Movies - TV
How One Of Michael Scott's Jokes On The Office Ended Up Costing $60,000
By MATTHEW BILODEAU
“The Office” may be over, but fans can get a weekly dose of behind-the-scenes goodness from Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey’s podcast “Office Ladies.” When the two former “Office” stars discussed the episode “Benihana Christmas,” they invited writer Jen Celotta, who confessed that one joke she wrote cost the show $60,000.
In “Benihana Christmas,” Steve Carell’s Michael Scott is excited to surprise his girlfriend Carol with a trip to Jamaica. He holds up the tickets for Sandals resort and briefly sings Eddie Money’s "Two Tickets to Paradise," and Celotta admitted that “some of our music budget [got] pulled away from us” due to the use of Money's song.
Celotta was shocked when producer Kent Zbornak told her that “The Office” crew paid $60,000 to Money’s estate. “I was like, it's a fine joke," Celotta said, "but none of my jokes I've ever written have been a 60,000 dollar joke. [...] I mean, I was sitting at the mix and had no idea that because [Carrell] sang that song, that song had to be cleared.”