Claudia out of Season 5 |
Claudia Christian did not be appear in season 5, though the reasons are a bit murky. There are comments below from both sides from a number of days over the Summer of 1997 before Season 5 began filming - not everything is here since the talk has gone on for a while, but I think it defines the two sides pretty evenly.
You can see also Bruce Boxleitner's opinion on the TV-Guide pages.
The following was posted by jms on 19th July 97 - following that is Claudia's apparent repsonse.
From: jmsatb5@aol.com (Jms at B5) Date: 19 Jul 1997 15:07:27 -0400 Lines: 72 There have been some questions raised as to what has happened regarding Claudia Christian and Season 4 [Ed: sic]. In simplest possible terms, which can be verified through every cast member, and in the press, what happened was this: In early June, WB asked for, and received, one-month exensions on their contract options from all cast members except Claudia, for the purposes of allowing WB time to work out the co-financing deal with TNT for year 5 of B5. There was a great deal of red tape left over from the PTEN deal to finish unraveling, and other business aspects, to work out in going from syndication to cable, and it was taking longer than expected. Claudia said, repeatedly, that she was on board for the fifth season, but that she didn't want to give the extension for business reasons of her own. We took her at her word and allowed her to not give the extension. Assurances were made to us, and to her fellow cast members. While we were all together (cast, some crew, and I) in Blackpool for Wolf 359, word reached us of the articles in Variety and Reuters reporting that Claudia would not be returning to B5, and was looking for other work. This was the very first indication we had that she would not be in season 5. TNT was upset by this, WB was upset by this, and we were called on the carpet asking why we had trusted her about the fifth year. When spoken to in Blackpool, she was still, at that point, saying that she was going to be in season 5...but did nothing to address the situation with WB. She was told that WB had to know, for sure, if she was in or out by last Friday. All she had to do to be in season 5 was to pick up the phone, or have her agent do so, and call WB and say, "I'm in." This did not happen. Friday came, and went. It was clear that she had no intention of being in season 5, and wanted instead to pursue movies. She is more well known now after B5, after all. Cast members prevailed upon her to change her mind over the weekend. Bruce, Jeff Conaway, others took it upon themselves to try and talk her back onto the show, tried to get her to call on Monday in case she might be able to repair the bridges burned the prior week. On Monday, she left the convention early, and never called WB, never called Doug, never called anyone. Bottom line is...she passed on season 5. She chose not to be there. I know that she has now told some people that WB doesn't want her...but if that is the case, why the articles planted in Variety and Reuters saying that the B5 producers were "bummed" that she wasn't available, that she had chosen not to return to the show? (Again, at the time the articles appeared, this intent had not even been conveyed to us or to WB; we had to learn about it by reading it in the trades, in articles no one had even discussed with us.) Why did she not give the extension, as was also reported? Why was it announced in the press (in articles reprinted right here on the nets) that she wasn't coming back and was looking for other work long before we even knew anything about it? The offer was on the table. We extended it to the very limit. All the other actors signed on, and urged her to do the same. She chose not to. It was never a matter of anyone not wanting her. I personally urged her Thursday night to call her agent and talk this out and make her intentions clear if she wanted to come back to the show. She declined. Every cast member who was there in Blackpool saw what went down, and can verify this. And that, as they say, is the long and the short of it. While I will not recast the role, on the theory that she may come around someday and decide she wants to be in one of the TNT features or one of the movies, we will be bringing in a new character to fill that position in the B5 command structure. Fortunately, 421, already filmed, is structured to allow us to adjust for this without missing a beat, and the story will continue as planned with only a minor variation in the first two episodes to introduce the new character. jms
Following is Claudia's (apparent) follow-up:
Claudia Christian, has requested that the following be posted on her behalf. Dear Folks, Here's my side of the story and I should know because I was there. On June 20th, I was called into the B-5 office to find out the fate of the 5th season. With three other cast members present we were told that we could make the fifth season (yeah!). We were then asked to give up the residuals for that season (those are the things that pay the rent since syndication isn't exactly lucrative). Well, nonetheless I said okay-I even volunteered to talk the rest of the cast into it. I had expressed my hesitation in extending my contract renewal because I wanted to get their assurance that in the 5th season I could get at least 4 episodes off to do a film. That was the only thing I was asking for. No raise--accepting a paycut-- simply less episodes, period. Ask yourself this: why would I have done the TNT promos