When you look at the magic of the movie Friday. You would be hard-pressed to say it was the production value that made it such a great movie. The characters in the movie were so over the top and funny that years later people are still quoting and mocking the actors.
Faizon Love:
Paid $2500
Chris Tucker:
Paid $5000
John Witherspoon:
Paid $5000
So why were the actors paid so little to film?
In the National Basketball Association, rookies can only make a certain amount of money. After 3 or 4 years, the rookies become free-agents and qualify for much higher salaries. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen in the film industry. You can make $5000 in your first film and the studio can create offspring’s of that original film and not give you another role. If you look at the 2nd movie in the Friday franchise, Next Friday, you will notice that many of the characters from the original film did not make the cut.
According to John Witherspoon, the original Friday has made about $300million worldwide to date. It debuted at about $30million worldwide. With the internet, Youtube, and social media platforms, there are more alternative revenue streams and outlets for actors to perform. The system that creates this disparity only thrives in when the participants have a lack of options. Exercise your options.