The Business: Signed & Sealed

DEAL OF THE WEEK: CASTING NEW LINE'S NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY
Assembling the cast of any studio film requires managing egos, money and scheduling. But how about making 23 deals with prominent actors for New Year’s Eve, director Garry Marshall’s follow-up to February’s hit ensemble romantic comedy Valentine’s Day? That’s the task for New Line, which is negotiating with countless agents, managers and attorneys to lock in a cast before a planned shoot in New York during the Christmas holidays. So far, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank and Ashton Kutcher have entered talks. Another half-dozen actors have received offers, though “the list of who we’re out to changes daily,” a dealmaker says. Scheduling might be the toughest hurdle. A benefit of doing an ensemble piece is that an actor can pop in for as little as a few days. But when one A-lister expresses interest, finding an available co-star of the opposite sex and equal stature often is difficult. “It’s very labor-intensive for studio lawyers and the producers,” an insider says. Stars are paid decent money, but nobody is getting his or her quote. On Valentine’s, for instance, Kutcher made a couple million dollars for his extended role, while Taylor Swift, for her feature debut, received $250,000-$500,000 for less than a week of work. Still, none of the actors has to carry the movie, so if it fails, fallout is minimal. And if it scores — the poorly reviewed Valentine’s grossed $213 million worldwide — the exposure helps raise everyone’s profile. And as with Valentine’s, Marshall, long one of the industry's most well-liked figures, is playing a hands-on role in lining up the cast, nudging his favorites to close their deals.