for the 5th season if I did not want to be involved? While I was in Europe (I was there for almost a month), I heard about the gossip column in Variety. It is a gossip column, nothing more. I have no idea who planted the gossip and frankly, I didn't think much of it since Hollywood is based on gossip. Because the producers and Joe were in Europe, I assumed negotiations for the 5th season would continue when we all returned. I was told quite curtly that my request for time off had been denied and that Ken Parks from Warner Bros. had told my agent to tell me to "Find another job, we'll replace her." After four years of working for a substantial paycut because I loved the show and the people involved, and felt that I was portraying a character that people really cared about, this hurt me immensely. At that point, I was in shock but I still went to Blackpool thinking that they would come around and give me the time I needed off. I knew Ivanova was in the first episodes. I figured we could sit down with my agent and come to a deal. In Blackpool, I was told by JMS that he would give me the episodes off but I could not get anything in writing. I trust him, however I know that he was not writing all of the episodes for the fifth season so I really felt that I had to have something in writing. I turns out my fears were justified because when my agent spoke to John Copeland (producer) and mentioned Joe's offer to write me out of a few episodes, Mr. Copeland responded by saying "That's not possible. If TNT wants her in every episode then she has to do all 22. That's the deal, take it or leave it." At this point, I was told that I had until Monday to call Warner Bros. to tell them I was on board. Well Folks, an actor does not call a studio. Our union has rules. The producers of B-5 never called my manager or agent to tell them of this deadline. Instead, I was told by Jeff Conaway. I called my agent and left word. We missed each other. On Monday, I found out that on the previous Friday my agent had received a fax stating that the offer for me to be in B-5 was withdrawn. In essence, I was fired. This fax was received on Friday, so what kind of game was being played by giving me false hopes throughout the weekend in England? And by the way, on Tuesday of that week, I was in London promoting the show and doing magazine interviews and TV talk shows for them on my own time. Why would I do that if I did not believe something could be worked out. If they really wanted me back, they would have accepted my plea through my agent to sit down and have a meeting. He was told by John Copeland that he was "a dollar short and a day late." They simply did not even want to sit down with me! Once again, I would do season 5...if I had less episodes. I am hurt and disappointed that I have not even received the opportunity to discuss my needs. I was dismissed coldly and simply. I want you to know that I have given my heart to the show and I love Ivanova as much as any of you. I did not "leave" the show. I did not ask for more money. I did not create this mess. Perhaps this is a great lack of communication. I would like to think that. Thank you all for your love and support. I would never abandon you. Claudia Christian
From JMS, 21 July:
[ Summary: A fan who listened to Claudia Christian at TorontoTrek
explains her side of the story and asks fans to act. ]
#: 685980 S5/Babylon 5: General
20-Jul-97 21:11:04
Sb: #685937-#Claudia C fired!
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
You must understand that Claudia is one of 10 or so actors on the show.
The other actors understood and understand that we cannot renegotiate contracts
in mid-stream, and they are *supportive of the show*, and gave us extensions on
their contracts so that WB could have time to make the TNT deal work. They are
all, to a man and woman, on board otherwise.
Claudia opted to not give the extension, where the other cast did, and
now wants (or says she wants to) renegotiate, now that all the other cast
members are locked down. To do so in her case, when she did not give us the
extension, and deliberately embarrassed WB by having an article appear in the
trades saying she was out and looking for other work, would be an insult to all
the other cast members who have worked with us to date.
Further, yes, she's right, in that the contract could not be changed so
that she could go out and do movies at a moment's notice. By contract, we must
have first call on an actor's services. That is a requirement of ANY TV
contract with an actor who is a series regular. That cannot be changed for ANY
actor, ANYwhere.
That said...I already *told* Claudia that, even though we couldn't put it
in the contract, I would be happy to work with her *informally* on this, and
that if she said she needed to be gone from X-date to Y-date, I would write her
out of those episodes so that she could do the movies. SHE ALREADY GOT FROM ME
THAT PROMISE. I've already done similar things for her and other cast members
on the show, which is how many of them have appeared in other projects. So
this is, for me, a non-issue.
No, from my standpoint, she wanted off the show, and I have no idea why
she is running up the fans like this unless she wants to avoid responsibility
for this.
Again, this isn't a case of my word against hers. EVERY SINGLE CAST
MEMBER was there when this went down, and MANY of them tried to talk her out of
walking off the show. If you don't want to take my word for it, ask any one of
them who was there, especially Bruce or Jeff.
