Calling BS on @HawaiiFiveOCBS

The Fairy Princess has a hot second to spare, but she just has to chime in on the latest statement from CBS regarding the non renewal of the contracts of Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim…the ones in the middle.

The ones ‘selling us’ Hawaii, and the American scene that IS Hawaii.

Now, the above photo is CBS’s own marketing team – this was how, in the first season, they sold the show to audiences across the country.

Who is in the middle, a position usually reserved for the ‘stars’ of the show?

That’s right, Park and Kim.

The Asian/Americans.

(Ms. Park is a dual citizen of Canada and USA)

Let’s try this again – and again, TFP reminds you – this is marketing that CBS put out themselves, she is just pulling down the images from the interweb –

Who is featured prominently?

Park and Kim.

Which is why CBS’s statement about how they ‘tried’ to come to terms with their two Asian/American leads, but could not is, well – bullshit.

When two reliable series regulars insist on financial equality during the seventh season – you give it to them.

After seven seasons, they have clearly ‘proven’ themselves – as Actors of Color are constantly asked to do, to repeatedly ‘prove’ themselves.

Television is a medium where Actors of Color are constantly reminded that they should be ‘grateful’ to get the job. Where they are ‘local hires’, even if they were auditioned on another coast. Where they have to arrange their own housing or child care, simply because “they’ do not expect to be treated equally – because they never have been.

Where ‘we’ are all in that vending machine in Toy Story, waiting to be chosen.

Until we go home with Sid, the toy butcher.

IT IS ENOUGH ALREADY – WE DO NOT HAVE TO BE GRATEFUL TO HAVE TALENT AND TO BE OF VALUE TO A TELEVISION SERIES SET IN A STATE WHERE WE OUTNUMBER THE CAUCASIANS AT OVER 72%!

(That is Asians, Hapas, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders combined)

According to Variety, this is what was sent out by CBS

“CBS offered “large and significant salary increases” to keep Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park in the cast of “Hawaii Five-0,” the network said Wednesday after Kim said via Facebook that he was unable to come to a deal with CBS to return to the long-running series.

“Daniel and Grace have been important and valued members of “Hawaii Five-0” for seven seasons,” CBS said in a statement. “We did not want to lose them and tried very hard to keep them with offers for large and significant salary increases. While we could not reach an agreement, we part ways with tremendous respect for their talents on screen, as well as their roles as ambassadors for the show off screen, and with hopes to work with them again in the near future.”

Now – keep in mind – whatever the significant increases – they were still LESS than Scott Caan and Alex O’Loughlin – who are making about $200K an episode. Plus more money on the back end – which is part of a production deal that was worked out when they came to the show in 2009/2010.

Now – this backend deal is ‘interesting’ because according to Variety “The backend stakes that O’Loughlin and Caan commanded reflect the leverage that the two actors brought to the show when it was assembled in the 2009-2010 development cycle.”

Hmmmm, the ‘leverage’?

TFP thought she would look up this alleged leverage to see if she can make sense of that – because she is confused.

Battlestar Galactica ran for four seasons, and according to IMDB.com – was rated 8.7 out of a 10 point rating for quality – meaning the cast, storyline and production values. Ms. Park was on that show all four seasons.

It was the winner of 3 EMMY awards for Production. It won BEST SERIES from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror films in 2007. That same year, 2007  it won awards from AFI, ALMA and was nominated and/or won from a host of other entertainment entities. Including the prestigious Peabody Awards, which it won, in 2006. In 2009, it won the Television Critics Award for Best Show.

LOST – ran for six years, from 2004 -2010, according to IMDB.com. Mr. Kim was on the show all of those seasons.

LOST won 105 Awards in it’s time and had 375 Nominations.

Mr. Kim however, was not ‘just’ on LOST – he had been a featured actor on many popular television shows – and why would he not, he holds a Master of Fine Arts from New York University in Acting. Just a short perusal of his 72 credits on IMDB.com – including 24, ER, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayers and an OSCAR winning film called CRASH is enough to make anyone’s head spin. (By the way – when series run, it is counted as one credit, but then it lists the episodes, the number is much greater)

In any other profession – holding a Masters Degree is a guarantee of a higher salary – that there is no parity given in Entertainment is literally why this sh*tshow of an incident has occurred.

We are still talking leverage, right?

So coming in, Park and Kim were in a good position – award winning television shows that were long running and significant money makers with rabid fan bases. Easy to cast, for sure. Instant recognition, instant boost to a show that was a reboot coming into a television landscape where lots of reboots fail.

They would have been definite yes’s and the Network was lucky to have them. Moving on to the rest of the show…looking at Scott Caan – whose impact is more valued by CBS, so much so he makes 15% more than Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park AND…he gets a backend.

What’s he been up to?

Mr. Caan has 45 credits on IMDB.com. His ‘biggest’ credits prior to the OCEANS ELEVEN franchise, where he has a smaller ensemble role – not more important than, say, Brad Pitt or George Clooney who are the leads. He is visible but not a lot of screen time. He has been in GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS, VARSITY BLUES, and he was on for two seasons recurring as Scott Lavin in the cable show, ENTOURAGE.

He also has a Dad who is, well, Hollywood Royalty.

James Caan is a friggin genius actor. He is such a good actor, his son got a backend deal.

TFP assumes that is because everyone knows that talent is definitely passed down, for sure, in show business by simply growing up next to it.

