Just thought I'd point you to this AwardsLine (Deadline) Oscar interview with Denzel Washington, about his critically-lauded current movie Flight, which Washington is likely going to be receive an Oscar nomination for.

In it, he talks about the fact that they (he and director Robert Zemeckis, and the other top-liners) were essentially given a take-it-or-leave-it $28 million budget by the studio, to get the film made, which meant that they all had to take drastic pay-cuts (he said he was paid a tenth of his usual salary, although there should be some back-end participation); he gives reasons for why he was willing to do that for this particular project. 

Also, he talks about being a star, and the potential *damage* taking an unnattractive role like this could have on how he's seen by audiences, and thus affect his career options, and whether he even thinks about or cares about that; there's also conversation about being in the Oscar mix, and a bit more, like whether $30 million studio movies are a "dying breed."

Check out the full interview HERE.