>I would like to think that if i were in their positions and i was aware of
>how great the fans thought it was, and if the studio had very little money i
>think i *would* do something like this.
>Before i saw the end of season 5 i remember virtually praying that Ivanova
>would appear just once more.. even though there was that mess up over her
>contract.. did she really understand how much we loved it... would she just
>walk on right up and say look here.. i should be in it again before the end
>and i'll do it for free...

You have to understand that there are various issues at work here. It's never
an issue of the studio not having much money. The studio of course is WB which
has all the money in the world. They've got bucks they haven't even used yet.
The budget assigned to a given show and the production company responsible for
that show is always far less...sometimes it's a lot and sometimes it ain't.

That aside...anyone working on a show, actor, writer, director or producer, is
a professional, and they have to be paid at a rate commensurate with their
experience. If you don't, if you let that slip past, others will use it as an
excuse to lower your rates across the board. If I didn't have enough to offer
someone at least a reasonable salary, I wouldn't make the offer.

jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2001 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)