Too true. It is telling that production companies are turning more and more to overseas productions...it tends to shave off 50% or more from the total cost.
I once saw an estimate of what the Lord Of The Rings trilogy would have cost if made by a Hollywood studio, under Hollywood rules, with "name" actors. It would have nearly tripled the cost. As it is, the whole thing cost three hundred million.
The same can be said for the cameramen, grips, assistants, and other staff.
Right there, you save a good ten percent off the top.
I once read an interview with a Japanese director (He worked on Japan's famous "Giant Monster", or Kaiju, movies). He had taken a trip to the U.S. to watch a Hollywood production and to get some idea of how the Americans do it. Since he was used to budgets in the $10 million range on the HIGH side, he was eager to see what the Yanks did with their (to him) astronomical amounts of cash. After all, with only a few million, he could have Godzilla destroy Tokyo and make back a respectable profit (which is why Godzilla still stomps a city at least once a year nowadays. He is STILL a box-office draw in Japan).
He was AMAZED, he said, at the waste of money. Multiple takes were done, which he would have demanded be done right the first time. Lavish sums were spent on catering! EVERY member of the crew, to the lowest rank, recieved custom leather jackets with the movie's logo on them, courtesy of the budget. The stars frequently got "agitated", and either refused to work, holding up production, or demanded the right to rewrite the script on the spot.
He went back to Japan, presumably shaking his head in disbelief the whole way. Needless to say, he learned little from us, unless it was what to avoid.