Almasi/Splash News; Juan Sharma/PacificCoastNews.com
About Vivienne Jolie-Pitt's new acting career: Is $3,000 a week a lot for a 4-year-old actor? Does she have her own bank account?
—S.B. Form, via Twitter
Yep, she sure does have a bank account. I know that for a fact, because every kid actor in Hollywood, no matter how powerful the parent, must have a chunk of money set aside for when the nipper turns 18.
As for the $3,000 weekly paycheck that La Petite Jolie earned for her time on the Maleficent set, you may be surprised when you learn how it compares to other salaries.
It's low.
Like, way low.
Like, pretty much the minimum weekly payment for an actor on a big-budget movie. Really!
The current guidelines from the Screen Actors Guild dictate $2,921 weekly for a big-budget film actor. That would include Petite Jolie, given that the budget for Maleficent is an estimated $200 million. (That's not a misprint.)
The paycheck is even lower when you consider these facts, courtesy of Toni Casala, head of the consulting service Children in Film:
"Ten percent goes to an agent," she reminds us. "And 15 percent goes to a manager, if there is one, and another 15 percent also goes into a Coogan Account."
The account, named after the ill-fated child actor Jackie Coogan, is required by law for all child performers—at least, all child performers in Los Angeles, New York and two other states. The account is a blocked trust, meaning that parents can't put their hands on it. (Brangelina maintains a massive compound in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.)
So in case you're math challenged, let me help: 15 percent of 3,000 is $450. So, somewhere (perhaps in fabulous Los Feliz), there is a bank account with Petite Jolie's name upon it, with $450 in it for every week that the kid spent on set with Bonne Maman.
As for the rest of that cash money, it's technically supposed to go toward business expenses—head shots and such. But something tells me little Vivienne won't be needing those. Like, ever.