Wed, Dec. 24, 2003
`Seinfeld' stars divided over DVD deal
Richards to take part.
Other co-stars say they won't grant interviews
By Sharon Waxman
New York Times
Michael Richards, a star of the hit television comedy Seinfeld, said he will take part in the making of a DVD of the series, but he said he ought to be paid for it.
People close to Richards and his co-stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Alexander said on Monday that the actors had decided not to grant interviews for the DVD because they were unhappy with the financial deals they have had with the show over the years.
``I'm not boycotting,'' Richards, who played Kramer in the series, said in a telephone interview late Monday night. ``I'm involved. I was never called to do an interview. I am so for the DVD coming out that I'll go on the Tonight show.''
But Richards said he thought he ought to be paid for taking part in the DVD project, in part because the show has been such a windfall for its creators, producers and distributors: Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Castle Rock Television and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. They will all share profits from the DVD.
Actors do not typically receive residual payments for DVDs, but this is quickly becoming a major issue in Hollywood, as DVD sales now bring in millions of dollars to those who control the rights to hit television shows and movies, far more than revenue from videocassettes.
Richards said: ``I innocently asked a question: Is there some compensation? I don't believe there is. There isn't anything.''
He added, ``I think everyone wants to get paid,'' referring to his co-stars. ``Is it honorable for those on the inside to make compensation? That's an ethical question they have to deal with. But I never heard back from anybody.''
Seinfeld and Richards spoke together Tuesday to mend fences. A spokeswoman for Seinfeld said: ``Jerry and the other producers are profit participants of the Seinfeld show and do not control the ancillary stream of revenue. The owner is Warner Brothers, and Sony controls the syndication rights, which includes DVD sales.''
Louis-Dreyfus and Alexander could not be reached for comment, their representatives said.
Richards said that he had spoken to Louis-Dreyfus on Monday and that she was noncommittal about taking part in the DVD.
Seinfeld, which ran from 1990 to 1998, remains one of the most successful comedy shows in television history and still plays in syndication across much of the country. The DVD of the show would seem destined to sell millions of copies.
Discontent over the sharing of the Seinfeld riches has arisen with Seinfeld's three co-stars before. In the last few years of the show the actors had sought to become part owners of the show, like Seinfeld.
They famously sought $1 million an episode for the last year of the show, 1998, in part because they said they thought they had been underpaid for many seasons. They ended up with about $600,000 a show, then a whopping sum for television.
Castle Rock is working on the DVD of the first Seinfeld season, aiming to release it in December 2004. Plans call for the eventual release of all nine seasons.