I would suggest the fans *not* get into this, because a) you're not
getting solid or reliable information from Claudia, and b) it is simply too
late. She opted to pass on season 5, whether she wants to admit this or not,
whether she's running from responsibility from that, I don't know...but it was
her choice. I sat with her on Thursday night at Midnight and told her, flat
out, that I would accommodate her request on a personal basis, and that she
*had* to either contact WB herself or have her agent do so the next day, or she
was off the show, because we HAD to get the show going. The train was leaving,
and she could be on it or not as she chose. She chose not to get on board.
What you also don't understand is that we start shooting season 5 in less
than one month. We're in the process of writing scripts *right now*, and have
been since we got the production order right about the time we went to
Blackpool. You can't whipsaw the writing back and forth -- is she in, isn't
she in, maybe she is, maybe she isn't -- and hope to have anything in shape to
shoot. That was why we had to know at that date. Normally we have a longer
lead time; this time we didn't, and this has already put the scripts back a
bit. The script with the new character is written and in; if I take it out now
I have to replace it, and there isn't *time*.
Claudia knew this. WB knew this. We were up against it. She had to
choose to be in, or out. She chose out. It's no longer our responsibility,
and it's flatly too late to bring her back. The door is closed on season 5.
jms
[ Summary: Another TorontoTrek attendee mentions that all Claudia
wanted was to have some time to do a movie. ]
#: 685988 S5/Babylon 5: General
20-Jul-97 21:35:00
Sb: #685890-#C Christian in Season 5?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I personally told Claudia that we would work out the time for her to do a
film project prior to the deadline coming for her decision. Other cast members
knew this, and confirmed it to her.
jms
JMS' reply to Claudia's statement above:
#: 685989 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Jul-97 21:35:01
Sb: #685938-#Claudia sez this..
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
1) This confirms what I said in my note to Brian, that I personally
assured Claudia of the chance for time off (so Kevin, bugger off).
2) Neither I nor anyone else in B5 told her that she had until Monday. I
sat with her Midnight Thursday and said she had to talk to her agent and get
this to WB *the very next day*, Friday, or that was it. Jeff took it upon
himself to try and talk Claudia into trying to work it out on Monday, out of
his concern and a hope that this could be saved.
3) Her agent was notified several days prior to the deadline that it was
in place by WB business affairs.
4) As noted in my other message, there wasn't time to sit down leisurely
after Blackpool and discuss this. The first script had to be in on July 6th.
The second on July 12th. The third one on July 18th. Those are the hard and
fast deadlines in order to meet production requirements for season 5. It is
not July 20th. By the time anyone could "sit down" we'd be deep into episode 5
or 6, and then what do we do? Rewrite all 5 or 6 at the last minute?
It's an unfortunate situation. Nobody's denying that. But what
happened, happened.
jms
From JMS, 22 July:
The information on residuals is not correct. NO ONE was aske to give up
residuals on season 5 forever. That simply never took place.
To explain:
There are different residuals formulas for the various forms of TV. The
best one is for network, where the fee paid per rerun is quite high; then you
have syndication, which starts at a much lower level; then there is the basic
cable residual, which is lowest of all. In year 5, B5 is going from
syndication to basic cable. That means it must now use the basic cable
residuals formula. But the cast had to be informed of this, and agree to it,
otherwise there could not BE a fifth season.
The basic cable deal is spelled out very clearly in the Screen Actors
Guild (SAG) agreement, which is standard for all parts of the Industry. The
rule is that the amount paid to an actor over double-scale is *credited
against* residuals. Once that amount is earned out, the residuals come again.
That is standard for basic cable. (The closest parallel would be a print
author, who is paid an advance against royalties; once that advance is earned
out, the royalties come to the author.)
So to make it clearer: let's say for the sake of argument that scale is
$5,000 per episode. (It isn't that exact figure, but I don't have the SAG book
in front of me; still, that's close.) Double scale would be $10,000 per
episode. So if an actor is paid, let's say, $12,000 per episode, then $2,000
over double scale per episode is credited against residuals, for a total of
$44,000. That amount would get burned through pretty fast, and then the actor
would again start getting residuals.
That was the situation explained to *all* the actors. NO ONE was asked
to permanently give up S5 residuals. That simply never happened, and *could
not* happen under SAG rules. And the rule as specified above can be verified
in the SAG agreement.
