Sweetening the pot

Magnet #902 - Not so sweet

Another one of my Bored Inc. magnets I picked up from Comic-Con. It's kinda funny - I was gonna use this magnet for my first day back into work from Comic-Con, but since it turned out to be my last day at work, I decided I didn't want such a sourpuss magnet for that day.

So, I'll use it today, because there was a part of me that thought that La-la-land was all cupcakes, sunshine and puppies. But lists like this TV Guide list of actor per-episode salaries lead me to believe that life mightn't be so sweet for all of them.

(I should note here that if there was ever anything I learned from one particular ex-boyfriend, it was do not discuss salary. Ever. Not with friends. Not with family. Just don't do it. It just makes you unhappy in the end. So, it's something I never discuss to this day.)

But, since the information's now public (not that I know where it came from) and even though I find it a little uncouth to discuss such matters, and ridic that we're given all this information on anyone's salaries, and it's absolutely none of our business, I do find this entertainment business quite intriguing.

Like Mark Harmon (325k) making double Michael Weatherley (125k) - that difference kinda makes sense, because of seniority, and probably producer credits, etc. But how crazy is it that iCarly's Miranda Cosgrove (180k) is making so much more on a Nick show than Wizards' Selena Gomez (30k) on a Disney show? And how is Ian Somerhalder is at 40k on the CW's Vampire Diaries, the same as Shailene Woodley on that ABCFamily Brendavision show? And Chuck's Zachary Levi is at 60k at NBC, while old Chuck buddy Matt Bomer's at $100k on USA's White Collar, and both NBC/USA are in the same NBC Uni family.

See? While it's none of our business, it's still utterly fascinating.

It's weird, because they didn't release all cast information - so while Lauren Graham's at 150k, it'd be interesting to see Krause's or Coach's. Angie Harmon's at 75k as Rizzoli, but what's Gretchen Sasha Alexander making as Isles, I wonder.

I know, I apologize, it's totally none of my business. Still, I'm not really judgey about how much they make - per episode - they're actors, they work hard, they live a career based on their skills and their looks. I've never thought it an easy occupation. It can't be. Plus, it's not just the shows, it's the PAs, the marketing/PR they have to do, etc.

Oh, I could go on and on, comparing networks to networks, hour-longs to sitcoms, gender, seniority, BBC actors being employees of the state vs. Hollywood, etc. But, it's just a cupcake magnet.

My guess is that this list must cause a ton of people in the entertainment world some severe agita. I can't even imagine the myriad calls that will be made in the coming weeks over salary disparities. Crazy.

But, I can tell you, if this were Corporate America, and each company published this kind of list, with such readily apparent disparities? Man, there'd be total anarchy!