Social Media and Behind the Scenes: AKA Everything Else Not "News and Media"

[Mellowyellow]

Is he sober in it @Trisha?

Doesn't sound sober!

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, Trisha said:

Ohh boy, I can’t do it. I got 5 mins in and he was praising Craig from GATV, and whining about how the show hasn’t “put together the proper infrastructure” for him to do shirtless scenes. “If it’s a priority for you, then why the f**k are there donuts at craft services?!” Like he’s the only one cs is set up for! I can’t...

You couldn't pay me to listen to this but I'm wondering what Craig from GATV has done that's worthy of praise. Color me confused!

[Chaser]

Isn’t Craig friendly with Chico? I thought they had known each other for awhile. 

I assumed that was his in.

[tv echo]

I'm in the process of transcribing some interesting bits from SA's interview with Michael Rosenbaum, but here's a tease (I wonder which cast member he's referring to)...

-- On when he realized his value, SA: "I recognize[d] my value, I think, pretty early on. But when you get into that first renegotiation, it's weird, because it becomes - I mean... it does get a little personal. The only issue I had the first couple of years is that I think that, up until the end of the second season, I was the 4th or 5th highest paid cast member. Because I had no quote... So they gave me what they term as a 'gift' after Season 2. So it's them raising my salary without asking for anything in return. And my thing was very simple. I was just - I just said, 'You know, quite frankly, I think that I work way more than everybody else.' And especially in Season 1 and Season 2, it was way more disproportionate than it is now. And I think that somebody was making X, and they're like, 'okay, your new salary is going to be X minus like $1,250 per episode.' And I go, 'What are you doing? That's not the most amount of money.' And they said, 'Yeah, it's the most amount of money over 23 episodes because the person above you is not in all episodes produced." I was like, 'okay, technically you're right.' But that leaves a little bit of a shitty taste in my mouth. Just a little."

Edited August 28, 2018 by tv echo

[SmallScreenDiva]

 Barrowman? Cassidy? Blackthorne? Makes me wonder how much EBR is getting. Pretty sure it’s not what she’s worth and deserves. 

[Mellowyellow]

I read somewhere that Matthew Gray Gubler only made like $42,000 an episode for ages on Criminal Minds even though he was super popular and loved by fans. 

Apparently it was very little in comparison to the others on the show despite being fan favourite. 

[way2interested]

KC, PB, ST, and I'm guessing WH since JB wasn't a regular for s1/s2 for the people paid more than him? Unsure who he could be exactly referring to though.

34 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

Makes me wonder how much EBR is getting. Pretty sure it’s not what she’s worth and deserves. 

Wouldn't she be likely 3rd, or even possibly second, at this point? 

Forgot about CH coming back, so then I guess maybe 4th at the lowest?

Edited August 28, 2018 by way2interested

[Trisha]

This person has tweeted a lot of his quotes from the podcast (specifically about his ex-wife). Click to read her thread:

[JJ928]

I'd say Barrowman for sure. I think KC was pretty much in every ep in season 1.

[tv echo]

Here's my transcription of Arrow-related comments from SA's Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum (MR) podcast interview (I didn't transcribe anything having to do with his ex-wife or current wife, or his social media comments)...

-- On whether he jumps in and out of character or whether he stays in the zone on the Arrow set when he's not shooting his scenes, SA: "I try to be whatever the person on set needs me to be. If they want to laugh and joke and all that stuff, that's great. David Ramsey, um, you know, he and I are always goofing around. Same with Emily. But somebody like Paul Blackthorne is incredibly serious and comes prepared down to the letter of the line and is a little on the Method-y side, so...." MR interjected that he's "all about focus" but he didn't understand how you can stay Method throughout the shooting of every episode of a TV show.  SA said that he "works off the nature of how he has to be in a show" and that he's usually in every scene "for the entire day" and has "a ton of lines", so he'll "learn the shape of the script and then just roll with the punches." However, he said, someone like PB might have an episode "where's he got two speeches" and so "maybe you hold onto them a little tighter than you otherwise would, I don't know."

-- SA: "I read the script three times and that's it... I read the script three times because I never know what we're doing on that particular day. It's easier for me to show and know where do I start and where do I finish... I've been saying speeches by Oliver for so long that by the time we block the scene and have gone through it a couple of times, I just - I know it... I tend to think that sometimes these scripts are written and I can tell stuff has been put into the script to satisfy people either at the studio or the network. So, it's not like I'm going to take a speech that's one thing and put it in a completely different direction. But if that speech has 80 words in it, by the time I say it, it tends to have like 55... I'm also very cognizant of knowing the entire script, so if I have to say something that's a direct callback to something else that somebody else said, then I always make sure to do that... I just like to drill it down, just a little bit."

-- On WB President Peter Roth, SA: "He's a great guy... He's old school... He and I go to lunch sometimes after a season, just to chat and just sort of the state of affairs. Whenever he's introducing me to somebody, he's like, 'This is one of our stars' ... There's just something old school about him."

-- On Glen Winter, SA: "He basically set the template for our show. He was the Director of Photography for the pilot and then he directed the 16th episode of Season 1, and created this transition shots [sic] between - either between scenes, or for the first five years of the show between the present day and the flashbacks, and again, sort of the movement between the characters and all the different things that he did photographically became the show." SA added: "It wasn't until Glen stepped in in Episode 16 that we kinda knew what we had and how we had to do it."

-- On David Nutter (who directed the Arrow pilot), SA: "One of the things that he said to me when he hired me, because he told me that I had the job several days before I officially had the job, before I had been approved by Warner Bros. and by The CW. And he was like, 'I found Tom Welling, and I found Jared and Jensen.' ... And it was just like, 'you're right, of course, yeah.' He's amazing... The energy and the spirit that he brings to the pilot."

