List of highest-paid screenwriters
No. |
Title |
Screenwriter |
Summary |
Est. Total |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
Deja Vu |
Terry Rossio & Bill Marsilii |
$2 million guarantee + $3 million production bonus |
$5 million |
|
2. |
The Long Kiss Goodnight |
Shane Black |
$4 million |
$4 million |
|
3. |
Panic Room |
David Koepp |
$2million guarantee + $1 million production bonus and $1 million for services as producer |
$4 million |
|
4. |
Talladega NiGHTS: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby |
Will Ferrell and Adam McKay |
$4million |
$4 million |
Ferrell also starred and McKay directed |
5. |
Basic Instinct |
Joe Eszterhas |
$3 million |
$3 million |
|
6. |
Medicine Man |
Tom Rickman |
$3 million |
$3 million |
Screenplay was rewritten by Tom Stoppard, who shared screenplay credit |
7. |
EuroTrip |
Alec Berg, David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer |
$3 million |
$3 million |
Adapted from their spec script '“The Ugly Americans” |
8. |
The Pink Panther |
Steve Martin |
$3 million |
$3 million |
In addition to $25 million to play the lead, Martin was paid $3 million to rewrite the script |
9. |
Mozart and the Whale |
Ron Bass |
$2million + $750, 000 production bonus |
$2.75 million |
|
10. |
A Knight's Tale |
Brian Helgeland |
$2.5 million |
$2.5 million |
Helgeland also directed |
11. |
Jade |
Joe Eszterhas |
$2.5 million |
$2.5 million |
|
12. |
Twister |
Anne-Marie Crichton and Michael Crichton |
$2.5 million |
$2.5 million |
|
13. |
Evan Almighty |
Bobby Florsheim & Josh Stolberg |
$2.5 million + 2% true profits |
$2.5 million |
Adapted from their script ”The Passion of the Ark” |
14. |
The Break-Up |
Vince Vaughn, Jeremy Garelick & Jay Lavender |
$2.25 million |
$2.25 million |
Vaughn was also paid $12.5 million to star |
15. |
You, Me and Dupree |
Mike LeSieur |
$2.25 million |
$2.25 million |
|
16. |
Radio Flyer |
David Mickey Evans |
$2 million |
$2 million |
Evans was the original director before being replaced by Richard Donner; Donner was paid $5 million |
17. |
Forever Young |
Jeffrey Abrams (a.k.a. J. J. Abrams) |
$2 million |
$2 million |
|
18. |
Showgirls |
Joe Eszterhas |
$2 million |
$2 million |
|
19. |
Courage Under Fire |
Patrick Sheane Duncan |
$2 million |
$2 million |
|
20. |
Switchback |
Jeb Stuart |
$2 million |
$2 million |
Stuart also directed |
21. |
Pearl Harbor |
Randall Wallace |
$2 million |
$2 million |
|