XPost: rec.arts.tv, rec.arts.sf.tv, alt.tv.babylon-5   
   From: a@b.com   
      
   On 4 Oct 2006 06:35:46 -0700, Troy.Heagy@gmail.com wrote:   
      
   >Claudia Christian (ivanova), like all the other Babylon 5 actors, was   
   >offered a contract extension so she could appear in Season 5.  All the   
   >actors signed except Claudia, who instead asked for a contract   
   >renegotiation so she could work only 18 episodes.  (But still get paid   
   >the same amount of money as a full 22-episode appearance... in effect,   
   >a per-episode PAY RAISE.)   
   >   
   >That would be fine except.....   
   >   
   >Have you heard of "favored nation" status?   It's a clause inside a   
   >contract that basically says, if one actor gets to renegotiate the   
   >contract (claudia), then they ALL get to renegotiate their contracts   
   >(boxleitner, katsulas, et cetera).  And get per-episode payraises to   
   >match.   
   >   
   >WB was not willing to renegotiate ALL the actors' contracts, simply   
   >because of one person's desire to renegotiate.  Instead of $800,000 an   
   >episode, WB would be paying almost $1,000,000 to produce each episode.   
   >It would have broken their budget to give everyone a raise.  (And   
   >season 5 would have never happened.)   
   >   
   >But Claudia refused to sign unless she got her renegotiation/raise.   
   >Thus there was an unresolvable impasse between CC and WB.   
   >Thus all the other actors appeared in season 5.   
   >But not Claudia.   
   >   
   >It's as simple as that.  There's no need for emotional recriminations,   
   >backstabbing, or hatred.  The facts speak for themselves.  A raise for   
   >Claudia would have incurred the "favored nation" clause, and ALL the   
   >contracts would have been open to renegotiation.  WB was not willing to   
   >do that.  Simple.   
   >   
   >.   
   >   
   >ASIDE - As for "time off"..... both Katsulas (gkar) and Furst (vir)   
   >were able to take time-off to do various tv/movie projects (and still   
   >get paid).   NOT through renegotiation of the contract, but simply by   
   >walking to Producer J. Michael Straczynski's office, and asking him to   
   >write-them-out of the story.  A verbal promise, not a contractual   
   >promise.   
   >   
   >JMS agreed.  Likewise, Claudia was offered to be "written-out" to go do   
   >her movie; same offer Katsulas, Furst received verbally.   She could   
   >have appeared in both Season 5 and her movie, just as Katsula/Furst had   
   >done in previous seasons.   
   >   
   >:-|   
      
   There is no doubt in my mind the actress and her agent used the switch   
   to TNT as a way of being able to get her off the show and to another.   
   Everything else was just spin on both sides. If Claudia Christian   
   wanted to do season 5.. she would have.   
      
   -MJ   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)