-- On whether he knew that Arrow was going to be a hit, SA: "It felt like it was going to be a hit. It felt good. I mean, I remember seeing the pilot and showing it to my friends the day it got picked up." He then went on to relate that, when they were watching the scene in the pilot where Oliver snaps a guy's neck, his cousin Robbie paused the show and said, "What the f**k?!"

-- SA: "I only got Arrow because Hung got cancelled."

-- On auditioning for Arrow, SA: "I felt very at ease during the audition. I remember every bit of it. So it turns out that Greg Berlanti, who shepherds all of these projects, it was at his office at the WB lot, and he had said to David Rapaport and some of the EPs that were in there, 'Going back to my office, come and get me if there's someone interesting.' And so, of course, I get in there, David Nutter's in there as well, and I read the first two scenes, and he's just leaning real far forward in his seat and staring at me with this sort of weird grin on his face... He said, 'Do you mind waiting outside for a second?' I said, 'Okay.' And they went to Greg's office and were like, 'Greg, we have the guy.' And Greg was like, 'You guys are just excited, you don't have the f**kin' guy, it's been 10 minutes.' ... This was after I read. And David came out in the hallway and grabbed me. And I went back into the room and all of a sudden there were 11 or 12 more people in there... And I'm looking for the note, 'What do you guys want me to do? What do you want me to do different?' And David said, 'Could you, uh, start the second scene facing away from us and then turn around?' And I go, 'Um-hmm, is that it?' ... He goes, 'Yeah, sure.' And I did it again, and again no notes... I mean, it was a very serious scene, but I was having fun, sure. And then they're like, 'Okay, thank you.' And I left. And I got a call from my agent - or I called my agent. And I'm like, 'I know this is not how this works. I'm pretty sure that I just got that job in there.' ... And then David brought me back a couple times for my audition with Peter Roth and the rest of the WB team, which is a very unique audition. I don't know how it was for you, but you're not - it's not an audition room. You're walking into an office, like an office space with windows and all that stuff, and it's more about - the way that he framed it to me was like, 'Imagine that you're walking out into the Tonight Show. That's what they're looking for. They're looking for you to come into the room, be a little bit out-sized and stare everyone down, and... be a leading man when you walk in there.' ... And David also said to me, 'Peter Roth is a hugger,' which he is. So he goes, 'Walk in there,' and he goes, 'Give him a big hug.' And I did. And he goes, 'Stephen, I hear you're Canadian,' and I said, 'Not today, Mr. Roth. Not today.' And the room laughed, and David just looked at me with two thumbs up and wild eyes... So I think it didn't f**kin' mattered what I did after that."

-- SA said that he didn't care what the deal was, because he had never been a series regular before. (He was technically a series regular on Hung, but wouldn't have been bumped up to a "series regular price" until there was a 4th season, which there wasn't.)  He had no quote. SA: "It was a very fair deal." However, they first tried to hire him as a Canadian (paid less money, no residuals), which SA's agent shut down immediately.

-- On when he realized his value, SA: "That happened very early for me. That happened in episode 8... I remember exactly where it was. In the early days, we didn't do a lot of reshoots, but they were not happy with a couple elements of episode 5. They couldn't figure out how to have Oliver interact as the Green Arrow with people he knew, which - it sounds really simple. Give him a f**kin' voice modulator. But that was like the seventh idea that got kicked around... One of the ways they did it when I first started interacting with Laurel is they had us, like, 60 feet apart from one another and we were wearing earpieces and whispering and stuff... It makes no sense now, but we had been working six days a week for a couple of weeks... Coming in Sundays and doing that. And I'm in the Arrow costume, I got the f**kin' eye makeup on, and it was 11:15 at night or whatever. The second assistant director said to me, 'Your call time tomorrow is 11:15.' And I said, 'I'm not done for the day. I can't. Base camp is 20 minutes away. I got to take my eye makeup off. It's not my turnaround. I'm exhausted. I'm going to take my turnaround.' And he said, 'Contractually, your call time is 11:15 and I don't have to give you any explanation.' And I said, 'Okay. I'm going to tell you this right now and I'm going to do it in front of people, so that everybody knows this. I'm going to get in the car tomorrow at the exact time that I get into the car tonight and not a minute sooner. And if you'd handled this with a little more tact, maybe we could've done something. But you didn't, so when everybody asks why we're starting later than everybody wants to, you need to tell them that it's your fault.' And - you do get pushed around. I recognize[d] my value, I think, pretty early on. But when you get into that first renegotiation, it's weird, because it becomes - I mean... it does get a little personal. The only issue I had the first couple of years is that I think that, up until the end of the second season, I was the 4th or 5th highest paid cast member. Because I had no quote... So they gave me what they term as a 'gift' after Season 2. So it's them raising my salary without asking for anything in return. And my thing was very simple. I was just - I just said, 'You know, quite frankly, I think that I work way more than everybody else.' And especially in Season 1 and Season 2, it was way more disproportionate than it is now. And I think that somebody was making X, and they're like, 'okay, your new salary is going to be X minus like $1,250 per episode.' And I go, 'What are you doing? That's not the most amount of money.' And they said, 'Yeah, it's the most amount of money over 23 episodes because the person above you is not in all episodes produced." I was like, 'okay, technically you're right.' But that leaves a little bit of a shitty taste in my mouth. Just a little."

-- SA: "The entity of Arrow is bigger than me. I'm replaceable." MR disagreed.

