contracts

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Last Contract

gawker.com · 04/19/10 06:23PM

It's been nearly a decade since California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in Terminator 3. Author Edward Jay Epstein looks back at Schwarzenegger's final movie contract, the product of state-of-the-art deal-making and still the gold standard for Hollywood lawyers.

Anna Nicole Smith Disgusts Maria Shriver, Saves NBC Major Money

Rebecca · 03/17/08 11:55AM

After Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, Maria Shriver was in an awkward spot. Not only was she married to Arnold Schwarzenegger, but being the first lady of California was sort of a conflict of interest with her Dateline gig. So she left the show, with an option to return. Because of that option, NBC has only paid her a "fraction" of her salary during the past few years, instead of the full amount they'd have owed her had they fired her. And after Anna Nicole Smith died, Shriver decided that she wouldn't go back to broadcast journalism because, well, it's a little gauche. The gruesome coverage of Anna Nicole Smith ended up saving NBC millions of dollars. Is there anything this woman can't posthumously do?

Torre To Steinbrenner: Bite Me!

Maggie · 10/18/07 04:15PM

Attaway, Joe. Yankees manager Joe Torre dropped into Tampa for an hour today to turn down the team's offer of a $5 million one-year extension to his contract. During this year's playoffs, the best boss in town among those bosses who aren't actually, shall we say, "present," George Steinbrenner, publicly held Torre's job over his head, threatening to fire him if he didn't turn in another series win.

The Parents Who Put Their Tykes On "Kid Nation" Are Fame-Seeking Whores

Doree Shafrir · 08/23/07 11:20AM

A new show in CBS' fall lineup, Kid Nation, which took a bunch of kids and stuck them in the desert in New Mexico to live on their own for 40 days, is currently embroiled in controversy because the network made parents sign a 22-page waiver so their children could participate on the show. Basically, it seems like CBS took advantage of parents who were either willfully ignorant or saw the show as their kids' ticket to fame. Or maybe both! The financial rewards were laughable—$5,000 for participation, with a possible $20,000 bonus—and the penalties were severe: $5 million if parents or kids broke the confidentiality agreement. Ouch. Oh, and also? CBS owns the rights to the children's life stories in perpetuity and throughout the universe.

AP and Union Reach Quasi-Lucrative New Agreement

Jessica · 12/22/05 09:28AM

While the MTA and TWU kick one another in the shins and the rest of New York does its frozen crawl into work, we're happy to report that at least one union has settled its contract issues. The Associated Press and the News Media Guild has tentatively come to an agreement on new contracts, which would raise salaries and eliminate a mere 100 positions in the technical workforce. You win some, you lose some.