LA Times is reporting that the strike threat has Hollywood on edge as the countdown continues to June 30th when all SAG actors are likely to strike as talks between SAG leadership and the studios have failed to reach an agreement.The talks have become so continuous that the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) broke away from SAG after more then 25 years of co-representation and where able to reach an agreement modeled after those reached with the Director's Guild of America (DGA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA). SAG has refused a similar agreement citing it not going far enough to meet their demands.
This disagreement with handling of this issue extends beyond the AFTRA to include the SAG membership itself with many members expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of progress and the hard line that SAG leader Alan Rosenberg has had. The heart of the disagreement is DVD residuals, cut of advertisement fees used within a project, and fees for their images being used online. Essentially they want more then already agreed on with the DGA and WGA and as a result the studios are balking.
The actually strike is not expected to start until after July 8th. In part because of the July the 4th holiday but also because on July 8th, AFTRA's membership is expected to vote in support of the reached contract. If that occurs it could put a major dent in SAG's position. Despite that, 90% of SAG’s membership fuels the TV and movie industry so a strike would bring Hollywood to a near standstill.
SAG has granted waivers to 350 independent films (those made outside the studio system) but major studio projects have not been granted waivers as a result this directly impacts Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which has built-in hiatus to plan for the event. The length of this hiatus is not known and if the strikes goes past the planned schedule that could prevent the movie from meeting its release date.
So to sum, SAG doesn't appear close to an agreement. If a strike occurs it will likely start July 8th or shortly after. Transformers 2 production is already shut down and when they return is unknown. The impact on current and future projects will pretty much be immediate.
The US Congress must ban the Unions forever. The Unions only interest is to defend their own leaders and not the interests of those they claim to represent.
ReplyDeleteThis second strike in a row just shows how dangerous the Unions mafia really is. Their own existence kills any business. They are so powerful that can decide who can be hired in a business and who can't, preventing those not paying them to join them from working in a sector like that of the show biz.
This is just a shame! This can't be allowed any longer!
You're right on. Unions today serve no purpose. They were necessary in the past but have outlived their usefulness. Still I don't think we'll see a long strike with the recent memory of the writer's strike that damaged much of hollyweird and harmed so many lower level workers.
ReplyDeleteget rid of the unions!
ReplyDeleteNote to Alan Rosenberg: Go f*ck yourself.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are idiots concerning unions and your views. You obviously have no idea what they accomplish and the situation our entire country is in. Unions are good if run correct and the SAG union is run very fair. In this particular business they do decide who can be hired and who can't and thats a good thing. Have you ever heard of paying your dues? Would you hire a guy who calls himself a plumber to fix your sink or a legit plumber? Every trade has professionals and most people seem to think that acting is an easy cush job for spoiled brats and nothing could be more from the truth for the most part. Good for Alan Rosenberg for sticking to his guns and I am sorry about the lower level workers on every level but they would not be working without the actors and that is who is being taken advantage of. Richard... get a brain and learn about something before you make some lame statement that shows you obviously know nothing about the situation.
ReplyDeleteSean Sheridan
What the heck are you talking about?
ReplyDeleteSince when any Unions should have the right to certify anyone? Their actions are the same as mafia. What is the difference in that since they have an abnormal power to threaten any business in a given field and decide who can be hired or not? They are paid a lot of money by their members and the fact that for working in the show biz this Unions mafia has the power to oblige anyone to either pay them or not get hired... well, that is the whole point here, that is called mafia style and it's just deadly wrong! And they can be a menace to any business wanting to hire non-Unions workers, that's just crazy! As much wrong as these insane strikes that will give just a few bucks to the Unions members while their leaders will receive plenty of money and more power because any business would get even more scared of them. Are Unions allowed to be a menace for the industry? Can all of this be allowed to continue endlessly? Is mafia legal now and Unions can keep acting just like mafia for tens of years without getting stopped?
Screw SAG, my needs of seeing more giant robots fighting on the big screen is far more important then their needs lmao
ReplyDeletei don't like unions. it's like they have a benefit me, screw everyone else type of deal.
ReplyDelete