Star rivalry after iftar
Money wrangling and competition over starring roles provided the backdrop for this year's Ramadan TV bonanza. Hanan Sabra reports
The real life squabbles between the stars of Ramadan TV may have been the only thing not covered by the seemingly endless plots of the nonstop marathon of drama series on screen this month.
Competition is nothing new when it comes to Ramadan, and the race for the highest paycheck starts long before the holy month begins. This year Leila Elwi -- who plays the role of a high-powered businesswoman on Ta'ala Nehlam Bebokra (Let's Dream of Tomorrow) -- took top draw, snagging LE1.3 million for the part.
Nur El-Sherif placed a close second, earning LE1.2 million for Ragol Al-Aqdar (Man of Fate). Youssra came in at a cool third with LE1.15 million, while Yehia El-Fakharani and Elham Shahine got LE1.1 million and LE1 million respectively.
Belly dancer Fifi Abdou -- who was paid LE1 million to star in a Ramadan series -- found herself taken off the month's schedule altogether. Her series will show at a later date. Nabila Ebeid, meanwhile, is only making a relatively paltry LE800,000.
Sources said Nadia El-Guindi was unable to find a buyer willing to pay LE2 million for her potential contribution to a Ramadan series.
According to Ehab Talaat, who heads the Egyptian Arab Media Production Company, "the main star of any series is the key factor determining the ad revenue the show is going to make and how well it will sell to satellite channels." Talaat co- produced Youssra's soap opera Malak Rouhy (Malak, My Sweetheart).
The dynamics involved in scheduling the shows are also changing with the times. With more channels available, and more money exchanging hands, stars are beginning to have more of a say regarding when, and on what channel, their shows will be screened.
The channel heads at the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) have historically been the primary arbitrators of the schedule. This year, they had to make some adjustments. After the Abu Dhabi satellite channel bought the exclusive first screening rights to Yehia El-Fakharani's Al-Leil wa Akhroh (The Night and its End) drama series for $1 million, Egyptian TV had to schedule its daily broadcast after Abu Dhabi's.
In the case of Youssra's Malak Rouhy, Egyptian TV ended up having to give up the show altogether. Youssra said that she was upset when she found out that Egyptian television had scheduled the show for a time slot and a channel that put her "in a second-class category of stars". At the same time, she and the producers got an offer from the MBC satellite channel to screen the series exclusively for $1.5 million.
As a result, Egyptians who don't get MBC have not been seeing Youssra on their screens this Ramadan. "Egyptian TV should look for quality first and foremost," the star told Al- Ahram Weekly.
Meanwhile, actress Nabila Ebeid's decision to rent out large billboards on the streets -- at her own expense -- to promote her role in Al-Amma Nour (Aunt Nour) caught many by surprise. TV sources said Ebeid might have done this to put ERTU officials on the spot, since the final schedule hadn't even been set when the billboards appeared.
