In the latest leaked Sony emails, it is revealed that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams were paid less than their male costars in 2013's "American Hustle," which was co-financed by Sony arm Columbia Pictures.
Although both actresses were nominated for Oscars for their roles in the film, director David O'Russell and actors Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, and Jeremy Renner all earned more on the movie's back-end compensation.
In a Sony email unearthed by The Daily Beast from December 2013, Andrew Gumpert, president of business affairs for Columbia Pictures, wrote to Sony cochair Amy Pascal and Doug Belgrad, president of SPE Motion Picture Group, about the back-end compensation — known as "points" — that each actor would receive after the movie's release:
Got a steve warren/gretchen rush call that it's unfair the male actors get 9% in the pool and jennifer is only at 7pts. You may recall Jennifer was at 5 (amy was and is at 7) and WE anted in 2 extra points for Jennifer to get her up to 7. If anyone needs to top jennifer up it’s megan [producer Megan Ellison]. BUT I think amy and Jennifer are tied so upping JL, ups AA.
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Gumpert added: "The current talent deals are: O'Russell: 9%; Cooper: 9%; Bale: 9%; Renner: 9%; Lawrence: 7%; Adams: 7%."
Pascal's email response to the news of Lawrence's making less than her male colleagues was "there is truth here." This despite the fact that "Hustle" was approved after "The Hunger Games," which starred Lawrence, became a hit, The Daily Beast points out.
"American Hustle" went on to earn over $251 million worldwide, but "The Hunger Games" is a billion-dollar franchise with Lawrence at the center. While it's unknown what Lawrence earned up front for "Hustle," the 24-year-old took home $10 million for the second "Hunger Games" installment, "Catching Fire." The Hollywood Reporter notes that the figure "is a combination of salary, bonuses, and escalators."
The recent leaks have also revealed the bigger issue of a major pay gap between male and female Sony staffers.
According to a spreadsheet listing top exec salaries, Hannah Minghella, who serves as co-president of production at Columbia Pictures, makes about $1 million less per year ($1.5 million) than her male counterpart with the same job, Columbia Pictures co-president of production Michael De Luca ($2.4 million).
According to the spreadsheet, which lists the salaries of 6,000 employees, 17 of the employees were making $1 million or more, but only one of those was a woman.
The spreadsheet also showed that the top salaried Sony executives were 88% white and 94% male.
The leaks are the latest in a series by a mysterious group calling itself the "Guardians of Peace." The group has been demanding Sony not release the coming comedy "The Interview," which has also been denounced by North Korea.
