Signing actors to pay-or-play contracts is a common practice in Hollywood, albeit one that can backfire spectacularly in certain circumstances. If the studio wants a big name to commit to a movie, then sometimes they’ll be offered a contract that guarantees they’ll be compensated for their efforts regardless of whether or not the project even makes it in front of cameras. In most cases, it goes off without a hitch, but in others, it can leave the money men hugely out of pocket.

A very prominent example of this is the abandoned Superman Lives, which has gone down in history as one of the most expensive films that was never made, with Warner Bros. funnelling an estimated $40 million into the production. Included in these costs was Tim Burton’s $5 million salary, while Nicolas Cage is reported to have been paid $20 million in full after the proposed director and star both signed pay-or-play deals.