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- bixby1, on 12/16/2008, -4/+55I rarely comment on my own submissions but, as a SAG member in LA, I truly believe that another strike on the heels of the Writer's Strike would cripple the entertainment community. Things need change for sure but a strike would breach the breakwater onto this god-forsaken city I love so much.
- inactive, on 12/16/2008, -2/+45i couldn't agree with you more. The last thing we need is another industry not generating revenues.
- RumpleForeskin3, on 12/16/2008, -4/+38Matt Damon
- randomerratum, on 12/16/2008, -5/+39An open letter to SAG,
I'd like you to consider these three points if you haven't already.
1) The studios realized in the last strikes that they don't need you. Just because Lost is delayed doesn't mean viewers don't turn on the TV. Studios have perfected the art of the loophole (thanks to the prolonged writers strike) by creating a whole new slew of "reality" TV in which they find they don't have to hire union so long as whoever is on camera is not "acting". It's crappy, I know. It's adding to the dumbing of America, it's lowering the standards of what we will and won't watch. What's worse, it's more profitable for the studios and they're getting better at it. People do watch this crap and buy into more crappy stuff as a result. The studios have a solid contingency plan. I hope you have the leverage you think that you do.
2) Do you really want to shut down an industry now? I work in "Post-Post-Production." This means that I'm one of the thousands of people that won't see in the credits - when the movie/TV show/commercial is finished it's a technician like me who helps to take it through it's final steps toward distribution. Extremely non-glamorous. I've endured two pay-cuts thanks to the ***** economy and writer's strike. At my job we still get the reality stuff as mentioned above, but like I said - they're cheap productions that cut corners and drive prices down - crippling the entire industry. The effects are long lasting. If my employer decides they can get away with fewer employees to combat lower sales numbers, they will. The remaining people will work harder for less, and competition for comfortable jobs in the field will be fiercer. This will be especially worse in non-technical and entry-level arenas for obvious reasons and I believe many of us are just as passionate about the industry as you.
3) Support. I think you'll find that you won't have much, especially not after too long. I understand that a majority of actors in Hollywood are not "Stars" and are more often just there to fill out a scene so you get by with whatever jobs you can get. Even when business is booming, I know it's hard to land a gig - which is why, for many (if not most) of you, you have a day job. Most of America does not have that kind of safety net and it's hard for us to be sympathetic for what many would consider as your "hobby". I don't mean to insult, I know there is a real passion in what you do, however, I've taken pay cuts for the writers already - I support the principal but It's not going to be long before I don't feel compelled to honk for your picket lines. No offense.
I understand the entertainment world is changing. You deserve to get paid for your work and it's fair that with new venues of distribution such as the internet and streaming, on demand, DVD and Blu-Ray - you be compensated fairly. I know that your talent and your face is your product which is licensed to studios to make them money. Yes, it's time to re-negotiate your terms. I'm not going to be so bold as to tell you if you should or shouldn't strike, I'm not in your shoes and I'm not jealous of having to make such a hard decision so I won't pretend to be able to. I just hope you are using real strategy and have some consideration of the potential effects.
Good luck. - missjb, on 12/16/2008, -1/+32SAG member as well. I hope Cloon-dog throws his weight around. I can't take another strike
- inactive, on 12/16/2008, -6/+28I hope that if there is another strike, the studios just hire scabs and refuse to do business with SAG from then on.
Becoming an actor or actress is the lifelong dream of a very large amount of people; they'll have plenty of new faces to choose from if they ditch SAG and only hire scabs. - harronoob, on 12/16/2008, -3/+25Film Actors Guild.
- mizike, on 12/16/2008, -1/+12The SAG requires 75% of current members to approve a strike before one can be called. It's certainly not a case of the Union leaders forcing their members to do something they don't want. Most Unions require more than a 75% consensus before a strike can be called.
- neocreo, on 12/16/2008, -2/+12No, not another strike... they killed off so many good shows because of the last one. Not to mention that the bloody reality TV ***** that pretty much exploded at the same time.
Find another way: talk and keep on talking until you find people on both sides who are listening and willing to exchange ideas. - bwhite, on 12/16/2008, -2/+11Great .. they strike, the industry suffers, then they get a bailout. That's the cycle.
- MpVpRb, on 12/16/2008, -2/+11WTF?
Strike in the midst of the most serious recession since the 30's
Are you guys crazy? - BESTenemy, on 12/16/2008, -0/+7 As a member I also oppose the strike. Watching how UAW union stubbornness and reluctance to accept the reality of current economic conditions might cost them all of their jobs, it saddens me that the actors guild is also picking the worst time possible for making a statement.
