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THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS |
… AND THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS LIKE THE BUSINESS OF SHOW BUSINESS… OINK!’s VERY OWN SHOW BIZ FEATURE EDITOR HAS BEEN TALKING TO THE GOOD AND THE GREAT, GETTING THE LOW DOWN ON WHAT’S COMING UP ON TV, IN THE THEATRE, ON THE SCREENS AND TRYING TO MAKE SOME SENSE OF HOW IT ALL WORKS… AND HERE HE IS…HAMMOND EGG!
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SELLING THE DREAM
Great ideas, like marrying one icon with another – Dr Who with Kylie – didn’t happen just by magic. Dr Who Producer, Russell Davies, would have had to sell the idea to the BBC’s Television Programme Commissioning Editor as a concept, first. Why? Because, if they were going to get Kylie, they’d have to spend loads of cash, and it’s the Commissioner who agrees the production costs. Kylie may be small, but her paycheques aren’t! So with an ‘in principal’ nod from the Commissioner, the producers would have trooped off to see Kylie’s agent to propose the idea.
There are some shows that just everybody wants to be in: Sesame Street; The Simpsons; The Muppetts. And, of course, Dr Who. OINK! understands that Kylie jumped at the opportunity to be part of this legendary show. |
SCRIPTS, COFFEE, REWRITES… MORE COFFEE
Russell Davis, who’s executive producer of the series and a great writer, himself, has breathed new life into Dr Who – as is plain from the success of the new shows. Having set the stories, the writers will get to work to create the words we’ll hear on the screen. Writers are a funny bunch. Some like writing all alone in a room or a shed at the end of a garden – it’s amazing how many writers have sheds at the end of a garden! Other writers, especially in the US, like to write in teams. |
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COSTUMES, COFFEE, SETS, COFFEE AND SFX
Designers from the Costume, Sets and Special Effects departments all start piling in to add their bits to the production, which is normally when the costs start to get really heavy.
TEARS, LAUGHTER, COFFEE, BACON ROLLS AT 6AM… BLISS
Nothing – and I mean nothing – beats a bacon and egg roll from the location catering truck when you’re out filming in the wee hours of the morning.
And once the scripts, the costumes and all the drama of getting a production ‘green lit’ (TV speak for ready to be produced, money and all!), it’s just the greatest trip to watch the drama we’ll see on our screens unfold as the actors are filmed telling their story!
PRICE OF SUCCESS
The Doctor Who Christmas Special will be a major ‘must see’ this year – not just because of Kylie, Russell Davies and this great production. But because of the legacy the show has earned through the years, and the many, many Who’s, gouls, aliens and Daleks who have boldly gone where no man has gone before!
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HOW'S THE PAY?
OINK! has learned that script writers for television shows can earn anywhere from around £2,000 a show to £20,000 plus. In the US, some writers make hundreds of thousands of dollars for a series, and a few of these actually own the shows they write on. So big bucks there.
Actors can make around £1,500 an episode on a successful TV show, The bigger the name, the more they’ll get. Of course, nothing as much as talent gets in America. Some of the stars make millions of dollars just for one show.
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THE PRICE OF LAUGHTER!
It can cost around £400-500,000 to make a half hour sitcom, but a reality TV programme can cost a mere £20,000 per half hour – you can see why there are so many!
The television companies make part of their money from selling the programmes around the world to other television broadcasters or stations, and each time they do, they usually have to pay residuals which are a share of the sales to the actors.
One Old Dalek I know still gets his residuals from the BBC after nearly thirty years!! |
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