Who remembers the movie Cidade de Deus (City of God) and the sequel Cidade dos Homens (City of Men)? I came across a documentary City of God- Ten Years later a while ago which is based on the lives of the actors of the movie- City of God that was released in 2002.
This is an interesting perspective where the actors are interviewed and seen in their current day lives. Not all actors pursued a career in film and some say they were misrepresented and underpaid.
The director Fernando Meirelles and his crew casted people straight out the actual Cidade de Deus favela in Rio de Janeiro and placed them into a makeshift actor's workshop for several months. While the film made gross earnings of more than $30 million (This was Fernando's second movie), The cast members say that most of their lives never benefited from the movie. The movie was was nominated for four Oscars, it eventually went on to become a series and second movie City of Men. None of the cast members imagined the scale, revenue or viewership that the movie could have brought in as it yielded most of the revenue from abroad.
WHAT THE CAST HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE
Apart from a couple of the cast members who built careers in film, the rest of them can barely make ends meet. They were offered meager amounts of money to act in the movie which may have seemed a lot compared to what they earned. One actor could barely buy a computer with his earnings and another's was taken away by his father at that time as he was young and he never saw any of it. One cast member allegedly never got paid for acting in the movie.Alice Braga, on the other hand, who played Angélica, made the crossover into Hollywood, going on to star in films like I Am Legend, Redbelt and Elysium. She can also be seen in her lead role in Queen of the South on Netflix
You can catch the entire documentary - City of God - Ten Years Later on Netflix ,
CITY OF GOD CAST MEMBER RUBENS SABINO A.K.A. BLACKIE'S LIFE NOW
Rubens Sabino da Silva (Blackie), the last cast member in the video above and Renato de Souza (Goose), currently supplement their salaries by selling peanuts and fixing cars. Rubens Sabino has used crack for at least three to five years. He now lives on the streets, between hotels and hostels in the area. Addicted, he seeks a different outcome to that of the character he played, who lives in a constant struggle against addiction. He arrested for trying to rob a woman on a bus in 2003 and appealed for help from the film's director, claiming he received no money for his part.
AFTER THOUGHTS
No matter what the nature of the project is , if you are not aware of your worth or the scale of a project, you can easily get exploited. Artists should be aware of the scope of the project and seek help form legal and industry agents/ talent managers when they engage in projects like shoots, corporate events, etc. It is always good to do some background work and speak to others in the industry. Artists get exploited all around the world, everyday mostly because they don't know their worth and how to present themselves.