dub his lines (THR).
Despite the studio’s refusal to hire a voice actor, Dolph complied with his odd request and nailed his lines before outside help was recruited. Alas, masters of the universe flopped anyway, earning $17 million against a budget of $22 million (box office mojo). Yet the strange request came from a much better place than some of Lundgren’s contemporaries.
Tom Cruise’s unusable likeness and exclusive screenwriters
Most A-list movie stars welcome the opportunity to earn more income from video games and ancillary action figures. However, according to The IndependentTom Cruise has stipulated in his film contracts that his physical likeness cannot be reproduced for use in video games or toy lines.
Additionally, in 2017, Variety reported that Cruise also gained excessive creative control as part of his contract deal while working on The Mummywhich included choosing a June release date and selecting its own personally vetted screenwriters to ensure its dialogue was up to scratch and its screen time increased.
