We have been down this road before, it’s neither fun nor interesting, it’s just downright scary! Currently in its 23rd season, “The Simpsons” may come to an end next spring if the six principal voice actors don’t get a new deal. Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe, Chief Wiggum and Apu), and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders) have offered to take a 30% pay cut (presently $8M a year each) in exchange for a percentage of the show’s back-end profits. Fox doesn’t think so:
“Fox is taking the position that unless they can cut the production costs really drastically, they’ll pull the plug on new shows, the show has made billions in profits over the years and will continue to do so as far as the eye can see down the road. The actors are willing to take a pay cut of roughly a third, but that’s not good enough for Fox.” [thedailybeast]
Fox has threatened to replace cast members with sound-alike actors in the past, but for the first time executives have insisted that if the cast doesn’t accept a 45% pay cut, The Simpsons will be canceled. That’s a pretty big pay cut to get used to, and after 23 years why shouldn’t the cast get a percentage of back-end profits? Can’t we all just get along and keep the show going? Won’t someone please think of the children!
The Washington Post Article on the subject was more informative than the one from The Daily Beast.
As they point out in their article, Harry Shearer is telling fans not to complain to him – but to complain to FOX.
Perhaps I’ll post something to let people know how they can go about doing so. It’s quite easy.
Are they really thinking about actually ending the biggest animated sitcom and one of their biggest money makers.
Fox are powerful but they have to realize that The Simpsons is an asset they cannot cancel.
I knew this was coming.
This doesn’t look good, I can’t see the actors taking such a big cut.
Is $200,000 a show not enough for them? They don’t even have to get dressed or shave, some kid brings them a coffee and bagel, they do their voices, have a few laughs and make MILLIONS for it!!! Not to mention the joy they bring to all the fans.
Harry Shearer says blame Fox, I really appreciate his work but HE IS the one to blame most likely. He was the only actor from the show who wouldn’t lend his voice to The Simpsons ride in Universal Studios. He felt he should get more money or a percent of the profits, something like that. Harry Shearer is one ungrateful person. I guarantee he would not have been collecting steady 7 figure checks if it weren’t for The Simpsons. I hope he and the rest of the cast come to their senses and don’t let the show die.
I disagree. I think FOX and its corporate greed is the issue.
By the way, it’s very early in this new “dispute”. As graham pointed out, the show has been here before several times.
The actors have been with the show for 23 seasons now. They are willing to take a pretty big pay cut – 30% in these tough economic times. I don’t think that is being greedy.
The way Hollywood works is when you are with a show for so long your salary goes up – not down. After 23 seasons – the actors become more and more valuable and should see a decent increase for lending their talent.
It has nothing to do with the hours they put in or what they look like when they go to work.
Eventually, a show can get more expensive to produce than it actually rakes in. That’s often what will kill a series. The Simpsons continues to pull in Billions of Dollars for FOX… and that really isn’t the issue. One could argue Fox is the party being greedy… how can they threaten the voice actors with canceling the show based on their ultimatum? It shows no respect for them to say it’s FOX’s way or the highway.
How many of us would take a 45% pay cut after 20+ years with the same employer? It’s the principle and has not as much to do with whether they can or can’t afford it. Dan, Julie, Yeardley, Nancy, Hank, and Harry provide more than just voices. They ARE the characters fans have come to love. They deserve to be rewarded for that, and I think the fact they are willing to go 30% cut + a very small percentage of merchandising is more than fair. The Simpsons would not be what it is today if the cast had been replaced in previous years.
Harry knows the value of his voice which (along with the other actors) goes up over time as each word he speaks in character brings in more and more money for FOX. Why should he take a 45% pay cut so FOX can continue to rake in billions off of him and the other cast members?
FOX makes more money because of the actors each year. Therefore the actors feel they should be rewarded for it. Makes sense to me. The fact they will be willing to take a pay cut right now is a big thing in itself.
Send them all (studio and the actors) a letter asking them to compromise if it means that much to you. I did. 🙂
He and the rest of the simpsons cast have been doing this for over 20 years, along with the writers. They have made the show what it is. They should not have to “accept” a cut in their pay, when they have actually increasingly made this show more profitable over the years. Thats like saying, “here, for all of your hard work, let’s pay you less”. It is just asinine! No, if the Simpsons are cancelled, it is not on Harry or the others! It will be on Fox! If that happens, Fox better be prepared for an outraged public. Because unlike every other big hit that has been cancelled, this show has 3 generations of die hard fans to explain to. Thats a lot of people to watch tune out of their station!
I never said Fox wasn’t greedy as well.
