I Wonder How JMS Feels About CC.

[RCmodeler]

- The contracts were on the verge of expiring...
- Everyone signed.
- Claudia Christian (Ivanova) did not.

It's as simple as that. She simply chose to not participate.

.

As for WHY she chose not to.... well I really don't give a damn. I'm an engineer who works on multi-million dollar engineering projects that last several years. I would not participate in a 5-yr-project, and then suddenly walk out in the final year. It's like giving the middle finger to my employer, and my professional ethics would not allow it. Likewise Claudia should not have done it. She should have/could have stayed just one more year.

Same applies to the actress who abandoned DS9 in its last and final year (Jadzia Dax). When you're that close to the end, it's better to stay 'til the end. Honor your obligations.

 

[RCmodeler]

I must have missed the post where CC claimed that WB insisted on both paying her for 22 episodes and using her in 22 episodes - something they had never demanded of any other actor in the show's history

The difference was that Claudia asked for her time off to be put *in writing*... which is a change of the contract... and allows all the other actors to change their contracts too. WB didn't want to rewrite everyone's contracts, so they refused.

In contrast, the other actors simply took the time off. The equivalent of calling in sick. No contract changes.

So you're probably wondering, "Why didn't they just give CC time off?" and the answer is that they did. But she wanted a contract renegotiation too... which was not doable.

.

Overall, I think CC acted poorly and unprofessional. She tried to change the terms of her contract...even though she knew it was not possible. Then she ran around the net crying that she was fired. No lady... you chose to not renew... you quit.

 

[A_M_Swallow]

- The contracts were on the verge of expiring...
- Everyone signed.
- Claudia Christian (Ivanova) did not.

It's as simple as that. She simply chose to not participate.
{snip}

According to JMS's history of the making of Babylon 5 in TV Zone Claudia's agent/manager turned up two weeks later to discus her appearing in Season 5. The non-signing appears to have been a negotiating tactic to get more money. Fixed deadlines requiring contracts to be signed whilst the entire cast is overseas on holiday is not how Hollywood works.

Liz Taylor demanding more money before she will leave her trailer on the first day of a location shoot - that's Hollywood negotiation.

So CC expected to come back for Season 5, which is why she felt that she had been fired.

 

[hypatia]

According to JMS's history of the making of Babylon 5 in TV Zone Claudia's agent/manager turned up two weeks later to discus her appearing in Season 5. The non-signing appears to have been a negotiating tactic to get more money. Fixed deadlines requiring contracts to be signed whilst the entire cast is overseas on holiday is not how Hollywood works.

What is TV Zone?

And if the entire cast was overseas, why did everyone else manage to sign on? I confess, I don't know anything about how Hollywood works. But I do know how our college works. More than I care to. We have a "senate". I was elected a senator for 3 miserable years.

Terms are usually 2 but I replaced someone who resigned. Why did he resign? He got so frustrated being so overworked on a committee that was skirted and ignored as much as possible.

I only bring this up because your statement "Fixed deadlines requiring contracts to be signed whilst the entire cast is overseas on holiday is not how Hollywood works" caught my eye.

That's exactly what the administration did, every year. Any decision that was feared controversial was simply delayed until summer. Then they'd make a noise that "this has to be decided now, it will have to go through without senate approval".

And it always worked. So I'm not sure what to think about your comments. Other than: if true, what a shame. Not that I didn't like Lockley, but it would have been much more touching to see Claudia wrapped up in the whole Telepath part of the story.

 

[KoshN]

I would not participate in a 5-yr-project, and then suddenly walk out in the final year. It's like giving the middle finger to my employer, and my professional ethics would not allow it. Likewise Claudia should not have done it.

You'd think that, wouldn't ya? I agree.

Same applies to the actress who abandoned DS9 in its last and final year (Jadzia Dax). When you're that close to the end, it's better to stay 'til the end. Honor your obligations.

In Terry Farrell's case, I thought the DS9 people did it to her, not vice-versa. Maybe I'm thinking of Becker.

Farrell Faces 'Becker'-Free Future

Do you have any links for her reasons for leaving DS9?

 

[macmaccaman]

All the actors for DS9 were signed up for 6 years even though the intention was for a 7 year story.
All the actors said ok, but Farrell decided not to sign on. She specifically asked not be killed off, but hey its drama.
Thats what I remember.

 

[RCmodeler]

According to JMS's history of the making of Babylon 5 in TV Zone Claudia's agent/manager turned up two weeks later to discus her appearing in Season 5. The non-signing appears to have been a negotiating tactic to get more money

A waste of time. WB could not give Claudia a raise without giving all the other octors raises. No way was WB going to do that, and Claudia should have known.