Paige Turco

[AsylumTurtle]

Not sure if this has already been discussed here on Technodrome, but it is something I am generally curious about. I really liked Paige Turco as April and while I absolutely adore Judith Hoag (how could you not? shes wonderful) I had the biggest crush on Turco's O' Neil in the 90s, to the point whenever I hear the song Technotronic - Rockin' Over the Beat (TMNT III soundtrack) I see her beautiful face smiling at the end of the movie while she sits next to Casey Jones.

Just watched TMNT III (DVD) and its actually Paige that makes the film not totally suck. Her energy and confidence in the character oozes (no bun intended) off the screen. I love her in the role yet nowhere can I find a single interview with her post TMNT. Why? Has she ever done a fan podcast interview? There is nothing on YouTube I can find at any rate, no Q&As or comic con footage . Its as if she disappeared to ancient Japan for real. Contrast this with our wonderful Judith and theres no shortage of content.

I have tracked her down on Twitter and have been thinking of asking her for a interview for my( just started) YouTube Channel. Would she do it? Would you fine folks be interested in hearing from her? Or should I not waste my time? Has she disowned the franchises and I missed some almighty fall out? I know you fine folks here will have answers.

[Leo656]

I couldn't tell ya any of that, but I must say I've wondered myself on occasion. Had a bit of a crush on her myself, and I still dare say she's the "hotter" April, although maybe not by much.

Wikipedia says she's been incredibly busy since then, but absolutely nothing she's done is anything I would've seen. Also, not to be skeevy, BUT, I had to know, and appaaaaaaaarently she's done some nude scenes. SO, to anyone who's got or had a crush on her... there ya go.

I did a Google search but I couldn't find anything on her that was TMNT related, although I only went a few pages deep. It could just be as simple as, it was one of her early roles, she went on to do a bunch of stuff that had nothing to do with that, and there's absolutely zero cross-over between the audiences of the TMNT films and what she's been up to since, so most people have probably never asked her about it. I imagine if her experiences were all that bad she wouldn't have done two of 'em.

Also, since I know what Kevin Nash has pulled down in residuals from his two-minute cameo in TMNT II, I'd wager that Paige, while probably not AS well-compensated, most likely still gets a nice check from the DVDs to this day, so I'm sure she's overall pretty pleased with that if nothing else.

I'd be rather curious myself, though. I say, you miss 100% of the swings you don't take, so if you're curious at all about interviewing her or even just asking a question, might as well go for it. The worst thing anyone can say is "no", right? Easy for me to say, but I've met enough "famous" people to safely say they're just people. I say go for it. Absolute worst case she never replies at all. Best case, you get to be everyone's hero for finally getting her to talk about it. What's to lose?

[Wesley]

I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask her. I think she and Judith were both great as April. Liked Paige in the tv show The 100 too, though I only watched season 1 of that show.

[SS Kakarot]

They were both great as April, but I must say I have always prefered Paige Turco.

I've seen Paige in several other movies and tv series (anyone remeber the pilot episode of the Fugitive? ). I don't think I've seen Judith in anything else after the 1990 movie, only the deleted scenes from OOTS.

So anyway, I say go for it, no harm in asking I suppose. I would love to find out how she looks back on her time as April! Good luck!

[d_osborn]

Come to think of it, she hasn't done many interviews on the subject. I would love to hear more from her on it! It would also be great to hear from the casting director of SOTO on it.

Doesn't someone here have Turco's original script from TMNT with her handwritten notes that are essentially "WTF is this!"?

Originally Posted by Leo656

Also, since I know what Kevin Nash has pulled down in residuals from his two-minute cameo in TMNT II, I'd wager that Paige, while probably not AS well-compensated, most likely still gets a nice check from the DVDs.

Wait, so you think Nash makes more in SOTO residuals than Turco? She had top billing, there's no way that's possible.

[Leo656]

I'm not inclined to share information that was shared with me in confidence during private conversations, but Kevin Nash's TMNT II residuals are substantial. He has by far made more money from that film than anyone else in it has. It has nothing to do with billing and a lot to do with lawyers, agents, negotiations and re-negotiations. Short answer, he already had a great agent through his Turner Corporation connections when he got the job and he's not getting the same percentage in 2020 that he was getting in 1991 because a lot's changed since then. I don't know what his residuals were back then but they're significantly more now.

He actually told me exactly what he gets paid for every DVD and box set that gets sold but I honestly can't remember. But he has indeed earned and spent many millions of dollars from that one single film. More or less about what he made in the wrestling business, and more than he's gotten for many of his other films even though he was more famous when he did them.

