collven

From the original story:

"Executives at Castle Rock Television, which produced the show for NBC, and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, which will distribute the DVD, "were only willing to give a small recording fee to the three of them and not a piece of the action," said a representative for one of the actors, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "So they all said, `Why should we make other people richer?' "

I totally agree with their point. They are not going to get any money from the dvd sales? To me, that's just wrong. Also in the original story, their residuals were estimated to be $100,000 a year. Sure, I would like to make that kind of money, but compare that with what everyone else involved with the show is making, and I wouldn't be too happy with it either.

darkside

The point is, the reason they are millionaires is the show and they should do the extras for the fans that made them millionaires. They are not doing it for free. They get residuals from the show and they are getting a recording fee.

You guys can argue it anyway you want, but it still sounds like a big FU to the fans of the show. They are greedy and want Seinfield money. It just doesn't work that way. I'm sorry their own shows sucked so bad that they got quickly cancelled and they couldn't get elevated to Seinfield status, but they should be happy for what success they have and not be bitter because he is 100 times more successful than them.

vegasbaby

To reitirate what I said in my original post ...

Dreyfus & Alexander obviously should get paid for their DVD participation.

They dont own the show, so their rights end there.

darmok

you'd think that the honor of contributing one's thoughts to the commentary track would be a fun way of "immortalizing" or sharing one's experiences with fans, as sort of a legacy. unfortunately, many have become blinded by the way the system works out there, and are not willing to without heavy compensation. blessings to Mr. Richards (or any other celebrity who feels his way) for at least being a very good sport about it.

jayson1017

kramer is boring. watch kramer vs. kramer.

nightmaster

Do it for posterity??????
C'mon. These people are in a business and should expect to be paid for their time and efforts. If it hadn't been publicized they weren't going to participate over a money dispute it wouldn't be an issue. How many actors don't do commentaries because they aren't willing to do it for what they don't feel is an acceptable fee? Lots I'm sure. Hey, I agree they've made scads of money as a result of being on the show, but I don't see why they should be expected to work on this project for nothing. I don't go to work for posterity.

Wannabe

Actually, Louis-Dreyfus is a member of the famous New York financial Dreyfus family. Her father is French billionaire Gerard Louis-Dreyfus.

She doesn't need the money. She's doing it out of spite.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Jerry : "Well I want to return this jacket and she asked me why and I said for spite and now she won't take it back."

Bob: "That's true. You can't return an item based purely on spite."

Jerry:. "Well So fine then ..then I don't want it and then that's why I'm returning it"

Bob: "Well you already said spite so......"

Iron_Giant

To each their own, if that is what they decide - that is fine with me.

Everyone is making their own decesion concerning the DVD release.

EPKJ

"To each their own, if that is what they decide - that is fine with me.

Everyone is making their own decesion concerning the DVD release."

Stating the obvious seems so profound to some people. Is this actually supposed to add to the discussion?

GatorDeb

Darkside, why do you keep ignoring when people keep telling you that they are NOT being offered a profit off the DVD? You keep saying they will get some money from it, and people keep telling you no they won't. At least consider that they are NOT being offered a percentage off of it and Seinfield and David will keep all the profits.

Richards isn't seeing a cent.

unbeeleebable

This thread is certainly proving to be a healthy debate for whether payment should be afforded them or not for contributing to the extras on this DVD and I for one must admit to not being swayed either way. Actually I am more like torn between the two sides. Certainly there is absolutley nothing wrong with them being monetarily compensated for the time and effort that they would contribute but clearly that appears is not going to happen. Not at this juncture anyway. So that being the case and they hold out in an attempt to receive payment that does not materialise I do certainly hope they will forgo payment and add their input. This maybe a little naive but as has been pointed out this show is a TV classic of monumental proprotions and surely they are acutely aware of this so as a fan I would be hugely disappointed if any release went forward without all main characters input. I do think now that Kramer has "folded" the likelihood of a deal being reached where all could get paid will not happen but he should be applauded at the same time. It does bother me though that money can't be found for all or is the core issue the amount of money?

nightmaster

I was under the impression that thay been offered a fee, but not a percentage. If so and they don't like the $$ figure that's understandable. If their demands are unreasonable then I can certainly understand why they're being rejected by the DVD makers. It was a great show and a great ensemble show IMO, and I think they deserve to make a little money from their input, because they were all great characters that will get laughs and be enjoyed each time someone watches an episode when they slap one of those DVDs in their player. I definitely think all four deserve compensation for their commentary input.
Maybe (I know this will sound sacriligious to the hardcore fans who want them out on DVD right NOW) there hasn't been enough time passed since the show ended for the stars to feel as wistful and nostalgic about the show as its fans already do?

darkside

They receive a $100,000 in residuals a year from the show already for syndication. Sales of the DVDs will add to this total. Not to mention they were going to be paid a recording fee which would be at least a cent as you put it.

I'm sure they figure they are going to get their residual whether they help on the DVD or not, so why bother. They are trying to blackmail the producers into giving them an even larger cut of the profits and they are not entitled to that money. Maybe when Elaine does the boxset for her crappy show she can get that kind of percentage of the sales.

They were not asked to do it for free however, so people need to stop claiming that. A recording fee may be a drop in the bucket to them now, but it just goes to show how rich the show made them and how greedy they are. They are getting residuals from the DVD sales though, the Actors Union would have a fit if they were not. The residual may not end up being much money compared to Jerry's cut, but it would probably seem like a lot of money to most of us if we got the check in the mail.

This story seems to be more about them being jealous of the money Seinfield and David have made on the show than anything else.

cdollaz

In the real world, we call that negotiating a business contract, not blackmail, which is a criminal activity.

speedy1961

FRom VideoETA this morning:

CAST MEMBERS BATTLE OVER 'SEINFELD' DVD
In the latest TV-on-DVD trend, it's the most requested series by fans.
Everyone wants to own the NBC sitcom Seinfeld on DVD. So much so that
two of its stars are using it as leverage.

Jason Alexander (George) and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Elaine) have both
refused participation in the DVD version of the series to protest their
share of the profits. They want a percentage of the sales instead of a
small paycheck to do interviews and/or audio commentary for the
release.

Michael Richards (Kramer) was previously on Alexander and
Louis-Dreyfuss' side until he spoke recently with Jerry Seinfeld
himself, who calmed him. "I think everyone wants to get paid," Richards
was quoted by The New York Times. "Is it honorable for those on the
inside to make compensation? That's an ethical question they have to
deal with," he said, referring to his former co-stars.

According to a Seinfeld spokesman, Jerry hopes to speak with Jason and
Julia early in 2004 to ask for their reconsideration. Seinfeld and
series co-creator Larry David still earn revenue on the series, mostly
from its syndication.

Where does the studio stand? Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment exec
Fritz Friedman told the New York Times, "Fans complain if we release
bare-bones product." So perhaps they will cave to George and Elaine's
demands just to get a DVD heavy on bonus features. And if they do, it
may set a strong precedent as actors usually aren't paid residuals for
DVD.

speedy1961

It's really interesting to note the last statement in terms of compensation. The most recent Vdeo Store magazine has an article which states that the Writer's Guild wants a larger share of DVD revenue.

If the Seinfeld participants eventually receive a % of the DVD revenue, then the Writer's Guild's argument that they too deserve a large slice od the DVD pie would also be valid. This would probably translate into higher purchase costs for us the consumers.

My own opinion is that the actors do need to be compensated for their participation but I'm not sure as whether a fixed % is the way to go. Especially in light of how well this series should sell.