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Harry Shearer Walks Away From "The Simpsons," and $14 Million
Actor Harry Shearer, perhaps best known as the voice of several characters on The Simpsons, including that of Montgomery Burns, will be leaving the show's cast, according to CNN.
Showrunner Al Jean said Shearer was "offered the same deal as the rest of the cast, but turned it down." ... Shearer is not just walking away from Springfield, but also a large sum of money. The actor was offered a guaranteed $14 million for two years of work, according to someone with direct knowledge of the matter. The proposed deal also allowed for him to do other projects if he wished." That last part, though, seems to be in dispute, and central to Shearer's decision to leave; Shearer tweeted that it's because he "wanted what we've always had: the freedom to do other work."
Uhh...... no. Harry Shearer will always be know first and foremost as Derek Smalls from Spinal Tap.
"On the bass, Derek Smalls, he wrote this"
after what like 26 years I think maybe he has the right to do something different. To be honest the Simpsons jumped the shark a long time ago.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Not his entire career. Not even close (especially since it started in 1953).
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm073...
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Yeah, and to me, it's actually funny again. It nose-dived around 9/11 if you ask me - like a lot of other shows that seemed to hold back a bit in the aftermath.
Too bad Harry's leaving. I think he added a lot to the show.
http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/
I think maybe he has the right to do something different.
Given what has been said on the various sites, that's not it.
Reading his tweets, it looks like he is rejecting it because either just him or probably the rest of the cast is getting the typical "we own your soul" style of corporate contract. ("I wanted what we've always had: the freedom to do other work.") Maybe he's just standing up for himself, or maybe he is trying to make a stand for everyone on the team. That isn't publicly discussed.
Sadly that demand is increasingly common from corporate overlords in most jobs. Anything you do outside of work becomes owned by the company. Even if that thing is unrelated to the company's actual work, they want to claim the right to profit from anything and everything that you do at any time.
Seeing as he is 71 years old and has many side ventures, I can completely understand how such a contract would be unacceptable, and since he's financially well-off, he can afford to be somewhat of an activist for the others on the show.
As written in TFA, Shearer has created and stared in another series, is doing stage work, and has his own NPR show. They're offering $14M, but several sources are claiming (and others contradicting but still mentioning) that comes with a handcuff about continuing all his other side projects, or that others in the team have those handcuffs but they were offering to release just him.
//TODO: Think of witty sig statement