-- SA: "When I did my renegotiation, it was not the most - yeah, it wasn't fun. It actually wasn't fun, because I have a lot of friends who have been in similar positions, and I knew what the actual numbers were." He then said that he knew Tom Welling's number because he's good friends with Jared Padalecki, who shared with SA some information that Tom had shared with him. SA said that it was everybody helping each other out and that he's gone on to share information with others who would benefit from it. SA: "But when you're hearing 'final offer' - I heard 'final offer' and I went, 'That's cool. I'm good with my current deal.' And then there was dead silence for weeks and weeks and weeks. And then we were about to shoot our big crossovers that we do that I didn't have a contract for, because I hadn't signed a contract for them... It started out Oliver and Diggle and Felicity went to Central City, and then Barry and Iris and Cisco came to Star City, and that was it... That was still difficult, though, because they just treated it like a normal run of production. But the schedules are still staggered and Flash is starting their 8th episode while we're still on our 7th episode. But then they're getting into their 9th episode before we're done our 8th episode. And because the crossovers would happen in the 8th episode. And there was just no wiggle room. It wasn't until this year that they started building in down days to the production, so certain productions would just go dark for a couple of days so that you could actually move the actors around."

-- SA said that, when he does crossovers, he gets paid less than for a regular episode of Arrow. SA: "The very first time I did it, it was going and doing the pilot of The Flash and it was for one scene. It doesn't matter if it was one scene. It was one scene of an established character that I am used to getting X number of dollars to portray in an episode of television. So there was a little bit of animosity. But when it actually came for a proper renegotiation, I decided that I thought it would be advantageous for me to take a slightly lower amount on crossovers because ultimately my financial incentive on the show revolves around my episodic fee. And so I'm only going to be doing The Flash or Supergirl for - there's only so many hours in the day... But now, amazingly, it just turned into full episodes the way that they shoot the crossovers... It's very hard. That's four scripts that I have to read three times. And I always take some time during the crossovers to take a second - because you're also talking about four different directors too, and one throughline of a story. And, you know, I always take some time with the directors just to go, 'Okay, where are we? Uh-huh. Which show? Um-hmm. That's going to be Hour 3? Yep. Okay, what just happened? And just make sure I know where I am.'"

-- SA: "I love going to other sets... The only thing that I would change about the crossovers is that I would - after the story, I would create one master list of characters and I would give everybody numbers...  If people don't know what you're talking about, on Arrow, I'm number 1 and David Ramsey is number 2 and so on and so forth. But, when I go over to Legends, I'm number 70, 77, right? And I would be on Legends and it would be advantageous, not just for me but for the entire crossover as whole, to, within the context of that episode, if I have the most to do in the crossover, and I did this year, treat me like number 1, as in, prioritize my time and get me out of there, so that I can either go to another production or be rested for the following day. But each show prioritizes its own actors and that's fine. I get it. I just would do it differently."

-- On which is his fave show to crossover to, SA: "Flash is my favorite show to go to because there's just something special about doing scenes with Grant... I love doing scenes with him. There's just something about the dynamic."

-- Within the context of discussing with MR how they used to want as many days on set as possible as a indicator of success, SA: "You're a winner when you're a series regular and you get an episodic fee." But then he said that, when you're a guest star, you just want more and more days on set.

-- SA: "I moved to L.A. when I was 28. I got Arrow when I was 30." (He's now 37.) SA: "I wouldn't take Arrow right now. Because my life has changed. I mean, my life is in L.A. I have a daughter. [I'm married.] My life is different. I understand why I'm still doing it. But if it ended and somebody came to me and said, 'alright, we have a lead role for you on a television show,' I would go, 'okay, before you tell me anything more, where does it shoot?' And if they said 'Vancouver,' I'd go, 'okay, but when and how many episodes?' And if the number was north of 10, I would say 'no.'"

-- On what he wants to do after Arrow and whether he wants to take a break (like a year off), SA: "No... One of the issues that I have with the show - and it's just the nature of the show, it's not a new thing - is that I really don't have the ability right now to be aspirational elsewhere because of how many episodes it is. And so, you know, I worry sometimes about being the guy that people will think has ever only done Arrow. And I worry, you know, that if I stay until - if I stay on the show through 10 seasons - and I respect people who do that. I have great admiration for Tom staying 10 years and for Jensen and Jared, you know, going into year 14 or 15 or whatever it is. I also have respect for you going, 'you know what, I did 7 and I'm good, it's time to move on.' I worry that if I stick around until I'm 40, is there a chance that I sacrifice the next 25 years of my career because I maybe stayed a little too long?" MR disagreed and thought that there wasn't much difference, career-wise, for SA between ages 37 and 40, between doing 7 seasons and 10 seasons, while making sure his family was financially secure, and that SA should stop only if he was tired of playing the same character and wanted to try new things and move on, and if the passion is not there. SA: "The passion is still there. 100%. And we have a lot of new blood on the show right now, which I think is important. But you bring up a good point. This is what I've been thinking about. What else does my character have to do?" When MR asked if the Arrow could die, SA: "Sure. He doesn't have superpowers... I think, the only thing, whether he dies or not - and I find it incredibly difficult to believe that that would ever happen. You know what I mean? I don't know if anyone would allow themselves to be cornered like killing the title character of the show." MR thought that would be a great idea for the last episode, but then we find out in another show he isn't dead. SA: "The only thing that is left for him to do, and he doesn't have to die to do this, is, he needs to leave a legacy. Because we have all these other shows that exist, so whether Arrow continued on in the absence of Oliver Queen, or someone else took up the mantle of the Green Arrow, um... (MR interjected, "His child.") ... He does have a child, but he's like 12... I think that leaving a legacy is the one box that is left to tick for the character."

-- SA: "My contract's up after 7... I think there's going to be some clarity on my future on the show soon... It was a very interesting feeling after we were picked up for Season 7, because all of a sudden I saw the finish line. Even if it's many, many years from now, that will be up to me and not up to studio, who has had me under contract willingly - I signed it, I have no regrets that I signed it. But every year, it's like, 'We're going to pick up another season, you have to come back.' Right? Season 8 would not be that. So, we're talking about it."

