At a QnA at comic con a little kid asked Austin "why did you step down and let Rocky take over?" Everybody laughed and "oooooh"ed but Austin then said "I'll tell you the very short and simple answer" this is what followed...
Austin St John is such a classy gentleman. I don't think he could've addressed it in a better way than this. This was probably the best way to address the situation.
If Saban didn’t make the Power Rangers movie from 1995 and did the second season like the Super Sentai show, Dairanger they would’ve made as much money as they did with the first season which was done like Zyuranger. It also wouldn’t have been as expensive as making a TV show season and a movie simultaneously.
Me either. It was only years later that I found out he actually came back as the gold ranger and also did 1 or 2 cameos in crossover episodes that featured a teamup of all the red rangers. I think Zack also did a cameo like that too.
Without them, the show looked like a whole ‘nother show. Season 1 was the best season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Power Rangers In Space was my second favorite season.
I watched every season until "Turbo" came up. I never watched the "Turbo" Movie and didn't liked the idea of Zords that looked like giant Cars. And then, "In Space" came up and it was one of my favourite seasons. I was confused, when Andros destroyed Zordons tube, destroying all evil in the universe but in "Lost Galaxy" another villain showed up^^
Whats not said is that Saban was a non-union production. In any other union production (which is all of hollywood) a show of that success the actors should have made 50x more then what they were actually being paid. Saban decided to make it a feature of the show and any actor that stood up for themselves was just replaced at the end of each season. None of the actors (maybe with exception of JDF) got rich off that show.
those three sound like bros, but i don't think I could fault the other three, getting a gig like they had back then was miraculous even if the pay was shit, JDF just compensated by pillaging props from the set, allegedly
Me too, I bet they regret now that they wish they hadn't left. They were all young and foolish (as in lack of experience, wisdom). Austin St. John, Walter and all them were what only 19 years old, 20 years old... They just wanted more money. Plain and simple. And when they asked for more money and got refused, they quit. They had no idea on how much success the Power Rangers would be. "We basically left [On what we believed in]" - even if it was foolish reason. But I also like the way Austin addressed the question on why they left the show. It was very professional answer, as Platinum Ranger has said "classy gentlemen". Because he's alot wiser now because he's aged, gotten older.
What are you talking about... they were the fever pitch of power ranger mania. It was never more popular than when it was 93 with the original six. All of them shouldve walked so saban couldnt bully the rest of the rangers into shit pay.
He did the right thing absolutely, being paid a McDonalds wage for a show that size was wrong. At least they could explore other opportunities or educate themselves etc. while off the show. Austin St. John dropped out of high school to join the show, that's a huge favour, they were not compensated fairly for their sacrifices and success. They also often talk about how they worked 14 hour days and got one day off a month. One of the main actors in the Movie got fired for taking a break over Christmas and New Years. He also got a bumper contract later to be the Gold Ranger and also to be in the Turbo movie (once he realized it was hard to break into wider hollywood). This was the right decision at the time. Hindsight is 20/20, I am not young or foolish and would have done the same thing. What they could have done better is to get all 6 on board, like the Friends cast did successfully, but to be fair Austin St. John did say they attempted this, but they couldn't get everyone on board (and I'm certain it's part of the reason Austin St. John and Jason David Frank did not get along). But if you can't get everyone on board, you have little choice left.
I love the red ranger, but he should have stayed, all 3 of them regardless of the money. He was vauge, wish he went into depth, is there a behind the scenes where the creators talk about it from their perspective?
i bet they regretted the shit out of leaving now i guarentee they all know it was the biggest mistake in there life they have ever made theres no way any of them didn't regret that decision especially years later realizing how popular and famous power rangers became
Me too, I bet they regret now that they wish they hadn't left. They were all young and foolish (as in lack of experience, wisdom). Austin St. John, Walter and all them were what only 19 years old, 20 years old... They just wanted more money. Plain and simple. And when they asked for more money and got refused, they quit. They had no idea on how much success the Power Rangers would be.
He was more honest in another interview. Basically, they were being paid the equivalent of minimum wage (yes a couple hundred per episode, but factor the number of hours they'd have to commit, and they they didnt have clothing/outfits provided originally). When JDF was brought on, he was given a higher wage then the OG 5, and to make matters worse they made toys based on the ACTOR'S likeness (not a red ranger, a toy that looked like Austin and Zack and Trini etc), and the actors got no commissions off that either.
Production of the second season must’ve been twice as hard as the first season, because of working on the show and the non-canon movie simultaneously. It’s all as if in the actors’s minds, Saban wasn’t fair enough to them over pay issues from the beginning of that second season, and so after a while they decided that they had enough with how things were going with them and then immediately resigned.
Yes but also consider Austin had zero prior experience and was hardly 19 years old. Power rangers was a cheap show using a lot of stock footage. So.... Maybe if they stuck it out by season 3 when power rangers was well known they could have gotten the raise. Basically he was young, saw star power and wanted more money. When they said no he quit. And never got a good acting gig after....he should have stayed. And fought Ivan ooze lol
