You know it struck me a few weeks back when I was reading an Entertainment Weekly article about the show SUPERNATURAL starring Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. It was your standard publicity article about how hot the stars were, how rapid and loyal the small, but dedicated audience was, and how the show is actually bucking the trend of a 4th year series and growing its audience. Both the ratings and viewership are going up. Let's not get too excited, this is still a series on the CW network, but it is a Warner Bros. produced show and I am glad to see it doing well. But the real thrust of the article was a threat.
Both the producer and the 2 stars were literally quoted saying: "Ostroff should be prepared to open her checkbook at those Season 6 negotiations: According to Ackles, ''They'd have to back up a Brinks truck.'' Now at first it struck me as incredibly insensitive of these 2 actors, living out a dream that every young actor would dream of: working on a hit TV show and getting paid very well for it, would even say such a thing. This quote is nothing new from actors in magazines threatening to walk off a show unless they are well compensated. And I have seen this tactic work countless times. Hell, the cast of FRIENDS made a yearly ritual of demanding more money and getting it. (And worth every penny of it in my opinion).
First of all these boys personal publicist should have told them that it's out of touch to complain in a magazine about making more money when some of the people reading the magazine are unemployed, worried about their job situation, whatever....just a little bite of human sensitive is called for. But then to demand more money! Talk about a failed negotiating tactic.
I have news for every actor out there. For the first time ever, you're all expendable and you can all be replaced with someone else much less expensive than you. And that is especially true for TV actors. In my opinion, right now, the only living U.S. TV actor that can command more money and get it, is Simon Cowell. People don't watch American Idol for the singers, everyone secretly watches it hear what outrageous statement is going to come out Simon Cowell's mouth next. And believe me, Simon will get every penny he's asking for to reup on AI.
It has been haircutting season on above the line costs with many TV shows this year. Jeanne Garafolo just got cut from the next season of 24. Chad Michael Murray and Hilaire Burton were both cut from the cast of One Tree Hill next season. Michaela McManus is leaving the cast of Law & Order SVU next season. Nicollette Sheridan was killed off for cost reasons on Desperate Housewives. Dustin Milligan is leaving the cast of 90210. I have never seen such a high rate of cast turnover from season to season.
I think studios are asking producers for big cuts, and 1 big cut is to cut 1 star from your show and no other department will be effeected and the quality of your show is maintained. It may be painful to cut cast, but you can certainly write around it.
I have always thought that actors were way overpaid. I think actors should be paid fairly. If you're show or movie is a hit, you should share in the profits. If you show or movie is a failure, you shouldn't make anything other than SAG industry scale. Take Tom Cruise for example. The reason Tom Cruise was let go from Paramount was his participations deal. When Paramount would hire Tom Cruise to do a film, you hire him as an actor, you pay him a producing fee for his production company (the former Cruise/Wagner), and you pay Tom Cruise the private incorporated industry with 1 employee, Tom Cruise. And he got a cut of every revenue stream - merchandising, soundtrack, toy tie in, DVD sale, TV sale. Paramount would cut Tom Cruise at least a $1 million check a month just on his participations deal for the 3 Mission Impossibles. Sumner fired him for that reason alone, since he can just hire him for only $20 million a film and SAVE money on all the backend stuff.
But by my reckoning, Tom Cruise or not, Tom gets scale for the shoot, whether it's a little indie film or a big action adventure picture and then he gets 1% of the NET (not gross) profit after the studio recoups it's total initial investment. That's how you pay an actor. None of this, "Here's $2o million - go make Cable Guy."
Those days are over. Studios are pulling the plug on every type of movie if the costs run too high or and they're asking all talent, and that means everyone, to lower their asking price to get the movie made. It's got to be a terrible time to be an agent and watch that 10% shink lower and lower.
Beware actors. Don't make salary demands or you could end up in the California unemployment office with the other 10% of the state.
The EW article: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20270843,00.html
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