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January 30, 2003
Actor Martin Sheen Endorses Howard Dean for President
By ROSS SNEYD
Associated Press
MONTPELIER, Vt. -- The man who plays the president on television has endorsed a former governor who wants to be president.
Former Gov. Howard Dean dropped by a taping of NBC's "The West Wing" in Washington last week for a tour and picked up the backing of actor Martin Sheen.
The actor wanted to tell Dean, and an accompanying reporter for People Magazine, that he supported the Vermonter's run for the presidency.
"He invited the governor to the set," Sheen publicist Glennis Liberty said of the meeting.
Dean's staff welcomed the endorsement for the publicity value it carried.
Sheen plays President Josiah Bartlet in "The West Wing," a drama about the presidency. As Dean's staff and supporters are happy to point out, the fictional Bartlet is a lot like the real-life candidate…
Posted by Ryo at 12:03 AM
January 28, 2003
Martin Sheen's 'West Wing' Fantasy
Actor Says TV Drama Has a Role to Play in Trying Times
By Jim Wildman
NPR News
Martin Sheen is not the president of the United States, even though he plays one on television. In an interview with NPR's Bob Edwards on the Washington set of The West Wing, the actor discusses how his role can serve the nation in trying times.
"We call ourselves a parallel universe to the real world," says Sheen, who plays President Bartlet on the hit NBC drama series. "We know we're a fantasy. But at the same time, there are sometimes periods of history where a fantasy is not a bad idea to focus on every now and then."
Sheen was in the nation's capital to film Bartlet's second inauguration for an upcoming episode.
Sheen says that when the show began three years ago, he wanted to have the president appear at ceremonies, interacting with the public. But "what our show wanted to do was to show him in private, how he was with his staff, his family.
How he organized a particular issue and how he galvanized his forces and his energies to push a bill...
"And now I've come to really, really appreciate that, all the nuances, the deeply personal things, how his moral frame of reference affects his policies and his own personal life."
Though he has been an activist for left-leaning causes -- he's been arrested numerous times for participating in protests -- Sheen insists he has no real-life political ambitions. "I'm not at all interested in politics, personally," he says. "I'm interested in issues and I'm interested in humanity."
Sheen says that at first he found it difficult to order military action in the role of president: "Me personally, it's real hard for me to order someone to get bombed or destroyed, but I'm not the president. Bartlet is the president and a real president has to consider doing these things. I promise you, the republic would be in real trouble if I were in the White House," he says. "I could not bring myself to make some of those decisions. It would be a total reversal for me."
Read
the article on NPR's website and check out the link to B4A!
Posted by MorganG at 11:09 AM
January 14, 2003
Parties Close to a Deal on 'West Wing,'
Sources Say NBC will triple what it pays Warner Bros. per episode, despite the show's ratings decline.
LA Times
By Brian Lowry
Liberal politicians may find their stock dropping in Republican Washington. But NBC is apparently about to triple what it pays Warner Bros. Television for a weekly dose of President "Jed" Bartlet & Co.
After locking up a yearlong extension of "Friends" before Christmas, NBC and Warner are close to a deal that would renew "The West Wing" for as many as three seasons.
Sources say the network, owned by General Electric Co., and the AOL Time Warner Inc. production unit have been in discussions, hoping to secure an agreement before Saturday, when NBC is scheduled to meet with TV critics and reporters in Hollywood.
Terms remain in flux, and all parties involved declined to comment; however, sources close to the negotiations say the network probably will compensate Warner Bros. for past production deficits and significantly boost the per-episode license fee over the $2 million that it currently pays.
Although various figures still are being bandied about, the deal probably will be tied in part to the show's ratings performance, and, depending on how it's calculated, will be worth $5 million to $7 million per episode.
Whatever the final price, the program's value clearly dropped from what it might have garnered before its fourth season began in September. Viewing of "The West Wing" has fallen to the lowest levels since the show premiered in 1999 — particularly among the young-adult demographics coveted by advertisers — against such competition as ABC's staged reality show "The Bachelor."As recently as last summer, there was speculation "The West Wing" could command as much as $10 million an hour, with other networks bidding for it. However, interest apparently cooled along with the show's ratings.
In that respect, the negotiations represent a converse of what happened when NBC renewed "ER" several years ago. The network deferred closing a deal and lost negotiating leverage. The result was a then-record price of $13 million per episode. Both series are produced by Warner Bros. in conjunction with producer John Wells.
"The West Wing" nevertheless remains an extremely prestigious property, having won three consecutive Emmys as best dramatic series, along with a writing Emmy and several nominations for the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin.
The show also appeals to less frequent, better educated and more affluent TV viewers — an alluring market for blue-chip advertisers."Despite its audience erosion, 'The West Wing' maintains several advantages, including NBC's continued interest in offering Emmy-caliber programming," said John R. Rash, senior vice president and director of broadcast negotiations at Campbell Mithun, a Minneapolis-based advertising agency. "It still attracts a sizable audience of viewers who don't regularly tune in NBC fare."
