Indiana Jones Cast, Producers Take Risky Route to Profits

When Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull debuts worldwide May 22, the cast and producers won't just be taking risks in search of treasure, they'll be risking their real-life earnings from the film's profit. Eschewing the usual upfront fees that talent typically get before a film even opens, the new Indy film is set for an adventure in deal-making, in which no one gets a cut of the profit unless the movie brings home the bucks at the box office.

With film production and marketing costs leaping through the roof, says the L.A. Times, Paramount Pictures set up a different kind of arrangement for the Crystal Skull, which cost $400 million to make and market. Executive producer George Lucas, director Steven Spielberg, stars Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf and other potential earners from the movie won't see much of a payday until that amount is recouped and exceeded.

Skull's talent, though, probably don't have much to worry about. The first three of the Indiana Jones flicks earned $1.2 billion in worldwide sales. And if your responses in our summer movie poll are any indication, the Indy trend's still going strong. The film's heavyweights even chose to waive their upfront fees - aka the first dollar gross - when the movie's costs began to exceed intial predictions.

Do you think the non-traditional financial model really is win-win for a troubled industry? Or a tough way for hefty talent to make a living? How will Crystal Skull participants emerge from profits adventure? - Anna Dimond