Hawaii 5-0 In the Media

[pinkglove]

59 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I agree with that New York Times writer in the sense that he observes that the show created this dynamic between Steve and Danny that was spotlighted often.  Meanwhile, Kono and Chin are there in the background without anything similar of their own.  Which goes back to my point about why the writers chose not to give them these similar focus opportunities.   And it seems to me that it's hard not to argue that the show apparently wanted to spotlight the two white guys and keep the Asians in the shadows.

1

I disagree with the bolded. In my eyes, the dynamic between Kono and Chin provided balance to the dynamic between Steve and Danny. I don't mind the bickering, but I also don't find it more interesting than the kind of relationship Chin and Kono had. And I actually think it will be equally hard, or even harder, to replace their chemistry than it would be to replace Danny with someone who can... well, complain and worry. IMO "zen attitude" is actually harder to portray (in an interesting way) than being hot-headed and it played a big role in this show so far. The bickering would kill us if it wasn't for them. 

Also, let's not forget that apart from Steve and Catherine, Kono's character had the only meaningful romantic relationship in the show, H50 would really be poor in this department if it wasn't for her and Adam (Chin and Malia mostly happened off-screen). Not to mention, while Wo Fat was primarily Steve's enemy, the other big one was Gabriel and he was mainly linked to Chin. 

I really don't think that Chin and Kono were more in the background than Danny. It might have been the plan, but it turned out differently. With Caan's absences and with the fact that even when he was there, he was often away from the team, Steve/Danny relationship became nothing more than a part of the puzzle, and not the central one. 

[Ohmo]

1 hour ago, Mittengirl said:

Any guesses as to who they might be?

I don't know who they might be, but I'd suggest Liza Lipira---spelling? (Agent Lee, NCIS; she also was on that sitcom Super Fun Night with Rebel Wilson.)

Male: the guy who played Jin, the IT expert on the first season of Chicago P.D. (I don't know the actor's name.)

Edited July 8, 2017 by Ohmo

[MissLucas]

If they follow the NCIS/DiNozzo model they will not bring in two but six new characters, overcrowd the team and wait which ones get a positive audience reception. Additional bonus they can once again boast about the terrific diversity of their cast and how they provide work for Asian/South-Asian actors *sarcasm off*

[Passepartout]

Think that the show is all but will have low ratings by September. As I will give it one more chance. And hope fans will boycott the show. It is about diversity. Comes a long way but has a long way to go. Not just with Asians but with African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Muslims, etc.

[Vermicious Knid]

Jeff Yang puts CBS on blast

 

Quote

 

Ultimately, the refusal to pay Kim and Park on matching terms with O'Loughlin and Caan was CBS's formal declaration that they were determined to protect a disparity that has been a sore point since the show's premiere: The assertion that O'Loughlin and Caan are "Hawaii Five-0" "stars," and Kim and Park are merely "co-leads."

It's hard to avoid concluding that this is a direct reflection of Hollywood's continuing legacy as a system where white actors and male actors are seen as more valuable than nonwhite and female ones, simply by accident of melanin and genitalia.

...They were relegated to second-banana status on call sheets and in industry press releases. And not being seen as "leads" meant reduced leverage in other critical areas as well: Caan was able to negotiate a contract even while shooting five fewer episodes a season, allowing him to live in Los Angeles with his family.

 

[BW Manilowe]

From TV Guide: How Hawaii Five-0 plans to write out Chin--yes it involves the new Tani character

[seacliffsal]

I think that one reason Scott got preferential treatment is due to who his father is.  I really disliked the fact that he got to take so many episodes off each season and feel that is when a lot of the pay/casting issues really started going wrong.  

[BW Manilowe]

Breitbart: NY Democratic Congresswoman rips Hollywood over Hawaii Five-0 Pay Dispute

[Princess Lucky]

This is getting a lot of press, and I'm glad. I still don't understand how CBS missed it. They could have kept DDK, at least, since he wanted to stay longterm and he certainly is as much of a lead as Scott Caan is. Just for the optics. Letting go of all their Asian actors (both of them, on the heels of losing Masi Oka) just looks so bad. Again, I hope this forces CBS to cast more Asian actors (Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders, even) in the new roles. That'll be the only potential silver lining.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Princess Lucky

[illdoc]

I might have missed it, but where does Chi McBride (Lou Grover) fit in? He is definitely "supporting". If CM was getting paid as much as DDK & GP, then they certainly had a right to be upset, since they should certainly be paid more than him (and are closer to "lead" rather than "supporting" (at least closer than him))! 

