You may have heard that there was a dispute threatening the future of The Simpsons. The main voice actors receive salaries that sound astronomical, at least when you compare them to what a guy gets for digging fence posts all day. When viewed as a percentage of what that show earns, the paychecks don't seem that unreasonable. Recently though, we had a flurry of articles that said that if the actors wouldn't take drastic cuts, there might be no more Simpsons.
At least one actor, Harry Shearer, made a public statement that he'd gladly cut his paychecks by a hefty amount but in exchange, he wanted a piece of the "back end," meaning a share in this…probably the most profitable enterprise ever crafted for television. Someone from Fox reportedly responded as if he was asking for a moon and a half, stating they would never ever share ownership or profits or whatever he was asking for. Anyway, there was some mud hurled and a lot of threats and finally, last Friday some sort of deal was made and The Simpsons will continue.
I have absolutely no inside info on what happened or who blinked or whatever. I know folks involved in this and spoke to none of them about it. But in answer to several e-mailed queries, let me tell you what this kind of dispute is all about.
There is this huge, wonderful pie. You and I divide it up. You get a small slice. I get a huge slice. One day, I decide I want an even bigger slice. I want part of yours for no other reason than that I'm greedy. So I demand you take less and I might even leak to the press how big a slice you get to try and make you seem like the piggish villain for selfishly trying to hold onto your small slice. I could even try to spin the story so it'll say that if you won't give up part of your slice, the pie will cease to exist and the bakers will all go unemployed and their children will starve and that'll be all your fault.
But of course it's a bluff because I'm not about to let that pie go away. My slice is too large and too tasty.
Always be suspicious of this kind of story when you're hearing numbers quoted…salaries, offers, etc. That information is not public knowledge and it usually comes from someone close to the negotiation who thinks they will gain some leverage and advantage by leaking it. The numbers may also be inaccurate but even if they're true, keep in mind they came from somewhere, presumably because someone thought it would put pressure on the other side. The articles are not reporting the story so much as becoming a part of it. And they probably had something to do with the fact that it's all been settled.