Re: Season 8: Returning Stars & Show
FireIvyGoddess said:
csicathwillows said:
if they did then that's ridiculous. im not saying that actors and actresses don't work hard, but seriously, there are a lot of people out there who work a heck of a lot harder. what about brain surgeons? do they make a million dollars for each surgery they do? no. and they are saving lives...
live theater stars have an even harder job than tv stars b/c they can't make mistakes. yet the broadway stars definitely don't get paid as much as movie stars. it doesn't make much sense.
and (to get back on topic) if jorja fox is getting $100,000 per episode, how can she not agree to come back? that's a ton of money!!
The difference is that the CSI franchise brings in millions and millions of dollars on a regular basis so it only makes sense that it's actors get a piece of that. Broadway shows, with the exception of Wicked and the Disney shows, will very rarely be in the position where they make that much and when they do, most of the money goes towards paying off the production costs. Also, yes Broadway stars work in front of a live audience every night all year round but it really isn't that difficult to avoid making mistakes and trained actors should be quite skilled in covering any mistakes that they do make. They also have more room to move on. A typical Broadway actor will usually stay with a show for about a year and a half (unless you're in Rent and you keep coming back). If a tv show becomes a hit, a television actor can be stuck in that character for much longer and runs the risk of being type cast. Plus their days could go longer, depending on quite a few factors connected with television production.
As for brain surgeons, I don't know how much they do make and it would be wonderful if they could get the money an actor does. It would also be great if teachers or police officers or firefighters or ER doctors could. But those professions don't bring in the money that would allow that to be done. You also need to consider the fact that on a television show, you have a limited amount of cast members that make those high numbers. That isn't so in other professions.
Now to bring us back to topic, like Destiny pointed out, Jorja may be holding out for something other than money. Or maybe she has already signed and they are keeping it under wraps to make for a more suspenseful season premiere. Maybe, even if it is for money, she is holding out because the other actors received better raises. I just really hate seeing Jorja made out as this horrible, greedy person when none of us actually know the truth of the situation.
As someone who is training in theatre I can say that live theatre is not easy at all. It is not easy to avoid making mistakes, as so many people are involved. Some shows have a cast that stay with the production from beginning to end, others not.
The worst thing about live theatre is when one has been a lot on the show and suddenly has to think... "wait, did we do this scene already, or am thinking of the matinee/last night's performance?" It can be quite confusing, and even the best and most experienced actors can get flustered. A good actor will know how to glide through this sort of situation as if nothing happened, but it is a lot of work, just as much as acting for film. Also, the crew is human too. Very hard working and talented, but human. And then there's the fact that is live, and, well, things happen. Common mishaps: a zipper may break during a quickchange (a costume change taking only a few seconds or minutes), a light may burn out, a speaker blow.
A stage show looks flawless because the cast and crew are working very, very hard. It's a very tough life, and theatre actors do it because they love theatre. They could get a better-paying job somewhere else, but they love the theatre. Should someone get paid less because they love their job? No.
I think the confusion comes because on TV, there are always bloopers being shown on "entertainment news shows" and the like. But on a live stage show, everyone works so hard to cover up problems that it doesn't show.
That's why so many people do theatre, get into TV to make some money, and then go back into theatre... it's a tough life, but if you have some money already, it isn't too tough.
TV actors have the luxury of a summer break. In theatre, you've got to keep going. There really isn't that much room to move unless you have some fame and fortune coming in to theatre. Sure, you can take theatre role after theatre role, but there isn't as much choice, and sometimes you've got to take something skanky just to be able to pay the rent! The life of a professional theatre actor is gruelling, often consisting of two shows a day, singing and dancing training on the side, and sometimes even a job bussing tables on top of all that to make sure the heating bill can be paid.
All that said, I think that Ms. Fox does deserve the going rate that other CSI stars are getting. TV work can be hard. The CSI stars have the luxury of being able to theatre in their summer breaks, if they want to - the best of both worlds. It would be wrong if Ms. Fox is kicked off of CSI because she wants the going rate. If she wants to leave, that is her choice, and I while I hope she does stay, I can't really say anything derogatory if she is no longer interested in doing CSI... except that I wish she'd stick it out for the fans sake! (but that really isn't too fair)
Anyways, I hope she stays, she deserves to be paid the going rate for other CSI stars, and that they let her character shine once again. I'd be kinda disheartened too if my character went from being vibrant and curius to someone's girlfriend.