Shuffling at Film Roman

Not only was I shuffling around over at FR on Friday, but people are going in and out of the place like passengers on a tight deadline at the Bob Hope Airport.

Down in the Goode Family unit, artists were carrying boxes of person belonging out to their cars as I walked in. A big chunk of staff was departing as their gigs came to an end; a couple asked me:

Know where there's any work?

I told them nothing came to me off the top of my head. I'm often full of useful information like that, but I also said that maybe I'd know something in a week, maybe two. (You just never know when a studio might need staff for something pronto.)

King of the Hill is also losing staff as the last of the half-hours wrap up. Everyone is still ignorant if another network (ABC?) will pick the series up, but various optimists remain hopeful ...

Up in the Simpsons unit, one of the artists, a person who's been with the show a few years and knows which heads are rolling and who's are likely to be lopped off next, confided:

None of us know if Fox is going to order another season of The Simpsons after we're done with this one. The actors are signed, but Fox hasn't said if it wants another twenty episodes. I think Gracie Films [the producing company of The Simpsons] would like another order, and so is offering up sacrifices to Fox to show that they're serious about cutting costs. Some old hands have been let go.

But the sacrifices are all coming from around here, not over the hill on Pico. Gracie seems to think that Richard Reynis is worth hanging onto. Don't ask me why ...

I think the cost cutting is getting to everybody. It's going on across the movie and cartoon business. There must be some kind of recession going on.