ABC Hurls Wads Of Cash At Lost Cast's Heads
An ABC series you won't be hearing Steve McPherson complain about any time soon is Lost, that rare show which manages to remain both a huge critical (it just won the Golden Globe for best dramatic series) and ratings hit. And in much the way salary allotment works in your workplace, Lost's entire cast has just been rewarded for a job well done with a huge pay increase:
"Lost" producer Touchstone Television has offered all original members of the large ensemble cast a substantial salary bump in exchange for an additional year to the actors' current contracts. The studio's pre-emptive offer would see the actors earn almost $80,000 each an episode next season, the show's third, up from a range of about $20,000-$40,000 for most cast members this season.
All original cast members, including Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Naveen Andrews, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O'Quinn, Jorge Garcia, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim and Harold Perrineau, have been offered the same deal and are expected to take it. Fox, who plays the pivotal role of Jack, is said to have earned an extra bonus of at least $250,000.
It's important to note that the raise applies only to the "original" cast members, a crucial piece of fine print initially overlooked by Michelle Rodriguez, who was overheard excitedly calculating how many Mai Tais $60,000 buys you ("And double that for happy hour!") before a stone-faced production accountant curtly explained the raise doesn't apply to regulars introduced in the second season.