[BW Manilowe]

2 hours ago, illdoc said:

I might have missed it, but where does Chi McBride (Lou Grover) fit in? He is definitely "supporting". If CM was getting paid as much as DDK & GP, then they certainly had a right to be upset, since they should certainly be paid more than him (and are closer to "lead" rather than "supporting" (at least closer than him))! 

I found a couple of sources stating Chi's net worth is $10 million (& 1 source also says GP's net worth is the same, while DDK's is $8 million, among the other lead cast members); this was as of sometime last September (2016). But that, to me, encompasses everything he's (they've) made up to that point in his (their) career & not the income from Hawaii Five-0 alone.

[BW Manilowe]

From Deadline: Bart & Fleming--Are Hawaii Five-0 cast exits about race?

[jhlipton]

10 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Breitbart: NY Democratic Congresswoman rips Hollywood over Hawaii Five-0 Pay Dispute

Wow, even Breitbart is jumping into this.  Granted, it's to rip a Democrat because, well, it's Breitbart. but still!

33 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

From Deadline: Bart & Fleming--Are Hawaii Five-0 cast exits about race?

Quote

I just feel that the knee-jerk race card play by media 

Any time a white person talks about the "race card", I put them in the "I am not a racist" category unless I see overwhelming reason not to.

[BW Manilowe]

6 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

Wow, even Breitbart is jumping into this.  Granted, it's to rip a Democrat because, well, it's Breitbart. but still!

Any time a white person talks about the "race card", I put them in the "I am not a racist" category unless I see overwhelming reason not to.

I'm not sure where you got the response you quoted to my posting of the new Deadline link, but I'm not the person who said it; I only posted the link it was in response to. Just for clarification purposes.

[jhlipton]

29 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

I'm not sure where you got the response you quoted to my posting of the new Deadline link, but I'm not the person who said it; I only posted the link it was in response to. Just for clarification purposes.

Right -- that's why I put it as a "sub-quote" -- to indicate that the "race-card" comment is from the Deadline article, not from you. Sorry for any confusion.

[BW Manilowe]

From LA Weekly: Critics of the Hawaii Five-0 diversity debacle eye CBS

[BW Manilowe]

From TVLine: Masi Oka books Mozart in the Jungle arc

[BW Manilowe]

Alex will apparently be directing an episode sometime around this coming midseason. This brief Twitter exchange, between Peter Lenkov & a fan, is all the info I can find about it. I looked on Peter Lenkov's timeline & at the #H50 hashtag timeline for more info & couldn't find any.

https://twitter.com/SurfBelle2/status/884756289707966464

https://twitter.com/PLenkov/status/884772196471713792

[BW Manilowe]

HuffPost: Hispanic Coalition Stands with Asian Actors on Hawaii Five-0--CBS Was Bigoted

[HurricaneVal]

Obviously I want to keep Park and Kim on the show.  I wish there was some way to make that happen, but I don't think that is possible.

I am irritated though over Scott Caan's contract--not that it means a hill of beans to anyone, anywhere.  Scott Caan makes the same money per episode as Alex O'Loughlin, and has (re)negotiated a contract that allows him to appear in five fewer episodes per season.  Fine.  My irritation comes in that for a very large proportion of the remainder of the episodes, the Danny character is not fully engaged in the Case of the Week, but working separately--by himself--on a B or even C list case and therefore only has a few minutes of screen time.  I have the impression that a lot of those extraneous scenes were all filmed together and then salted into other episodes where they can shoe-horn them in.  No interaction.  And SC gets paid the same amount for 120 seconds of screentime in an episode where AOL was in nearly every other scene?  Not to mention the fact that I believe (I have no proof) he filmed all those scenes back to back to back all in one set of filming, and perhaps not even while in Hawaii.  So he's actually on set and interacting with the other cast members for really only about half of the episodes.  Or at least that is the impression I have just from watching the show.  Kudos to him, I guess, for negotiating himself that sweet deal.  I just don't like it.

