News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox Television is cutting the budgets of shows in production by 2%, TelevisionWeek reports. The cuts affect shows including “24” “Family Guy,” “Life on Mars” and “Dollhouse.” “Everyone understands that revenues are down and these steps are necessary to protect our business,” a studio spokesman tells TVWeek.
—Jon Lafayette
20th Cutting Budgets on Series
Dec 17, 2008 • Post A Comment
Finally, a voice of reason. No one is denying that Actors/Writers and directors are getting the shaft when it comes to residuals. But, there is a time and a place for every battle. In todays economy, now IS NOT THE TIME for anyone to strike. I hope that actors will sign a short term contract, say 3 years, and live to continue the fight when the economy is on the upswing. A strike does not effect actors alone. It effects thousands of of crew members, vendors and others that rely on film money. To the SAG leadership, don’t tell me that this is a fight for your very professional lives. it is’nt. It is a money grab. When I first came into the biz, my boss told me that their is one immutable fact. A producers job, by definition, is to squeeze three nickles out of a dime. Make a short term deal. Live to fight another day. A day when cinema is seeing increases in box office, when ad revenue is up. Don’t squabble about how to divide a billion dollar pie.