Tucker Up

May 11, 2006 4:23 PM

Chris Tucker has become the highest-paid actor in Hollywood for agreeing to star in the third installment in the Rush Hour film series. Apparently he's already prepping for the car chases. No word on whether not he got those editing rights he was asking for last year.
posted by ktoad (44 comments total)

I don't think Tucker has a lot of movie offers coming his way. But, on the other hand, New Line has made a ton of money on the Rush Hour movies and those movies seem to rely on Tucker's goofy shtick. Tucker has a negotiating advantage - he can hold out and bargain until he reaches New Line's dealbreaker price. Tucker can act unreasonable during negotiations because he doesn't have to worry about sullying his reputation. This may be his last chance to cash in. So, I think your "overpaid" tag is incorrect; Tucker was most likely paid exactly what he's worth to New Line.
posted by mullacc at 4:36 PM on May 11, 2006

How is it that he gets paid more than Jackie Chan?
Everyone knows Jackie Chan is Mel Gibson and Chris Tucker is Danny Glover.

Hopefully, Jackie's getting more on the backend or something.
posted by madajb at 4:37 PM on May 11, 2006

He is a good actor no question about that, but I wonder why works that are a lot more useful then yet-another-movie get so heavily underpaid.
posted by elpapacito at 4:45 PM on May 11, 2006

No way Tucker is the highest paid 'actor' – Tom Cruise made $100,000,000 on War of the Worlds' alone.

(Granted that was through a profit-sharing deal rather than an explicit 9-digit number on the bottom line, but still...)
posted by vhsiv at 4:48 PM on May 11, 2006

In the last 8 years, Chris Tucker has done two movies - two too many movies, actually.

Anyone remember Beverly Hills Cop 3?
posted by clearlynuts at 4:49 PM on May 11, 2006

I'm glad for Mr. Tucker's payday. But I did throw up a little in my mouth when I read Rush Hour 2 grossed $600m.

The fact he asked for final cut for a supporting actor roll is awesome.
posted by birdherder at 4:51 PM on May 11, 2006

Tucker's agent must be damn good.
posted by brain_drain at 4:53 PM on May 11, 2006

"I want me some Moo Shuuuu!"
posted by illiad at 4:59 PM on May 11, 2006

Is he getting a percentage of the gross?
posted by mr_roboto at 4:59 PM on May 11, 2006

"How is it that he gets paid more than Jackie Chan?"

The Man always keeps Asians down.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:15 PM on May 11, 2006

"He is a good actor no question about that"

Really? Has he ever played a role other than himself?
posted by 2sheets at 5:19 PM on May 11, 2006

I saw Tucker on a show about African American heritage a while back on PBS. It was a great show, and he was awesome just talking about his upbringing and his family. I really believe that he can do better than the schtick we usually associate him with. Good for him for making some money, but he could be a dramatic actor as well. Let's see what happens.
posted by snsranch at 5:20 PM on May 11, 2006

Yeah, the Rush Hour franchise is vastly inferior to Chan's other work with Shanghai Noon and Nights, and i feel this is largely due to his co-star. Tucker is funny, no question. But i've always felt he was a bit of a one trick pony. "Look, i'm a modern Eddie Murphy, only without the edgy-ness".

Owen Wilson is just cooler.

Still, i will see pretty much anything Jackie Chan does, so i guess i'm gonna see this too.
posted by quin at 5:26 PM on May 11, 2006

In the ending credits for Rush Hour II they show the outtakes, and one of them is Chris Tucker stopping a scene to answer his cell phone and continuing the conversation while all the crew and Jackie Chan watch on in complete annoyance.
posted by destro at 5:29 PM on May 11, 2006

He had a small but well played role in Jackie Brown.
posted by vronsky at 5:32 PM on May 11, 2006

Destro, that was the specific incident that popped into my head when I read that he was set to make $25mil for the movie. Rarely do we see someone make so much money with so little talent. My head's still spinning, trying to make sense of it. Can he really be that big of a box office draw?
posted by ktoad at 5:44 PM on May 11, 2006

The previous films in the "Rush Hour" franchise..have a combined box office gross of nearly $1 billion worldwide.