See, I remember the Danno character from the first couple of seasons, and how the whole core of four had such awesome chemistry together.  Scott Caan's Danno was really the character to watch in every scene because he put so much into his reactions and facial expressions that it made you really believe in the scene.  When he had to arrest Kono during her IA undercover (not knowing she was UC) gig, his face showed all these thoughts and emotions and conflicts over the situation.   He really sold it.  Lately, because he's been doing scenes on his own, or with tertiary characters, there just isn't that spark there.

Where did my show go?

[Princess Lucky]

9 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Obviously I want to keep Park and Kim on the show.  I wish there was some way to make that happen, but I don't think that is possible.

I am irritated though over Scott Caan's contract--not that it means a hill of beans to anyone, anywhere.  Scott Caan makes the same money per episode as Alex O'Loughlin, and has (re)negotiated a contract that allows him to appear in five fewer episodes per season.  Fine.  My irritation comes in that for a very large proportion of the remainder of the episodes, the Danny character is not fully engaged in the Case of the Week, but working separately--by himself--on a B or even C list case and therefore only has a few minutes of screen time.  I have the impression that a lot of those extraneous scenes were all filmed together and then salted into other episodes where they can shoe-horn them in.  No interaction.  And SC gets paid the same amount for 120 seconds of screentime in an episode where AOL was in nearly every other scene?  Not to mention the fact that I believe (I have no proof) he filmed all those scenes back to back to back all in one set of filming, and perhaps not even while in Hawaii.  So he's actually on set and interacting with the other cast members for really only about half of the episodes.  Or at least that is the impression I have just from watching the show.  Kudos to him, I guess, for negotiating himself that sweet deal.  I just don't like it.

See, I remember the Danno character from the first couple of seasons, and how the whole core of four had such awesome chemistry together.  Scott Caan's Danno was really the character to watch in every scene because he put so much into his reactions and facial expressions that it made you really believe in the scene.  When he had to arrest Kono during her IA undercover (not knowing she was UC) gig, his face showed all these thoughts and emotions and conflicts over the situation.   He really sold it.  Lately, because he's been doing scenes on his own, or with tertiary characters, there just isn't that spark there.

Where did my show go?

I agree with that, actually. Scott Caan used to be the highlight of this show for me, back in the day. The glue that held the team together. Some of his scenes with DDK especially (I consider those 2 the strongest actors, personally) even brought a tear to my eye, at one point or another (like when Chin was being investigated over that money, way back when, and Danny was there for him). Now he's always off with his little kids or in totally separate storylines. I kind of feel like S7 was a little better about that, but not by much. If he needed the time off to be with his baby, fine, but at least use him when he's there. Have him work as hard as the others. It does seem like he films everything separately, in his own time, which must be a slap in the face for DDK and GP (and, again, I'm not blaming Caan for that, I'm blaming CBS for giving him everything he asked for, and refusing to accomodate DDK or GP whatsoever).

I don't think there's hope for DDK or GP to return, but I hope this entire debacle has CBS thinking twice about mistreating its non-white actors (though I highly doubt it).

[BW Manilowe]

"Triple banana, bitch": Or McDanno and the Challenge to Heteronormativity--Putting Thoughts into Words 

[BW Manilowe]

While Hawaii Five-0 is being criticized for its apparent lack of diversity in casting, recurring cast member Claire van der Boom (Rachel Edwards)'s new Australian TV medical series, Pulse, seems to be getting praised for having a very diverse cast (See video linked/embedded in the Tweet) To clarify, the "ABC" network this show airs on is the Australian Broadcasting Company ABC, not the American Broadcasting Company ABC here in the States.

Edited July 13, 2017 by BW Manilowe
To add comments.

[jhlipton]

2 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

While Hawaii Five-0 is being criticized for its apparent lack of diversity in casting, recurring cast member Claire van der Boom (Rachel Edwards)'s new Australian TV medical series, Pulse, seems to be getting praised for having a very diverse cast (See video linked/embedded in the Tweet) To clarify, the "ABC" network this show airs on is the Australian Broadcasting Company ABC, not the American Broadcasting Company ABC here in the States.

@WDBWA?

[LizDC]

8 hours ago, jhlipton said:

@WDBWA?

Translation?

[BW Manilowe]

1 hour ago, LizDC said:

Translation?

