The Stig: Who is buying the book then?

Who is buying the book then?


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Sure, but that sort of thing really starts to grate after a while, don't you think? Especially when you hit your 30s and have little kids running around the house. I'm sure he would've loved to be a full-time employee along with the rest of the Top Gear team, but for whatever reason he wasn't given that opportunity.

Apparently he had to renew his contract every season or so, meaning he agreed to the terms over and over again - before and after the wife, house and kids arrived.

That's what happened to Michael Jackson... his expenditures were out of control, so he took out an almost $300-million bank loan on the basis that his music publishing holdings (which included no less than The Beatles' catalogue in addition to his own) were netting him $75 million a year. Ended up defaulting on payments of that loan within a couple of years.

Based on that comparison, if the BBC paid him millions more he would just have blown those as well :tease:
 
I doubt I'll buy it, I haven't followed any of his racing and I have no interest in it.

This! Just because it's all over the news/tubes, does not mean I care about the rest of his career and/or life. I buy Mr. Clarkson's and Mr. May's books based on the quality of their columns, not because of their Top Gear presenter status...
 
I wouldn't buy a book from Clarkson, so it is highly unlikely that I will buy Collins' book.

I am on his side though. He did not "backstab" the Top Gear team or damage the show in any way. It was his decision to quit. It might actually improve the show, because it is forcing them to get out of the rut they have been in lately.

I still wouldn't buy the book though.
 
ill probably buy it to be honest, pending a sample preview somewhere like iBooks or on amazon. if it looks interesting ill probably pay for it. though not on ibookstore, that place is way over priced. books seem to be a couple of quid more expensive than buying and shipping a new physical copy of the book from amazon and to me thats just not right.
 
Ben Collins was (and probably still is) ?1,000,000+ in debt. He wouldn't be if he was earning "quite a nice amount of money".... in fact, from the way it's sounding, he probably made no more than ?10,000 per series, so maybe ?20,000 a year. That's not nearly enough for a man in his 30s with children to live on in the United Kingdom. And even then he wasn't getting personal credit for his contributions. Of course he was going to walk away from it.

thats very low and if thats the case.... man, im suprised he didnt walk sooner. obviously the 20k is in addition to other earnings, but i guess as a racing driver there are times when you got to pony up wodges of cash just to get a race. to be honest unless you work in banking or are a celeb, theres very few jobs in the UK where you can live entirely comfortably and relatively free from debt. things just cost too much nowadays, you have to save for ages or take out a big loan if you want a new car, you need a loan for a house and you need to save for ages for anything more major than a big screen tv. its like wages/prices are a bit out of sync. but it wont change, the day no one is in debt is the day the banks cease to exist. their whole existance is based on people being in debt to them

EDIT, Just reading the fail article someone posted about his losses of 1m

it said at the age of 7 he was swimming 30 hours a week and by 9 was an olympic level swimmer. that, is absolute horse shit. guys that young dont normally do half of that as they are growing in the sport, and they dont need to do lots of training like that because little kids have infinite supplies of energy and getting the techniques down is much more important. around 11-12 is when you start on the heavy stuff, and even then when i was in full swim training we did no more than 22hours a week. thats 2 hours twice a day for mon-fri and then 2 hours on a sunday... ... theres no way a 7 year old trains more than 4 hours a day every day.

just daily fail baloney

and nascar, americas version of F1? apart from the fact most of the tracks are oval, the cars are not open wheel, and have barn door levels of tech and monstrously large, powerful and earth shakingly loud engines... yeah completely like F1
 
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Apparently he had to renew his contract every season or so, meaning he agreed to the terms over and over again - before and after the wife, house and kids arrived.

He probably kept going back because it was fun work and he felt like a part of the team. That's what you do when you're young and involved with something cool, even if it's not financially viable. But according to Collins, something changed in that relationship in the last 12-24 months. He saw that his contributions weren't really valued that much (anymore?) and realised that there was in fact no pot of gold waiting for him at the end of the Top Gear rainbow.

...err .... not so long as he was involved with them, anyways. :) He'll make money off of the book, I'm sure.
 
That's true in Hollywood, too - while you have a production going on, especially a popular and highly rated production, you keep the talent happy. All of the talent; not just the ones you like more.

True, but Collins was an external contractor paid to turn up and drive. If he didn't like the pay and conditions he didn't have to do it. The pay reflects the fact that his role is entirely replaceable.

