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EXCLUSIVE: There’s rarely anything spontaneous in Hollywood when it involves powerful actors and powerful moguls. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a carefully orchestrated campaign is about to get underway in the trades and mainstream press to pressure (and no doubt demonize as strike-militant before too long) SAG president Alan Rosenberg and national executive director Doug Allen (aka “the football guy”) along the same lines that WGAW president Patric Verrone and WGAW executive director Dave Young (aka “the garmento guy) were. (SEE UPDATE BELOW WITH SAG BOARD MEMBER’S UNOFFICIAL RESPONSE)
I hear that on Thursday the trades will carry an ad signed by George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, and others trying to push the SAG leaders to start negotiations early. Also, Matt Damon, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, etc will begin making phone calls to SAG leadership on Friday. Also, a piece on this subject has been signed by Hanks and Clooney and submitted to the Los Angeles Times Op-Ed page. (Question: Don’t LAT editors ever ask who was the actual author of a piece like this? I was recently told “no”.)
Next Tuesday, News Corp No. 2 Peter Chernin and Disney CEO Bob Iger are taking out an ad in the trades responding to the Clooney ad and will invite SAG/AFTRA in for early informal conversations. How interesting that this campaign kicking off coincides with complaints from Hollywood CEOs that they fear starting principal photography on movies if the actors will walk come June. As the WGA talks drew to a close, top agents said privately they would now focus all their energies on averting a SAG strike. Then, at last week’s luncheon for Oscar nominees, Clooney sounded off about his guild.
Right now, no SAG-mogul talks have yet been scheduled on the contract that expires June 30. But at least Rosenberg and Allen have been learning from the trials and tribulations that the WGA went through at the hands of the Hollywood CEOs. One of the first problems they’ll face is whether SAG should institute a “qualified voting” earnings threshold requirement. (Ever since the extras union merged with SAG to strengthen the guild, only a third of SAG’s 120,000 members earn more than $1,000 as SAG actors. But now the elite working actors want to take away the right of all SAG members to vote on the guild’s major contracts. The WGA went through something similar years ago.) A two-week-old petition has circulated among SAG’s working TV and film actors. Rosenberg and Allen will be meeting next week with reps from the petition group.
UPDATE: A SAG board member responds to me unofficially about the A-list pressure: ”SAG W & W (wages & working conditions) meetings are taking place practically everyday at 5757 Wilshire Blvd. This is where the membership talks with the SAG leadership about what they’d like changed in the contract. Talks with the AMPTP, even informal ones, would be premature until this process is over. (It concludes the end of February). I also find it disingenuous that the people listed as “pressuring SAG to go in early” are NOT participating in this contract talk process with their union, nor do you hear them speaking about any of the possible deal points in their comments to the press. Attendance of the W & W meetings is open to any actor with a current SAG card. It seems to be a very naive request to blindly call for early talks while we’re 1) four months from our contract expiration, 2) only halfway through the w&w process, 3) have it handled. Doug Allen and Alan Rosenberg, in addition to our negotiation committee chairs, know what they are doing. Nobody is gunning for a strike. The focus is squarely upon composing a collection of needs for the acting community to be negotiated with our employers. The panic is unnecessary.”
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This just sounds fishy. What is to gain from A-listers pressuring SAG? Shouldn’t they pressure the Congloms?
With all due respect to the very talented A-listers mentioned here, they by no means reflect socio-economically the vast majority of the guild. Alan Rosenberg’s career more accurately represents where most working actors are at.
The A-listers and apparently the moguls have that March 1 de facto feature strike date on their minds, and now that the writers are back, they’d like to fill their dance cards again. Understandable.
The moguls I’m sure would like nothing more than for SAG to rubber-stamp the WGA’s contract and move on. Rosenberg had already expressed reservations about the WGA’s handling of the DVD residual issue. That 17-day online window is also problematic as most viewers download or stream within a couple of days, not a couple of months. There may be other sticking points as well.
As for the earnings threshold on voting, I don’t know how SAG would handle this if they did it, but they should be mindful of disenfranchising actors who’d be able to vote if the shows they’ve been working on hadn’t gone AFTRA due to lowball bidding.
All of that being said, I’ll keep an open mind and try to be cautiously optimistic.
Never thought I’d say this about any group including Tom Hanks, but… what a bunch of assholes.
As with the WGA, you’ve got to trust your elected officials to do the job they were elected by the entire membership to do.
Looks like we’ve got our own Dirty 30. Way to subvert the democratic process, guys.
That’s great. The WGA settles and SAG goes on strike. That’s just what this town needs — another strike. There will be no jobs left to come back to when this chaos is finally over.
A SAG strike would be irresponsible. I’m among the newly converted. Let’s all just go to work. Maybe one day everyone will figure out how to do this strike thing correctly. Until then, pass on the strikes.
Or keep repeating the same !@?%&*# mistakes.