This figure leaves me stunned.
posted by Adam_S at 5:46 PM on May 11, 2006

This news report reads like something Matt Drudge would write. Sure Tucker (as an imitation Eddie Murphy) does his shtick well, but he’s not the top-paid actor in Hollywood. Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Mike Myers, Julia Roberts, Adam Sandler, and Bruce Willis — $25 million is the number they're all aiming at now, and sometimes exceeding. (And we all know that in Hollywood, nothing succeeds like excess.)

I too think it's insane that he's earning more than Jackie Chan, a true movie legend who after almost 100 films is still going strong. But not as insane as item #4 on that imdb news link, which says some people in India are planning to go on a hunger strike, "until death," because they're unhappy with the movie The Da Vinci Code.

on preview: agreed, quin, he's certainly no Owen Wilson.
posted by LeLiLo at 5:53 PM on May 11, 2006

I was a Jackie Chan fan so I couldn't wait to see Rush Hour. Because of Chris Tucker, I walked out of the movie, and haven't seen another Chan film.
posted by iconjack at 6:04 PM on May 11, 2006

He was in "The Fifth Element" as well, playing what I call "The Most Annoying Character in History." Anyway, I want his agent.
posted by fungible at 6:06 PM on May 11, 2006

iconjack, same here. there was one huge flaw with Rush Hour, and Tucker was it.

Owen Wilson is not much of an improvement.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:21 PM on May 11, 2006

The Man always keeps Asians down.

Damn the man!
posted by madajb at 6:24 PM on May 11, 2006

2sheets writes "'He is a good actor no question about that'

"Really? Has he ever played a role other than himself?"


When I say no question, I mean no question. What part of no question didn't you understand ? Also, why question that ?
posted by elpapacito at 6:26 PM on May 11, 2006

i'm not arguing against his talent so much. he's got good comic timing. it's just that if you hold up a movie production to answer your cell phone, that's probably costing thousands of dollars a minute.
posted by destro at 6:29 PM on May 11, 2006

I liked him in Dead Presidents. "I go where I go and I be where I be!"

Other than that, he's never really done much to grab my attention.

And... last I heard Keanu Reeves was kicking it with +$120M off the Matrix franchise alone. $40M salary, 10 % of the Gross off 1 and 15% of gross off 2 and 3.
posted by dobbs at 6:44 PM on May 11, 2006

The best thign that could happen toi film would be for Samuel L Jackson to put him in the trunk of a car and shoot him. Again.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:05 PM on May 11, 2006

Owen Wilson is not much of an improvement.

And you know this, man . . .
posted by Bixby23 at 9:00 PM on May 11, 2006

I don't know, folks. He was pretty good in Friday.
posted by dhammond at 9:08 PM on May 11, 2006

He was great in Friday, 5th Element, and (small roll) Jackie Brown. But damn is he awful when he does straight-on "Chris Tucker", which is to say all of the big hit movies he was in. Some people must like them though, I remember going to see Rush Hour II in the theatre, and people were dying with laughter all around me.
posted by cell divide at 9:14 PM on May 11, 2006

I liked Tucker's role in The Fifth Element. He was SUPPOSED to be an annoying, self absorbed idiot and he played it beautifully. That said, I've never had any desire to see the Rush Hour movies and I'm... more than a little put off that they've made so much money.
posted by Talanvor at 9:19 PM on May 11, 2006

Destro I don't know how many movie sets you've been on, but film gets wasted on set all the time. And the bigger the budget the more film usually that gets wasted. Seriously watch any outtakes reel from just about any movie, and you will see lots of people fucking around on film after a little fuck up.

