Brad Pitt says big Hollywood salaries 'don't work now'

Brad Pitt says the days of actors getting multi-million dollar salaries are over.

"Yeah, that thing died," Pitt laughed when asked if it was possible for stars to still command a price tag upwards of $10m (6.2m) per movie.

"That arithmetic doesn't really work right now... that deal's not flying these days."

Pitt has been a familiar fixture on lists detailing the highest paid actors.

The most recent Forbes list for 2012 was topped by Tom Cruise, with an estimated yearly salary of $75m (47m).

Meanwhile Pitt is thought to have earned $25m (16m).

As for what state Hollywood is in, in general, Brad Pitt concedes: "It's a really interesting time.

"A lot of the studios have been challenged because of the economic downturn as well so they've been betting on bigger, more tent pole kinds of things.

"At the same time that opens up a vacuum for really interesting new film makers to come in."

So-called 'tent pole' films take the biggest budgets but their profits are expected to prop up other movies for the major studios.

Brad Pitt's acting work over the past few years has ranged from the Oscar nominated Moneyball, to the children's animation Happy Feet 2 and most recently the crime thriller Killing Them Softly.

"You take the roles for the roles," Pitt says, "and you've just got to balance economics like everyone does."

Source: BBC News