In a world full of equal rights and pay, many are surprised to learn that Hollywood is behind the times with gender equality. When shooting the 2017 crime thriller All the Money in the World, the pay rates were entirely different for the costars. Mark Wahlberg demanded a salary of over $1.5 million for his ten days of re-shoots. However, Michelle Williams earned a measly $1,000 for the same work. The numbers are so far apart that it is incomprehensible. It’s easy to see why this has become a hot-button issue among stars.

When it comes to paying for help on the set, there are above-the-line and below-the-line workers. The actors/actresses are above, and the crew members that do makeup and special effects are below. Wahlberg has been known to demand a pricey amount for his appearance in a film. He made $17 million in the movie Transformers, and he demanded at least $12 million in his other pictures.

Different Time – Same Story
In 1950, Jimmy Stewart broke into the world of western flicks. His movie Winchester 73 brought him a nice salary of $600,000. Though he wasn’t slated to be paid that much, his agent cashed in on the unexpected success of the movie. Stewart had been acting in movies since 1935, and he starred with other big names like Spencer Tracey. For the period, his salary was considered groundbreaking.

Fast forward three years, and add a woman as the lead, and it will be a very different pay scale. Marilyn Monroe gave the performance of a lifetime in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Yet, 20th Century Fox only paid her $1,500 a week, which was a total of $18,000 for the film. Monroe began acting in 1944, so she had more than nine years under her belt at this point. Still, she was given a menial remuneration compared to the likes of her male counterparts.

Time’s Up Is Shaking Up Tinseltown
The gender-wage gap issue is gaining ground. In 2017, Emma Stone spoke candidly in an interview, which offered solutions to fix the problem. She stated that if men feel that women are equal, then they should take a pay cut to ensure that the females working alongside them get the same amount. Thankfully, there is some stand up gentlemen in Hollywood that would make that sacrifice. Wahlberg felt bad when he found out that Williams made almost nothing in All the Money in the World. To make things right, he donated his entire salary for the flick to Time’s Up, which is an organization made up of 300 women fighting for equal rights in Tinseltown.