-- SA: "If people are listening to us talking right now and it sounds like we aren't grateful, I am eternally, eternally grateful for this opportunity... I could go on to do things that people think are way more significant or a bigger profile or the movies or whatever the case may be. Arrow will always be the most important thing that has ever happened to me professionally. Ever."

-- SA: "I've asked crew members all the time like, you know, you guys want to break for 15 minutes and sing a song, or do you want the day to be as efficient and quick as possible so that everybody can get back home to their families? And everyone always says the latter. It's always the latter, right? So our set is a little more efficient and maybe a little less kum ba yah than some other sets in Vancouver. And I think that every once in awhile that gives me the reputation of being a little prickly... I think that on the whole, I think that the crew is incredibly loyal to me because I - six years, I've never missed a day of work, I've been late once... But I also think that there are crew members that will attempt to intimidate their subordinates by making me seem more difficult than I am, so that, you know, if they tell them that they can't talk to me, it allows them to exert control over the person in their department. I think so. I think that happens."

-- On what made him want to be Green Arrow, SA: "Paycheck."

-- On whether he's ever gotten into a fight with other actors or directors on set, SA: "I've butted heads with directors before. Um, there was a director in our 4th season that I just - I didn't appreciate. He would talk to me about a scene, right? And he'd be like, 'I'd like you to try this.' And I would say, 'I'm not comfortable doing that for the folllowing reasons.' And I get crazy about memorization on the show in terms of like, this happened here, and this happened in this season, and this is what happened to Oliver here, to the point where I'll have the script supervisor or other people come to me and be like, 'Hey, we got a question for you.' And I'd be like, 'Yep.'... I remember. And he said, 'You know, I want you to try this.' And I gave a reasonable response as to why I was not going to do it... And he just goes, 'No.' It wasn't like, he goes - if he had just stood up and said, 'I'm the f**kin' director of this episode and I'm asking you for something, and you're the actor and I want you to give it to me. And we'll look at it together.' But it was like, he went sneaky instead. He goes, 'Yeah, but just like - why don't you just do it anyway.' I was like, 'Okay, no. You're - no. I'm done with you.' ... Don't sneak me."

-- SA: "The cast has gotten along pretty well. I mean, you're working with people... You're going to have family squabbles. Um, to tell you one thing I really respected was this year, um - and also - I also understand that, you know, there are actors that are friends on the show, but there's a certain element of me that I'm - people are always going to think of me as management, just a little bit, because, you know, anybody can die on the show except probably me. You know what I mean? ... And they probably know that I'll probably get the script a little bit before they do. Or just have a different and unique relationship with the producers or the director that maybe they don't feel like they have. I get that. Which is why I respected what happened so much. Rick Gonzalez had a speech in Episode 9 this year at Oliver & Felicity's wedding reception, and he takes over for somebody who's giving a drunk speech, and it's a very thoughtful speech. And, you know, I need to be cognizant of the fact that not everyone has big and powerful and interesting and emotional speeches on every episode. You know, some people go through an episode and maybe they have two or three lines, right? And we were just saying the words - we weren't even blocking the scene - we were just saying the words. And during his first reading of the speech, I was just - because I was joking around in character, I made kind of a flippant remark. Don't remember what it is. Right? But it was meant to kinda lighten the mood. It was the start of the day and it was the first scene that we were doing. And didn't think anything of it. Came back to set. And he took me aside and said, 'Can I speak with you, please?' And I said, 'Yes.' And he goes, 'Um, you making a joke like that really interferes with my process. This scene and this moment in this episode is really important to me, and I didn't appreciate what you did.' And I said, 'Thank you so much for saying that. I'm incredibly sorry. It will never happen again. I meant - I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a joke. It wasn't even a good one. I'm really sorry, man. But, above all else, thank you for coming and talking to me about it.' We shook hands and it was squashed. And it was done. But because, the thing that I'm aware of, is that probably 95% of the time that people get pissed at me, I am oblivous to it. I have no idea, because I don't know what I've done. And maybe they feel intimidated and they don't want to talk to me about it... Everybody says stupid shit. And so most of the time that I offend somebody, I am completely in the dark about it. So the fact that he pulls me aside, it gets squashed, my level of respect for him, which was already high, jumps up even more. And then you go on about your day."

Edited August 28, 2018 by tv echo

[bijoux]

17 minutes ago, Trisha said:

This person has tweeted a lot of his quotes from the podcast (specifically about his ex-wife). Click to read her thread:

Welcome to Steve's therapy. He doesn't actually say anything bad IMO, at least not in the quoted stuff in the thread there, but I do think he should sit down and talk that out with a professional for his own sake. 

[quarks]

[Not really returning, but got a number of DMs about this so I thought I would make one blanket comment here for everyone.]

First, I would just like to note that Amell is by his own account and that of pretty much everyone else at WB entering contract negotiations this year, and by all appearances, he's ready to play hardball. So I think that any statements he makes to the press over the next few months - until at least February - should be read with that in mind.

And I'm not sure what, exactly, his negotiating position is. On the one hand, it's difficult to see Arrow continuing with another lead - and even as of season six, Arrow is profitable, doing very well in post views. Beyond that, fairly or unfairly, it's credited for launching the entire current DC live action line (including Gotham), which in turn is part of what's allowing DC to launch this streaming service as one of many potential ways to combat the Disney machine.

On the other hand, DC now has several other superhero shows, and Arrow is entering its seventh season. 

