If people can complain about CEO’s and Wall Streeters making millions while their businesses fail, I can’t imagine anybody of that mindset thinking that voice talent is worth a comparable amount ($8 mil. a season?) for a show ranked in the 70s on a “most-watched weekly” list.
I thought quixotic78 was implying if Fox canceled the show as mentioned in the OP.
I remember when Taxi jumped networks.
I seriously doubt you can replace anyone on the Simpsons and continue the show.
To paraphrase a wise man, they have a lot of episodes, but they’d trade them all for a little more. Especially considering they’re throwing around the idea of an all-Simpsons network.
You seriously don’t think someone else can do Homer? Or Lisa?
I don’t understand why not. Barring any contractual issues we’re not aware of, surely there are people willing to do their best Bart Simpson impersonation for $20k an episode.
How many people watch The Simpsons for Hank Azaria?
The real question is, can the talent get that kind of money anywhere else? If they can’t, then they should probably just accept the cut down to a still very high amount of money, but if they can, then they can either just take that other job, or use it as leverage in the negotiations with Fox.
As for changing networks, what person or group of people could make that decision? Could Groenig do it on his own, or is there a board that would need to be convinced, or do Fox themselves have some say in it?
If Fox canceled the show, I believe the Executive Producers/Studio can shop it around.
Merged duplicate threads.
Well, it’s that time again. Just as has happened several times in the past, 20th Century Fox Television is asking the voice talent for the Simpsons to take least a 45% pay cut from their current annual salaries of approximately US$ 8.35 million or else the show will end after its current season, the 23rd.
The crew unsuccessfully countered with an offer to negotiate a 30 per cent pay cut in return for a portion of the show’s profits.
The dispute would need to be settled by December in order for the writers to work on either a season finale or a series finale, depending on the outcome of the salary talks.
What does everybody think? Fox in the past has managed to come up with enough money to satisfy the cast. A couple of years ago, they also came up with enough money to retain the original cast of Futurama when that series was renewed on Comedy Central.
Or will this finally bring an end to the longest-running prime time scripted show in history? Personally, I would like to see the cast be satisfied and for the show to continue. I thought the past few seasons have been very good, especially the ones since the movie. And I liked the first couple of episodes of the new season well enough.
Well, how are the suits supposed to give themselves huge raises if the people doing the work won’t take it up the ass?
I doubt you could find too many actors who would take the jobs of the original cast. Voice actors tend to have a tight brotherhood. Maurice LaMarche once refused to take over all of Harry Shearer’s and Hank Azaria’s characters during a previous contract dispute, stating that he would never undercut another actor who was trying to better himself.
Shearer actually walked up to LaMarche to thank him for refusing to take on his role with the Simpsons.
Fox knows this, too. They will keep negotiating with the current actors and not replace them with imitators.
Maybe they’re just doing this for publicity or for a power play. The Simpsons is HUGE worldwide and there’s no way that it’s not still a cash cow.
I wouldn’t watch it if they replaced one of the main cast, and I know my daughter wouldn’t either - this has come up in conversation before. I don’t know why, exactly, but it would feel wrong and would change the overall feel. I also suspect that a voice actor brings a lot more to the job than just sounding like one particular character. And that’s even if they’re not voice actors like Hank Azaria, who voices a lot more than just Homer.
Dan Castelleneta voices Homer. Also, Quimby, Abe, Krusty, and Willie. Azaria voices Moe, Apu, and Chief Wiggum. But yeah, I wouldn’t watch it either if they replaced any of the cast members.
How much does the head of Fox make, and how much more will he make if he can convince the cast of The Simpsons to take less?
You’re right - it was Castelleneta I was thinking of, but I read Azaria so wrote his name instead.
Have Billy West voice every character. Then shut it down. It was a good run.
This may be so, but there is a tradition in voice over acting that you DO NOT take another actor’s gig without getting approval first. Actors that do often find themselves ostracized by the community, and unable to find work consistently afterwards.
Raises hand
What does that have to do with anything? We’re talking about people being paid $440k for what they themselves admit is commonly a half-days work. If what they say is true (about being a half-days work), this is the hourly equivalent of $228 million/year.
But since you asked, in 2010 Rupert Murdoch had a salary of $8.5 million, no bonus, and was awarded $4 million in stock, with total compensation of $22 million. The head of Fox, Roger Ailes, in the same year had a salary of $5 million, a $1 million bonus, was awarded no stock, and his total compensation was $14 million.
So the voice talent of The Simpsons, a show that consistently ranks in the mid-60’s in the ratings, gets paid $34 million a year (and that’s just for the top 4 people) at a pay scale that is the equivalent of up to $912 million/year for all four, and people here think they are worth that?