Damn, that's disappointing.
Not that I know the first thing about how these things work, but according to this article...
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ibdf529f18374f6c965f140dbc42e7419
The reason given is that they couldn't afford (or at least didn't want to pay) the inflated salary demands of the actors. Putting on my cynic hat a moment, is it possible that the voice actors got a little big for their boots and though they could get away with making unreasonable salary demands, given that they thought themselves irreplaceable in the series?
Well, considering I haven't seen any statements from the cast themselves, I am guessing the contract negotiations are still going on and Fox is bringing out the scare tactics to bring them in line. Didn't they make scary statements like this during a Simpson's contract negotiation back in the day? It's not over until Billy West talks about it somewhere, possibly while drunk.
stevenmack wrote:Damn, that's disappointing.
Not that I know the first thing about how these things work, but according to this article...
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ibdf529f18374f6c965f140dbc42e7419
The reason given is that they couldn't afford (or at least didn't want to pay) the inflated salary demands of the actors. Putting on my cynic hat a moment, is it possible that the voice actors got a little big for their boots and though they could get away with making unreasonable salary demands, given that they thought themselves irreplaceable in the series?Well, considering I haven't seen any statements from the cast themselves, I am guessing the contract negotiations are still going on and Fox is bringing out the scare tactics to bring them in line. Didn't they make scary statements like this during a Simpson's contract negotiation back in the day? It's not over until Billy West talks about it somewhere, possibly while drunk.
Ah Gamerotaku... nice to see another voice of reason 
Look, the reality of the situation is that Comedy Central wants to air these shows. CC is NOT A MAJOR NETWORK--Their budgets are much, much less than any of the big four networks. Fox is trying to produce these shows for this channel on the budget CC has provided.
So why are Fox "dicks" again? They're trying to produce a show under a limited budged. Negotiating the salaries of the voice actors is probably the biggest chunk OF that budget. Threatening to "recast" the roles is a negotiating tactic. If they can't come to terms, there won't be enough money to produce the show without using other (cheaper) actors.
As with the Simpsons, though, who on earth would want to watch this show with new voice actors? I highly doubt CC would greenlight the show and agree to air it without the original voice actors.
In the end, what it comes down to is that everyone needs to work together to bring the show under a certain budget IF they want it to return. If the actors think the money is too low, then they walk. If CC can't afford to pay what they want, then what is the alternative?
They either have to cancel the show order, or find other actors.
Hopefully they can come to terms by keeping the CC price but extending the term on the contracts, if that is indeed the case. End result is more Futurama for us
The Star has learned exclusively that the voice cast of Futurama has just signed a new contract with Fox after weeks of intense salary negotiations.
As late as last week, the network was threatening to replace the original voices of Matt Groening's cult-hit cartoon, to the point of actually announcing a casting call for voice actors to replace them.
The compromise agreement, with the studio paying more and the actors accepting less, comes after the announcement of a 26-episode pick-up here by Comedy Central. Futurama also airs internationally in syndication, has produced four bestselling straight-to-DVD movies (later cut into episodes) and an upcoming feature film.
A Fox spokesman, reacting to this story, insisted that only two of the cast have so far signed the deal, but later added that they expect to have the matter resolved by the end of the day.
Oh sweet lord yes! This is fantastic news. Glad they managed to reach an agreement. Futurama wouldn't be the same without the real voices.
w00t!
The compromise agreement, with the studio paying more and the actors accepting less...
They seem to have a very keen grasp of the obvious.
Wow, it's as if someone had predicted this very outcome...
Great news.
Wow, it's as if someone had predicted this very outcome...
No one would have. Totally out of the blue.
Wow, it's as if someone had predicted this very outcome...
God bless your cynical nature.
SommerMatt wrote:Wow, it's as if someone had predicted this very outcome...
God bless your cynical nature. :)
I don't think he's being cynical in this case. I predicted the same thing.
RAD
I squee'd the whole time. I'm sure you get that a lot.
Rat Boy wrote:RAD
I squee'd the whole time. I'm sure you get that a lot.
Not as often as I like.
The only thing I fear is that this show will do what Family Guy did and become a complete bastardization of the original show.
The only thing I fear is that this show will do what Family Guy did and become a complete bastardization of the original show.
...which would probably still be better than 90% of the shows around these days.
So these are the good 30 min episodes again or those dodgy movies that they split up into 30 min episodes?
I liked the first seasons of Futurama, but when they released the movies, they were really bad. Didn't have that same feel to them.
So these are the good 30 min episodes again or those dodgy movies that they split up into 30 min episodes?
I liked the first seasons of Futurama, but when they released the movies, they were really bad. Didn't have that same feel to them.
It definitely felt like it was a bit of an overstretch for them, I agree, but they weren't horrible. These are real episodes, classic Futurama stylee.
I just bought all of seasons 1-4 and all four movies.
The DVDs come inside a plastic replica of Bender's head. You have to open a little door in the back to access them.
At first when it arrived I was like "Fuh?" but now I'm like "Boo ya" because it's so awkward and unwieldy that nobody will ever borrow Bender's head full of DVDs and forget to give it back.
I thought the first movie was decent, but I do think the arbitrary need to make the stories flow in such a way to be broken into episodes later worked against them. That said, it allowed them to be shown on ComCent, get more funding, feed dreams of dollars to Viacom if they bought the series and now we get 'real' new episodes. From what I have read though it sounds like much of what happened in the movies will be retconned anyway.
From what I have read though it sounds like much of what happened in the movies will be retconned anyway.
Really? Futurama is pretty story driven so I'm wondering how Cohen, Groening, and the others are going to go about that.
Eezy_Bordone wrote:From what I have read though it sounds like much of what happened in the movies will be retconned anyway.
Really? Futurama is pretty story driven so I'm wondering how Cohen, Groening, and the others are going to go about that.
Didn't Fry and Leela basically get together? I DEMAND NO RETCONNING.
Vector wrote:Eezy_Bordone wrote:From what I have read though it sounds like much of what happened in the movies will be retconned anyway.
Really? Futurama is pretty story driven so I'm wondering how Cohen, Groening, and the others are going to go about that.
Spoiler:Didn't Fry and Leela basically get together? I DEMAND NO RETCONNING.
They got together in the first movie and it was pretty much ignored for the rest. I don't remember Into The Wild Green Yonder so maybe they did wind up again.
I'd say Wild Green Yonder left the Fry/Leela relationship at the exact same point it was at the end of the television series with the final episode of "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings".So they might have planned ahead.
Knowing the writing team they've planned very far ahead.
/high fives self
/frowns for lack of friends who care about this
/cries
/notices computer screen again
/high fives self again
/high fives self
/frowns for lack of friends who care about this
/cries
/notices computer screen again
/high fives self again
No need to high-five yourself, buddy : )
Urge to mate rising, rising.
Urge to rob liquor stores rising, rising.
FTFY.
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