Yeah, I can’t work up a lot of sympathy for guys making $125 K per episode. Really, that’s damn good money for what they do.
Hell, that’s damn good money for anything!
I can’t help wonder what the writers are getting.
Do you have idea of what Rupert Murdoch earns? Surely those who contribute so much to the Simpsons deserve a fair proportion of that?
Hm.
More money for voice actors who don’t work as hard as ordinary actors, but have pretty much been responsible for the success of the show, not only as actors but in Harry Shearer’s case, as a writer?
Or:
More money for the show’s producers, who work about as hard as any other producers, and are paid like it already?
Or:
More money for Rupert Murdoch, who… um… well, I have no clue what it is that he does…
I CAN’T DECIDE!!!
Personally, all I care about is if the writing is funny. I would gladly keep watching if they replaced the voice actors with different people.
I think that the importance of the individual actor in determining a show’s success is often vastly over-estimated, with a few notable exceptions (I think Phil Hartman was irreplaceable and added much to NewsRadio/the Simpsons/SNL/etc.).
Just look at how the Seinfeld cast went on to so many soul-crushingly un-funny gigs (“Watching Ellie”, “Bob Patterson”, etc.).
I am sure there is no shortage of other talented voice actors who would be glad to stop waiting tables or whatever to work hard for what the Simpsons cast currently earns.
Well, if negotiations fail, they can change the actors and no-one will be able to tell the dee-diddley-ifference.
Who does the voices is important; Castellaneta may not have created Homer on paper but he’s created him in every other sense of the word. The voice, inflections and mannerisms are all Castellaneta. Same goes for everyone else.
Any other actor wouldn’t be playing Homer, he’d be doing an impression of Homer. Fans would know the difference.
Unlike us reg’lar workin’ folks, actors live an awfully tenuous existence, as the previous comment about Marcia Wallace will testify. There’s no 401K, no health plan and every day that you age makes you less and less desirable to those who would give you work. If these performers have an opportunity to milk some more money from their bosses, more power to them.
Okay, it’s time for that favorite game show "Recast the Simpsons"
I’ll go first
Homer – Randy Quaid
Marge – Harvey Fierstein
Bart – Brenda Vaccaro
Lisa – Bernadette Peters
Have you ever done v/o work? I have, and it’s a damn sight harder than “regular” acting. You’re in a tiny sound booth, alone, with no feedback or other actors to bounce off.
That being said, I think Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer, for instance, should be paid a lot more than Yeardley Smith, who sucks (you can always tell when it’s her doing a voice).