BRIEF

 Pop quiz: Who the first to be paid $1 million by an actor for one film? What was the name of the film and what was the year? Let me give you an idea that it was an actress. Another clue is the fact that JFK was alive when the film was released. I haven't seen the film, and most likely haven't if you're under the age of 50. The jeopardy theme music...Ready to know the answer? Elizabeth Taylor was the first actor to make $1 million in one film. Liz achieved this feat for the 1963 movie "Cleopatra." FYI, the sum of $1,000,000 in 1963 was equivalent to $7.7 millions in the present. The movie's original budget of $2 million included one million dollars. Since Cleopatra's production went downhill it was "projected". The producers spent $5 million over 6 months ($40,000,000 today) and discovered that they had no footage. The film had to begin again. The film ultimately cost $31 million to make that's $237 million after adjusting for inflation. Because of budgetary overruns Liz's paycheck swelled to $7 million. That's the same as an actor earning $54 million per movie today.