The actors are just as bad though, in my opinion. Yes, they are certainly an important part of the show to say the least but they own NOTHING. They have creators rights to NOTHING. Sorry Simpsons cast but those are the breaks, life is tough. You’re just going to have to learn to live with being millionaires instead of billionaires. (excuse me as I wipe a tear from my cheek)
They get paid more than generously even after a 45% cut. Forget about what the merch brings in, that is totally separate, the cast has NO rights to that whatsoever. The only part of the franchise that concerns them directly is the show and its profits which have shrunk DRAMATICALLY. Their paychecks will now have to reflect that if they want to continue working on a steady basis.
They are beyond blessed to have a steady job as an actor for so long and rake in millions annually on top of it. Unless they really just don’t give a s*** anymore they ought to just accept the cut. If they want to get paid as if they are the owners of a franchise, they should ban together and create their own show instead of shutting this one down. Good Luck to them.
Why do you think they even entertained the idea of a pay cut? Because they know damn well the show is far less profitable than it has been in its entire life cycle. Again, I’m speaking solely about the show and not the merch.
BTW think about all the other staff members that will be out of work if they won’t except their $4,000,000 paychecks. I bet the writers don’t get paid anywhere near that. It’s hard to find work nowadays for a TV comedy writer as well. It would be extremely selfish of them if they choose to let the show die this way.
I just thought of a decent analogy for this situation. I think its a good one, I don’t know.
Lets say I’m the manager of a store. I handle everything, I greet the customers as they walk in, The other workers and I make sure the shelves are stocked, I make the place what it is. People come back because I’m friendly, I remember their names, they love to shop at my store but I am not the owner of the store. In fact the owner never even steps foot inside the store, Yet he takes in all the profits. I get paid what the owner gives me, shouldn’t I get a portion of the profits too? I’m the the reason this store is what it is!
In a perfect and fair world maybe I would be compensated in that manner but this is real life and I’m just an EMPLOYEE. I do not own the store, I invested nothing in the store nor did I come up with the idea of the store in the first place.
In this world you must OWN a franchise in order to truly rake in the profits of it the only options for employees is either conform or quit. Didn’t anybody here see either of the Wall Street movies?
So now its up to the cast to decide whether or not they are being treated fairly. Maybe they can take a few laps in the swimming pool in the back yard of one of their mansions or work out with Hank in his custom home gym or just take a relaxing ride in their Porsche with the top down and truly contemplate how unfair Fox has been to them. They have plenty of time, they only work but 22 weeks out of the year on the Simpsons.
I respectfully disagree with you Bryan.
Your analogy is a little different and not the best comparison.
Every time Dan opens his mouth as Homer Simpson someone buys something with Homer’s face on it. You hear Dan’s voice in syndication over and over. His voice is on talking toys. On video games.
It’s very unique territory. No other show has been here after so many years.
The actors are willing to take a pay cut if they can get some of the back end profits. It makes sense. Those kinds of deals used to be done frequently in Hollywood.
When FOX makes BILLIONS of dollars because of the show, the face of the show, or in this case – the voice, should be rewarded appropriately. You seem to think money is everything. I don’t. It’s not about what the actors make or what they can live with. Ratings don’t matter. And it’s not about the money.
It’s the principle.
Would you take a 45% pay cut from your same employer after 20 years, while your bosses give themselves ten and in some cases one hundred million dollar raises? Who would? The company makes billions of dollars on the actor’s voices and the executives increase their pay and cut everyone else’s pay.
The writers are not the face of the show. It’s the actors. Writers come and go, but the cast has stayed the same for 23 seasons. Had they been replaced in 1998, do you think The Simpsons would still be around? No, and FOX would be short several billion dollars too.
They owe it to the actors and writers and creators. This dispute is with the actors and what you don’t seem to be able to see is that FOX wants to blame the actors for killing the show by giving them an ultimatum and disrespecting them. There are 3 new cartoon shows coming in the next 2 years with FOX. One of which is Seth’s rejuvination of The Flinstones.
Fox knows what they want. Money. And if they can make more money not paying actors… they won’t pay the actors and will kill the show. But they don’t want to upset fans so they will try to put the blame on the actors for killing the show.
I can see right through it.
And I ask again – would you take a 45% pay cut from the same employer after 20+ years? It isn’t about money.
Thanks for the discussion.
And btw – what you don’t seem to comprehend in your analogy is the reason why the actors will take a pay cut and why they want a percentage of back end profits.
FOX’s assertion that they can’t afford the show is what I like to call – BS. The billions they make off the show is the evidence and Simpsons Fans all over “the web” are throwing it back in FOX’s face.
