“South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who this summer scored one of the richest TV deals ever, are called Scrooge by the performers at their Casa Bonita restaurant near Denver.
In late October, artists including famed cliff divers went on a three-day strike, citing unsafe working conditions and stalling negotiations over their first contract. The artists voted unanimously to join the Actors' Equity Assn. a year ago.
The strike ended when restaurant management agreed to bring in a mediator to help negotiate.
But the standoff continues, prompting Actors' Equity to run an ad this week in the Denver Post depicting Parker and Stone looking like a South Park cartoon, drowning in $100 bills while their employees, including a gorilla and a man in a swimsuit, shivered outside in the Colorado cold.
The union said it aims to push star producers to resolve labor tensions by giving Casa Bonita's roughly 60 performers, including magicians and puppeteers, wage increases and other benefits along with their first contract.
The full-page ad will run in the Denver Post on December 24th.
(Actor's Equity Association)
Other Casa Bonita workers voted earlier this month to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Workers Local 7.
“At Casa Bonita, we value all of our team members and their well-being,” restaurant management said in a statement. “We negotiate in good faith with members of our union team in hopes of reaching fair collective bargaining agreements.”
Parker and Stone declined to comment through a representative.
The couple, who also created the hit Broadway play “The Book of Mormon,” saved the kitschy hot pink Mexican-themed eatery in Lakewood, Colorado, from bankruptcy in 2021 and have since poured more than $40 million into the restaurant to upgrade and fix unsafe electrical, plumbing and structural problems after the establishment fell into disrepair.
The location has become something of a mecca for South Park fans since it was first featured in the seventh season of the long-running Comedy Central cartoon.
In this episode, Cartman becomes enraged when Kyle invites Stan, Kenny and Butters Stotch to his birthday party at Casa Bonita (not Cartman), where they are serenaded by the restaurant's ubiquitous mariachi bands.
Along with legions of other kids growing up in Colorado, Parker and Stone fondly remember going to Casa Bonita in their youth in the 1980s. Restoring the restaurant became a passion project for the writers, a journey that became the basis for the documentary ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, streaming on Paramount+.
In July, Paramount managers sought to tie up loose ends to facilitate the sale of the company to David Ellison and RedBird Capital Partners' Skydance Media. The new management team also took part in lengthy negotiations to secure a new deal with Parker and Stone's production company, Park County, to avoid the situation falling apart and potentially derailing their corporate takeover.
Paramount ultimately agreed to extend its deal with Park County, as well as suspend the show. exclusive global streaming rights for $300 million per year more than five years. Until this year, the show streamed exclusively on HBO Max.
In total, the deal should bring Parker and Stone's firm $1.25 billion by 2030.
As part of the agreement, the team agreed to create 50 new episodes of South Park for Paramount. The series has seen ratings growth and increased cultural resonance this year as it regularly roasts President Trump.
Actors' Equity, which also represents Broadway performers, is seeking higher wages for its Casa Bonita members. Union officials said performers' salaries there average between $21 and $26 an hour.
“Matt and Trey have gotten fabulously rich by pointing out the hypocrisy of the rich and powerful,” said David Levy, director of public relations for Actors' Equity. “And now they behave exactly like the people they like to destroy.”