Yes please. Translation requested.

[roamyn]

Since Masi Oka's show crashed, I wonder if they'll bring Max back.  If I remember, Max was on a sabbatical.

Also, I wouldn't give much credence to Alex & Scott's silence.  They still have to go to work with TPTB.  When AJ Cook & Kirsten Vangeness from Criminal Minds were having their salary issues earlier, neither Joe nor MGG or Paget said any thing publicly.  Again, they had jobs they were still dependent on and more than anyone, they knew to keep their mouths shut (due to the Thomas Gibson situation).

Only TBBT stars spoke out when Mayim & Melissa were asking for parity.  But TBBT stars have tons more leverage.  

We don't know - and it really isn't our business - if Alex or Scott said anything privately to DDK or GP.

Edited July 13, 2017 by roamyn

[BW Manilowe]

1 hour ago, roamyn said:

Since Masi Oka's show crashed, I wonder if they'll bring Max back.  If I remember, Max was on a sabbatical.

Also, I wouldn't give much credence to Alex & Scott's silence.  They still have to go to work with TPTB.  When AJ Cook & Kirsten Vangeness from Criminal Minds were having their salary issues earlier, neither Joe nor MGG or Paget said any thing publicly.  Again, they had jobs they were still dependent on and more than anyone, they knew to keep their mouths shut (due to the Thomas Gibson situation).

Only TBBT stars spoke out when Mayim & Melissa were asking for parity.  But TBBT stars have tons more leverage.  

We don't know - and it really isn't our business - if Alex or Scott said anything privately to DDK or GP.

I'm a bit confused by your comment about Masi's show crashing, which might allow him to go back to playing Max. Masi was in the Heroes Reborn sequel last season (season 6), I believe, not this most recent 1. The reason Max went on a sabbatical (was originally written out of the show temporarily) was because he had professional gigs of different types--but not acting in other shows, as I remember--going on in Japan, Hawaii, & the mainland US at the same time & the constant travel was becoming stressful; plus he felt Max had gone full circle. Then Masi went back to the show for a couple of weeks around last midseason when he wrapped up Max's storyline in Hawaii & the character went to rejoin Doctors Without Borders (a commitment for which he was originally on that temporary sabbatical).

At any rate, Masi can't go back to the show right now, even if he wants to. It was announced yesterday he's got a part in an upcoming story arc in Mozart in the Jungle which streams on Amazon.com Prime Video.

Edited July 13, 2017 by BW Manilowe
To clarify something.

[roamyn]

2 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

I'm a bit confused by your comment about Masi's show crashing, which might allow him to go back to playing Max. Masi was in the Heroes Reborn sequel last season (season 6), I believe, not this most recent 1. The reason Max went on a sabbatical (was originally written out of the show temporarily) was because he had professional gigs of different types--but not acting in other shows, as I remember--going on in Japan, Hawaii, & the mainland US at the same time & the constant travel was becoming stressful; plus he felt Max had gone full circle. Then Masi went back to the show for a couple of weeks around last midseason when he wrapped up Max's storyline in Hawaii & the character went to rejoin Doctors Without Borders (a commitment for which he was originally on that temporary sabbatical).

At any rate, Masi can't go back to the show right now, even if he wants to. It was announced yesterday he's got a part in an upcoming story arc in Mozart in the Jungle which streams on Amazon.com Prime Video.

Ok, I got my seasons mixed up.  I thought it was this past season, that Masi's show didn't work out.  I didn't know that he name of it, either.

Since his new role is on a stream, and only an arc, maybe he could come back later in S8.  I like him a lot better than Kamekona's cousin, or Jerry.

[BW Manilowe]

Scott D. Pierce, Salt Lake Tribune--CBS Shows It's Happy As The White Man's Network (Again) With Hawaii Five-0 Fumble

[Raja]

On 7/13/2017 at 5:51 AM, LizDC said:

Translation?

@WDBWA?

where da black women at

[webruce]

If they can't afford to pay them equal pay, then cut back on the screen time for Jerry and Lou. Then you don't have to pay them as much either. Or if Danni isn't on every episode, he shouldn't be paid for his time off. The show is based on 4 characters, period. 5 if you count Duke. They 4 should be the top payed. Maybe others have pointed this out before, ( I haven't caught up on my reading). But the show will ruin itself. But with all the characters that come and go on this show, I am surprised sometimes it has lasted. i will continue to watch though. But fix it will you, sign Kono and Chin back.