BTW...it was stated to Claudia's people that WB *could* drop her down to
18 episodes if she wanted to be paid for only those 18 episodes, but her reps
demanded that she should be paid for all 22 regardless, and didn't take that
deal.
You must understand that this sort of thing is common. For instance,
when Stephen Furst wanted to do fewer episodes so that he could appear as a
regular in the sitcom "Misery Loves Company," he said, "Look, I really want to
do this, so if you could cut me down to, say, 8 episodes, and just pay me for
those 8 instead of the contracted 13, that'd be great." And that deal was
made, and made quickly. If an actor wants to be reduced in the number of
episodes, but still be paid for the full number, that makes things difficult
for a studio to go along with.
And as of now, it's a moot point. The boat has left the pier. This is
no longer an issue that can be altered. She opted out, for her own reasons.
Heck, that was announced in the trades long before we knew what was going on.
We have had no choice but to move on.
jms
A note from JMS on 24 July - a penny dropping! (Requoted from Brent Barrett's CIS mailing list).
[ Summary: In reference to why Claudia would put up a fuss about
getting Joe's promise in writing, this poster offers, "I would
assume that any producer who wanted to cast her would see that
on paper she was bound to B5 for the entire period, assume that
she would not be available, and not offer her the part. Even if
Claudia had no doubt that Joe could steer her around any trouble
with the suits, the verbal agreement wouldn't carry any weight
in the outside world." ]
#: 687410 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
24-Jul-97 03:52:44
Sb: #686832-Clauduia
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"Even if Claudia had no doubt that Joe could steer her around any trouble with
the suits, the verbal agreement wouldn't carry any weight in the outside
world."
Y'know, up until this very moment, the whole 4-eps-in-writing thing
hadn't made sense to me, I couldn't get my brain around it.
I don't know if that's it, but it's a helluvan interesting thought.
jms
A timeline of events from jms:
#: 689028 S5/Babylon 5: General
28-Jul-97 00:14:28
Sb: #688929-#Claudia Opts Out-JMS
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No...let me stress this again: there was never any meeting here.
The meeting you *might* be thinking of was the one where we brought in
the actors to explain to them the differences in syndication vs. cable
residuals formula. That took place some weeks before.
If it helps, let me break down the dates for you a bit:
July 9th: the Variety and Reuters pieces appear saying Claudia's has left
the show. WB wants to know where Claudia stands, and we need to know because
at this point I've finished writing the new 422, and am about to start on 502
(actually the first S5 episode). I hear about this when Claudia, I and the
rest of the cast are in the UK at Blackpool. The WB need for urgent
clarification is conveyed to Claudia's agent.
July 10th: I reinforce to Claudia, at the pub in the DeVere hotel, that
unless she confirms through her agent by noon Friday, the 11th, that she wants
to be on the show, the offer will be withdrawn, that she will have, to all
intents and purposes, passed on the offer.
July 11th: there was no "final comment," no meeting...again, we are still
in the UK. For there to be a final comment, she or her agent would have had to
actually *speak* to someone. But no call came from either Claudia or her
agent. There was NO response at all. Thus, the offer was finally and
reluctantly withdrawn because we were simply out of time, and having been told
that silence = a pass on the offer, there was no longer any reason to maintain
the offer. She passed.
July 12th: Jeff goes to Claudia and on his own, tries to convince her to
try and work this out on Monday, that if her agent makes contact first thing,
maybe this can be worked out. This is not a position that I told him to
advance to her, he did this entirely on his own, hoping that she could still
come back from her decision. Bruce and other cast members also try to talk to
her about this, concerned about her decision.
July 14th (Monday): Claudia leaves the convention mid-day, announcing
that she is going to go to a photo shoot.
The weekend of July 19th-20th: I'm at ComicCon in San Diego, where I
learn that Claudia, at another convention, has announced that she was fired
from B5. And that, to paraphrase, is where the blitz hit the fans.
