Mail Online:
One of the child stars of Slumdog Millionaire has earned more from a three-day shoot for a commercial than from the whole of the Oscar-winning movie, it has been claimed.
Rubina Ali, nine, who plays actress Freida Pinto's character in the film as a little girl, shot the ad for soft drinks alongside Nicole Kidman in India.
The commercial was directed by legendary Hollywood helmer Ridley Scott.
Filed by Katherine Thomson
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Someome needs to know, how much this child was paid for her part in the movie/
What happened to the children's salaries? Were they put in trust funds, so they would have an income for life. The $ ratio to our, would give her a good life for a long time.
Did she have a contract? WIll she have other movie rolls? What about the money, she gets for the commercial with Kidman? This is an outrage, something has to be done about this kind of exploitation of children, on both sides of the aisle.
the image of her playing with the mud in the middle of the night- time rain is forever impressed in my mind.
There's nothing unusual about that. Commercials always pay the most money for the least amount of time worked. If the commercial was a buyout (will not pay residuals) it would be a big up-front payment, especially if it's got a budget big enough to support Nicole Kidman and Ridley Scott. Slumdog was not a studio film, it probably didn't pay anyone over scale, and the kids probably only shot for a couple of weeks. It's not a scandal, it's standard pay structure.
She's now a star - no wonder she's getting paid more.
That's what I said before. Hopefully she and the other kids will be getting more work with higher wages.
All that money SLM made and they stopped the 21 pounds/month (less than $50) for school fees?
Fox bought the film Slumdog, and made the millions on it's distribution. If anyone should show a little compassion and appreciation to the stars who made this movie popular ,,, Fox should.
But ... the FOX way is to use people and then toss them in the trash.
It was nice of Nicole Kidman to work with Rubina Ali and make sure the child got paid.
Daily Mail? Come on guys. The paper is a rag. Wait until this breaks somewhere more reliable.
I wonder if the Dad realizes how much of an arse he is coming off in all these interviews.
Well, it is a movie about India. And the reason all these U.S. companies are outsourcing to India is that labor is cheaper. They could have hired U.S. or British child actors for the parts and they would have had to pay a higher wage.
If it weren't for SLD, this kid would be a non-entity. Now she's a bonafide child star having her 15 minutes of fame. I believe that Danny Boyle also set up a trust fund to pay for the kid's education through college. That's more than her parents could have done. They would most probably have put her to work as a domestic sweeping the homes of middle class Mumbai-ites by the time she was 12.
She's a star because there was something incredibly compelling about her. Without her and the little boys, the movie wouldn't have been nearly as successful because it's their performance that pulls you in so deeply to the story.
She may not have been an actress when the film started shooting but she certainly was an accomplished actress by the end of it.
Is anyone really surprised she got more for the commercial than she did for the movie? She was a nobody when she was in the movie. Now, she's a movie star doing a commercial. Big difference.
No surprise here. Did they expect to be paid for a straight to dvd movie that was bought out by Fox/Newscorp? The fact she is still in the slums is all you need to know about whether she was paid anything or not. Trust funds won't do her any good if she dies of malnutrition, exploitation, becomes a child sex slave spirited away to a foreign country or just dies from some easily curable disease because the family on $30 USD a month can't afford to pay for healthcare?
Everyone involved in the movie Slumdog Millionaire should be ashamed of themselves. It's exploitation at it's most galling.
i'm glad that Rubina is getting more acting jobs, but the obviously likes the limelight. She was unknown actor when she worked with Boyle. Now she can command more money. Hopefully her folks are continuing to add money to her trust funds. Go Rubina!
Ridley Scott directing a commercial.
Wouldn't that be interesting!
He'd directed and / or produced HUNDREDS of commercials prior to directing his first feature film; his commercial background was his entree into the film business, and his agency - RSA - continues to be a worldwide powerhouse. :)
Like that well-known IBM add that got spoofed in the pre-primary; the original is a Ridley Scott ad.
Danny Boyle has stopped paying her school fees? Oh man, I really have no respect for the people behind this film. The children are what made this film, they should get rewarded.
Here, here in totally agreement with you on this one.
Danny Boyle's got some splaining to do.
I would hold off before passing judgement. This is the father that was demanding that all the money she made for the film NOT be put in trust and be given directly to him. I have a feeling he is just trying to extort more money out of the film company.
I have a hard time believing that they stopped paying for school or the money. I really just think the dad is trying to stir up trouble. He wants more money for himself not his daughter. And the last thing I heard was that they families have been moved out of the slums and into apartments.
Why would you just read a tabloid and automatically believe the story? The father did an interview stating that he was angry that money was set aside specifically for the children's education and well-being and couldn't be attained in one lump sum. Danny Boyle did a follow-up interview stating that they wanted to ensure that the children STAYED IN SCHOOL and that it was a necessary condition of the agreement, otherwise the children and their families could be in real danger from thieves and extortionists. Given the theme of the movie, it isn't hard to imagine what would happen to that little girl if people thought they could ransom her for more money. I think it's sad that the parents are unable to be thankful that their daughter is now someone who can gain an education and make more money as an actress than they could ever hope to provide for her...
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03/30/09 03:20 PM