The Simpsons voices re-sign a new deal
It took just a few weeks, but the trouble is over. The two sides have met and negotiated a fair arrangement. No, I’m not referring to the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama camps and the Florida and Michigan delegates. No, the news is more animated than that. The powers that be at 20th Century Fox TV have re-signed the actors who voice the The Simpsons.
The principals are signing new four-year deals in which the talent will receive substantial increases in salary. They had been getting $360,000 per episode and were looking for a bump up in that fee to $500,000 per. The negotiated compromise amount is about $400,000 per show. And as expected, instead of a 22 episode season commencing next fall, there’ll be 20 shows in the year ahead.
And Homer is getting a special promotion. Dan Castellaneta who voices Homer — as well as Grampy Simpson and Krusty the Klown, among others — will be getting a new credit. He’ll be a consulting producer.
This is good news all around; Fox knows what they have with The Simpsons franchise. Considering that they’ve only had to ante up a little more than 11% increases to the actors, they did fine — as did the actors. This is a win-win all around, including a win for the viewers. The Simpsons cast will be back to work next week.
Exclusive! Jason Bateman Confirms Arrested Development Movie Talks
This just might be the best news we Arrested fans have heard in a very long time.
Jason Bateman has just confirmed to me that the creative minds behind Arrested Development (Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard) have put the wheels in motion toward a major motion picture of the Fox TV comedy so many of us adore. I'm told by insiders that Jason and other Bluth family members have received calls from producers (Hurwitz and Howard) asking if they would be willing to shoot a movie.
"I can confirm that a round of sniffing has started," Bateman says. "Any talk is targeting a poststrike situation, of course. I think, as always, that it's a question of whether the people with the money are willing to give our leader, Mitch Hurwitz, what he deserves for his participation. And I can speak for the cast when I say our fingers are crossed."
Jeffrey Tambor also revealed on XM Radio's the Ron and Fez Show that he has been approached by Ron Howard to see if he's willing to do an Arrested film. (You can hear that interview below.)
For the record, both Jason and Jeffrey's answers were: Hells yeah. And I hear from other sources that other castmembers were called and that everyone seems to be very much on board and excited by the prospect.
Insiders also tell me that while creator Mitch Hurwitz does not yet have a script, he has a good, solid understanding of what he'd like to do for the movie, and Universal is very much interested.
And so it seems that a few good—wait, no, outrageously amazing—things just might come out of this unfortunate writers' strike, as the creative minds in this town have had time to pause, regroup and think about their dream projects.
And an Arrested movie is a pretty great dream, is it not?
So, let's join our crossed fingers with the rest of the cast, shall we? And how about a little support in the Comments section below?
Totally Tube Reviews: Fox
TV enthusiasts, Totally Tube review mania continues today, with the lowdown on Fox's fall offerings.
So, read up—and don't forget to express your own opinion by voting in the Watch/Pass poll afterward!
Also, if you saw last night's K-Ville premiere, let me know what you thought of it in the Comments section below! Are we being too harsh?
DVR IT FOR NOW: Back to You
Premieres: Wed., Sept. 19 @ 8
Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, Fred Willard, Ty Burrell, Josh Gad, Ayda Field, Laura Marano
After Chuck Darling's accidental on-camera outburst goes viral on YouTube, the major-market news anchor is fired and finds himself back in Pittsburgh, coanchoring the city's nightly broadcast with Kelly Carr—a woman with whom he has quite a history. Starring sitcom vets Kelsey Grammer as Chuck and Patricia Heaton as Kelly, the chemistry between the new twosome is palpable in this traditional three-camera comedy, complete with laugh track. Unfortunately, your own laughs may feel a bit forced while watching the pilot. But take heart, the premise here is good, and the pedigree of all parties involved—including the accomplished producers and director—is promising. (Spoiler alert: There's an October Road-esque twist.) Give the writers a couple weeks to reach their stride, and we just might have an old-school hit on our hands.
Bottom Line: Trust the experience of this News team
DVR IT FOR LATER: K-Ville
Premieres: Mon., Sept. 17 @ 9
Starring: Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser, Tawny Cypress, Blake Shields
Shot on location in Louisiana, K-Ville is the story of a New Orleans Police Department SWAT team that is, in essence, still cleaning up the town in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Anthony Anderson is Officer Marlin Boulet, a N'Awlins native who loves his city dearly and would do anything to protect it. Cole Hauser is Trevor Cobb, his mysterious new partner who joins the force after doing a tough tour with the special forces in Afghanistan. Overall, K-Ville is reminiscent of Miami Vice, set a few states over, and with a more bohemian flair. They're a hotshot team professionally, but they struggle with some fundamental trust issues on a personal level. Sadly, the show is a bit formulaic and unimaginative, which makes it passive television. They're going to need to do some rebuilding if this thing is going to last.
Bottom Line: Under construction
Tim Minear gets a new deal
As Roger Daltry once sang, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” Tim Minear has signed a new seven figure deal that will keep him at 20th Century Fox TV for another two years. His job will continue to involve working on existing shows while developing new drama projects. He’s now been at 20th for over a decade, counting among his credits The X-Files, Strange World, Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The Inside, and Drive. Currently he is working as a consulting producer on Joss Whedon’s upcoming Dollhouse.
That’s a really impressive list of shows, creatively at least. But it does stand out that five of them ended all too soon. On hearing that there was a new deal in place, I was surprised for that very reason. With the last four projects ending so quickly, I thought this might be where the two parted ways. The good news is that Minear’s bosses are saying the right things. 20th TV chairman Gary Newman was quoted as saying, “We truly believe that there is a hit show in him, and we weren’t prepared to let him go and do it somewhere else.” I couldn’t agree more. Tim Minear can make a hit show, and I’ll keep watching them, four episodes at a time if need be, until he finds it.