William B. Kerr 
Actresses Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain stood together when arranging financial matters for their upcoming film.
The talented ladies succeeded in negotiating a salary for Spencer that was five times more than what she wanted in the beginning.
Spencer shared the story of their diplomatic skills with the public at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival “Women Breaking Barriers” panel.
Apparently, the actresses started talking about money and payments and reached the conclusion that women of color earn noticeably less than white women. Chastain was surprised by the salary inequality and was determined to take matters into her own hands.
Following the conversation with Spencer, Chastain decided to arrange equal pay for their next movie and promised she would find a solution for the salary problem.
Also, just one week later, the miracle happened — the two actresses were able to get much better earnings for Spencer’s work.
The exact amount of her paycheck is unknown, but Spencer shared a happy post in Twitter, revealing it was much higher than what she expected.
@akstanwyck this is correct except I should clarify that I am making 5x my salary bc Jessica stood with me. I don’t know what or if it cost her anything as far as her rate, I just know she stood with me, and am eternally grateful. https://t.co/JH8QRUIVJc
— octavia spencer (@octaviaspencer) January 24, 2018
Chastain also went to Twitter to share her enthusiasm of the matter. She explained that Spencer had been underpaid for too long and something had to be done. The actress also urged male actors to do the same for their female colleagues.
The noble act did not go unnoticed and was praised by many other entertainers on the social networking channels. Jada Pinkett Smith also talked about it in public and called it “a prime example of sister solidarity.”
"I tied her salary to mine. Instead of focusing on what I did perhaps we should also focus on why she was underpaid for so long." Jessica Chastain talking about Octavia Spencer. pic.twitter.com/lzgkgp8F2Z
— best of jessica chastain (@bestofchastains) January 31, 2018
Pinkett Smith said that the 40-year-old California native also helped her get a better deal for the same movie.
Spencer and Chastain each received Oscar nominations for best supporting actress for their movie The Help, but it was Spencer who took the award home.
The upcoming comedy will be their first collaboration since 2011 and Chastain is also doing some writing for the project.