"Simpsons" on strike over contract
 

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i think they should be entitled to a raise. this show's been going on for what? 10...13 years i think? that's pretty long, and very good for an animated show. not to mention that it's the same cast that's been on since, what seems like forever.

It baffles me how these people make that much money.

I wish I could earn that much money for speaking in a funny voice.

The simpsons are awsome but the voice actors dont need to make that much money for just talking in a funny voice like Mr. Deflok says. However if this stike ment that simpsons was put of the air for awhile then i would rather they get the money they want because i cant live with out my simpsons.

They need to suck it up or quit. This is redicilous.

What I want to know is how Romano pulls in 2 mil for ONE GODDAMN EPISODE!!!

I think its crazy that people say they somehow don't "deserve" that kind of money. Their voices made other people billions, I see no reason why they shouldn't get a cut.

and it all goes down hill from here...look at all the other popular series that have been on the air for this long, and had salary disputes.

Seinfeld....gone
Friends.....almost gone
Frasier.....almost gone
Everybody Loves Raymond.....could be gone soon

I know it would probably be different if I were in their shoes, but man I'd love to be apart of something as successful and popular as the Simpsons. I'd be happy to do it at what they were getting paid back before the first contract dispute in 1998. I just don't see how their voices and a days worth of work requires a $360k paycheck. As far as I know, most of the actors have other careers besides the Simpsons, so it's not like they're not making something else on the side.

Oh well. Even if they do end up off the air, they had a heck of a run. It will live on in syndication forever.

What people don't understand about voice acting is that it's difficult. If you don't think so, try creating a slew of unique voices and perform things like screams, sobs, etc in those voices. I'm not saying they deserve 360K per episode, but I don't think it matters how much work they do per show; does anyone think 360K is fair for a week's work? Actors are overpaid. I wish I could make 360K for pretending to care about whatever purile plot the writers had shat out for me.

Sure it's hard work, but so is coal mining in West Virginia, the company earns 3 million dollars revenue per quarter and the worker gets to go home with the black lung.*

*all made up but it could be true!

So many other actors who have had TV shows on the air for 10+ years make much more than they do. Why shouldn't they to?

Not that I think they really deserve that much money. I think it's crazy how much entertainers are getting paid. But hey, if everyone in my company who did the exact same work that I did but was getting paid 5x more I'd be pissed too.

Of course they don't deserve that money, but the show rests on those voices. If they go, the show is over. They have the ultimate leverage.

I look at it like, if the show is turning over billions and billions of dollars, they should be getting a cut of that, and a decent one too, because without them the show would be NOTHING. Have you ever heard anyone do a decent rendition of a Simpsons character other than the actual cast? Fuck no.

Okay, they don't deserve to be allowed to take the piss and keep hiking their salaries, but a reasonable demand in proportion to the amount it turns over, and the amount Matt Groening and James L Brooks et al get for it is fair.

Yeah. I dont disagree that if everyone else is making it, they shouldnt be able to. It just baffles me how people got to make that much in the first place. They are getting paid that much for one day's work? Insane.

the article says "holding up production on the 16th season" has it been 15 years already, damn.

360k per episode, sure, easily, they all do multiple characters, it would only seem fair.
as for Ray Romano, show's funny, but not 2 million funny, guess it goes to show what holding out and having a good agent will do for you.

Especially when Everybody Hates Everybody Loves Raymond!

I'd don't mind if they argue over more money, as long as they get what they want or settle and the show goes on... when I watch other TV shows do I care how much the actors make? Nope.

I seem to remember the voice actors doing an episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio". Somebody asked them how it is that all of the original voice actors had stayed with the series for so long. The answer was basically, "It isn't that much work to do the voices each week. We still have lots of time to pursue other projects."

And while I do think many actors are overpaid as well, most of them are working a full work week on the show and don't have the freedom to work on movies, etc on the side. They deserve to be paid more than voice actors.

If anything, the writers and animators for the Simpsons deserve to get a raise. The problem is, they are much easier to replace. When a writer or animator is replaced the quality may go down, but it will be a much subtler change than if one of the voices suddenly changed. So they don't have the same leverage as the voice actors, and they pretty much get screwed.

I think that this is a great time to go ahead and end the show.

The Simpsons hasn't been up to par for six years (at least that long), so why not just fire 'em all. Buy the first few seasons on DVD and be happy.

Their pay should be on par with the revenues the show and their voices generate...in that case they deserve a raise I would think...

Everything I wanted to say has pretty much already been said :D

I feel they deserve a LOT more because:

1. The show has made billions with all it's licensing and ad revenue

2. It's more of a pop-culture icon than Everybody Loves Raymond/Seinfeld (as much as I love Seinfeld, it's true)

3. $30,000 in 1998?! What a rip-off. I was shocked when I read that.

They are SEVERELY underpaid compared to the amount of $$ the show brings in. Fox should show some love and stop being so greedy.

This is not about the work they do. Yes it is relatively easy work for someone who has the talent to perform as they do...

This is about the amount of money being made and who is lining their pockets with the money. The Studio (Fox), the Producers and the Distributors are all getting very fat cheques and getting very rich from this series (like any series).

But what makes the series what it is? The writers and the cast. In this case the voices of the characters.

The producers do very little other than tweak and episode here or there. The studios put up cash to make the show but have little risk at this late in the game (their risk disappeared somewhere around season two when the show took off).

I'm just surprised they haven't asked for this raise any earlier (probably had contracts that didn't allow for it).


PS: Those who would tell them to suck it up have no idea what they are talking about...

simpsons should get cancled anyways the plot sucks anyways theyve done all they can do..

I'm not a position to judge if they deserver the raise or not.

However, if they can't be replaced, and if they're in the position to negotiate, then good luck and all the best to them!

I'm not a position to judge if they deserver the raise or not.

However, if they can't be replaced, and if they're in the position to negotiate, then good luck and all the best to them!

The real question is whether yeardly smith(1 voice-Lisa) should make as much as harry shearer who does upwards of 30 voices some times in the show(Montgomery Burns,Waylon Smithers,Ned Flanders,Kent Brockman,Rev. Lovejoy,Principal Skinner,Dr. Hibbert,Rainer Wolfcastle, etc.)

The simpsons started sucking a long time ago, it's a different show now than it was

Just to bring this back, it was settled. They got their money.
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...1^1702,00.html

I had no doubt that this would get resolved. The Simpsons just makes too much money for it to be at signficant risk.