Nothing will stop Katherine Heigl from thinking she’s God’s gift to Hollywood. After a tumultuous several years where Heigl badmouthed her first major star-making film (Knocked Up) and sanctimoniously declared that she was taking her name out of Emmy consideration for Grey’s Anatomy because of bad writing, the diva still hasn’t learned her lesson. It turns out Heigl was just about to sign on to a ensemble romantic comedy directed by Garry Marshall called Valentine’s Day, but Heigl was dropped from the film because she demanded a multi-million dollar paycheck.
A three-million dollar paycheck is actually what Heigl probably gets per film – but this film was a special case. It’s an ensemble, and the actors on it would be working, at most, two weeks. At the lower end, they could be working three days. So if I wanted to be harsh, I could say Heigl wanted $3 million for three days of work. A spokesperson for Heigl also claims it was Katherine who walked away, that she wasn’t dropped like a bitchy hot potato:
KATHERINE Heigl has hit another stumbling block on her way to movie stardom.
Sources say the actress, whose just-concluded season on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” might have been her last, was dropped from a top-tier ensemble cast in the upcoming romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” because she demanded an astronomical salary.
The flick, which is scheduled to be released in February 2011, is directed by Garry Marshall and has signed such big names as Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Shirley MacLaine and Bradley Cooper.
An insider told Page Six, “Producers at New Line originally had Katherine on their casting list. They wanted her for the project, but during the talks, she came back demanding $3 million for the role.”
Our source calls that number “ridiculous” because the movie has “an ensemble cast where there is really no one lead role. Actors are only filming between three and 14 days, and no other actors asked for nearly that amount.”
A rep for Heigl told Page Six, “The story is ludicrous. Early negotiations are a daily occurrence in this business, and just for clarification, Katherine walked away from this project for multiple reasons.” A spokeswoman for New Line had “no comment.”
It’s not the first time Heigl has come across as a diva. In 2007, after “Knocked Up,” she told Vanity Fair the Judd Apatow-directed movie “paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. I had a hard time with it on some days.”
She also caused a commotion when she withdrew her name from consideration for last year’s Emmy race, slighting the “Grey’s Anatomy” writers by saying, “I do not feel I was given the material this season to warrant a nomination.” Heigl, whose character was dying of brain cancer, did enter herself in this year’s awards nominations.
[From Page Six]
On the scale of least offensive to most offensive Katherine Heigl moments, this doesn’t make the top register. Part of me thinks that someone on the film was just doing a hatchet-job on Heigl for the hell of it, that there were probably legitimate contract negotiations going on that fell apart. But another part of me wants to see Hollywood distance itself from Heigl – she’s not a great actress, she perpetuates this diva drama, and she’s not worth the trouble. Blonde romantic-comedy heroines are a dime a dozen, and yet Heigl pulls the diva act all of the time. Ten bucks says that Kate Hudson gets the role intended for Heigl.
Katherine Heigl is shown greeting fans while stuck in traffic in LA with her mother on 4/23/09. Credit: Fame Pictures
I love her acting and don’t even watch Grey’s Anatomy. If she wants $3 million and they don’t give it to her then she has every right to walk away. No matter how much the press wants to badmouth her, the films she stars in bring in big bucks.
She really needs to rehab her image. Quick.
Quit smoking. Walk for the Gays. Then pose for Maxim.
I do think she’s a pretty good actress but the diva stuff may ruin her career. Hope she wises up. Kate Hudson is a horrible actress. She’s beautiful but has none of the spark her mother has as an actress. Flat.
I call bull on this. I have met her many times (she’s big with the gays in h-wood and my cousin is biffles with TR) She is not in any way a diva. She is actually the chillest celebrity I have met so far. She does not play into the game the way that most do. And I am sorry but what she did with the emmys was not bad. She got a horrible story line that year (along with a plain horrible season for the show in general) and decided not to enter herself into the race and ralizing she would be asked about it she decided to clear it up before questions were asked. People need to stop making woman look so bad in hollywood. If a man did/said any of the things she did/said there would not be an issue at all. People would just say he was doing what he had to do. It is really sad.
She needs to start from the bottom and work her way up like Julia Roberts and Jennifer Garner have done. Silly rabbit, you can’t start from the top
what she’s really like, who knows?
but she has a snobby air about her. and she and it are annoying.
I can barely stand this woman anymore, but if that is her acting rate – she is correct in turning them down. The industry wouldn’t think of asking Brad Pitt to trim down his acting rate, so why should (Me)igl?
That is a horrible picture of her by the way. I love it!
I guess I just don’t get why people think she’s such a diva. She’s right that Jude Apatow portrays women like that. It’s easy to laugh at but I can see how it might be difficult to play all the time. And her character on Grey’s did have a shitty story line last year. It would have been a joke for her to be nominated.
She’s a twat. Next.
yeah, i think she gets it harsh. She hasn’t done anything really offensive. Gave her take on her character in a movie. Stood up for her gay in the press. Said her storyline wasn’t worthy. It wasn’t. and asked for her going rate.
