• The New York Times reported that George Clooney and Brad Pitt each received $35 million for “Wolfs.”

• George Clooney said: “It’s bad for our industry when people think that’s the benchmark for salaries.”

• Clooney said the actors had to return part of their fees because the film’s release model had changed.

George Clooney denied a report that he and Brad Pitt each received $35 million for their new film “Wolfs,” saying the actual amount was “millions and millions” less.

The pair have previously worked together on six films, including the Oceans series and the Coen brothers’ Burn After Reading.

They teamed up again for “Wolfs”. The film was directed by Jon Watts and is about two fixers who are used to working alone and now have to work together on a job.

The action comedy was scheduled for a regular theatrical release until Apple decided to show it in theaters for a week starting September 20 and then stream it on Apple TV+ starting September 27.

At the press conference for “Wolfs” at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, Clooney addressed a New York Times report, citing anonymous sources familiar with the film’s development, that said the actors were each paid $35 million for their roles.

“(It was) an interesting article, and whatever their source was for our salary, it’s millions and millions of dollars less than was reported.

“And I only say that because I think it’s bad for our industry if people believe that this is the basis for salaries. I think that’s terrible, it’s going to make it impossible to make movies,” Clooney said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

His comments are the latest example of stars being more open about their pay. Last month, Cate Blanchett said that “nobody got paid anything” for her leading role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Clooney confirmed at the press conference that both he and Pitt had paid back part of their salaries so that “Wolfs” could still be released in limited numbers, Metro reported.

“Yes, we would have liked that. We wanted it. That’s why Brad and I donated part of our salaries to it,” Clooney said at the film’s release.

He added: “It’s a bummer, of course, but then again, a lot of people are going to see the film and we’re putting it in a couple hundred theaters, so we’re putting it in theaters. But yeah, it would have been nice if it had been a big release.”

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