Matthew Perry
BACK TO THE INDEX
by Anne Bergman
Although it was reported last week that the six ''Friends'' cast members are now demanding $250,000 each per episode, Matthew Perry says, ''It's not true.'' While promoting his new movie, ''Three to Tango'' (opening Oct. 22), Perry denied a published report that he and costars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer are asking to more than double their $100,000 per-episode contract, which expires at the end of this season.
Perry wouldn't say how much the cast WILL be asking for to remain on TV's No. 1 comedy -- and when they'll begin asking for it -- but he allowed that he wants to stay a ''Friend'' into the next millennium: ''I think creatively, we're at the top of our game still. We've had a lot of fun this year with the apartment swapping. And we were really happy to hear that the lovely Elle Macpherson has joined the cast for a few episodes. I want it to keep going, and the cast really wants to stay together.''
Perry's loyalty to the show doesn't prevent him from pursuing other projects, however, including a television development deal with Warner Bros. His first show: a sitcom pilot for ABC currently titled ''The Shrink,'' which Perry says is about a 30-year-old psychologist ''who's convinced that he's more screwed up than any of his patients.'' He adds that being a writer doesn't offer the same amount of perks as does being an actor in a top-rated sitcom. ''We go over to ABC and they make me wait for about 45 minutes. If I was there as an actor they'd let me right in. But now they say, 'First-time writer guy? Let's make him sit.'''
 Books in Film: Recent Releases
|
