Friday, the executives at Fox put their heads together and agreed to renew the long running, hit prime time cartoon “The Simpsons” for two more seasons. The renewal was in jeopardy, as issues over the proposed contracts would not let up. But in the end, the men and women who are the voice cast of the show came to terms with Fox executives.
Each one of the voice actors on the show makes an estimated eight million dollars per season. However, in these trying economic times, even a company as big as Fox with a show as famous as “The Simpsons” said that costs needed to be cut. According to one voice actor, Harry Shearer, producers were acting for as much as a 45% pay cut.
According to one source, the cast agreed to a thirty percent cut, but did not indicate if the men and women gave up anything more or were given anything in return for taking the cut.
Shearer at one point allegedly offered to take a seventy percent pay cut if he could get “a tiny share” of how much the show generates in syndication, DVD sales, and other profitable areas. He was denied the offer.
But now there is a deal and both sides will benefit for at least two additional years.
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