Seinfeld DVD update

"Cyrus Afzali" skrev i meddelandet news:[email]...

Can you please post the article here...

In article , [email] says...

Three Stars of 'Seinfeld' Boycott a DVD Deal By SHARON WAXMAN

Published: December 23, 2003

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 22 � Three of the four leading cast members of the hit television comedy "Seinfeld" are declining to participate in the making of a DVD series of the show because they are unhappy with the related financial deals they have had over the years, people close to the actors and the show said on Monday.

These people said that the three actors � Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played Elaine; Michael Richards, who played Kramer; and Jason Alexander, who played George � made the joint decision not to give on-camera interviews for the DVD or otherwise participate in it.

Executives at Castle Rock Television, which produced the show for NBC, and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, which will distribute the DVD, "were only willing to give a small recording fee to the three of them and not a piece of the action," said a representative for one of the actors, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "So they all said, `Why should we make other people richer?' "

Spokesmen for the three actors said they could not be reached for comment on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Jerry Seinfeld said he was disappointed that his three co-stars had decided to sit out the making of the DVD, which will feature extensive interviews with other cast members, writers and producers of the show.

"Jerry has enormous respect for Jason, Julia and Michael, and he had a great experience working with them on the show," said the spokeswoman, Elizabeth Clark. "He hopes they will participate in the DVD." Ms. Clark said Mr. Seinfeld hoped to talk to them after the New Year and persuade them to change their minds.

"Seinfeld," which ran from 1990 to 1998, remains one of the most successful comedy shows in television history and still plays in syndication across much of the country. The DVD of the show would seem destined to sell millions of copies.

The show continues to generate millions of dollars in revenue for its co-creators and executive producers, Mr. Seinfeld and Larry David, though the last original episode was broadcast five years ago. Mr. David did not return calls seeking comment.

The three boycotting actors earn residual payments from the show's reruns, a fee determined by the Screen Actors Guild. A representative for one of the actors estimated the fee at $100,000 a year.

Discontent over the sharing of the "Seinfeld" riches has arisen with Mr. Seinfeld's three co-stars before. In the last few years of the show the actors had sought to become part owners of the show, like Mr. Seinfeld.

They famously sought $1 million an episode for the last year of the show, 1998, in part because they said they thought they had been underpaid for many seasons. They ended up with about $600,000 a show, then a whopping sum for television.

A complicating factor is that "Seinfeld" is now owned by a handful of corporate entities. After the original "Seinfeld" deal was negotiated, Castle Rock Television was bought by Turner Broadcasting, which was bought by Time Warner. This means that Time Warner, Columbia TriStar Television, Castle Rock, Mr. Seinfeld and Mr. David will all take profits from the DVD.

Without the participation of three of the main cast members, the DVD will be significantly less interesting, executives close to the project acknowledged.

"It's never been just about the episodes; it's really about the value added," said Fritz Friedman, a senior vice president at Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. "That's what takes so much time. That's why so much is up in the air � the concept, the taping, the schedules of people involved. Fans complain if we release bare-bones product. On something like `Seinfeld,' people won't be happy if we just put the episodes on there."

Castle Rock is working on the DVD of the first "Seinfeld" season, aiming to release it in December 2004. Plans call for the eventual release of all nine seasons.

Though taped in Hollywood, "Seinfeld," set in Manhattan, was a quintessentially New York show that contributed a succession of signature phrases and oddball story lines to American popular culture. Everything from Kramer's manic body language to "Yada, yada, yada" to "master of your domain" became fodder for water cooler chat.

Others participating in the making of the DVD expressed disappointment that resentment over money had become a legacy of the show.

Peter Mehlman, a former "Seinfeld" writer, said: "There are so few people who get that chance to be on a show that has that kind of impact. They were so brilliant. We had so much fun while we were doing it. It's kind of sad that they have bad feelings about it."

--snip

Well at least the DVD is on the way then. Nicer if they could all take part though.

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 10:10:58 -0000, "Stephen \(aka steford\)" wrote:

Pity its a whole year before we get even the first season. But, as you say, at least its happening now...

"Stephen (aka steford)" wrote in message news:bs945s$814kf$[email]...

part

They will - it's like Spock and all those Star Trek films. Alan

Uh, because they made the show that made them stars? Why don't they also think of the show's fans who actually are interested in seeing the stars discuss their time with the best sitcom of all time?