Truth I think is we all hate the blonde cheerleader. And she’s the blonde cheerleader the press hates at the moment.
I don’t have an opinion about her acting one way or another, but the press about her makes her seem incredibly ungrateful and I hate celebrities who have on perspective on what a real job is like.
Although I think she dodged a bullet with this one. Garry Marshall hasn’t made a good movie since…well I don’t think he’s ever made a good movie and he’s been coasting on fumes the last decade.
Ok,
She was wrong about the nomination thing because her storyline was bad that year and she probably wasn’t going to be nominated anyway so what was her real point. I think it was simply to go around telling everyone that the writers sucked.
She was right about the Knocked up Movie. She didn’t do anything but give her opinion. I for one saw the movie and laughed in several parts but it didn’t change the fact that her opinion was valid and right on the mark.
I don’t know whether she is nice or not because I have never met her but I do think she is misguided. Romantic Comedy actresses are not outspoken, they smile, do what the producers ask them to and try to make friends with everyone on the set (or at least put on a good show of it). So if she wants to be a Rom Com than she should get on with it and start acting the part.
I agree with her statement about “Knocked Up.” Totally true.
Stop beating up on Heigl for being an outspoken woman. She was spot-on about Knocked Up, and since I haven’t been able to stomach watching Grey’s Anatomy since episode 2 of season 1, I’d have to agree with her about that too.
That she’s still working despite offending the delicate sensibilities in Hollywood and media-land (especially regarding women with opinions) is a testament to her talent in its own right.
No one is beating up on her because she spoke out or because she’s a feist woman. I think people are naturally a bit turned off because she didn’t have to take the role in Knocked Up and I’m assuming that she read the script before she took the part. Secondly, once she took the part and reaped the benefits from that part, the classy and professional thing to do would have been to keep her criticism to herself. She came across as a person who was willing to crap on the vehicle that made her a bona fide movie star and the same thing could be said with her ungrateful behavior about the writing on Grey’s Anatomy. Also, if she is part of an ensemble cast, many of whom are far more established and well known than she, then I don’t see how she deserves more than Julia Roberts. And although A-list stars like Brad Pitt can command a staggeringly high salary, they often take work that pays less than the going rate. In short, Heigl is not doing herself any favors in Hollywood and I will be shocked if she has a career in five years.
I’ve met her a few times before for various reasons relating to one of my friends and the woman is a class-A bitch. Meet her in a room with a bunch of producers or at a party with ANYONE from the industry and she’s perky and sweet and lovely.
Outside of that, she’s not only boring as as sheet rock but she definitely carries herself with an air of arrogance and doesn’t care where, or when she smokes. Even around children.
I wouldn’t be surprised that even if she were told that it were an ensemble piece where no one was getting paid what they normally do, she’d demand her normal salary and then threaten to walk off the project. What is likely is that she did that and then Garry Marshall said, “Fine”. It was likely mutual but yes…from lots of personal experience, she’s quite two-faced.
She is circling the drain. All she is doing is rom coms anyway. She had promise but threw it away. And her teeth and mouth are just horrible.
I’d sooner see Katherine succeed than Kate Hudson. She’s far more palatable than Kate Hudson. Hudson is a horrible ‘actress’…I actively avoid movies with her in them.
I’m also tired of reading “Katherine is a bitch” stories. It’s lame. If a guy did the same things she’s done, he’d be rewarded, not vilified.
That’s funny, I find Kate Hudson far more palatable than Katherine Heigl. Heigl’s oversized “look at me I’m the sh*t” cheezy grin makes me want to drop-kick her. Evidently I’m not the only one.
I like her and she’s good at comedy. Good for her for demanding a pay rise! 😉
Good for her for demanding a pay raise? In THIS economy? Lol. Seriously though, why should she get paid more than other estabilished actors that are attached to the movie?
It is her agent, not Katherine, that negotiates her salary. I work in the industry and overall she has a reputation for being a gracious and generous person. It’s unfair to state that she was the one that “demanded” a $3 million dollar salary – her agent is the one that probably saw that number as reasonable given her track record. The writer of this post is obviously biased and has no clue as to how the industry works. So she’s outspoken but what’s the harm in that? “Knocked Up” WAS offensive to women and there is nothing wrong with her feeling as if her work on Grey’s didn’t warrant a nomination because she had a crappy storyline. People just twist things around to hear what they want to hear. Hollywood is cruel to women after 30, so if her agent can get her what she can while she’s in demand, then good for her.
I really don’t understand all the hate aimed at Katherine. All I see is someone who knows what she wants – she wants to excell in her chosen field of work. I think she is a very good actress, and so when she can see that the storylines she has to work with, are not up to scratch, she doesn’t take any prisoners, and she calls a spade a spade. Good on her I say.
So what if she wants to make the jump to movies – it’s just like anyone else in the work-place, wanting to further their career by proving themselves. Otherwise you get stuck doing the same job for years on end, which can’t be gratifying after a while.
Stop all the hate, I don’t think she deserves it!