Second.  For season one, assuming he's telling the truth here, Amell is presumably referring to Katie Cassidy, Susanna Thompson and Paul Blackthorne, which would place him fourth. (Not John Barrowman, who wasn't a regular until the third season.) I know there were some confusing reports early on that Amell was equal to Cassidy, but those reports a) weren't from very valid sources, b) seemed to be based on the assumption that the lead is always paid more than the other actors (not true - and especially not true in the DC TV shows) and c) may have reflected the fact that CW actors do get paid for each individual use of their likeness on billboards and earn royalties on the use of their likenesses on merchandise, and after the first few months, Amell appeared on more billboards/merchandise/etc. than the rest of the cast did. 

For season two, Amell is presumably referring to Colton Haynes, Katie Cassidy, Susanna Thompson and Paul Blackthorne. Colton Haynes was a CW demand and a potential spinoff lead. 

A later interview might prove me wrong, but I don't think he's referencing Willa Holland at all. There were rumors that Holland was paid scale, and although that does seem unlikely, Holland made several public negative comments about her salary, and reportedly left Arrow at least in part over a salary dispute. 

I have no idea what EBR's salary is compared to the rest of the cast, but I'd guess that she's probably fourth, maybe fifth for this upcoming season. 

[And I'm out for a bit again. Cheers!]

[Trisha]

Bless @tv echo for transcribing!! 

I wonder how he thinks he comes across when he says stuff like this? Cause it really doesn't play well (especially when you listen to the audio and he's doing the "you need to tell them that it's your fault" in this scolding tone). Yet another reason I think the paps' comments about what some of the crew think of him might be legit.

17 minutes ago, tv echo said:

It makes no sense now, but we had been working six days a week for a couple of weeks... Coming in Sundays and doing that. And I'm in the Arrow costume, I got the f**kin' eye makeup on, and it was 11:15 at night or whatever. The second assistant director said to me, 'Your call time tomorrow is 11:15.' And I said, 'I'm not done for the day. I can't. Base camp is 20 minutes away. I got to take my eye makeup off. It's not my turnaround. I'm exhausted. I'm going to take my turnaround.' And he said, 'Contractually, your call time is 11:15 and I don't have to give you any explanation.' And I said, 'Okay. I'm going to tell you this right now and I'm going to do it in front of people, so that everybody knows this. I'm going to get in the car tomorrow at the exact time that I get into the car tonight and not a minute sooner. And if you'd handled this with a little more tact, maybe we could've done something. But you didn't, so when everybody asks why we're starting later than everybody wants to, you need to tell them that it's your fault.'

From a bts perspective, this interview cleared up a lot of stuff that's been debated, mostly:
-SA (and presumably others) are only contracted to the end of this season
-DR is officially number 2
-Being a regular doesn't mean that you're paid for the episodes that you don't appear in (even if your name is still in the ep's credits)

[apinknightmare]

It's too early for me to drink enough to be able to handle listening to this, but I heard he mentioned Texasgate and said something about being sorry he apologized for that mess. For anyone who listened to the whole thing - is that true?

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, quarks said:

I have no idea what EBR's salary is compared to the rest of the cast, but I'd guess that she's probably fourth, maybe fifth for this upcoming season. 

This doesn't seem fair. Who on the cast aside from SA and DR would be paid more than EBR?

[way2interested]

Just now, Angel12d said:

Who on the cast aside from SA and DR would be paid more than EBR?

CH, who's coming back from being in wide-release films and with a bumped up title in the opening credits?

[Guest]

Just now, way2interested said:

CH, who's coming back from being in wide-release films and with a bumped up title in the opening credits?

Oh, I forgot about him. As long as it's not one of the newbies. 

[Chaser]

The only ones I can see making more than EBR is SA, DR and CH. I can't see the newbies and KC lost special billing so I'm assuming her contract isn't great. 

[quarks]

2 minutes ago, Angel12d said:

This doesn't seem fair. Who on the cast aside from SA and DR would be paid more than EBR?

Colton Haynes. I'd be shocked if EBR is earning more than he is.

6 minutes ago, Trisha said:

-Being a regular doesn't mean that you're paid for the episodes that you don't appear in (even if your name is still in the ep's credits)

I don't think this is true. SAG rules require that actors be paid for all episodes that they are credited for. (Thus why HBO continues to spoil who will be in which episode at the beginning - there's a lot of money involved here.) In some cases, however, actors/studios can negotiate for a "credit fee" and then only get an "episode fee" for episodes they film for, or, agree to the CW's "weekly performer" rate as their standard fee and receive a "main role performer" rate for episodes they actually film. 

[And now I'm really out.]

[Chaser]

Thank you @quarks

Appreciate the insight. 

[Trisha]

9 hours ago, apinknightmare said:

It's too early for me to drink enough to be able to handle listening to this, but I heard he mentioned Texasgate and said something about being sorry he apologized for that mess. For anyone who listened to the whole thing - is that true?

I just got to that part. Whoo, it's a doozy:

Quote

A couple of years ago, there was an instance where a kid brought a homemade clock into a school in Texas and teachers were like 'it's ticking'. [The producer pipes up: 'It was a Indian kid and they thought he was building a bomb.'] Yeah, they thought he was building a bomb. Man oh man, these teachers, in my opinion, they did the right thing. They did the right thing and they followed protocol and fine, it's not a bomb. And I get all of the public support in the aftermath of that for that student; well deserved. And I'm sorry that the whole thing happened. As a parent, I would want the teachers to do what they did. And if they're wrong or if they're reprimanded because they didn't follow protocol then they deserve what they got. 

But what I didn't enjoy was - my wife, who is from Texas, she, or I wrote on Twitter it was 'you know, stereotyping Texas isn't really any better than stereotyping this kid. They're kind of the same thing.' And man oh man, that went really poorly.

