NEW MOON's Taylor Lautner is now the highest-paid teen in Hollywood with NORTHERN LIGHTS and MAX STEEL

If only I carried a more defined set of abs when I was 17. The possibilities would have been endless. Taylor Lautner, who starred as "the other guy" in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, is now the most popular little guy in Hollywood and he's quickly becoming the highest paid. Deadline Hollywood reports that Lautner will bank $7.5 million for his upcoming role in Northern Lights. But that's not all. Lautner will also star in Max Steel, an upcoming action movie based on a popular 90s toy line, and he'll be paid an even larger (undisclosed) salary. He's now making more than Daniel Radcliffe, Miley Cyrus, and Zac Efron. After the jump, learn why he may be making a huge mistake. 

I am not a love-struck teenage fan, but I don't have a problem with Lautner. However, I question his longterm staying power with roles like these. Sometimes the biggest paycheck isn't the best decision. Northern Lights sounds cool enough. Lautner will play a hotshot extreme flying pilot who's competing to be the best. Nevertheless, it's directed by John Moore, the man responsible for the disappointing Max Payne (2008). 

Then there's Max Steel. There are no upsides to starring in Max Steel, aside from the paycheck. It may just be the most bland and unoriginal action franchise ever created, if anyone cared enough to compile such a list. It's based on a Mattel action figure line in the late 90s, which was attached to an ugly computer generated show. The plot goes something like this:

When a diabolical empire threatens to terrorize the world, there’s only one hero who can stop it…Max Steel®. Infused with super Nano-Technology (N-Tek^TM), this extreme teen Josh McGrath® is stronger, faster and more powerful than any human. Working for a secret global security force, agent Max Steel® must eliminate the enemy and its most terrifying villains, Psycho®, Bio-Constrictor^TMand Vitriol^TM. Join Max Steel® on his awesome adventures as he voyages across the globe battling the forces of evil!" 

I doubt there is a finished script for Max Steel, though I wonder if such a movie needs one. Lautner may make a load of cash now, but if these two films bomb, he won't get a second chance. Let's hope he knows something I don't.