Cash Windfalls For WME Agents, Assistants 
A&E IndieFilms Sets ‘Happy Valley,’ … 
Hot Cannes Property: Natalie Portman, Lynne Ramsay Team On … 
Brad Pitt Hits Cannes With ‘Killing Them … 
CNN Hits 20-Year Weekday Primetime Low 
Longtime TV Exec Rod Perth Named NATPE President & CEO 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘House’ Ends Run On High-Ish … 
Does Cable News Clarify Or Confuse The Public’s … 
Mark Burnett’s Company Launches Scripted Unit, Taps … 
‘Mary Mother Of Christ’ In Lionsgate Deal 
Icon UK Group Joins ‘The Butler’; Forest … 
Best Buy Shares Up Pre-Market As Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates 
HBO Developing Comedy Series Starring Catherine Keener And … 
Will ‘Paperboy’ Heat Domestic Buying At Cannes? … 
Millennium Films Buys Spec Thriller ‘Playing … 
Will ‘American Idol’s’ Jessica Sanchez … 
Legendary’s Thomas Tull Among Just 3 Contenders … 
Harvey Weinstein Unveils ‘The Master’, … 
CBS’ ‘Rules Of Engagement’ Renewed For … 
Facebook Shares Fall Below Offering Price Even As Market … 
UTA Signs ‘Intouchables’ Star Omar Sy 
UPDATE: I will have a full report shortly. For now, the latest SAG statement:
SAG NATIONAL BOARD MEETING ADJOURNS WITHOUT ACTIONS
LOS ANGELES, January 13, 2009 –SAG President Alan Rosenberg sent the following message to Screen Actors Guild national board members and alternates today:
“At the end of the National Board plenary meeting this afternoon, a group of board members submitted a document to the Guild that purports to deal with the employment of the National Executive Director and the continuing approach to negotiations. After analyzing the document, Screen Actors Guild’s in-house and outside counsel have concluded that the document does not constitute a valid written assent, for several reasons, including a lack of sufficient signatures and the absence of any language on the document demonstrating the intent of the signers to grant their assent to the proposal. Guild National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Doug Allen and the National Television and Theatrical Contract Negotiating Committee remain committed to advancing the cause of actors and our crucial contract negotiations.”
No substantive actions were taken by the Guild’s national board, which met at SAG’s national headquarters January 12 and 13 for almost 30 hours straight.
No mailing date has been set for the previously approved TV/Theatrical strike authorization referendum.
We have no further comment.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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I revise my previous suggestion. I don’t think SAG has jurisdiction over reality television programming. I think that falls under the purview of the other actor’s union – the one with the contract.
Such a shame to waste a good train wreck starring some really washed up actors.
There IS something you can do. You can NOT take the deal and go to the mats and watch Chernin and Moonves et al squirm while the entire town goes up in flames and stockholders in their companies call for their heads because they couldn’t come up with a deal for ACTORS.
Yeah, you really think they would get to keep their jobs if there was a strike? But, by all means, let’s not strike because we all wanna keep working for pennies.
Well that doesn’t make a lick of sense. None of the studios have direct shareholders. Fox (Chernin’s studio) accounts for _maybe_ 30% of News Corps’ revenue. Most of that 30% is library value & TV. The amount of it attributable to new releases? Let’s be generous and say 1/3? That means that we’re talking about maybe 10% of News Corps revenue that will be affected. I don’t think shareholders are going to be revolting.
Look – EDUCATE YOURSELVES. What happened today was a BRILLIANT display of parliamentary and filibustering one-up-man-ship by the SAG leadership over UFS, the RBD and NY.
One person there said to me “we could NOT believe how dumb and unprepared they were. it was like they had no plan A, let alone B.”
So, this certainly should beg the question: UFS, which insisted on this NEW meeting of the national board to get them to overturn their OWN decision to send out the SAV January 2nd, vote announced January 23rd – can they run a lemonade stand? – let alone SAG – protecting your wages and working conditions, your residuals, your pension and health, your professional LIFE as an actor?
They just got their ASSES kicked for 35 hours, accomplished NOTHING and then, flew back to Peoria.
Wow. You have to WORK to be that stupid.
A great idea to get behind would be “we can’t give away residuals. We must do whatever it takes to get a fair deal on residuals because without them, SAG will whither financially and die. You want pension and health? You want all the protections and benefits our predecessors fought and, when forced to, went on strike for? (NOT ONE major advance was achieved without at least the threat of a strike, or an actual strike)
You have to decide to EDUCATE yourselves and then make a decision: is this a contract that’s “bad” as EVERYBODY agrees, but that we can “fix” in three years?