What I notice about these things is that they devolve away from the original point. [Michael interjects about getting social media backlash]. But you're saying 'did you regret saying it?' No, I regretted in this situation that it devolved into someone leaving a link to like a 20-minute video that they put on YouTube about how I didn't understand and couldn't possibly understand what it was like to live as a minority in the United States or in Canada or frankly anywhere because of who I am and what I do and the color of my skin, and it was so far away from the original point...It was not what I was saying at all. I admire that person's courage to put themselves out there in a public forum and I have no ill will towards them, but I apologized. And I regret apologizing more than I regret saying it in the first place.

So he learned nothing. Swell. 

Edited August 29, 2018 by Trisha

[calliope1975]

I will stick up for SA on turnaround time. I've seen production try to screw over actors with regards to turnaround, and SA was in the right here about the time not stopping until makeup is off and he's on his way home. Additionally, it's likely the AD would have put the blame on SA, so while SA may be a terrible jerk on set otherwise, he was right to stand up for himself in this instance. 

On another note, if he did defend his Texasgate stance, ugh, I can't with him. 

ETA: Having seen @Trisha's comment above, and as a (former) Texan, he can fork right off with his apology regret. 

Edited August 28, 2018 by calliope1975

[Guest]

Haha, he's awful. He really is.

[apinknightmare]

5 minutes ago, Trisha said:

I just got to that part. Whoo, it's a doozy:

So he learned nothing. Swell. 

Thank you! It's somehow worse than I was expecting, LOL.

[Guest]

I always thought these podcast interviews were supposed to make you like a celeb by showing a different side to them. LMAO epic fail, Steve. 

[apinknightmare]

Quote

But what I didn't enjoy was - my wife, who is from Texas, she, or I wrote on Twitter it was 'you know, stereotyping Texas isn't really any better than stereotyping this kid. They're kind of the same thing.' And man oh man, that went really poorly.

I don't know if he lost his train of thought and tried to correct it, but it seemed like he was gonna throw his wife under the bus for tweeting for him there for a second. 

Edited August 28, 2018 by apinknightmare

[JJ928]

Every time this man does an interview I am so thankful I stopped liking him during season 2. I hope Arrow comes to a natural end soon so I can be rid of him completely. This is the first time I started really liking an actor, to just heavily dislike within a year. Every year he gets worse. If Emily decided to leave Arrow (and sometimes I wish she would) I'd be out so fast lol.

[thegirlsleuth]

8 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

I don't know if he lost his train of thought and tried to correct it, but it seemed like he was gonna throw his wife under the bus for tweeting for him there for a second. 

 

I also thought that he was saying that she posted to his twitter account.

The fact that his big takeaway from Texasgate was that he shouldn't have apologized is gross.

Edited August 28, 2018 by thegirlsleuth

[apinknightmare]

Just now, thegirlsleuth said:

I also thought that he was saying that she posted to his twitter account.

I guess it doesn't really matter if she did or not - given the aftermath and what he said when he brought it up again, if she did, clearly they're like-minded in their opinions about it. 

[Trisha]

13 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

I don't know if he lost his train of thought and tried to correct it, but it seemed like he was gonna throw his wife under the bus for tweeting for him there for a second. 

No, I didn't get that he was trying to imply that she tweeted it. He paused a bit -- I think he was just trying to collect his thoughts. Which ended up being terrible. He should have just stopped there.

I've only listened to one other Inside of You ep before (the Seth Green one), but I came away from that one thinking I really didn't like Michael's interview style (he injects himself too much and name drops) but that I liked Seth somehow even more after listening to it. I did NOT get that same feeling with this one...

[apinknightmare]

1 minute ago, Trisha said:

No, I didn't get that he was trying to imply that she tweeted it. He paused a bit -- I think he was just trying to collect his thoughts. Which ended up being terrible. He should have just stopped there.

Oh good - that would've been shitty. 

I think "should've just stopped there" should be Stephen's tagline. 

[way2interested]

Quote

On whether he's ever gotten into a fight with other actors or directors on set, SA: "I've butted heads with directors before. Um, there was a director in our 4th season that I just - I didn't appreciate. He would talk to me about a scene, right? And he'd be like, 'I'd like you to try this.' And I would say, 'I'm not comfortable doing that for the folllowing reasons.' And I get crazy about memorization on the show in terms of like, this happened here, and this happened in this season, and this is what happened to Oliver here, to the point where I'll have the script supervisor or other people come to me and be like, 'Hey, we got a question for you.' And I'd be like, 'Yep.'... I remember. And he said, 'You know, I want you to try this.' And I gave a reasonable response as to why I was not going to do it... And he just goes, 'No.' It wasn't like, he goes - if he had just stood up and said, 'I'm the f**kin' director of this episode and I'm asking you for something, and you're the actor and I want you to give it to me. And we'll look at it together.' But it was like, he went sneaky instead. He goes, 'Yeah, but just like - why don't you just do it anyway.' I was like, 'Okay, no. You're - no. I'm done with you.' ... Don't sneak me."

I kind of want to know which director this was and for what it was for. 3 male directors in s4 were new and haven't come back (the one for 405, the one for 412, and the one for 416).

This whole thing has also convinced me that I want DR's tell-all book to include a chapter on SA.

[apinknightmare]

51 minutes ago, way2interested said:

I kind of want to know which director this was and for what it was for. 3 male directors in s4 were new and haven't come back (the one for 405, the one for 412, and the one for 416).

Plot twist: Bamford gets so many repeat directorial opportunities because Stephen has beef with almost everyone else. 

[statsgirl]

4 hours ago, Trisha said:

No, I regretted in this situation that it devolved into someone leaving a link to like a 20-minute video that they put on YouTube about how I didn't understand and couldn't possibly understand what it was like to live as a minority in the United States or in Canada or frankly anywhere because of who I am and what I do and the color of my skin,

It's too bad he doesn't get that being a white male who went to a privileged school and grew up to be tall and handsome, he's never going to understand how other people feel.

