FILE-The Dec. 12, 2009 file photo shows TV personalities from...

FILE-The Dec. 12, 2009 file photo shows TV personalities from left, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, Jenni 'J-Woww' Farley, Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi and DJ Pauly D Delvecchio arrive at Spike TV's Video Game Awards in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles,File) Credit: AP

 

Here we are - just as we got used to "DJ Pauly D"...just as we learned what a "Situation"...just as we learned how many "w's" are in J-WOWW...just as we figured out whether Sammi Sweetheart was going out with Vinnie or (was it) Ronnie...and Snooki...ahh...ummm....what exactly did we learn about Snooki?...

  Just as we got all that down...

We may have to fuggedabout 'em for the next season of  "Jersey Shore."


   As you may be aware by now, the cast is in the middle of a salary holdout and MTV is holding firm. Reports - as we say in the trade - have certainly been out there the last few days, but TMZ has the best story so far - that the gang, in an almost "Friends"-like embrace, is holding out for a big payday. MTV is offering $10,000 each per episode.

  Which - when you stop to think about it - is an awful lot of money, considering exactly what the money is going to. This all-for-one-one-for-all stand could have its consequences, however, as TMZ says MTV gave 'em until the end of the day to decide, after which point, a new cast would be reeled in.

  So: Where do we stand? MTV is declining comment, which means the story is true.

  But: Would the network really drop the curtain on the cast for its biggest hit since "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach?" 

   The question is: Is our oiled, juiced, oiled, gelled, bronzed (or oranged) “guidos”  getting ripped off ?

  Arguably: Yes.

  Nicole LaPorte, in a much-disseminated report on "The Daily Beast" last year (I think it was last year) reported that Kristin Cavallari was getting $90K per episode on "The Hills" and Lauren Conrad $125 K, or $2.5 million; Heidi Montag, and Lo Bosworth were in $100,000 range, while Spencer Pratt: $65,000. Brody Jenner, Lo's pal, was getting $45,000.

 Let us add this up, shall we? The cast of "The Hills" was making: MTV was on the hook for about $525,000 in cast salaries on "The Hills" per episode or a total of $10.5 million over the course of 20-episode season.


  There are eight key cast members on "Jersey Shore," and MTV is offering them a total of $80,000 per episode for 12 episodes or...$960,000. (Each also gets $10K for club appearances per report...)

 Last year, the premiere of "The Hills" was seen by just under 3 million people, down nearly half a million from the '08 debut.

 last week, "Jersey Shore" ended with 4.8 million viewers.

  That is - I believe - a far higher figure than any episode for "The Hills."

  So you be the judge: Is MTV ripping off the "guidos" - their name for themselves, by the way, not mine?
 
  At this point, it sure looks that way to me.

 

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