(Also if I recall from that outtake, he was telling them he can't talk now he's on the set and was clearly embarassed that he had left his phone on.)
posted by MrBobaFett at 9:39 PM on May 11, 2006

Man, I must be getting old. I have absolutley no desire to see this film.
posted by b_thinky at 12:21 AM on May 12, 2006

IconJack, don't give up on Jackie. Shanghai Knights was fun, and Shanghai Noon was far and away the best of Mr. Chan's English-language movies. It's obvious that the screenwriters and the director are huge Jackie Chan fans, and understand how to create exactly the right environment for him.
posted by yankeefog at 2:14 AM on May 12, 2006

Man, all you hatahs are forgetting Chan's best english-language co-star. J-lo-hew!
posted by antifuse at 2:44 AM on May 12, 2006

There is a cosmic injustice if Tucker is being paid more than Chan, who is a brilliantly talented actor and clown. Oh, and I think he does martial arts as well (is it martial arts, or is it actually dance? I never knew, or actually cared, it's stunning to watch). Though on Rush Hour 2 he apparently had "gross points", which seems to be a percentage of gross earnings - Tucker might not have that.

Tucker was good in Fifth Element, which is a seriously underrated silly movie.
posted by jb at 3:40 AM on May 12, 2006

Ruuuuuuuuuby-ROD!!!! :) Unlike many people, I like "The Fifth Element" and his character in that movie. His other movies--not so much. In fact, I didn't care for the "Rush Hour" movies at all.
posted by cass at 6:29 AM on May 12, 2006

Another vote for Tucker in the Fifth Element. The character and movie were both a hell of a lot of fun. Ruby was so flippin' annoying it was beautiful, and it just made it all the better that stone-faced Corbin Dallas was the "contest winner".

Outside of that movie, I have no interest in Chris Tucker whatsoever. I really wish the grossly overpaid actors were that way because of the great movies they were in. Unlike Rush Hour. and Star Wars I/II/II. and War of the Worlds. and MI-I/II/III/etc..
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:10 AM on May 12, 2006

I think Tucker is an interesting guy who doesn't really care for the roles he's been typecast in. I love the idea that anyone could ruin a Jackie Chan film. Plug your damn ears if you're such a fan; the stunts will still be there.
posted by yerfatma at 8:43 AM on May 12, 2006

Oh ferchrissakes people. You complain about Tucker for making $25 million while Tom "I can't act worth beans" Cruise pulls in hundreds of millions on a regular basis? With the exception of The Last Samurai I can't think of a single Cruise flick in the last decade that didn't make me want to yawn.

Tucker at least makes me laugh. Cruise does too, but I don't think that's what he's after.
posted by illiad at 8:45 AM on May 12, 2006

I'm pretty sure Jackie owns the asian distrobution rights to this film.. Suffice to say he aint hurtin'
posted by Rubbstone at 10:09 AM on May 12, 2006

Chris Tucker seems to me the kind of comic actor who traffics in black stereotypes.

When he makes goo-goo eyes, I think of Mantan Moreland.
posted by barjo at 10:13 AM on May 12, 2006

As vhsiv pointed out above, Cruise makes more just from profit-sharing, but you don't even need to go there. 'Highest-paid' is a misleading term. If you make $25k a year, and your neighbor makes $250k a year, and then you win a million dollars in the lottery, does that make you the highest-paid person in your neighborhood? (No, stupid, it doesn't.) IMDB news is often wrong.
posted by bingo at 10:53 AM on May 12, 2006

Everyone knows Jackie Chan is Mel Gibson and Chris Tucker is Danny Glover.

chris tucker is certainly no danny glover...

i can't watch anything chris tucker is in because i can't get past the annoying voice...kinda chris rock on speed with a bit of helium...
posted by troybob at 2:18 PM on May 12, 2006

I’ve thought about acting. So, Chris Tucker is the kind of talent that gets rewarded? Ok then.

*defenstrates*
posted by Smedleyman at 2:55 PM on May 12, 2006