Alex O’Loughlin is, to TFP‘s surprise – Australian. Oi, Oi, Oi!

According to IMDB.com, he has 16 credits – but those include parts on television shows that ran for a season – Mary Bryant (Australian TV Mini Series), Three Rivers, Moonlight, and seven episodes of The Shield – that was all prior to Hawaii 5-o, where he has 168 episodes under his belt.

He also was the lead in a film called THE BACKUP PLAN opposite Jennifer Lopez.

No acting awards for Mr. O’Loughlin in the United States – he has 2 total nominations- 1 win-  in Australia – the Australian Film Institute for Best Lead Actor in Television, and a Logie Award for his work on the miniseries Mary Bryant – and in the United States he won a TV Guide award for Best Bromance with Scott Caan.

TFP is now confused – because she does not understand where exactly, this alleged ‘leverage’ came from in regards to casting Caan and O’Laughlin – on paper, does not make as much sense as Park and Kim.

Neither had been on long running shows, they had nowhere near the fan base that Park and Kim did. Yes, they had some large film credits under their belts – but does that really not hold parity with someone who has been in Oscar winning films in addition to Award winning television shows?

Does it?

In truth, neither of them had the depth of experience of Mr. Kim, though Mr. O’Loughlin has what would be a Bachelor’s Degree from NIDA in Australia while Mr. Caan attended Playhouse West – they have training – TFP is not saying that they do not – but Mr. Kim had more experience.

What she is saying is that while IMDB credits do not necessarily quantify talent – what they do is show that there is a history of someone being good to work with, showing up on time, maintaining a long running character – it shows that people can work with you in as much as it also shows what roles you have done. It shows you can handle the job.

To put it frankly – O’Laughlin and Caan did not deserve the initial salary disparity that happened in the first place – they had neither the experience nor the industry acknowledgement to claim ‘backend’ rights.

There was NO LEVERAGE!

The only thing they had over their fellow series regulars was the Undeniable Whiteness of Being.

They had ‘perceived leverage’ based on almost nothing in Hollywood terms.

This is not to say they are not talented, nor does this demonstrate that they do not perform well on their current show – obviously they do. What it does say, rather clearly is that

1. CBS does not value their Actors of Color at the same professional rate as their Caucasian actors – and one need only to take a glance at their lineup to substantiate that fact.
2. Women of Color are paid even LESS than Men of Color
3. That however ‘substantial’ their raises were – Park and Kim’s offers did not include $200K per episode and part of the backend for a show that they lend authenticity to.
4. Their Agents – Caan’s and O’Loughlin’s – fought the better fight.

While TFP does not want to throw Kim and Park’s representation under the bus in that initial negotiation seven seasons ago – she does wonder if their being Actors of Color made their Agents less willing to fight for that initial contract that set all this crap up in the first place. Perhaps their Agents did not know what the other two was being offered? Perhaps their Agents were given a offer and told ‘that is all we have’ – still….they should have persisted.

Hollywood suffers from systemic racism.

It is often the ‘quiet’ kind, where someone is politely told they ‘cannot’ get more money for a role because, well…you know.

It’s the kind where you cannot get an appointment because you do not look like what the writers are picturing.

It is the kind where you can be on the show from the very beginning, and they promote other people over you for no apparent reason that has anything to do with charisma, uniqueness, nerve or talent.

It is the kind where someone can write for you for seven seasons, say you are part of their “Ohana” (family), and then undercut you to the point that you have no choice but to leave, because your sense of self is powerful, and it will not allow you to stay.

It is that kind of systemic racism.

Where Actors of Minority statues are often ‘gaslit’ into thinking they are not enough and that they have to change so that the powers that be will ‘allow’ them to continue.

That is the ‘threat’ – that they will only “allow’ us a sliver of the pie because our success takes away from their ‘intrinsic order of belonging’ – in which, we do not belong.

It is the kind of racism that could be negated if your fellow cast members who are benefitting from their perceived superiority based on no real data, could stand with you and demand that all of you are treated equally- but they do not.

Maybe those Cast members think that they are better? That they ‘deserve’ more?

Hmmm…why would they think that? 

What is the culture there?

Because it comes from the top, down- for example- TFP knows for a fact that Bryan Fuller, Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon, Stacy Rukeyser, Josh Safran- just to name a few- would never write some BS statement like the below- because they fully adore and respect their casts.

So whence came this nugget, Mr. L?

We should all be just ‘glad to be there’?

Where the kind of racism exists whereby their EP uses words that mean ‘Family’ but then lowballs them? While comparing their roles to those of actors who- yes, also great- however they are ‘recurring’? The ones who make an impact in Guest Stars, yes- but who are not on the posters!!!!

It is THAT KIND OF RACISM- and it is insidious as hell.

SAG/AFTRA has a case against these producers and against this network – if they choose to exercise it. The Actors of Color meant to reflect Hawaii are gone. They have not announced replacements. That is a violation of clause 59.

It is about respect – both for the Actors in question, and the profession in general.

Again, there was no leverage that TFP can see that would place Scott Caan and Alex O’Loughlin ahead of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park. None.

Calling out CBS on this – however this was set into motion – the optics are bad, very, very bad.

Let’s not pretend that there was leverage.

It is ‘too late’ to fix what should have been an automatic “yes” at the first ask – so while we wish them much success, Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim are gone from Hawaii 5.0.

What happens now, CBS?

TFP will be watching.