Edward Jay Epstein beschreibt in The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies, wieso Erfahrung und hervorragende Schauspielkenntnisse nur noch nachrangig über den Erfolg eines Schauspielers oder einer Schauspielerin entscheiden. Tyler Cowen hat ein Zitat über Nicole Kidmans rechtes Knie gefunden:
Kidman injured her knee during the filming of Moulin Rouge in Australia in 2000, resulting in a $3 million insurance loss […] As a result, her public and critical acclaim notwithstanding, Miramax was initially unable to get insurance on her for its film Cold Mountain, which had a budget approaching $100 million. From the perspective of the insurer, Fireman’s Fund, she was a definite risk. To get the necessary policy from Fireman’s Fund, Kidman agreed to put $1 million of her own salary in an escrow account that would be forfeited if she failed to maintain the production schedule, and she agreed to use a stunt double for all scenes that the insurer considered potentially threatening to her knee. In addition, the co-producer, Lakeshore Entertainment, added another $500,000 to the escrow account… Having made the all-important move from borderline uninsurable to borderline insurable, she could make movies again. No matter how great their acting skills and box office drawing power, stars cannot get lead roles if they are uninsurable. Great acting skills and box office drawing may make the star, but insurance is what is takes to make the movie.