That's not nearly enough for a man in his 30s with children to live on in the United Kingdom. And even then he wasn't getting personal credit for his contributions. Of course he was going to walk away from it.

Get paid ?20,000 for a few days driving a year which allowed him to continue racing... yeah that's just appalling.
 
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True, but Collins was an external contractor paid to turn up and drive. If he didn't like the pay and conditions he didn't have to do it. The pay reflects the fact that his role is entirely replaceable.

Recurring guest stars in Hollywood shows are technically external contractors and are theoretically replaceable. You still don't treat them like refuse, not unless you want to torpedo your own reputation and/or your show. You don't even do that to the people who never appear on camera, like the film crew; one of the biggest mistakes a director or producer can make is firing or pissing off their camera operators, for example - and they are technically and theoretically replaceable personnel, right? Wrong - even though they never appear on camera, the camera operator can make or break your show. Likewise the gaffers and grips, who can render a shot unusable in seconds... I can go on and on.

You just do not do this sort of crap if you're running a show, not and survive. Not even with the 'expendable, easily replaced and faceless' personnel.

Get paid ?20,000 for a few days driving a year which allowed him to continue racing... yeah that's just appalling.

Except, you know, that if you look at the filming schedules, the Top Gear gig meant that there were a lot of races he couldn't attend and a lot of rides he couldn't accept (most sponsorships/endorsements and such require exclusivity, which the TG gig wouldn't allow - and that's where most race drivers and athletes make the real money these days). And that's assuming that the contract didn't contain 'on call' provisions.
 
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All this whining about his renewable contract and lack of pension. Hammond and May are on two year renewable contracts (source, all the kerfuffle about the contract negotiations last year or the year before). James May was also on a single-series contract for the first several years (source: James May) which rose to a single year contract until last year (or the year before - see above). As contract staff, I doubt very much whether they benefit from any BBC pension scheme either. It's the way it works.

Collins' ?1,000,000 debt is unlikely to be personal debt, but related to his company, and until someone forecloses on it and calls it in, it's called a loan. Most businesses have them, but if you want to colour it as personal hardship, it can be made to look that way.

Best not to take anything you read or hear over the next few months at face value.
 
I won't be seeking it out, but if I see a copy for sale somewhere, I'll probably pick up a copy.
 
I'm surprise he had to pay for his own insurance things like that should be paid for by the BBC.

If true then it's due to the independent contractor thing. I'm sure it's not a black and white issue though, for example I can't imagine he had to buy insurance that covered the tyre-eating Koenigsegg. If all the cars he drives are not insured through him personally but either the manufacturer's press office or the BBC then you can't really say he has to buy his own insurance without at least giving background info. See failing tabloids :lol:
 
What about health insurance? If one of the tires from the Koenigsegg crash went through the windscreen and caused him injuries, who would pay the medical bills?
 
Won't buy this book but might be intrigued enough to dig up the parts about being the Stig.

What about health insurance? If one of the tires from the Koenigsegg crash went through the windscreen and caused him injuries, who would pay the medical bills?

UK taxpayers since they have national health care? Not sure the details but maybe look into how Hammond got his injury taken care of as well.
 
You still don't treat them like refuse, not unless you want to torpedo your own reputation and/or your show.
There's a distinction here though. If before signing the contract he knew the conditions under which he would be working then there really is no case to answer, if on the other hand the role was mis-represented then yes i'd totally agree.

Except, you know, that if you look at the filming schedules, the Top Gear gig meant that there were a lot of races he couldn't attend and a lot of rides he couldn't accept (most sponsorships/endorsements and such require exclusivity, which the TG gig wouldn't allow - and that's where most race drivers and athletes make the real money these days). And that's assuming that the contract didn't contain 'on call' provisions.
As above, if it was clear in the contract what would be required and how much he'd be getting paid for it then there's really no reason for him to start bitching. If on the other hand they started to change the role around him then yes I can understand why he'd be annoyed.
 
There's a distinction here though. If before signing the contract he knew the conditions under which he would be working then there really is no case to answer, if on the other hand the role was mis-represented then yes i'd totally agree.


As above, if it was clear in the contract what would be required and how much he'd be getting paid for it then there's really no reason for him to start bitching. If on the other hand they started to change the role around him then yes I can understand why he'd be annoyed.

Considering he apparently only was hired on a per-season basis or a similarly short interval there would have been enough opportunities for him to use his growing experience of the working conditions in the new contract.
 
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