You have to be a sharp guy and have a shark lawyer and agent. That's how these things happen. Also, "Maximum Reward for Minimal Effort" is kind if his entire life mission. He's a Zen Master.

I mean, you don't have to take my word for it if you don't want to, but he and I have had the conversation a couple of times.

At first he just said a number. I assumed he meant "___ thousand" and he pissed himself laughing and said "No, man, million. I'll be living off that movie for the rest of my life. SAG card is where it's at, bro."

You don't wanna know what his total quarterly SAG check is.

[Wildcat]

Not saying I don’t believe you but why would a studio be willing to pay someone that much for a fully costumed cameo? You’d never who it was anyway without cast names.

I mean if their agents are asking for that big a deal they could just go with someone else instead. They just needed a big guy and probably could have done some camera trick to make them appear bigger.

The studio really felt it had to be him no matter what? I can see it being true but it really does not make sense from the studio’s standpoint.

[Leo656]

It's not very complicated, but you have to know a little bit about how things work in the entertainment business. He used to get paid less for his role in the film. When he got more famous and they started repackaging and re-selling the movies, along with other factors, he later got paid more. He's legitimately the only "famous" person in the cast except for David Warner, and people don't have to go on Wikipedia to find out Nash's name because they know him as more than "Oh, THAT guy, from that other movie, where he played the guy." Nothing against David Warner, of course. But he was a famous face, not a famous name. Hollywood is not a meritocracy, you get paid for who you are, not what you do. Kevin Nash is famous. Nobody else in the movie is famous. Kevin Nash gets paid more than they do when the discs sell, because he's got agents and connections. That wasn't always the case, but it's the case Right Now.

Again, to reiterate, he was not hired outright and given Star's Pay in 1991. The pay scale regarding his take-home has since changed because sh*t happens sometimes. He's since managed to argue for a bigger cut and obviously someone decided it was worth it to give it to him.

It's just one of the goofy things that happens. But if you think about it for any time at all, it's not even hard to believe. Even if he made one dollar or less on every DVD sold, either solo or part of a box set, how many VHS and DVDs of TMNT II have been sold to this point? Definitely millions. So the thought of him making millions from his two-minute cameo back when he was nobody, over a period of 30 years, is actually very reasonable. It's not like he made the movie in 1991, and then in 1992 they dumped a truckload of money on his door. What he's taken home from it is substantial, but it's been gradually accumulated over three decades in small but measurable increments. And he was pretty clear that a big chunk of what he's earned did come from the more recent DVDs more so than the VHS tapes and the original pay for being on-set, which would imply that while it's been slowly accumulating, a lot of it is also bottlenecked based on the When of things. So there's a lot of moving parts in the equation.

I once read that Hulk Hogan still gets about 70 cents for every copy of "Mr. Nanny" that sells. That's a starring role by a huge name, in a terrible movie that nobody saw. He still gets paid for it, though, even though it came out in 1993. But is it really that hard to believe that, NOT all things being equal, Nash has taken home substantially more over the same period of time, given the fact that way, WAY more people own copies of TMNT II than Mr. Nanny? Not really. I will tell you, for a fact, that Kevin Nash has made a lot more money for his cameo in TMNT II than Hogan earned for STARRING in Mr. Nanny. Because it's "Hollywood Math" and things don't have to make sense. But it is what it is.
-------------

As for the how/why of him getting the part, it was the New Line Cinema/Turner Corporation connection. Companies hire in-house or close to it as often as they can. They needed a tall guy. He already worked for a division of the Turner Corporation via WCW and was going to be relatively cheap. They most likely didn't look at anyone else because they didn't need much out of him, thus saving a lot of time, money and effort on looking for people. But one thing the WCW guys were good about even back then was making sure they had good representation and compensation. Lots of them got paid very well for cross-over work in movies and TV, often way more than what they got paid for their wrestling stuff. And a lot of it wasn't even widely-seen or remembered, but they earned substantial pay and residuals. Guys you never heard of got paid more for doing an episode of "Learning The Ropes" with Lyle Alzado than they did in their entire careers, just because they had guys from Turner Corporate representing them and making sure they were compensated well. Because actors have unions, while wrestlers don't. Which is why guys like Nash got into wrestling to start with: To make movies instead and actually make "real" money for doing a lot less work.
--------------

I kinda think you're thinking the guy sat down in 1991, demanded X million dollars and they gave it to him. That's not what happened. He had a good lawyer and worked for a company that ensured he got a good residuals rate. When he got famous, he argued for a better rate, and they gave it to him. Which probably happened when he went back to working for the Turner Corporation in the late-1990s. He was making tons of money for them between 1996 and 1999, so he probably went to "The Office" and said, "I helped make WCW $80 million last year, I think I deserve a bigger cut of those Turtles movies." And the rest is a phone call. I forget his agent's name but the guy's a notorious shark. Might be Hogan's guy, Henry Holmes, but don't quote me.