4 hours ago, Trisha said:

Man oh man, these teachers, in my opinion, they did the right thing. They did the right thing and they followed protocol and fine, it's not a bomb.

Somehow I doubt he would be feeling the same way if it were his daughter who was arrested and handcuffed.

In other comments, if CH gets paid more than EBR, I'll be upset.  The past three years have shown that Roy is not necessary to Arrow; Felicity is.

[way2interested]

10 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

In other comments, if CH gets paid more than EBR, I'll be upset.  The past three years have shown that Roy is not necessary to Arrow; Felicity is.

That may be true, but CH is a bigger star than EBR, hence he gets paid more.

[BunsenBurner]

I really doubt SA will ever get another show. 

[Primal Slayer]

46 minutes ago, BunsenBurner said:

I really doubt SA will ever get another show. 

If David Boreanaz can go on to do Bones and Seal Navy whatever on CBS, I think Amell will most likely do a similar career trajectory. 

[Mellowyellow]

Wow that interview does not put him in the good light at all. He sounds pretty difficult to work with. Makes me wonder if certain cast members are really friends with him or if they are only "friends" with him so he won't be a complete d@ck to them when they have to work with him. 

[BkWurm1]

Quote

However, they first tried to hire him as a Canadian (paid less money, no residuals), which SA's agent shut down immediately.

This is my big take away.  EBR for certain in season 2 didn't have residuals in her contract but yeah, there's a fair chance she still currently isn't getting anything but current salary.  Since she signed in season two, does that mean she has her negotiations for after season 8?  

[statsgirl]

Why do Canadians get paid less and no residuals?  Is Sandra Oh, Dan Akroyd, Tom Cavanaugh, Dave Foley, Nathan Fillion, Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Tatiana Maslany, Ellen Page, Matthew Perry, Cobie Smulders, Joshua Jackson, Kim Cattrall, Catherine O'Hara, Nina Dobrev, Paul Gross  and other Canadians not worth as much as their US co-stars?

ETA: not to mention Christopher freakin' Plummer who at 88 can step in at a moment's notice and replace Kevin Spacey, earning an Oscar  and a Golden Globe nomination for the role.

Edited August 29, 2018 by statsgirl

[BkWurm1]

3 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Wow that interview does not put him in the good light at all. He sounds pretty difficult to work with. Makes me wonder if certain cast members are really friends with him or if they are only "friends" with him so he won't be a complete d@ck to them when they have to work with him. 

I swear I really am not a stan or SA's apologist (though lately, I feel that's become my role, lol) but I didn't think he came off all that terrible with the work thing.  I wondered if he was being petty with the call time story but instead it sounds like SA was the one in the right and justified in what he said and did and it probably served the rest of the cast well as well in putting his foot down.  

And with the director, he's singling out ONE director that he had a problem with and I suspect I would have too if the guy wanted not only for him to do things already pre-established as breaking show continuity or character, but then after when it was explained why no, Oliver/GA shouldn't, the director tried to play off his request to just try it anyway as some friendly fun when "sure, sure, but just try it" still would mean him filming something that the director could then use in the final edit so there's no such thing in that situation as "just trying something".  SA said if the director made it an order it would have been a different thing, but he hated what was basically lying to his face about the director's intention.  I'd HATE if someone was trying to twist stuff for art that went against what we know about the show from the past and the cajoling.  I hate it enough when the writers do it.   

As for Texasgate, I think what he regretted about his apology was probably what we saw with Mosque-gate this summer.  That no matter what comes after, he's still thinking he's apologizing for something he sees as innocent.  And usually the reality is the initial tweet is not overtly awful on the very bare face of it and the intent isn't mean-spirited, but he doesn't ever comprehend that it's the deeper connotations of what he said as it fits into society and how his comments add to a lack of respect that already exists in the case of Mosque-gate and in the case of Texasgate, totally was redirecting the conversation and making false equivalencies that are the bigger problems and what people want and deserve the apology for.  Or at the very least a mea culpa saying "I never meant to disrespect anyone and apologize for any offense I gave" type of understanding.      But I don't think he sees the difference.  

 That insolated, insulated, white, male privilege part of him means that he doesn't recognize why it is such a big deal to so many people.  After all, that's not what he intended so why in his mind should he say sorry? Saying sorry means you think what you did was wrong.  He can't seem to see that you can say you are sorry without it meaning you accept that you are all the VERY worst things people accuse him of being.   And what he seems IMO to be regretting in Texasgate is that he apologized for a tweet that stripped of all connotations, he'd still stand by, like he'd stand by only trying to make a joke that praised his wife in this summer's fiasco.  But it seems in his mind by apologizing, he was saying yes, he was being racist.  I don't think he understands that all of us have to combat some kind of habitual racism or prejudice that's not intentional, but just there by virtue of being born into certain perches that keeps blinders on unless we work hard to take them off.  

I really don't think SA is at heart a mean guy that doesn't care about stomping on other people's feelings. But I think he is a person that needs to grow and become more secure in himself before he stops being defensive and refusing to acknowledge his mistakes when they fall in a....I dont' know if grey area is the right term I'm looking for but mistakes that come without malice and that need to be explained to him.  Because if he really dosn't get why it wrong, sooner or later I think he's going to circle back to "but I meant it this other way so I shouldn't need to feel bad"  And for some reason, he's still insecure enough to think that admitting fault, even unintentional fault, doesn't' negatively reflect on a person nor does it mean agreeing he's the worst of what he gets accused of

But no, that doesn't seem to be something he's able to do right now, at least when it comes to people in the abstract. Personally, I thought he was being very accommodating to RG when he was all perturbed that the lead of the show riffed a joke during rehearsal.  (But then RG is still on my watch list after some comments he's made so I tend to read him at his worst) In that case, we have SA making an off the cuff comment that he meant no harm in but when he was told it upset RG, he apologized and promised not to do it, not because SA really did anything wrong, but because he understood that if didn't matter if he hadn't tried to do anything wrong or even exactly what he said, he apologized because it made RG feel bad.  So I guess I think SA has the tools to get where he needs to be with these dust ups on Twitter but he hasn't quite figured out how to translate direct interpersonal stuff to the more abstract at times interaction on Twitter.   