I think IATSE is going to send out hitmen if there is another strike.
If the AMPTP treats SAG as they did the WGA, expect a long, long walk. And if the HFP and Jeff Zucker sue the WGA, there will never be another Golden Globes.
And… scene!
There’s nothing fishy at all. These A listers don’t want a useless strike, they want mature and reasonable negotiations to begin now. Hasn’t this town suffered enough? You militants won’t be happy until the industry is destroyed.
Qualified voting is the key. Let the real working union members vote and let the token members watch.
This is sad… and shameful for all of them. Carrying the water for big media — in an ad campaign to pressure the union — what? It’s crazy. Especially for George Clooney who sort of seemed like a smart guy. Clearly doesn’t get unionism or solidarity, or even the smallesst thing about bargaining power. Save Darfur? Save SAG from people who don’t know what they’re doing.
Did he just skip the chapter on “Harvest of Shame” in Murrow’s biography?
“Union” is correct – the “A-listers” should pressure the congloms, not their own union.
But they are selfish and self-absorbed people. These actors have an “I got mine attitude” that spits on the union that helped them get where they are, and spits on their colleagues.
The A-list actors were silent during the writers strike. It was the quality, working actors who spoke out. Clooney piped up only when their precious Oscars was threatened because he’s up for an Oscar and perhaps it will revive his acting career.
Why does George Clooney have to open his mouth about every single thing under the sun? He’s so self-important. He can’t put out a hit movie for anything – if he were a woman, he’d never get so many repeat chances.
These are the same A-listers who claimed to have supported the WGA strike but NOT once bothered to walk a single picket line in solidarity. They get their million dollar contracts and every perk that comes down the pike and begrudge some low-level working actor his or her due. And now because working actors, who struggle everyday for work and fair pay, want to determine their own fate, those same A-listers want to squash yet again the walking class before they have a chance to fight for what’s rightfully theirs.
Maybe they should remember where they started and what it meant to get a residual or the basic minimum payment. And they should remember that without their Guild they would’ve never made enough money to make it to A-list status.
The struggling actor (like their writer and director brethren) depends on their respective Guild for their very survival. Without the Guild and its protections, minimum standards, and negotiations for what’s fair and reasonable no working actor, writer, or director could survive in this business.
So, to those A-listers I say, put up or shut up. Support those less fortunate then you, let your Guild leadership do its job. They’ve done pretty well so far.
SAG should strike, if needed.
Why should they be pressured from doing whatever they need to do because their contract expired last in line?
You “just get back to work” loons need to get into a more stable business if you can’t take the uncertainty. That’s the nature of showbiz and a union town
Meanwhile, why don’t you pressure the Congloms to avert a strike? Or perhaps the shills haven’t yet clocked out.
The A-listers have already been facing a downshift in the grotesque salaries and perks they get which hurt everyone else in the business. Less movies get made, less people are employed, less creative risks are taken, etc
They don’t want a strike to upset the apple cart resulting in a more equitable [and business smart] pay distribution
Must be tough for Alan Rosenberg to be pressured like that. Hope he stands strong.
Fair is fair and if the A-Listers are being unfair to the majority of their own guild then…NUTS to them. They are just penthouse liberals every single g-ddamn one of them.
Or maybe these A listers know that a protracted strike will not be worth it to anyone. The template has already been set by the DGA and WGA. Who wants to strike for a 10 day window as opposed to a 17 day window; or a few tenths of a percentage point. And its not like Clooney or Hanks is going to suffer if SAG sits out for 1, 2, 3 years. These guys have hundreds of millions in the bank. Another strike will hurt who? The “working” actor. The BTL. All the ancillary businesses that depend on us in the entertainment industry to keep cranking out product. Personally, I’m just getting back to work. I don’t know anyone itching for another fight over so little.
I wonder how many non-A-Listers also want a strike averted. But, of course, only A-Listers get their names in the paper–or online.
“It seems to be a very naive request to blindly call for early talks while we’re 1) four months from our contract expiration, 2) only halfway through the w&w process, 3) have it handled.”
Halfway through???? How long will it be before they are ready to start negotiations? June 29th?
And 4 months is not “early.” The WGA, after declining to start talks 10 months before their contract expired, started talks about 3.5 months from their contract expiration.
As to “have it handled” time will tell on that.
Alan Rosenberg is an actor desperately seeking a new role — “The Guy that Brought Hollywood to its Knees”. I am of the opinion that his vision is one-sided and his capacity for compromise is very limited. He is a dangerous and potentially destructive leader. Part of the problem with SAG is that 90% of the union has nothing to lose if they strike. Rosenberg has surrounded himself with hyper inciters. Already the leadership of the DGA and the WGA are distancing themselves from this guy. The phrase, “He’s nuts” is used frequently to describe his demeanor.
The A-list petition is merely an attempt at checks and balances. Someone has to hold this guy accountable for his actions. I applaud those actors for putting their juice to good use.