Anyways, it's not too complicated but it's probably more complicated than you assume it would be.

Personally, I think it's great. He spent 1.5 working days on set and made more money than all the people who starred in it, possibly put together. It isn't fair, but it's real life. And real life is not a meritocracy, everything is based on who you know and what you're willing to demand for yourself. Good for him, he won.

[Wildcat]

Oh that makes more sense. Ya your previous post made it sound like this deal happened at the time of the movie. Sure even a small residual would accumulate to a lot now.

I don’t know about making more than everyone else in the movie combined. I find that hard to believe assuming everyone is getting residuals. The main cast at least.

[MrPliggins]

She's been a regular on The 100 for 6 seasons now. The final season premieres in about a week. With the show over, maybe she has some time freed up? Doesn't hurt to ask. It's one of her most known roles; she probably hasn't disowned it.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

Oh that makes more sense. Ya your previous post made it sound like this deal happened at the time of the movie. Sure even a small residual would accumulate to a lot now.

I don’t know about making more than everyone else in the movie combined. I find that hard to believe assuming everyone is getting residuals. The main cast at least.

I'm not sure that's how I made it sound, but I'm sure that's how you read it. All good brother. But no, he's made a ton of bank off the movie but a lot of it has been in more recent times and the rest was slow accumulation.

Every three months, people in the SAG union get a check containing residual lump sum pay for every DVD/VHS/Misc. of every film they've ever done, that's been sold since the last quarter. So in his case, having done lots of movies, he's getting $____ from every DVD of TMNT II, $____ from "The Punisher", $____ from "Magic Mike", etc. And I'm not sure how it works now, but years ago these checks would also include an itemized breakdown of exactly how much you got paid for what. So you knew exactly what you earned from each individual film. A little here, a little there, but it adds up. Again, he did tell me specifically, "Bro, they just put out another one'a those box sets. I get $____ for every single one'a those, and someone probably buys one every single day, somewhere." Which speaks highly to the enduring popularity of the films, I'd say. These conversations would've been around 2012 or 2013 for clarification; I just don't remember the exact dollar-per-disc amount. I do recall immediately asking him how long it took to film his part, him saying it was less than two working days, and both of us having a tremendous laugh over it, because it really is quite absurd that he made millions for doing "nothing". BUT, that's his whole life in a nutshell.

He's a great guy, by the way. Big personality. If you hang out with him a little bit at all it becomes incredibly clear how he's been able to charm his way into so much success despite being objectively "not terrific" at most stuff he's done in his life. Like, he's not a "great" actor but he makes a ton of money off of small parts in mediocre movies because he's a nice guy and has good representation and knows how to get what he wants. That's terrific, that's called "living the dream", right there. He's not paid like George Clooney but he gets like a couple hundred grand or whatever it was just walking to the mailbox every couple months. I'll take that life!

We talked about lots of stuff, but the thing that stuck out the most (besides "Jaime Pressley is pretty f*cking hot, bro" ) was "If you ever break a sweat, you're doin' it all wrong." It was wrestling advice, but it kind of can metaphorically apply to everything.

I would honestly love to know what the others in the cast of TMNT II have collectively made off of it. But I'd be surprised if it was anywhere near as much, frankly. Again, not because of his role, but because of who he specifically is. I don't know if Brian Tochi, for example, ever argued for better residuals, or if he'd bother to. I know Kev made double-digit millions off of it; it's possible that some of the others did, too, but I kinda doubt it. But I would love to know, just out of curiosity!

Originally Posted by MrPliggins

It's one of her most known roles; she probably hasn't disowned it.

Yeah, and to my original point that sort of derailed the thread a little, but based on what I know, she's most likely still being paid pretty well for it because other people definitely are. She probably gets more for those movies than what her residuals are from a lot of her other work since then, frankly. And furthermore, without TMNT II and III, most of those other roles she's gotten probably wouldn't have happened, so I'm sure that she's pretty happy overall. I sure would be.

