Jersey Shore's cast is reportedly in a salary dispute with MTV again.
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The cast members are refusing to begin filming their return to Seaside Heights, NJ -- which had originally been announced as the second half of Jersey Shore's second season but MTV has now decided to bill as Season 3 -- due to a contract dispute with the network, TMZ reported Sunday.
Jersey Shore's cast was reportedly supposed to return to Seaside Heights this week and begin filming their "at home" departure footage yesterday, however all five cast members who were scheduled to shoot on Sunday -- Paul "Pauly D" DelVecchio, Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, Vinny Guadagnino, and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro -- told the show's crews the cast is going on strike until they get a new contract.
According to TMZ, the cast feels "they've been tricked" because they believe their Season 2 contracts -- which they landed after negotiating en masse earlier this year and is reportedly paying them each $10,000 per episode -- were only supposed to cover their activities in Miami, where they filmed what was originally set to be the first half of Jersey Shore's second season in April and May.
MTV will premiere Jersey Shore's second season on Thursday, July 29 at 10PM ET/PT.
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Earlier on Sunday, TMZ released a copy of a July 13 letter MTV allegedly sent Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino's representatives in which the network offered to consider the cast's Seaside Heights return to be Jersey Shore's third season and give Sorrentino a Season 2 bonus between $60,000 and $180,000 if the season reaches certain ratings thresholds.
In exchange, MTV would receive a fourth season option that would pay Sorrentino between $27,500 and $45,000 per episode based on Jersey Shore's second season ratings.
However MTV and Jersey Shore's 495 Productions production company reportedly disagree whether they should give into the cast's new contract demands, with the network believing the group is "magic in a bottle" and looking to keep the entire cast intact and 495 feeling their contract demands are hurting the show.
According to TMZ, the production company is only interested in keeping a few of the cast members, including DelVecchio, Sorrentino and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.
"The show is not about famous rich people with managers coming to the Shore," a source close to 495 told TMZ.
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MTV's offer to Sorrentino -- which originally had a July 15 deadline but was later extended -- has also reportedly "pissed off some of the other cast as well as the crew."
Last month, TMZ had reported that Giancola, Guadagnino, Ortiz-Magro and Angelina Pivarnick had "under whelmed" MTV during Jersey Shore's Miami filming and could be replaced for the third season.
About The Author: Steven Rogers