So maybe it’s time for a little paycheck reality check (but since we’re talking about Hollywood, we might want to add a few zeroes). I was reading TV Guide this week and their cover story is WHO EARNS WHAT? Now, we all know about Simon Cowell’s cool $100 million (you’d think that could buy him a collared shirt or two). And Ryan Seacrest is our highest paid reality host, with his $15 million dollar haul. But what about the actors and actresses we love? If YOU were signing the checks? Would you fork over $550,00 per episode to Kiefer Sutherland for 24? (Fox does). Alec Baldwin’s $300,000 per show — does that add up for you? Or Law& Order’s Mariska Hargitay — according to TV Guide, she’s bringing home $400,000 a week — would you hand that over if she was working for you? All four Desperate Housewives command $400,000 a pop each time they hit the small screen — would you keep it even like that (or would you want to endure the consequences if you didn’t ?) Plus — do you think there should be any difference among stars who make you laugh — versus those who make you cry? (For example, Calista Flockhart’s worth a quarter of a million dollars a show (Brothers & Sisters) but Neil Patrick Harris, for all his funniness (and his multitasking funniness, I might add) commands just over half that). Even the kids are alright — Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford & Blake Lively both bring in $50K each week. The point is, none of them will be going hungry any time soon, but it’s interesting to see who makes what. With this in mind, voice your choice in today’s featured poll where we’ve listed a few more of TV heavy hitters…and let us know if you think they’re worth the big buck$.
Who’s MOST worth it?
1) Simon Baker – $250,000 per episode
2) Kyra Sedgewick -$275,000 per episode
3) Charlie Sheen – $875,000 per episode
I agree with periwinkle on this one. The audience is the driving force behind these salaries. WE are the ones who decide what shows succeed, thus the actors get paid more. If the 100+ million people watching American Idol stopped watching next season, Simon Cowell wouldn’t be making as much. It all goes back to the simple economic lesson of supply and demand, folks.
oh just leave them alone, the market will bear
what it will, if people are willing to watch
then the actors will get paid
if you don’t like it stop watching
i agree with hermanTheCrab, i don’t understand
how these actors can live with themselves, there
are teachers, police, nurses etc. who make a fraction
of these salaries
we worry about CEO compensation how about we take a look at
what hollywood is dishing out to these actors and actresses
this is ridiculous, not one of these people are worth
this money, they don’t save lives, they just pretend for a living