[roamyn]

15 minutes ago, webruce said:

If they can't afford to pay them equal pay, then cut back on the screen time for Jerry and Lou. Then you don't have to pay them as much either. Or if Danni isn't on every episode, he shouldn't be paid for his time off. The show is based on 4 characters, period. 5 if you count Duke. They 4 should be the top payed. Maybe others have pointed this out before, ( I haven't caught up on my reading). But the show will ruin itself. But with all the characters that come and go on this show, I am surprised sometimes it has lasted. i will continue to watch though. But fix it will you, sign Kono and Chin back.

Scott is only paid per episode.  Honestly, I like Lou (of course I love Chi), so more screen time for him is good.

But with the departure of GP, they need young rpeople.  Lou's middle aged, and Danny & Steve are close to that.  

BTW, I didn't realize Scott & Alex's birth dates are literally one day apart.  No wonder they seem to be good friends.

[webruce]

I like Lou too, and liked him on his last show also. Didn't like how he got his former buddy put away, (hostage time), but it worked.

 I didn't know Scott's was per episode.

I just thought they should try very hard to keep the core 4.

[jhlipton]

3 hours ago, Raja said:

@WDBWA?

where da black women at

Correct -- I moved the discussion to Race and Ethnicity (since it really has nothing to do with 5-0 per se).

[BW Manilowe]

6 hours ago, roamyn said:

Scott is only paid per episode.  Honestly, I like Lou (of course I love Chi), so more screen time for him is good.

But with the departure of GP, they need young rpeople.  Lou's middle aged, and Danny & Steve are close to that.  

BTW, I didn't realize Scott & Alex's birth dates are literally one day apart.  No wonder they seem to be good friends.

Everything I've read says Scott has the same "backend percentage" deal, regarding the show's profits, as Alex. And besides having something like that in their deals, all of the cast--not just Scott--gets paid per episode as far as I know. 

Remember, Alex & Scott were born on different sides of the International Dateline, being from Australia & the US. Their birthdays may only be on different calendar days because of that--they could've both been born in the hours when it's August 23rd here & 24th there, so their birthdays could really be only hours apart, technically. (I know what I'm trying to explain here; I just don't know if I'm doing it right--I'm trying to point out the International Dateline & time change between the US & Australia may make their birthdays technically less than a calendar day apart & they could've both been born when the hours in the 23rd & 24th of August overlap in their respective countries of birth).

[BW Manilowe]

And CBS is still getting heat from the press over the DDK/GP pay inequality-related departure. This time from The Visalia (CA) Times Delta

[Raja]

34 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

And CBS is still getting heat from the press over the DDK/GP pay inequality-related departure. This time from The Visalia (CA) Times Delta

Lucky for them that Friday at 9 NBC's Taken also massacred their diverse cast. As a young show they can bring in replacements more easily, but now I bet they wished they kept the squad together

[Mittengirl]

Is it at all possible that CBS didn't see this storm of bad publicity coming when they let their two Asian leads go (over money) and kept the two white guys?  I mean, if Grace really insisted on being in only half the episodes and that couldn't be accommodated, then you have a solid reason for writing her out.   But, cutting Daniel over money, which is probably a drop in the bucket for CBS, seems so avoidable.  Add a few more product placements, cut one or two huge car chases, one or two less "big name" guest stars (i.e. Melanie Griffith), and there you go - money for Daniel.  No huge stinking mess of really bad press.

 

BTW, I love Chi, and his character, and would have been thrilled if Scott had been let go and he and Daniel had been given his airtime.

[jhlipton]

9 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I mean, if Grace really insisted on being in only half the episodes and that couldn't be accommodated, then you have a solid reason for writing her out.  

And give her money to DDK, bumping him up to "regular lead'.  Easy-peasy.