Even at a more modest fee than what might have been, Warner Bros. stands to make a tidy profit on the show. Rerun rights were sold in 2001 for more than $1 million per episode to Bravo, the cable network NBC agreed to acquire in November for $1.25 billion. Most key cast members already have negotiated contracts covering the duration of the deal.
Posted by MorganG at 09:10 AM
'West Wing' Talks Taking Off
Variety
By Josef Adalian and Michael Schneider
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Without much fanfare, NBC and producer Warner Bros. TV have moved closer to a deal in recent weeks to keep "The West Wing (news - web sites)" on the network, according to insiders.
While no deal is done, and a pact may still be days away, sources confirmed that NBC will likely pay Warner Bros. a license fee of around $4 million to $5 million an episode. That more than doubles what the network currently shells out for the White House drama, but it is nowhere near the megacoin some had been predicting the show would fetch as recently as last fall.
The network and studio are still hammering out terms of an agreement, including whether it will be a one-year deal with an option for two more or a straight three-year deal.
Posted by MorganG at 09:08 AM
January 13, 2003
'West Wing' will be re-elected
Electronic Media Online
By LESLIE RYAN
While the smoke was clearing from an electrical fire on "The West Wing" set last week, one thing came into focus -- the show is still hot enough for NBC to renew it, though the price will be well below what was anticipated before this season started.
NBC has reached a preliminary agreement with Warner Bros. to renew the series for a license fee of around $2 million, about the same as what the network is currently paying, sources said.
The deal is expected to be finished later this week. Parties on both sides of the negotiations say it is all but done. The only thing holding it up is the finalization of some of the producers' deals. The series is produced by Warner Bros. and John Wells Productions with Aaron Sorkin, John Wells and Thomas Schlamme executive producing.
It was unclear whether the deal is for two years with an option for three or for one year with an option for two. However, it's likely that the deal would cover three more seasons, since the core of the cast -- Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and John Spencer -- is already locked up through the 2005-06 season. The four co-stars banded together in July 2001 and renegotiated their deals to give them salary bumps in exchange for agreeing to staying on through a potential seventh season. Martin Sheen also signed a multiyear deal in July 2002.
This season is the last year of "The West Wing's" original four-year deal with NBC. Negotiations began before Christmas but were slowed down by the holiday, sources said.
The return of the series, which has been on the network's Wednesday lineup since September 1999, wasn't the slam dunk for Warner Bros. that it looked like it would be a year ago. Ratings have taken a huge dive across the board this year, with a 33 percent drop in the key adults 18 to 49 demographic to a 4.5 rating and 11 share season to date. That is down from a 6.7/17 for the same time period a year ago.
It's also tumbled 33 percent in adults 18 to 34 (3.1/9 vs. 4.6/13), 25 percent in total viewers (13.8 million viewers vs. 18.4 million viewers) and 25 percent in households (9.2/14 vs. 12.1/19). Season-to-date, "West Wing" is the eighth highest-rated show among adults 18 to 49 on NBC and No. 20 among all series on TV.
Not that a network ever wants to see one of it's highest-rated shows drop in the ratings, but the timing did provide additional negotiating leverage for NBC, which was forced to pay about $13 million a year to Warner Bros. to keep its then top-rated show, "ER," at the height of its popularity. Just last month NBC shelled out $10 million an episode to keep Warner Bros.-produced "Friends" on its schedule next year.
Before the season started, industry insiders speculated that NBC would have to pay anywhere from $7 million to $10 million an episode to keep "West Wing" on its airwaves next year. The show is expensive to produce (somewhere upward of $3 million an episode) with a large cast and elaborate sets, but Warner Bros. also pulls in about $1.2 million an episode from selling repeats to the Bravo cable network, which NBC recently bought and which sells fairly well internationally.
When this season began, there was speculation that CBS or ABC might elect to bid for "West Wing" if NBC didn't meet Warner Bros.' price. However, in the wake of the ratings decline, Warner Bros. would have a much more difficult time shopping around the property.
Several factors apparently contributed to "West Wing's" ratings drop. ABC found a legitimate challenger to "West Wing's" time slot dominance with the hit reality show "The Bachelor," which stunned everyone this season by routinely winning the adults 18 to 49 race at 9 p.m. Wednesdays, relegating "West Wing" to second place (or worse). ABC hasn't given up its grip on the time slot yet, scheduling future editions of "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette" and reality specials in the time period. Much like how CBS opened up Thursday nights by going after NBC's dominant "Must-See TV" lineup with "Survivor" and "CSI," competitors are no longer afraid to program against "West Wing."
Since going on the air, "West Wing" has won critical plaudits and a slew of awards, including the Emmy as best drama of the year in 2000, 2001 and 2002. It was also named best TV drama by the Golden Globes in 2001 and is a nominee again this year. However, the same critics who have heaped praise and awards on the show more recently have been complaining the politically charged drama is creatively off this season. The TV critics have complained about this season's preachy tone and its primary story line centering on President Bartlett's re-election campaign. Plus, the mood of the country has changed to a more conservative tone since "West Wing" first began airing in 1999, when Bill Clinton's Democratic administration was in office.