[d_osborn]

Residual renegotiations for home video releases are common, and I'm not shocked at all that his checks are healthy. I highly doubt he makes more in residuals on SOTO than any other principal actors, though. If he does, more power to him. I don't buy it for a second.

Something to keep in mind-- every big name rassler I've worked with has had a doctorate degree in BSing. Lawler especially.

As for him being the most famous in the film, it just depends on which crowds you run with. Now, I think Susie Essman would easily be the most recognizable for the general pop.

Originally Posted by Leo656

I'm not inclined to share information that was shared with me in confidence during private conversations, but Kevin Nash's TMNT II residuals are substantial. He has by far made more money from that film than anyone else in it has. It has nothing to do with billing and a lot to do with lawyers, agents, negotiations and re-negotiations. Short answer, he already had a great agent through his Turner Corporation connections when he got the job and he's not getting the same percentage in 2020 that he was getting in 1991 because a lot's changed since then. I don't know what his residuals were back then but they're significantly more now.

He actually told me exactly what he gets paid for every DVD and box set that gets sold but I honestly can't remember. But he has indeed earned and spent many millions of dollars from that one single film. More or less about what he made in the wrestling business, and more than he's gotten for many of his other films even though he was more famous when he did them.

You have to be a sharp guy and have a shark lawyer and agent. That's how these things happen. Also, "Maximum Reward for Minimal Effort" is kind if his entire life mission. He's a Zen Master.

I mean, you don't have to take my word for it if you don't want to, but he and I have had the conversation a couple of times.

At first he just said a number. I assumed he meant "___ thousand" and he pissed himself laughing and said "No, man, million. I'll be living off that movie for the rest of my life. SAG card is where it's at, bro."

You don't wanna know what his total quarterly SAG check is.

[Leo656]

Like I said, I'd love to know what the others have made up to now. I just would find it hard to believe they've made more than he did. Maybe. I wouldn't be shocked, just surprised. His quote was fairly high. I don't see Michaelan Sisti making that much, not even over 30 years. But hey, maybe! I'd love to know. It's none of my business but I'd still love to know.

The number he gave me was high, MUCH higher than I thought it would be, but not outrageous at all once I thought about it for a second. I went into the conversation thinking, "Well, it was very small part and he wasn't famous yet, so it probably wasn't much." So when he gave me the number, I was shocked. BUT, once he explained it, it was actually very reasonable and not outrageous at all.

I'm also a "brother" and most workers don't try to work other workers about that kinda stuff. If I was a mark and he told me this at a convention signing, rather than quietly and privately while we were both getting dressed to wrestle on the same show, I'd be a bit more skeptical, maybe. We've only met a few times but we spent several hours and even shared meals together in that time. He legit blew off doing Intermission at one show and told the agent to f*ck off, partly because he and I were having a conversation and he decided he'd rather do that instead. Like, he legit turned his head and pretended the guy wasn't even there, turned to me, leaned back in his chair and very dramatically went, "SO, anyway, like I was tellin' ya...", and the guy walked away in a huff (rightly so, because it was a dick move by Kev, but he had his reasons that weren't all to do with me).

Point being, it's not like we're pals but we've always had some genuine mutual respect whenever we've interacted, so I see little reason to doubt what he told me. Furthermore, every other thing he ever told me about anything else on any other subject has all been verified and corroborated by others who would know. I have no reason at all to doubt what he told me about his residuals; he never lied to me, personally, about a single other thing in any of the conversations we've had. So... whatever. I believe him.

If it'll put some minds to rest, I'll give a very vague ballpark figure that will narrow it down: More than $10 million and less than $50 million. Somewhere in that extremely broad range is what he's earned from the movie since 1991. Again, I don't even feel right saying that since he told me in confidence, but it's within A and B if it'll make some people feel better about it. "Probably" less than the latter number, but more than the former number.

So... has Paige Turco made $10 million or more from her TMNT residuals? Very possible. Did she make as much or more as Kevin? I'unno. She did do two of 'em, but he's a bigger name in most circles and also a bloodthirsty, cutthroat kinda guy when it comes to getting money, so there's variables. I don't think MOST of the people in that movie have made $10 million or more from it, though. Maybe not even if a couple of them pooled it. Like I said, I don't know, but I'd like to, just for curiosity's sake.
-------------

Another thing to keep in mind is that even if someone has earned $50 million, that doesn't mean they have or are worth $50 million, that's just how much they've been paid and gone through. Sometimes people hear "So-and-so earned $________ from something" and they imagine them sitting in a solid gold castle somewhere. That makes some things seem a bit more outlandish than they really are.

