Crash payments

If you'd written a film that cost $7.5 million and took $300 million and your contract gave you rights to share in that success, you'd be laughing, right?

Not necessarily. The writers, director and stars of last year's Oscar winner, Crash have so far seen little of the cash that has been rolling in around the world, reports Sharon Waxman for The New York Times.

The movie’s co-writer and director, Paul Haggis, has so far made less than $300,000 on the film, a pittance by Hollywood standards. The eight principal actors in “Crash,” including Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon and Don Cheadle, have been expecting large checks for months, after deferring their usual fees in exchange for a percentage of the film’s profits. Recently, their representatives say, they each received checks for $19,000.

OK, so your heart might not bleed for them, but it does show the dangers of accepting 'points' (percentage of profits) for payment - movie accountants are famously good at making profits disappear.