Warner Bros. has been doing a high volume of business with NBC in recent weeks. NBC renewed "Friends" last month and the NBC owned-and-operated stations picked up the syndicated show "Ellen" from Warner Bros.-owned Telepictures Productions instead of looking in-house to fill the stations' available time slots.
"West Wing" debuted on Sept. 22, 1999, to a strong 6.1 rating in adults 18 to 49 and a 12.1/19 in households. It's first season, it pulled 4 and 5 ratings in the demo. Amid the critical acclaim, by its second season it consistently pulled demo ratings in the 6 to 7 range and usually won its time slot. Last week, an original episode of "West Wing" scored a 4.7 rating in adults 18 to 49, compared with the 6.6 rating it pulled in the comparable week last year.
However, even though "West Wing's" ratings aren't what they used to be, the series does deliver a higher percentage of viewers with incomes over $70,000 than any other show on TV -- a desirable demographic for the network. An argument could be made that NBC still needs the show, considering the declining ratings for its Tuesday lineup, including aging sitcom "Frasier." Last week, the network's Tuesday lineup fell to fourth place for the night in the adults 18 to 49 demo.
NBC and Warner Bros. spokespeople said last week that no renewal deal was done.
Creative Artists Agency is the series packager and represents Mr. Wells and former series star Rob Lowe. Mr. Sorkin and Mr. Schlamme are represented by Endeavor. CAA had no comment. Endeavor could not be reached.
-- Chris Pursell and Alex Ben Block contributed to this report
Posted by MorganG at 09:05 AM
January 06, 2003
President Bartlet, Please Take Me Back
By FRANK LUNTZ
The New York Times
McLEAN, Va.
There is a small, humorless segment of conservative society that is now convinced more than ever that NBC's "The West Wing" is a plot, a weekly Hollywood conspiracy to overturn the electoral outcome of 2000. I should know.
In 2001, I joined Marlin Fitzwater and Peggy Noonan as one of three consultants hired to provide a conservative perspective to the show's writers.
Then, in the summer of this year, all three of us were dumped. To conservatives, it was proof that "The West Wing" hates Republicans. Not so. We were let go because there really wasn't much for us to do in the fictional White House of President Josiah (Jed) Bartlet.
You'd think I'd be relieved. When I worked for the show, my e-mail in-box would be jammed on Thursday mornings with angry notes from conservative friends demanding to know how I, a conservative, could have helped create the anti-Republican script that had aired the night before. Did I realize that millions of solid, hard-working Americans were turning off their television sets in disgust?
But I'm not relieved. I wish "The West Wing" would take me back, even though I wasn't an essential cog in the wheel of production. O.K., I wasn't even a cog. More often than not, I would sit by the phone like the lonely Maytag repairman, waiting for one of the writers to call with a question about how a "Republican" would do this or that. I did get a few of my words into the show from time to time, in the banter about polling exchanged while the characters walked from one room of the White House to another. They do an incredible amount of walking in a typical one-hour segment, so there was always a market for realistic polling banter.
If I didn't get to do much, why do I want to go back and subject myself to another grueling season of hostile e-mail messages?
As the grantors of the Emmy Awards, the civilized world and even the French acknowledge, "The West Wing" is the best-written show on television. And I love the characters, particularly President Bartlet. I don't ever agree with anything Martin Sheen the actor says politically. But when Martin Sheen as President Bartlet says the same kinds of things, it's just so, well, presidential.
Returning to the show would also allow me once more to play political consultant to a Democrat — always an interesting exercise for a Republican (and I'm cheaper than Ron Silver). And it would give me the chance to correct a few misconceptions and mistakes in the scripts.
For example, in the recent election-night episode, viewers are told over and over (I guess they ran out of polling banter after my departure) that President Bartlet won South Dakota. No way. In 15 of the last 16 presidential contests, South Dakota has voted Republican. Even when favorite son George McGovern ran, the state went G.O.P. If I were still on staff, I would have changed "Dakota" to "Carolina" or to another state that went for a Democrat presidential candidate at least once in my lifetime. I also would have told the writers that Fort Myer is here in Virginia, not in Maryland. Surely, script corrections like that would make me a worthwhile investment. For better or worse, Americans by the millions get their information about politics from "The West Wing."
With so many people watching, learning, and blurring fact and fiction, an occasional affirmative Republican perspective wouldn't hurt. After all, Republicans may represent a fraction of the population in Hollywood, but they do control the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives, a majority of governors' mansions and a majority of state legislative seats. Only in the fictional world of "The West Wing" do Democrats win elections these days.
Besides, if President Bush could hire Mark McKinnon, a Democrat operative, for his real-life campaign in 2000, surely President Bartlet can hire at least one Republican operative to help him navigate the world of make-believe.
Posted by MorganG at 02:36 PM