New Delhi

George Clooney has slammed down an article that stated that he and his co-star Brad Pitt were each paid more than $ 35 million for their new film Wolf. The actor addressed the rumour during a press conference at the ongoing Venice Film Festival on Sunday where their film premiered. 

The article had reportedly appeared on The New York Times which Clooney termed as 'interesting'. 

“Whatever her source was for our salary, it is millions and millions and millions of dollars less than what was reported,” claimed Clooney. “And I am only saying that because I think it’s bad for our industry if that’s what people think is the standard bearer for salaries. I think that’s terrible, it’ll make it impossible to make films.”

The actor's comments came after last year's WGA and SAF AFTRA strikes which highlighted on how poorly the industry has paid talent over the years. In pics: Brad Pitt, girlfriend Ines enjoy romantic double date with George Clooney, Amal in Venice

In a statement last year, Clooney had emphasised that “actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living“.

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“This is an inflection point in our industry,” said Clooney at the time. “For our industry to survive, that has to change. For actors, that journey starts now.”

More about Wolfs

Written and directed by Jon Watts, Wolfs stars Clooney and Pitt as warring, competing fixers who are hired to cover up a high-profile crime and forced to work together.

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The movie earned a five-minute, 35-second ovation during its world premiere on Sunday in Venice.

The film is set to have a limited theatrical release before it heads to Apple TV. Commenting on the limited release on September 20, Clooney said that it was a 'bummer' that the film won't see a wider release. 

“Yes, we wanted it to be released (in theatres),” he said.

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“We’ve had some bumps along the way, that happens. When I did The Boys in the Boat, we did it for MGM, and then it ended up being for Amazon and we didn’t get a foreign release at all, which was a surprise,” added Clooney.

"There are elements of this that we are figuring out. You guys are all in this too. We’re all in this industry and we’re trying to find our way post-COVID and everything else, and so there’s some bumps along the way.”