IndieWire, a popular film and TV news site, published a piece from writer Zack Sharf who complained actor Chris Pratt earned about $2 million more for his role in the latest Jurassic Park installment than his female counterpart, Bryce Dallas Howard.
"The title remains one of the biggest releases of the decade," Sharf states. "Despite the film’s massive box office earnings, co-leads Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard did not receive equal pay on the sequel, 'Fallen Kingdom.'"
No, they didn't. Pratt made $10 million. Howard made $8 million. And as a woman, let me help break it down for you. I’ll use small words.
Chris Pratt is a big movie star.
In the last three years alone, he’s played the lead character in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (sequel to the 2014 original, which he also headlined), Jurassic World and its upcoming sequel, Passengers (alongside blockbuster A-list actress Jennifer Lawrence), and he held one of several lead roles in the Magnificent Seven.
Pratt also just appeared as one of about two dozen lead superhero characters in Avengers: Infinity War, which has raked in about $1.5 billion at the box office and climbing.
Howard, on the other hand, has not.
She’s a wonderful actress, it’s true. Her emotional performance as Hilly Holbrook in the 2014 film adaptation of Tate Taylor’s “The Help” was stunning. But Howard’s last major role was in 2015’s Jurassic World – alongside Pratt. Since then, her most notable appearances were in the 2016 remake of Pete’s Dragon and as the lead in one episode of the Netflix show Black Mirror. Also in 2016.
And that’s O.K. Because again, she’s a phenomenal actress.
But she’s not Chris Pratt.
And not because she’s a woman and he’s a dude, either. In fact, Chris Pratt was the last-billed actor in the latest Avengers film, coming in behind both Scarlett Johansson and Zoe Saldana.
But Howard, despite her notable acting chops, simply doesn’t carry the same silver-screened weight as Pratt. She hasn’t been in nearly as many blockbuster films, much less headlined most of them. She also didn’t get her start as one of the lead characters in several long-running television series (Parks and Rec, anyone?).
And again – that’s O.K. But it’s also why she didn’t make as much.
So there you have it, from a smart woman who’s tired of facts and logic being ditched so some progressive can forcibly victimize her entire sex for the sake of his agenda. You’re welcome.