It would be nice if they took part but you can't expect them to do it for free. Someone's going to make a lot of money out of the DVDs.

The quote I snipped had them getting a small fee. They owe a lot of their careers to Seinfeld as their subsequent TV work has shown.

Then again they were the show. OK Jerry and Larry wrote it but those 3 (and others) acted it. Don't get me wrong I'd love a feature packed DVD with commentaries and interviews (commentaries more so) but you can't expect them to just give up their time for next to nothing because it "made them" especially when the company behind it has billions. OK if it was some independent outfit that had put together a low budget film or something then fair enough.

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 15:55:59 -0000, "Stephen \(aka steford\)" wrote:

And although it was Jerry's show do you think it would have been the same without George, Elaine and Kramer? How often do you hear somone say "Jerry was my favourite character"?

but they were paid 600 k an episode. Twice what Ted Danson made and he was the star.

"Windbag1000" wrote in message news:[email]...

was the

LOL!

Er

was the

did they get a private jet too?

On 23 Dec 2003 19:41:37 GMT, [email] (Windbag1000) wrote:

Yeah but he got to go on the good jet...

Seriously though - this is the free market you (should) get paid what you're worth. You can't make the comparison between, say, Danson and Alexander - there's no basis except for some general points.

I hold with my original point: George, Julia and Micheal all made a contribution that was at least the equal of Jerrys and should have been paid for fairly for that contribution.

On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 21:36:46 +1100, RainDog wrote:

Not even close.

      +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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   +            (two mirrored sites)
   +        http://membres.lycos.fr/tnguym
   +        http://waveprohosting.com/tnguym
   +    All things Seinfeld; scripts, trivia, lists,
   +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Amen. One of these people created the show, was pursued by NBC, insisted on writing and producting it his way on his terms, including the recruitment of Larry David, the other three read their lines in the funniest way imaginable and added some amazing chemistry but that's it and Jerry did that too.

Stars? I am unaware of any tv shows or movies featuring any of those 3 actors since Seinfeld ended.

"Windbag1000" wrote in message news:[email]...

think

I have to agree on that. The reason the show got so popular was because the fans watched it. I too think they owe something back to the fans who followed the show for so many years. Instead they start acting like infants and scream for more money. Of course they shouldn't do it for free, they should be paid what they usually get per hour for stuff like this. But ffs, stop acting like children and try doing something that would make other people happy.

---

PerR

"Per Richardy" wrote in message news:3fe97d3d$0$95088$[email]...

also

discuss

the

infants

ffs,

If I read that article right, they were offered a relatively small sum to participate in the DVD commentary.

I think their objection is they should get more than the "standard" fee because everyone else involved will make far more off the DVDs than they will because they are not show owners. I think it's a legitimate beef. They should get MORE if Sony, Castle Rock, Seinfeld and David, etc. are going to all net 10s of millions ( or more even).

As far as the 100k per year per person goes, that's not a bad chunk of change for doing not a hell of a lot. Most of these things are "standard" provisions spelled out in network contracts. When someone signs on to a series, they usually sign a seven year contract. This is pretty usual. Obviously, most shows do not run for seven years, but if they do, the actors are usually locked in for that amount of time and know what they are getting in to. Don't forget, it is EVERY actor's dream to land on a sitcom that will actually run that length! If a show actually makes it that long, the actors are all guaranteed enough money to be set for life (as was the case for this bunch of unknowns).

They did try to negotiate for a piece of the show after Season 7 ended. They were rebuffed, and instead became the highest paid actor in TV history (at that time). Everything's a trade off. I'll take bets right now the "boycott" will end after they get a bigger fee for doing the work. Old song and old verse.

But there is no "standard fee" for DVD interviews since no one receives a fee at all. By getting anything they are getting more than a standard fee, or do I not know how these DVD extras are put together? Who gets paid just to answer questions?

"Per Richardy" wrote in message news:...

I suppose you also believe Columbia, Castlerock, Seinfeld etc. should be grateful to fans of the show and sell these DVDs for $10 instead of trying to make a profit. Get serious.

Noone wrote:

I was astonished by how small that number was. Can anyone confirm that this is a reasonable estimate?