Big Bang Actors To Earn $1M Per Episode 442
Cludge (981852) writes with a snippet from the BBC: "And rich they will be: With The Big Bang Theory commissioned until 2017, the show's three biggest names, Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard) and Kaley Cuoco (Penny) are guaranteed to earn $72m (£42.6m) each over the next three seasons. Unsurprisingly, the cost of producing the sitcom has spiraled." I wonder what that works out per line?
Re:They are the rich (Score:4, Interesting)
They've made quite clear that Sheldon is paid well by the university, and that he's got piles of un-cashed checks laying around.
Only Penny is ever in need of cash.
that's some expensive laughtrack (Score:1, Interesting)
Given that a 21 minute show is something like 90 seconds of laughtrack, they aren't getting a great deal for their buck. :)
Re:It's not that much (Score:4, Interesting)
considering Miami Vice was pulling these kinds of numbers in the '80s. Granted, it was only for one actor, but still.
Yes, and if you remember, the other lead actor was paid less well because he was rather less white, and he was rather pissed off about it, understandably.
These star actors cost a lot, yes, but they also brought in a lot of money. So I suppose it was, and still is a sound investment.
Re:Nerd Blackface (Score:2, Interesting)
The audience's actions being prompted by people with cue boards, etc., of course.
True, I've heard that, and I since I haven't personally been in a studio audience since The Dating Game, I'm not qualified to say what goes on there, but I've heard from someone who has been in the audience of TBBT that the audience generally ignores the signs and does whatever they want. That there are signs doesn't necessarily mean that the reactions aren't genuine.
My preference would be no audience noises at all, but you can't have everything.
To those who point to the few sitcoms that have no laugh track, I've noticed that the music tends to "react" in the right moments and I'm not convinced that's an improvement.
Re:Wow! What stupidity. (Score:2, Interesting)
All the truly impoverished and starving people around the world are in countries that feature a lack of capitalism.
Re:Nerd Blackface (Score:4, Interesting)
The Sheldon character holds down a high paying job and manages to interact with an admittedly small circle of friends. He's already doing better than a good segment of the population.
Do you really think that an IRL Sheldon without script immunity would be able to do the same? The TV Sheldon also seems to be a pretty crap physicist, given to conspiracy theories, junk science, and an inability to distinguish between fiction and reality.
Script immunity, reasonable point. Nevertheless...
I personally know a highly paid programmer who believes in witchcraft and astrology. I had a hard time understanding that someone with such a logical mind would believe in something so illogical, but apparently it's more common than one would think. It's what puts the the "quirk" in "quirky", I guess. Otherwise brilliant people who have strange blind spots in areas where you'd think they'd know better. You really don't know anyone like that?
My dad worked with a guy very much like Sheldon. He was brilliant, and so dedicated to his work that he would rarely and only under certain circumstances acknowledge the existence of others. Arguably someone with even more intense quirks than Sheldon. Although admittedly, Dad said that the guy had a "handler", a guy almost as brilliant as him who acted as confidant, kept him out of trouble, and acted as interpreter to the more normal people.
Re:Nerd Blackface (Score:5, Interesting)
This is exactly what's great about The Big Bang theory, and especially discussions on Slashdot about it, there are always a bunch of geeks who will sit and say they don't relate to it and it doesn't represent "proper" geeks, all the while completely oblivious to the fact they're sounding exactly like Sheldon hence disproving their own theory that it's not representative. If you sat Sheldon down in front of a show like the Big Bang Theory this is probably exactly what he'd say:
"That wouldn't be my argument against it. My argument is that it's not a good show. I don't find the characters relateable. I don't think it's particularly funny. It seems like someone took a very bland, unoriginal sitcom and attached a geek gimmick to try to make it interesting, but in my mind it fails. It's not interesting, and the geek gimmick doesn't really work. "
It's like a kind of circular ignorance of what makes the show great. I'd say that contrary to your assertion people watching Big Bang Theory exactly understand geeks and nerds, because when they think of Sheldon and what he'd have to say about it, they'd imagine exactly the sort of holier than thou, no true geek (aka no true Scotsman) argument you've made.
Re:They are the rich (Score:1, Interesting)
And the show really isn't that funny.
Penny has nice tits though.
Another reply from the 'I'm a nerd who lives in my mom's basement' crowd. Show ring a little too true for your tastes?? Do you really think coffee means coffee?? Have no social life?? Look forward to your trips to the comic book store???
Or is it just a little too much over your head that you don't get the jokes.
I personally find it hilarious, even though I suffer from sometimes feeling like parts of my life are being made fun of. I once told a girl who asked me back to her apartment for coffee that I prefer tea, and proceeded to go home. That stings a little bit whenever I see the episode about the guys not knowing that coffee doesn't always mean coffee.