Obsession Director Finally Responds To Art Director’s Viral Pay Criticism

The controversy surrounding Obsession‘s crew pay has now drawn a response from the film’s director. After art director Sally Choi’s comments about her pay gained traction online, filmmaker Curry Barker has shared his perspective on the controversy in a new interview. Barker addressed the criticism while discussing the challenges of low-budget filmmaking. His remarks come as Obsession continues to perform strongly at the box office.

Curry Barker speaks about Obsession art department wage controversy

Obsession director Curry Barker has publicly addressed the debate surrounding crew pay after art director Sally Choi revealed how much she earned while working on the hit horror film. Responding to the criticism, Barker praised the work of the art department and reflected on the realities of producing a film with a modest budget.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Barker made it clear that he holds the department in high regard. “I have nothing but respect for the art department, and the work they did was extraordinary. Everybody on this film worked so hard and they deserve to be recognized,” he said. 

Barker went on to discuss the financial structure of low-budget productions. He said, “This movie was made for so little money that it’s typical that the only people who [directly] benefit from its financial success are the people who took on some sort of risk.”

At the same time, he expressed hope that the film’s success would help open doors for crew members moving forward. He noted, “But what I hope is that every person that worked really hard on this film will see opportunities to catapult their careers in ways that can be very financially fruitful for them — like what’s happening for me.”

The controversy began after Choi shared details of her compensation on Instagram. According to the art director, she was paid $300 per day for her work on the production. “$300/day as Art Director. This came out to $6741.36 after taxes. No mileage,” she wrote in Instagram post. 

The discussion comes as Obsession continues its impressive theatrical run. Made on a reported budget of $750,000, the horror phenomenon has earned approximately $290 million worldwide and remains in theaters.

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