So while he can and I'm sure will disappoint me with the crap he digs his heels in about in the future, I still don't' think it comes from some dude that is just an awful human being.  I definitely think he has a big flaw and blind spot all tangled with his ego, but I still think his good parts outweigh this area of his personality.  

Edited August 29, 2018 by BkWurm1
Swapped Clockgate for Texasgate. I was using the wrong term

[Guest]

I’ve become such anti-SA in recent years that even his good deeds come across as insincere to me and all done for image purposes rather than a genuine desire to do good. Maybe I’m doing him a disservice but the ugly side of his personality and ego makes me doubtful. 

And there is absolutely no defending Texasgate. That whole thing was islamophobic and racist and gross. Taking back his apology for it was just as problematic because if you outright refuse to have the capacity and awareness of recognizing when you’re wrong or learning from your mistakes, what kind of decent person are you really? 

[Mellowyellow]

The fact that he sat and stewed on that apology for years makes me really side eye him.

You are rich, you go on fabulous vacations, live in a giant house and can probably buy whatever you want. You have more than most people do in life. Why on earth are you so bitter about a few people who told you off on Twitter to the point that you held onto it for years. What sort of a petty, small minded person does that?

I am not saying he kicks puppies or sets bushfires but he does seem to be a piece of work just based on that alone.

[apinknightmare]

30 minutes ago, Angel12d said:

And there is absolutely no defending Texasgate. That whole thing was islamophobic and racist and gross. Taking back his apology for it was just as problematic because if you outright refuse to have the capacity and awareness of recognizing when you’re wrong or learning from your mistakes, what kind of decent person are you really? 

Yeah. I think the fact that he sat on that situation and obviously stewed on it for THREE YEARS and came out of it thinking that the thing he needed to do was take the apology back says a lot about who he is/where he is as a person. 

Edited August 29, 2018 by apinknightmare

[BkWurm1]

4 minutes ago, Angel12d said:

because if you outright refuse to have the capacity and awareness of recognizing when you’re wrong or learning from your mistakes, what kind of decent person are you really? 

I've found that if a person doesn't really understand the underlying problem, they really can't learn from their mistakes.  So we see him making the same mistake over and over but he keeps thinking they are all completely separate and random and not connected and stuff that he could never have seen coming that would cause a problem.  I don't think he's fighting against being a decent person but the perception of being racist. That's the implication that seems to make him just shut down to all open discourse.  He then is so offended that he never really hears what others are saying. 

We know the boy has issues and a lot of them seem to be about his sense of self-worth and constantly trying to prove to himself.  And not always in healthy ways.  

But he is only 37 so he's not a lost cause.  Not getting what he is doing wrong comes IMO both from that place of ignorance and that insecurity that manifests itself in his stubborn ego.  We mostly see it pop up during what are really philosophic debates rather than how he treats people in his life.  I'm sure his ego is also a factor in real life but we've no reason to think his lack of understanding when it comes to the implication of what he might double down on Twitter translates to him treating people of other races or religious backgrounds in a poor manner.    I think that's part of why the dust-ups on Twitter don't anger me as much as they do others. 

Sure, it's true he is interacting with people of other races or religious backgrounds on Social media but it's in the abstract and not something I think translates to everyone in the same real way.  I don't mean that the distance from IRL gives anyone license to be meaner or more dismissive (though in truth that's what happens often), but that the separation makes some interactions and experiences feel more academic and wouldn't as easily factor in. 

[Mellowyellow]

5 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

Yeah. I think the fact that he sat on that situation and obviously stewed on it for THREE YEARS and came out of it thinking that the thing he needed to do was take the apology back says a lot about who he is/where he is as a person. 

YES!!! THIS!!!

I think I'm kinda shocked that he doesn't even have the.....(can't think if a word, not decency, self control maybe, sense?) to stew on it and then just bitch privately to his wife/mother/father/sibling etc

He had to publicly take it back! Who does that?

[apinknightmare]

6 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

I don't think he's fighting against being a decent person but the perception of being racist. 

If this is truly his issue, someone close to him should sit him down and explain to him - however many times they need to in order for him to get it - that he's not doing himself any favors in this regard. 

[BkWurm1]

Just now, apinknightmare said:

If this is truly his issue, someone close to him should sit him down and explain to him - however many times they need to in order for him to get it - that he's not doing himself any favors in this regard. 

I agree.

[calliope1975]

What sucks for me is he's not even open to different viewpoints. He says he is, but when presented with explanations of why x and y is problematic, he doubles down on being awful. After other news today about recent scandals (for lack of a better word) and apologies and what one has to do to rehabilitate oneself, I keep thinking about Chris Hemsworth's apology for dressing in Native clothes for a costume party. His apology came, like, a year after the actual event when no one was even talking about it, and it was sincere and reflective, and you could tell he listened to whomever spoke to him about the situation. In short, be more like Thor, SA. 

Edited August 29, 2018 by calliope1975

[Mellowyellow]

1 minute ago, apinknightmare said:

If this is truly his issue, someone close to him should sit him down and explain to him - however many times they need to in order for him to get it - that he's not doing himself any favors in this regard. 

He'd rage at them and call them names likely! =P