YELLOWSTONE CAST TURNS RUSTLER!
Demand big reboot raises
GUNS are blazing at the Yellowstone set where the cowboy drama’s current stars are shooting it out with bosses for monster pay raises and top billing as big names like Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Pfeiffer threaten to steal all the glory and greenbacks, spies tattle.
Now that Kevin Costner has bolted the Western series to make flicks again, Paramount bigwigs are luring A-listers to take his place in the sequel.
McConaughey will reportedly be signing, but only after he sees the script for the new version of the hit show.
Pfeiffer is in talks with bigwigs, according to sources who report she’s close to inking the dotted line.
Meanwhile, flame-haired Kelly Reilly, who plays Costner’s daughter Beth Dutton, was demanding a whopping
$1.5 million per episode, but has been talked down to $1.2 million so far, say sources.
Cole Hauser, aka ranch foreman Rip Wheeler, is reportedly demanding $1.25 million per episode, nearly double his current $700,000 paycheck.
But that’s not all they want. “Reilly and Hauser apparently see themselves as the top players on the new show,” tattles a source.
“They are both asking to have their names listed first in t the credits — a above McConau aughey and Pfeif Pfeiffer — despite both A A-listers being significantly bigger draws. “That ask is unlikely to be approved by Paramount, which certainly wants the two biggest names at the top of the bill to help publicize the new show.
“McConaughey and Pfeiffer would also likely expect top billing since they are considerably more famous than their potential future co-stars.”
As for the demanded pay hikes, sources say Paramount is offering the actors smaller raises in favor of a guaranteed longer run of the new series — and they’re playing hardball, too, spies say!
“The studio has now reportedly sent a harsh letter seeking to end the negotiations with a take-it-or-leave-it deadline,” adds the source.