Somewhere in the middle of the 2005 rom-com The Perfect Man, which was the last Hilary Duff film I dared to sit through, I distinctly remember thinking, “They should actually pay this poor girl to stop acting.” As it turns out, that’s what has finally happened.
Duff reportedly claimed $100,000 after being dumped from the cast of Tonya S. Holly’s The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, TMZ reports. The actress allegedly was let go because of her recent pregnancy, with husband Mike Comrie. But thanks to her pay-or-play contract, Duff still collected six figures for doing absolutely nothing.
And they say our country’s financial industries are broken beyond repair.
As Katey suggests in her initial report of Duff’s departure, the “scheduling conflict” created by the actress’s pregnancy seems like an excuse to let her go, as the film has wallowed in development for years and the idea of waiting a few extra months for the star you want (if she is, in fact, the star they want) isn’t preposterous. But the split doesn’t sound amicable, as Duff told TMZ, "I dont wanna give them any more press than they've already gotten off me ... I think [my] baby is a little bit more exciting."
Hard to argue. Child birth and parenting are far more exciting than a planned Bonnie and Clyde remake. Do you know what else is more exciting? Arthur Penn’s original Bonnie and Clyde, with the indomitable Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the iconic roles. Why try to retell a story that was perfectly told? Producers should use this as an excuse to quietly pull the plug on this doomed production and leave well enough alone.
