Residual (entertainment industry) facts for kids
Residuals are financial compensations that are paid to the actors, film or television directors, and others involved in making TV shows and movies in cases of cable reruns, syndication, DVD release, or licensing to streaming media. Residuals are calculated and administered by industry trade unions like SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, and the Writers Guild of America. The word is typically used in the plural form.
Process
Residual calculation is complex and depends on several variables, including guild membership, initial payment, time spent, type of production (e.g., network TV, DVD, ad-supported streaming, online purchases), and whether it involves a domestic or foreign market. Additionally, residuals change a lot: guilds negotiate new contracts with the AMPTP every three years, and residuals for primetime TV tend to increase every year because they are "directly or indirectly keyed to salary minimums, which increase several percent per year".
In acting, extras are generally not eligible, but stunt performers, puppeteers, singers, and actors with lines or scripted physical interactions with characters ("supporting actors" or "day players") are eligible. Principal performers generally get larger residuals. In fact, the more prominent the actor, the more generous the residual. Big stars like Tom Cruise, for example, would get a portion of DVD sales in addition to his "regular" residuals.
All "credited" writers are eligible for residuals, and the specific credit determines the amount of residual. For example, the "written by" credit yields a 100% residual allocation, "screenplay/teleplay by" yields a 75%, and "adaptation by" yields 10%.
Examples
Residual payments can sometimes be very small if the role was small or the movie or show was not successful. For example, actor Jeff Cohen received a residual check for $0.67 after appearing in one episode of The Facts of Life.
By contrast, Bob Gunton, who played Warden Norton in The Shawshank Redemption, noted that the movie, one of the most-rerun films, generated "close to six figures" in residuals for him in 2004, ten years after the movie was released, and even as of 2014, that he continued to receive "a very substantial income".
See also
