City of Films

Things are not looking so great for our favorite cartoon family.  A money dispute between Fox and the voice actors of The Simpsons, now in its 23rd season may force the long-running hit series to shut down next spring.

Everyone who has anything to do with this show is getting paid a lot, so it is only a matter of time before it can’t be sustained any longer.  Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe, Chief Wiggum and Apu), and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders) have offered to take a 30% pay cut (presently $8M a year each) in exchange for a percentage of the show’s back-end profits. Fox doesn’t like that:

“Fox is taking the position that unless they can cut the production costs really drastically, they’ll pull the plug on new shows, the show has made billions in profits over the years and will continue to do so as far as the eye can see down the road. The actors are willing to take a pay cut of roughly a third, but that’s not good enough for Fox.” [thedailybeast]

Fox has threatened to replace cast members with sound-alike actors in the past, but for the first time executives have insisted that if the cast doesn’t accept a 45% pay cut, The Simpsons will be canceled.  I think Fox has come to realize they may make more off the show when it’s dead.  Merchandise and syndication is a cash cow for The Simpsons, and take $8M away from the actors and you get even more savings.  It’s a sad state of affairs if you ask me and I don’t think a lot of people will sympathize with either side.

Fox has said in a response to the news wave:

“Twenty-three seasons in, The Simpsons is as creatively vibrant as ever and beloved by millions around the world,” 20th TV said in a statement. “We believe this brilliant series can and should continue, but we cannot produce future seasons under its current financial model. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the voice cast that allows The Simpsons to go on entertaining audiences with original episodes for many years to come.”

Now we play the waiting game…ah waiting game sucks, let’s play Hungry Hungry Hippo’s!