The demands are similar to those of the Writers' Union, and the wounds still haven't fully healed since that the time they were on strike. They don't mention the specific clash points, but from what I'm getting through the petitions they're emailing me daily is that the "new media revenue" is one of the key points. So, it is basically like the Writers Guild strike, only with union merger proxy issues adding fuel to the fire. - o0joshua0o, on 12/16/2008, -0/+6SAG: This is the WRONG TIME to start a strike. The economy is in shambles. Millions of people have lost their jobs and/or houses. The public will not be sympathetic to actors complaining about not getting their fair share of Internet revenues.
Maybe you can try again in a year or two... - inactive, on 12/16/2008, -2/+7They got compensation for their work when they received their paycheck for completing their work.
I write software for a living. I know damn well that I do not have the right to a share of the revenues every time my employer makes a sale. How ***** hard is it for TV writers to learn that? - mikepictor, on 12/16/2008, -4/+9@singularityv
Make a living wage by any chance?
Do you work a sensible number of hours a week (40ish, maybe a bit more)
How's that 2 day weekend treating you.
All of it, brought about by strikes, or the threat thereof. Unions and strikes are what have given the majority of the workforce fair wages and work conditions, and you have benefited from it in all likelihood.
Some unions are evil...definitely, but the idea of the union is not only good, but necessary. If you hate a union, hate it for how they practice their business in particular (and there are unions worthy of that hate), not the very concept of unionization.
The ability to withhold work in an effort to achieve a better working condition is a right that should never be denied. It is not a worker's obligation to maximize profits for a company. They are obliged to do good work, but are entitled to proper compensation, and consideration. - CaLaVa, on 12/16/2008, -1/+6Helen Hunt won a "Best Actress" Oscar for "As Good As It Gets".
- Tearlock, on 12/16/2008, -0/+5Not only did she win a Best Actress Oscar, she totally deserved it too. One of my favorite films of all time. It's true she hasn't seemed to have done much lately but she's a relevant star.
- dashdingo, on 12/16/2008, -1/+6Dugg for cloon-dog.
- oldhick, on 12/16/2008, -1/+5That is sad to hear. Without hollywood, my life would probably be far more productive.
- clclark33, on 12/16/2008, -0/+4Yeah, and if Hollywood stopped making unoriginal movies and crap remakes of older films, we would hardly have any new films to watch.
- dandonia, on 12/17/2008, -0/+4If another strike breaks out before 24 completes I am gonna be pissed.
- p51d007, on 12/16/2008, -2/+5Let them strike! I'm only talking about the overpaid "actors". Bunch of good for nothing has-beens!
- HyphySoul, on 12/16/2008, -3/+6I hope this strike doesn't happen because I'm loving my shows right now
- KyleGoetz, on 12/16/2008, -0/+3Someone on Digg who doesn't like The Dark Knight! Amazing! It's like I've found a wild snorlax.
- o0joshua0o, on 12/16/2008, -0/+3What are you talking about? She's on a hit show right now.
- oldhick, on 12/16/2008, -0/+3Can the 25% that don't want to strike continue on as scabs? I know not much about unions and probably have an irrational dislike of them... But the answer to this question could help change that!
- JhJ82, on 12/16/2008, -0/+3why so serious......
- nobodysbaby, on 12/17/2008, -0/+2Hmmmmm, it seems the names that aren't up in lights will once again be paying the price for upper "management's" ***** decisions! Maybe we can all pitch in and send them to a day spa retreat with AIG executives!
- RealmDown, on 12/16/2008, -1/+3I believe your percentage to be unacceptably high.
- wsuvtx, on 12/16/2008, -2/+4I realize that most SAG members don't make millions, however, when a Union that has millionaire members cry over contracts, it makes me laugh. F em all. The athletes too. I love movies, TV, sports and all sorts of entertainment. But please, quit your goddamn whining.
Great job to George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Kevin Spacey, Sally Field, Helen Hunt, Charlize Theron and Morgan Freeman. Seems like they get it. - lovemorgul, on 12/16/2008, -2/+4I was very happy to be here tonight...... to hear the concerns and the anger and lack of respect directed.....
- teknomaker18, on 12/16/2008, -1/+3This really proves that a single vote is not equal to celebrity status. F.A.G. strikes again.
- mehtheinfernal, on 12/16/2008, -1/+3The last strike made sense. Writers weren't getting compensation for their work distributed via internet. The studios made a larger portion of profit and conveniently forgot about them. Don't you think they tried talking first? If a few shows had to bite the bullet to get their point across, then it was a small sacrifice on our part for their well being.
That said, this possible strike is ridiculous. Actors are negotiating compensation? They already get paid way too much.
"None of our friends in the other unions are truly happy with the deals they made in their negotiations. Three years from now all the union contracts will be up again at roughly the same time. At that point if we plan and work together with our sister unions, we will have incredible leverage."
Looks like they're waiting for the economy to pick back up before stomping their feet. - inactive, on 12/16/2008, -2/+4I seen an ad on the page for asking you to consider Christian Bale as Best Actor. I laughed a little on the outside.
