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The cost of living in L.A. is stratospheric, and if you're Tara Reid or Selma Blair, do you live off of food stamps in between horrible movies? Thanks, and keep bitchin'!
—Economically Jealous in Georgia

One word: residuals. According to the Screen Actors Guild, typical middle-class performers get more than half of their earnings from residual payments—money from TV repeats, cable broadcasts, DVD rentals and sales. Character actor Vic Polizos told the L.A. Times he gets as much as $35,000 a year just from residuals. Combine that with the occasional guest spot on How I Met Your Mother or Ugly Betty, and an actor can make rent with no problem. As for groceries, well, we're assuming that actresses eat.

By the way, you should know that Selma Blair is pretty much constantly working. She has a show now and stuff.

Are stars paid to be on Dancing With the Stars? If so, how much?
—Atchisa1

There an echo in here? Or did you just want me to answer this all over again?

I'm very concerned for the survival of some of my favorite shows. I'm a very busy working mom, and I have to record some of them. I need to know, does DVR affect ratings? Is someone tracking what I'm watching and adding my viewership to the ratings?
—Esana

You mean, is there a little gnome living in your TiVo, calling the Nielsen research people after you go to bed and telling them that you fell asleep during House? No. But if you are one of the people who have allowed Nielsen to collect your viewing data every week or so, then don't worry. They have your TiVo covered. In fact, Nielsen has its own pet name for shows that get recorded and watched later: timeshifted. House, Lost and The Office have all enjoyed a serious boost in viewership thanks to timeshifting, Nielsen has reported.

Is it me or have the quality of music videos gone way down in the past few years? New videos look very cheaply made. A sign o' the times for the music industry?
—Chad, New York

Good eye, "Chad," if that is indeed your real name. Über-director Dave Meyers, who directed Missy Elliott's 3-D blowout "Ching-a-Ling," recently told the Boston Globe that video budgets have dropped from roughly $1 million (for a major-label star) to an average maximum of $400,000. ("Ching-a-Ling" is an obvious exception.) Examples of the bygone $1 million videos include Britney Spears' "Boys," Celine Dion's "A New Day Will Come" and Shakira's "Objection."

Regarding the recent coming out of Clay Aiken (duh), I had read that it is going to be a very long time before we hear about any big A-list male stars following suit. I would love to know your thoughts about this. I absolutely love your podcast, adore your new bitchling, and so look forward to reading your book!
—Debbie C., New Jersey

Don't hold your breath. Have you noticed that most stars only come out only after they've made their big bucks and their visibility has started to slide? You can applaud the so-called bravery of a Clay Aiken or Lance Bass all you like, but I'll reserve my huzzahs for an actor who chooses honesty over greed, opting to come out at the pinnacle of his career, when it matters the most.

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