'American Idol': An aging franchise in need of a jolt of excitement

Screen Actors Guild to lay off 8% of its staff

Hollywood's largest actors union is cutting 8% of its staff in the face of investment losses and declining membership dues.

The Screen Actors Guild plans to cut about 35 workers from its payroll to close a $6.5-million deficit in the union's fiscal 2009 budget. The cuts span several departments and includes those who work in the union's organizing and information technology departments, according to people familiar with the matter. Affected workers will be notified this week. SAG has about 440 employees.

David White, interim director of the Screen Actors Guild, briefed board members on the planned layoffs on Saturday when they approved the union's annual $60-million annual budget. White told board members the cuts were needed to balance the budget and leave enough cash in reserves to cover at least six months of operations.

The guild's income stream has been hit on two fronts: investment income, which is down sharply due to the turmoil in stock markets, and membership dues, which are tied to how much actors earn.

Fewer actors have been working as studios curtail production on movies and TV shows. SAG also has lost work to its rival union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, whose labor contracts now dominate prime-time TV pilots.

At the same time, SAG's expenses have risen sharply. Over the last two years, the guild has added 100 people to its staff, partly for organizational outreach activities.

The Writers Guild of America, West,  recently cut 10 % of its staff to close a budget shortfall, which guild officials blamed on investment losses and a sharp falloff in jobs for writers during the last year, when the guild waged a 100-day strike.

-- Richard Verrier

'American Idol': An aging franchise in need of a jolt of excitement

If you ask me, it's been a pretty blah season of "American Idol" (7 p.m. Central Tuesday, Fox). It's not entirely terrible, but it's not that compelling either.

poll by twiigs.com

There’s no showdown between two very different contenders, a la Season 7’s David Cook versus David Archuleta battle. There’s no Sanjaya Malakar, a divisive Season 6 performer who kept even disapproving viewers tuning in. And there certainly doesn’t appear to be another Kelly Clarkson in the final batch of singers.

The question is not whether Matt Giraud deserved the “judges’ save” last week. The question is, will you remember Giraud’s name in a month? Unlikely.

A few other things that have become clear about Season 8 of “Idol,” which has another month to go:

1. There hasn’t been a performance as compelling as the one Susan Boyle gave on “Britain’s Got Talent.” Granted, her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream,” which became an online sensation in the last 10 days, isn’t the kind of performance that comes along every day (or every year). And who knows if the endearing Boyle will end up being a flash in the pan. By contrast, most of the current “Idol” contestants are merely competentâ€"if that.

2. The emergence of a clear front-runner has sucked a lot of the drama out of the show. At this stage, it’s hard not to view this season of “Idol” as Adam Lambert versus everyone else. Lambert is the only contestant with charisma, and though some of his performances have been electric, they also frequently veer into overwrought melodrama. If you’re not necessarily enamored of his theatrical song stylings, which may be more suited to Broadway than to the pop or rock arenas, the current “Idol” season can be a bit of a chore.

3. Four judges equals one judge too many. No doubt Fox keeps Paula Abdul around because she brings some kooky spontaneity to the show, but I have grown weary of her predictable blather. Kara DioGuardi may be new, and Randy Jackson may be an “Idol” veteran, but they often offer similar perspectivesâ€"they both represent the most mainstream segment of the music industry. As such, their advice is frequently predictable. And regardless of what they say, hearing comments from four people can be tedious. 

Having said that, it would be better for "Idol" to cut out the many pointless parts of the show than to trim Simon Cowell’s comments. Last week, when pairs of judges took turns commenting in an unsuccessful effort to keep the show from going long, Cowell’s feedback was missing half the time, which wasn’t a good solution to the problem. (And according to the Washington Post's Lisa de Moraes, that tweak will be gone as of this week.)

4. The fact that “Idol” has run over its allotted time slot several times this season is tiresome and infuriating. Whether this is part of a Machiavellian plan to mess with other networks, a ploy to increase the ratings for Fox’s “Fringe” or simple incompetence, the show’s overruns are unacceptable. “Idol’s” performance shows still bring in more than 20 million viewers per week, but the show’s live Nielsen ratings continue to slip (as they have for the past few seasons). Is arrogance really the best strategy here?

5. Don’t expect Simon Cowell to leave. Cowell, who’s also a judge for “Britain’s Got Talent” and Britain’s “X Factor,” has one more season left on his “Idol” contract. "I can't imagine not doing 'Britain's Got Talent' and I can't imagine not doing 'X Factor,'" he told Britain's Daily Mirror. "But I guess America is more likely to go because I have got one year under contract. Maybe that will be the end." Sorry, I don't buy it. His exit is possible but unlikely -- Cowell is the “love to hate” character who keeps many viewers tuning in to “Idol.” And surely Fox knows that. 

Also, according to a recent Forbes story about the Top 15 money-earning shows in prime time, the “Idol” broadcasts bring in $7 million per 30 minutes. (By way of comparison, according to Forbes, the No. 2 and No. 3 earners, “24” and “Desperate Housewives,” bring in $3.7 million per 30 minutes and $2.9 million per 30 minutes, respectively.) With that kind of money coming in, there’s every likelihood that Fox will back up a Brink’s truck to Cowell’s house to keep him around for a few more seasons.

Photo: Adam Lambert

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