If they can’t give cash to the actors to reward them…Then the actors say fine. We’ll accept a pay cut. But we want a percentage of the back end profits. If the Simpsons is a failure in the future from this point on… the back end profits won’t be as high as if The Simpsons is a bigger success from this point on. Lots of people in Hollywood have been paid this way. One of the most famous examples was Alec Guiness in Star Wars who was paid on back end profits.
They don’t want in because they want to “own” the franchise. They want in on back end profits because FOX isn’t willing to give them a bigger piece of the pie in cash. FOX knows what the back end profits are going to be worth which is why they flatly said NO.
The actors are not stupid. And no, they don’t “need” the money as perhaps you or I may. Why should they take a 45% pay cut while FOX makes billions of dollars off of their voices? Why should they take a pay cut at all while FOX continues to profit off of them and will continue to profit off them each time they open their mouth.
You seem to be obsessed with the idea that the actors make plenty of money – so who cares. They can’t be the party being wronged because they are making $400,000 an episode and don’t have to shave to go to work and have the “good life” with their fancy cars. That my friend (with all due respect) is very narrow-minded and isn’t the point.
You want to blame the actors because you think they are greedy because they already have a nice life. Thankfully, there are many others out there who think differently from you.
I’ve made my argument. You made yours. I appreciate the discussion but I think you still don’t get it. It’s not about the money, the number of weeks the actors work, what they look like, how much money they are worth, and what they own. And if you can’t see past that then I really have nothing more to say on the subject.
And just so you know. The Writers (depending on how heavy their involvement) can make several thousand dollars each week that they are on a writing staff working. In addition to that… lead writers can make $30,000+ dollars for each finished script plus teleplay for 1 episode. Every time that episode plays in syndication…. Every time someone buys a DVD with that episode on it. Every time someone downloads that episode on iTunes. Every time someone watches that episode basically that writer will get a residual of the profits. Writers earn additional money in program fees. They earn money for being asked to come up with general plot outlines. And that primetime episode re-run.. that’s can be upwards of 20k to the credited writer each time it replays in primetime. How bout them apples! 🙂
Even after all that… nearly half of all writers in the Writer’s Guild Union rely on residual payments as their base pay.
If I was them, I’d be happy with $4 million. It’s not like any other tv series/film would want you after you have left The Simpsons. With the ratings that the Simpsons has gotten in recent years, it’s no surprise that they want to cut the salary.
Ratings have little to nothing to do with the show these days and whether or not they get re-newed. Really, FOX hasn’t been getting 20+ million viewers for this show like they did in the early 90’s and neither are the other networks. You can’t compare the show in the early 90’s to the show in the 2011’s. TV is different and looks different and ratings are drastically different across the board for all networks.
I’m curious – why do you think no other tv series/film would want any Simpsons actor? They all have outside projects currently going on which are successful.
I wonder if any of the Fox executives are taking pay cuts.
exactly
Honestly, who cares? It’s millionaires vs billionaires. It’s an easy excuse to blame “corporate greed” when the employees can be just as greedy.
Even though they’ve been making billions of dollars for Fox over the past 22 years, they’re willing to take a 30% pay cut. I would consider that far from being greedy.
This is a sign! The Simpsons shall finally be laid to rest too many years over due. Actors and FOX dont give in! Stop dragging the show through the mud deeper than what it already is!!!!!!
Think of all the artist jobs that are part of this series. It’s the most American made animated show out there. After 23 seasons, yes the show hit it’s peak long ago. But because it’s so much a part of our society it’s the nostalgia people have for it that keeps them buying the merch. That’s where the money comes from.
I hope they can to an agreement. As for the show’s end. Stop at Season 25 with the final episode ending with a big bang or maybe a second movie (with a brilliant finish).
All good shows must die.
This is true.
Did you know that FOX has a new primetime cartoon coming out this year. And that they renewed Bob’s Burgers. And that in 2013, Seth MacFarlane’s The Flinstones will be premiering on FOX.
Something to think about. FOX only cares about money. You have to wonder if they are trying to kill the simpsons so they can replace it with something new and less expensive. And in the process, they try to put the blame on the actors and make them look greedy (based on a few comments here – it looks like people actually believe that and FOX is succeeding at least with them). Those greedy actors killed the show! Not FOX! And in the same breath FOX announces the premiere of The Flinstones and Allen Gregory and that they are going to bring back more of Bob’s Burgers!
People think Simpsons actors make too much money. The actors on Friends each made 1 million per episode their final season. Jennifer Lopez gets paid 20 million dollars by FOX for a few shows of American Idol.
Oh well. As you say, all good things come to an end.