There is a delicate balance to be achieved here. These stars are letting their leaders know they are not pro strike and they want to force them to work this out sooner rather than have to strike. This is a reasonable position.
Sag is going through their process before talks as they have always done and actors should go to the meeting and make their voice heard right now. The delicate issue, is simply that what we will be asking for in the contracts affects the big stars very little. They are not dependent on residuals or worried about making enough to keep their health insurance and their agents can cut them special deals on new media. For the rest of us, this contract is huge for our future and our leaders cannot bow to their pressure simply because they want to book some films. They share the screen with other actors in those films, we deserve to make a living as well.
Once they have made their voice known they want early talks they need to stick with their union and talk to leaders in private and not undercut our bargaining power. They may not care if the union falls apart in a few years with not enough money coming to members, but a lot of us do.
No sane actor wants a strike right now, we want to work, but we want to have a future as well, and that has to be our priority and not “whatever
shape the town is in”. The moguls can make a fair deal with us and avoid a work stoppage, we all know that.
The stars should be putting pressure on those people to do so.
Let’s all work together.
Alan Rosenberg is about as angry a leader as there is out there. Even more than Verrone. He wants to leave a legacy and he thinks a strike would be just that.
SAG’s membership has less working members than the WGA. Of course no one wants to leave it to a general vote.
Yes, these are A-Listers. And they aren’t losing there homes, but they know people are…and they have the ability to have their voices heard.
Enough is enough. Our business is a wounded animal. Each year there are less jobs available across the board.
And finally…all people are doing is asking for them to get back to the table early. What the heck is wrong with that?
There will be a de facto shut down in about a month as nobody, studio or independent, will be able to start pre-production until they know when a new contract will be signed. Enjoy your summer!
I never thought I’d say this but the “qualified voting” thing kind of makes sense, especially for SAG.
The interests of those who do not make any significant portion of their income through the guild versus those who do are so entirely different that I think these non-working members should voluntarily recuse themselves from the voting. And if they don’t, then they should (sadly but necessarily) be barred by guild regulation. Obviously, they should still weigh in on the discussions.
I think we’ve all learned that these negotiations and strikes are serious business.
PLAN to negotiate SOON,
or PLOT to strike in JUNE!
Yes, I made that up. And which will it be Rosie?
BTL 399
Where the fuck were these guys during the WGA strike? Hanks wrote “That Thing You Do,” Clooney wrote “Goodnight and Goodluck,” and Damon wrote “Good Will Hunting.” They’re members of the WGA!!! I didn’t see any of them one goddamn time on the picket lines. They were too busy working, I guess (how did post on “Leatherheads” go, George?). You guys were a ton of help during the WGA strike. Way to use your clout!
Now they’re pressuring their leadership from the outside?! Is that because their interests so perfectly dovetail with those of the rank and file of SAG? They hide behind the notion that the industry doesn’t need another strike. Yeah, no one else got that, thanks, fellas.
The worst part is that they are publicly weakening their leadership at the very moment their leadership needs to be seen as strong, and SAG needs to be seen as united. What a bunch of assholes! Do they have any clue about how this works? If they want to avoid a strike, don’t use your clout to pressure Alan Rosenberg, use it to pressure the conglomerates. They’re the ones who caused the WGA strike. They could have ended it at any time, but chose to test our resolve… and found out our resolve was pretty damn strong… probably because our A-listers were smart enough not to write open letters to our leadership.
The other thing they don’t realize is that the WGA started negotiations with the conglomerates in July, and the conglomerates dicked around and told us to go fuck ourselves right up through the end of our contract, then walked away from the bargaining table for 40 days. If the conglomerates don’t feel pressure to make a deal, it doesn’t matter how long a lead time you have. Just look at the DGA deal. It took two weeks because the studios were under pressure to show that they could actually make a deal. The WGA deal took ten days because they were under pressure to save the Oscars, pilot season, and the back nine of the TV season. These negotiations have nothing to do with how long it takes to make a deal… it’s about pressure on the men with the money. By publicly weakening the SAG leadership, you remove that pressure, and hurt your union. Nice going, fellas.
You want a voice in SAG? Get involved. Run for office. Volunteer. Learn about the issues. I’m a WGA strike captain. I’m on committees at the Guild. I’m involved, and I have a very good TV and film career that doesn’t suffer from the time I spend working for my union. Imagine that? Had these guys bothered to be a part of the WGA strike they would have a much better understanding of how unions, labor law, and negotiations work. But, alas, their Q ratings probably wouldn’t have allowed it.
Here we go again, the Weinstein club is back at it again. How is it a bad thing that “A” list actors want SAG to start negotiating early? Is it a bad thing that it gives everyone some lead time to prepare their cases early, so as to avoid 11th hour terror? Explain why this is bad in calm, adult-like and intelligent terms please. I guess I’m ignorant.