It's also not $50 million, I'm just using a nice beefy round number to make a point while intentionally being vague.

[Hamato Yoshi]

I could imagine Tatsu finding the q inappropiate , hed prolly smile and leave it at that

[Wildcat]

Between $10 and 50 million is not that vague. It’s either 20s, 30s or 40s. I wasn’t even that curious about the number. I know people get residuals. Nothing wrong with that.

I just assume the main cast made more. Am I wrong in thinking the turtle actors and Paige Turco got paid more for their roles? Overall. Not just residuals. They were in the whole movie.

[Leo656]

The biggest variable in that question would be, "Did any of them ever re-up at any point since 1992?"

They all almost certainly got paid higher residuals than he did between 1992 and 1995, since they all had bigger parts and were relatively more well-known. BUT, several things changed in the late 90s that would affect that. Kevin Nash became WWF World Champion in 1994, making him one of the most high-profile celebrity athletes in the world, and making anything attached to his name immediately worth more. That stock only doubled when he went to WCW in 1996 where his profile only got bigger between then and when he left in 2000. When he went back to the WWF/E in 2002-2005, he also started getting more Hollywood work, including high-profile roles in movies like The Punisher. That work was occasional but steady up until fairly recently, since he's pretty old and would mostly rather just stay home nowadays.

Point being, there were multiple times when Kevin Nash's "stock" as an entertainer and monetary value as a performer increased incrementally in the last 30 years, including three significant "spikes" in 1994, 1997, and 2004, specifically. He certainly managed to re-negotiate his residual rate at least once, but it could have been multiple times within that period for all anyone knows.

But that's the only factual information I have. I couldn't tell you what anyone else in the movie made to start with, nor could I tell you if any of them tried to renegotiate their residual rate between 1992 and now. Some of them might not have had an opportunity to even have the discussion, some might have managed to renegotiate and get more money than they started out with, and some might have tried but been turned down for whatever reason. I imagine that case-by-case, all of those things happened to someone. But you wouldn't know unless you asked them. I only know what One Guy told me in confidence.

I would definitely agree that most if not all of the main cast got paid a lot more than he did between 1992 and 1995. After that? I'm not sure. Again, who played what role and how long they were on screen in a movie isn't necessarily the main factor in what they're pulling down 20 or 30 years later. A whole lot of other things factor into that, and it's not the same for every single individual, either. It's not like if one person gets a "bump" they all do exponentially. It's case-by-case and person by person.
-----------------

What's funny to me is I totally didn't expect the whole thing to shift so heavily to this topic. I was just generally stating, "I know for a fact that Nash got paid well, so I imagine Paige and the rest are also doing pretty alright from it." And that's true regardless. Even if he's getting paid more now than they are, the fact that "even" he made out good from it implies that they all kinda must have. That was my original point that I think kinda got left by the wayside.

[Wildcat]

Well you said you thought he makes more than everyone combined. To do that just by increasing residuals does not seem likely to me. To be able to surpass everyone else’s total would have to be a massive amount of residuals. Of course I don’t know how it all works but that does not add up to me.

I understand residuals increasing when someone gets more famous but not that’d you’d end up being the highest paid actor in that movie for a cameo with your face covered.

Ya I’m sure everyone involved was well paid for their work.

[Leo656]

Think I said "possibly". I'ts 4:44, I'm not gonna scroll around looking for it but I'm almost positive that I said "possibly" more than all of them combined. But possibly not.

It was a pretty speculative statement, though, sure.

[Musashi]

I've actually found the digression in this thread interesting. Suppose, if I've ever given it any thought, I always assumed even the biggest stars only got whatever deal their agent negotiated at the time for residuals on their early work.

If it's helpful, I seem to remember there's an interview on Youtube from not too long after the movies where she's clearly fond of them, and particularly of her co-stars - and actually quite defensive when the interviewer is scathing about the whole thing.

Here it is. It's extremely poor quality, picture and sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAotFmegEfQ

Some of the people in those comments reeeaaally like her. I mean, I get the appeal, but... whoa.

There's also an interview actually from the time of II, where she was interviewed by Daniel Dickholtz... Sorry if anyone feels that detail is irrelevant, but once I found it out I had to tell someone. Again, pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing, particularly complimentary about David Warner.

Here it is, hope the link works.

https://archive.org/details/starlog_...e/n51/mode/2up

[Leo656]

I mean, she's definitely a bit of a looker but I wouldn't go crazy over her. I remember as a kid thinking she had rather nice legs. ((Shrug))