- chicachoc, on 12/17/2008, -0/+2If the SAG majority votes one way, it is absolutely wrong to call it off because 150 of the top earners don't feel like losing their 6+ figure incomes for part of next year. I guess everyone has the right to take a stand and be heard.
On the flipside - I got out of college and brought home a brand new hdtv less than a month before the last strike. Then spent the next few months in a state of shock and horror watching crap like that American Gladiator nonsense because it was winter and too cold to go out. With all the other misery in the world today, I NEED somewhat creative programming to escape.
Why can't FOX news go on strike? - Elderon, on 12/16/2008, -1/+3You shouldn't have to be a part of a guild to act in movies and tv. I think that's *****. Our economy is in the hole, people are losing their jobs left and right and these jackoffs are bitching and want to strike? I say tell them that anyone who decides to strike is black balled from working on any tv or movie project in hollywood.
- mcquitty, on 12/16/2008, -0/+2Random,
"Studios have perfected the art of the loophole (thanks to the prolonged writers strike) by creating a whole new slew of "reality" TV in which they find they don't have to hire union so long as whoever is on camera is not "acting". It's crappy, I know. It's adding to the dumbing of America, it's lowering the standards of what we will and won't watch."
I would think stupid programming in general is a problem. I don't care if there are actors or not. There's a lot of horrible programs on TV right now, many of which are scripted and acted. Not quite sure you are making a good argument on that one. - imronburgundy83, on 12/16/2008, -1/+2"...And the corporations are all corporationy....."
- randomerratum, on 12/16/2008, -0/+1My point is not the integrity of the shows that are on - but rather that they are cheap and successful --DESPITE the lack of quality and the shameless exploitation that they promote.
I understand that there is scripted and acted crap out there, but I implore you to sit yourself down (Clockwork Orange style) and endure the circus of retardation that is I Love Money, America's Next Top Model or any God-forsaken offspring of The Real World... etc. It's being mass produced like a soul-less clone army and it WILL melt your brain.
If you make it through the other side showing no signs of addiction (the first sign by the way is using phrases like "guilty pleasure") - I suspect you'll see exactly what I mean.
Otherwise, if you don't shudder in disgust when a small choir of stereotypical "supermodels" giddily exclaim "Tyra Mail!!" - it's already too late.
There is very decent "reality" too (see; Kid Nation, Beauty and the Geek or Hell's Kitchen)- you can sometimes identify it by the "high" production value and/or an association with a known outside of the "reality" circuit celebrity name (Tyra Banks excluded) - while these are not so insulting to human sentient, they've unwittingly placed the groundwork for the demise of entertainment as we know it.
Sorry to be so long winded. - MsArtGeek, on 12/17/2008, -1/+2I also hope they find a way to resolve this, but they are correct, in my opinion, in holding out for royalties on works viewed on the Internet instead of in a movie theatre. If they give in and don't hold on to these, they will be really screwing themselves in the future.
- rashawty, on 12/17/2008, -0/+1I agree with most of everything you said with the exception of people in the middle class who are anit-union should be ashamed. The things you talked about 40 hour work weeks, decent working conditions, minimum wage, vacation and sick days are all things covered by The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Labor_Standards_ ... and while i'm sure that the unions of the time helped bring that about the act itself covering everything you say brave union member fought for seems to make unions outdated.
That's just my opinion though but i look at industries like the car industry where it's GMC vs Toyota and GMC has a problem keeping up because they're made to pay all their employe's so much money while Toyota pays a fair wage and it's seems ridiculous. - RealmDown, on 12/16/2008, -1/+2Bets?
- AmericanGunner, on 12/16/2008, -0/+1^ He named a bunch of lists and and names hes gotta know what hes talking about.
- RealmDown, on 12/16/2008, -1/+2*Whooosh*
- MsArtGeek, on 12/17/2008, -1/+2@ singularityv - being a code cog in a big software company is not the same as creating an original work to which you can claim sole authorship. If you wrote your own software, that would be different, but you're writing someone else's software, so yes, in your case, you are correct that you are not entitled to royalties.
A writer, on the other hand gets paid piece by piece, not by the hour or by the week or the year, Most Hollywood writers are either freelance or get signed on to a specific show - if the show tanks, they're out of a job. The royalties they recieve after the sale are a trade-off for not having the stability that a salaried software job has, but also an incentive to write great stuff people will want to see again and again.
Now that more and more work is being distributed by the Internet, the studios are using that as a loophole to deny royalties to writers. Sure they'd get away with it if the writers took it lying down - but luckily for the writers and their families, they can bargain collectively to have a chance share in the prosperity they create, and keep them afloat while they try to write another hit show or movie. - mcquitty, on 12/16/2008, -0/+1All I ever see her on is those damn commercials talking about how taking a pill once a week is too much for her.
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