I know you keep trying to find some way that maybe I wasn't there,
perhaps to save me from the situation...but I was there for every bit of it;
having the room 4 doors down from Claudia at the time, I couldn't be *more* in
the thick of it unless I slept on the floor of her room.
jms
A follow-up from Claudia, 14 Aug 1997:
Dear Sweet Wonderful Guys and Gals, Ladies, Gentlemen - poets all of you: I am sitting in my trailer on the film set of "Guardian" (not the film that conflicted with B-5, I have been lucky enough to star in 2 films - "Guardian" and "Thick and Thin" with Robert Townsend, in the last month). Anyway - I'm in here perusing the copious , kind, funny and downright incredible e-mails I have received from you. I actually started to cry a few minutes ago as I read a particularly touching message from a woman in Toronto. You are eloquent and I am so happy to have been able to entertain you in whatever way I have. Out of the hundreds of e-mails I have received from all over the world I have only had one negative one and that was from a fellow who hated my CD! I am amazed at your loyalty and your generosity of spirit. As I was depressed after being disinvited to the annual B-5 party - yes I am no longer welcome anywhere near B-5. I was then heartened by yet another slew of love from you via the e-mail. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Now then to answer some of your questions: 1. I would love to be in the B-5 TNT movies or the feature, however I get the feeling they do not want me in anything at all. 2. I was never offered 18 episodes at a different price, I was told "If TNT wants you for all 22 - you have to do all 22" period. 3. I will still do conventions (If I am invited!) I love to be with the fans and always have a great time at them. 4. I apologize to anyone who missed me in Boston after I could only make an appearance on Sunday. I took the Red-Eye after finishing work on the movie I'm doing and missed my talk on Saturday. I hope that everyone who stayed for Sunday a decent show. 5. To Andrew P. I don't know Paul Lynch...at least I don't recognize the name. 6. To Mark K. Your welcome for the B-day card! 7. The deal breaker was never about money! It was about time! 8. Yes, it is ironic that they are replacing me with an actress that will be in only 8 episodes out of 22 9. Joseph B My game is called "Solar Eclipse" it's on Sony Playstation 10. Karen in NY The agent you are referring to was my convention agent, there was no foul play or stupid moves on the part of my theatrical agent. As I've said before they received a fax saying I was released on Friday after that they assumed the fight was over. I no longer work with the woman you heard about at Wolf. 11. If you read the Variety article, it simply said that I had not signed my contract yet, it did not state that I was leaving the show, period! It was gossip, I do not know who planted it. 12. I auditioned for the Borg on Voyager during season 4 when we were told that it did not look good for season 5. If I had gotten the job I could not have done it once B-5 was picked up. It had nothing to do with anything. All of the actors were auditioning for lots of things since we thought the series was over. Remember season 5 was a miracle, we even shot the last episode thinking it was over. 13. Yes Vince is my brother, a great guy, but I think he needs to get back to work in his lab so no more e-mails to him okay:-) 14. Kevin S 6-D loves you and 6-D bless you, you are great, remember that! Thank you for your kind words. 15. John D I didn't think you were short... 16. Damon does exist, he is my best friend and has set up this access to you for me. 17. Susan B I think Diana does an excellent job with my web site, she receives a lot of mail for me. I don't understand your comment "Be careful when you write people" I have only written twice. The original rebuttal and this letter now. Beware of impostors they say! Also Susan, I write from the heart not to impress a teacher, so sorry for the "poor phrasing'. 18. Stephen Christian Thank you!!!! You're the BEST! Now for the summary.... In case you didn't notice, during season 4 I mostly read off of a TelePrompTer for "The Voice of The Resistance" or said "Aye Captain" into my link. I was creatively frustrated but continued to float along thinking I would get my chance to stretch my acting muscles. It wasn't until episode 421 that Joe wrote a scene for Richard Biggs and I that I am very proud of and was thrilled to be able to do. Add to that the fact that I had a car accident that ended up costing me my savings account, I was drained. Along comes a producer who wants me to star in a film that will help get me on my feet again...barely...and satisfy my acting needs in a challenging role. I really wanted to do it. I asked for the time off and I was told I would get it. I explained I needed it in writing. There was no way they would hire me without this permission note. I had to get one for the one day I worked on the Steven Bocheo pilot "Total Security" for crying out loud! I was refused. Nothing in writing meant I couldn't do the film. I thought it could be worked out. I was wrong. In conclusion: I have never said I did not want to be a part of season 5. I would be happy to don Ivanova's uniform for episodes in season 5, the TNT movies of the week or the potential feature. My pride prohibits me from calling them. They know my number if they want me they can ask me. The ball has never been in my court people, I am just a pawn in this great chess game. Thank you again for your love and support. I cherish each and every letter that has come to me. Lots of Love Claudia Christian
You can also try the Lurker's Guide for still more quotes on all this.
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