Edited July 16, 2017 by jhlipton
wrong word used

[MissLucas]

I've read somewhere that we're talking 5000 bucks per episode for DDK - considering what a cash cow this show is domestically and internationally they could have easily come up with that money plus the lesser sum for GP (since she wanted a couple of episodes off). And yeah, if they need to cut corners drop some of the ridiculous stunts and focus on good writing instead (cheaper). It's hard to imagine they did not anticipate all the bad press this would gather but at the end of the day it won't hurt the show that much (especially not on the international market) and since it's on its last leg anyway they just couldn't be bothered. They're probably counting down the days for GoT's return hoping that they'd be in the clear once the public is distracted by Whitewalkers and dragons. And they're probably right.

[BW Manilowe]

3 hours ago, jhlipton said:

And give her money to DDK, bumping him up to "regular'.  Easy-peasy.

DDK was a "regular" from the premiere in 2010. But he (& GP) was considered a "supporting" cast member, not a "lead". Alex & Scott are considered the (only) "leads".

Edited July 15, 2017 by BW Manilowe
To add some necessary quotation marks.

[BW Manilowe]

3 hours ago, MissLucas said:

I've read somewhere that we're talking 5000 bucks per episode for DDK - considering what a cash cow this show is domestically and internationally they could have easily come up with that money plus the lesser sum for GP (since she wanted a couple of episodes off). And yeah, if they need to cut corners drop some of the ridiculous stunts and focus on good writing instead (cheaper). It's hard to imagine they did not anticipate all the bad press this would gather but at the end of the day it won't hurt the show that much (especially not on the international market) and since it's on its last leg anyway they just couldn't be bothered. They're probably counting down the days for GoT's return hoping that they'd be in the clear once the public is distracted by Whitewalkers and dragons. And they're probably right.

Grace P. wanted more than "a couple of episodes" off; she didn't want to do like Scott & merely sit out 5 eps this season/from now on. She wanted to do less than half of the episodes this coming season (supposedly they're doing 23 in S8, so she wanted to do less than 11 or 12--but how many less than half she wanted to do, nobody's said), then she wanted to be written off the show entirely (sort of, but not exactly, like what Masi Oka did before Max was written out at midseason last season). And she was asking to be paid the same as Alex & Scott for it. Since I think she (& everybody) gets paid by the episode, I think I can see why CBS didn't go for that in her case. She might've averaged more per ep than Alex, at least (or maybe not, since Alex is also making money off the show's backend profits).

[Passepartout]

Really think that CBS is the ones that screws up Grace and Daniel. As to why they are not in court or something to sue CBS. Really the network did them wrong. 

[jhlipton]

5 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

DDK was a "regular" from the premiere in 2010. But he (& GP) was considered a "supporting" cast member, not a "lead". Alex & Scott are considered the (only) "leads".

Thanks -- I corrected my post.

5 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Grace P. wanted more than "a couple of episodes" off; she didn't want to do like Scott & merely sit out 5 eps this season/from now on. She wanted to do less than half of the episodes this coming season (supposedly they're doing 23 in S8, so she wanted to do less than 11 or 12--but how many less than half she wanted to do, nobody's said), then she wanted to be written off the show entirely (sort of, but not exactly, like what Masi Oka did before Max was written out at midseason last season). And she was asking to be paid the same as Alex & Scott for it. Since I think she (& everybody) gets paid by the episode, I think I can see why CBS didn't go for that in her case. She might've averaged more per ep than Alex, at least (or maybe not, since Alex is also making money off the show's backend profits).

All the more reason to tell to go jump off Moana Loa and give that money to Kim.

[LizDC]

5 hours ago, Passepartout said:

Really think that CBS is the ones that screws up Grace and Daniel. As to why they are not in court or something to sue CBS. Really the network did them wrong. 

Existing contracts expired, and the attempts to negotiate new ones failed. What would be the grounds for a lawsuit? 

[Passepartout]

CBS just did not treat Daniel and Grace like that of Scott and Alex. And how CBS I heard mistreats their supporting players.

[kassygreene]

On 7/14/2017 at 6:28 PM, BW Manilowe said:

Everything I've read says Scott has the same "backend percentage" deal, regarding the show's profits, as Alex. And besides having something like that in their deals, all of the cast--not just Scott--gets paid per episode as far as I know. 

Remember, Alex & Scott were born on different sides of the International Dateline, being from Australia & the US. Their birthdays may only be on different calendar days because of that--they could've both been born in the hours when it's August 23rd here & 24th there, so their birthdays could really be only hours apart, technically. (I know what I'm trying to explain here; I just don't know if I'm doing it right--I'm trying to point out the International Dateline & time change between the US & Australia may make their birthdays technically less than a calendar day apart & they could've both been born when the hours in the 23rd & 24th of August overlap in their respective countries of birth).

