Comedian Mo’Nique is such a tight wad, we hear, that she actually books her own gigs so that she doesn’t have to pay management fees. She recently moved to Atlanta and is hosting a new talk show on BET but our sources have informed us Mo thinks she much bigger a star than she actually ISN’T. She is refusing to promote her new and ONLY Oscar worthy film Precious unless she is paid an additional 10 to 20 Gs. Mo’Nique might want to rethink this one, the director of the movie Lee Daniels also directed Halle Berry’s Oscar winning role in Monster’s Ball. In addition, Tyler Perry and Oprah are backing the film.
Hey Kevin,
I have to say first and foremost I really enjoy your website, it seems very well balanced with your humor sprinkled in for good measure. However, I think you are being alittle harsh on Mo’Nique on this article. If she is booking her own gigs don’t you think it is a smart move for someone to book his or her own gigs if they are able as opposed to paying someone to do the same thing? I am sure that if you were able to host your website by your self you would not want to pay someone else to do the same thing…or would you? Just an observation.
Yes and no, I agree that if you can do it you should do it on your own but there are two problems.
1. People who book you lose respect for you when they can get you on the phone direct. *(they try to negotiate you down to the penny and if you refuse they talk about you instead of the middleman who should be the one to look like the bad guy and who should always negotiate in your favor)
2. You miss a lot of work. People are accustomed to calling managers and booking agents for stars and if you don’t use them, even if they know how to reach you, they will probably say they don’t .
Finally, Black actors have had it SO hard in Hollywood over the decades that they have to come up with creative ways to make money. Hollywood big wigs probably hate Tyler Perry, for example, who have taken them to task on a lie that they have been telling for decades ‘black movies don’t sell in Hollywood unless a white actor is the star. Needless to say, those bigwigs have to respect Tyler and in addition, they don’t have an ounce of power in Tyler’s back yard, Atlanta. I can’t say I blame Mo’Nique and perhaps she has had a couple of bad experiences in the past but for this movie, keep in mind the director Lee Daniels directed Halle’s Oscar winning.. Monster’s Ball, it could be the break Mo’Nique has been waiting for, this is not the time to refuse to promote it and appear “difficult.” In addition, Tyler Perry and Oprah are backing the movie…
Well.. I love the fact that she is “fighting” for her worth… she realizes that this is ultimately a product..and how dare they want the product for free.. I applaud that she is working it out on her own because you have to keep your overhead down in order to make a profit… I also think that if she were a man it wouldnt be such a big deal.. for whatever reasons she has decided to run her management in this way and if all else fails in the end she would have to take responsibilty for it herself…Oprah..and other backers are gonna get there money why…shouldnt she..at the end of the day this is a…BUSINESS
As always thanks for your well thought out response.
Wouldn’t a production that has Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey backing it have the money to cover her expenses while she was promoting it? I’m not exactly sure how that works when it comes to stars promoting their roles in upcoming movies. I would think it would be in her best interest to do her part to promote it. The better it does the more in residuals she can make(as per her contract). If she wants to be paid an additional 10-20 thousand for her time to do a promo run then that’s really chump change in the grand scheme of things. As far as her booking her own gigs,some people can say she is cheap or maybe she’s just frugal. Depending on what percentage a typical agent charges,(10-15%?) that could be money saved. Although an earlier point was brought up about the advantages of having said agent or “middle person” negotiating and not being too accessable directly. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
i agree with all comments, pro & con, but i tire of the over use of the victim card played all the time: “if she was a man this or that would not happen…” when independants in “hollywierd” attempt to go around the system, they all take a beatdown, just ask spike lee!
I’m really not sure what the fuss is about 20g is chump change and 2 people such as Oprah & Tyler can’t fron their people then i would take the same road myself .Now for the Lee Daniels part of directing halle to an oscar please they gave out 2 oscars that year to Denzel for a movie and role that was not worthy of the nod and halle for a role that was ummm lets say not worthy as well go figure
what could promoting the movie hurt…she is in it…i love her show…i just see more opporitunity for her..maybe more roles…