I believe they were born within twelve hours of each other, and I seem to recall a few years ago AO stating in an interview that if you adjust for time zones, that AO is actually younger than SC.  I think.

Or in other words, Canberra is UT+10 hours, and LA is UT-8 hours, so the timezone difference is 18 hours... and I am too old to do this math any more.

[blackwing]

On 7/16/2017 at 0:08 AM, LizDC said:

Existing contracts expired, and the attempts to negotiate new ones failed. What would be the grounds for a lawsuit? 

Well, they could claim racial discrimination.  Scott was able to renegotiate his contract before his existing contract expired.  They had to wait until their contracts expired.  Scott gets to miss episodes but gets paid more than them on a per episode basis.  They wanted the same per episode salary and were denied.  Scott is white.  They are not.

I think it would be a hard case to win, as any kind of discrimination-based lawsuit is always hard to win.  I'm a bit surprised that CBS is holding fast and completely ignoring the issue.  The backlash seems really strong and they just said their initial piece about it and then have just stayed silent.  I don't expect them to backtrack, otherwise they will look like they are caving and giving in and we can't have that.  But I don't understand why they couldn't have cut someone like Flippa (seriously, what does he add to the show when Kamekona barely adds anything) and given the money to Grace and Daniel.  Especially if the amount of money that they couldn't agree upon was so small according to CBS.  Or cut the (probably) highly paid Willie Garson.  His Judd Hirsch character adds nothing to the show either.

[Just my 2 cents]

I just think CBS no longer cares.  As a middle-aged female minority in the U.S. I realized a long time ago that the color and race issues are the color green and the race is the almighty U.S. dollar.  Everything here is about capitalism and profits.  Although it’s entertainment to us to the industry it’s about making money.  I imagine they either need to match expenses and profits that H50 made last year or do better.  From some of the other boards I’ve seen pictures of the wrap party wishing GP goodbye and giving her a surfboard signed by the cast and crew.  She also gave them gifts so I think she was pretty much a done deal unless they met her terms.  DDK posted something about that’s a wrap with fireworks in the background and another pic of him riding away on a motorcycle saying we’re in the final stretch.  I assume he was ready to walk as well if they didn’t meet his demands.  I can agree with them both.  They put their blood, sweat, and tears into 7 years they deserve at least the same pay.  I know they were never going to get a backend deal, but at least the same pay would have been good.  I think BW Manilowe mentioned something about a backend deal so if there is one CBS would be too greedy to share the profits with anyone else.

 

Now we have CBS and Les Moonves is tough.  I read an article that reminded me of an incident several years ago when CSI was on.  Jorja Fox and George Eads (now a lead on MacGyver) were in the middle of renegotiating their contracts.  They decided not to show up for work and were both promptly fired.  Technically if they weren’t physically ill or unable to perform for some reason they were in breach of their current contracts.  They came back to the set and they renegotiated.  I think they used the same no show for work excuse to fire Charlie Sheen.

 

CBS is in a win-win situation.  They are only doing 23 episodes as opposed to 25.  They no longer must pay DDK and GP’s salary.  With DDK and GP gone they no longer must pay or give raises to their stunt doubles and if they had any on the set assistants provided by CBS that personally attended to their needs, they no longer must pay them.  Let’s not forget that DDK has a show he is co-producing on a rival network that CBS passed up.  Can you imagine if it becomes successful and even more than the show he’s currently acting on or anything else that CBS has.  They would never be happy about that.  Finally, the biggest win for CBS is that the “lead’ only has an 8-season contract that’s expiring.  If this season tanks, no big deal.  They’ll easily cancel it and put some crappy show in its place that’s cheaper to produce.   God-forbid it be another reality show.   They no longer must worry about giving Alex, Scott, or Chi a raise in contract renegotiation.  They no longer must pay the camera crew, caterers, on-set staff, special effects or the various Hawaiian natives that are working on the show or give any of them raises because the show is cancelled.   Like I stated earlier I just don’t think CBS cares and I think this was going to be the final season regardless.