OR, is this a declaration of war on the middle-class actor by the AMPTP?
The conclusion you reach will determine either where you are already, or where you will be.
A friend of mine gave one of SAG’s old MF dogs a ride home today. This well-respected actor said:
“you wanna know what Nick Counter and the AMPTP are really like?”
“Sure”
“I was in a negotiating room, alone, with Nick Counter in ’05. I picked up his negotiating notes and I saw ‘Deal point #1: Three years after an actor dies, his residuals will revert to the studio, no longer to the family.’ ”
“I sad – Nick – what the fuck is this?”
Nick says “what? It’s just a negotiation, that’s all – it’s a start?”
“A start?”
“Yeah, you know, we throw it in, maybe you get it tossed out. It’s a start… what?”
“Nick – that’s bullshit and you know it.”
“eh, it’s a negotiation. It probably won’t happen.”
“Then why’d you put it in there?”
“Look – you gotta start somewhere.”
You gotta start somewhere…
When the SAG membership wakes up to the fact that, once the AMPTP gets it’s boot on our throat? It’s over – then, we may begin to approach this as unified professionals doing what we have to do, rather than the clown squad known as UFS on display the last two days over at SAG headquarters.
Then, maybe, just maybe, we can get past the “my faction is better than your faction” bullshit and get this thing where it needs to be: an authorization and the spine to strike if necessary to protect ourselves, our families and our fucking rights.
NMH….I agree with you.
Shareholders are not going to be revolting. Are some of you for real. These corporations are vested in so many areas, it doesnt matter!!!! It is truly stunning how people dont realize how the industry has changed. Fighting for pennies when we SAG members are becoming so obsolete. THEY DONT NEED US!!
I’m waiting for the late-second-act twist where we discover that Doug Allen has been working for Nick Counter all along. That’s the only way to explain the events of the last six weeks.
I love creative people very much, and respect their talent (which I do not have!)… But damn, guys and gals, you seem to NOT know how to manage your own affairs!
And if that’s true, then hire an outside, tough as nails manager to run SAG and represent your interests.
Gawd, this is getting old. You are your own worst enemies.
There IS something you can do. You can NOT take the deal and go to the mats and watch Chernin and Moonves et al squirm while the entire town goes up in flames and stockholders in their companies call for their heads because they couldn’t come up with a deal for ACTORS.
One major fly in the ointment – There won’t be a strike! It would be IMPOSSIBLE to get a 75% authorization with the board and the membership as deeply divided as they currently are. The sad thing is SAG Actor magazine (and an email that was sent to all SAG members) had all the pro-strike authorization stuff in it, but now the vote is put off until ????
I say PUT THE CONTRACT TO A VOTE WITH A NON-ENDORSEMENT BY THE BOARD. It’s very possible that enough of us won’t vote for the contract. At least THAT gives the negotiating committee something to take back to the AMPTP to say “Sorry, our MEMBERS don’t want this”. Not the militant negotiating committee that they’ve been bumping heads with for almost a year.
IF the membership votes to take the contract, then SO BE IT. Either way we’ll be much better off than failing (and make no mistake we will fail) to ratify the strike auhtorization.
I would vote against the contract and I will not vote for a strike authorization with the ineffective negotiating committee that we have in place right now. This has been bungled time and time again – across the board. Our backs are to the wall and if they put out a failed referendum for a strike, we’re screwed.
To What a show:
You are right AFTRA does have jurisdiction over Reality shows along with News and Talk shows.
What many don’t understand is how many of their members work Non-union in those jurisdiction. One of the biggest abuser is Larry King, who hosts a Non-inion talk show on CNN, who is both a AFTRA and SAG member.
So how is he able to get away with it?
According to AFTRA If they are unable to organize a show or not even try to organize it then even though they claim jurisdicition over simular talk shows Larry King is allowed to continue to work Non-union with no action taken by his union against him.
NMH -
You bring up a common misperception about these corporations, that somehow, because of their size and diversification, they’re not prone to pressure from a union.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Take NBC Universal, which is owned by GE. The corporate parent expects each of its divisions to turn a profit. In truly awful times, management understands that a division or two may have some difficulty, but they still keep each and every division under enormous pressure to stay in the black. If NBC bleeds red, Jeff Zucker’s going to need a lot more than his homeboy status with Tracy Morgan to save his cookies.
If a union – any union – that NBC contracts with starts costing the network some real dough as the result of a labor action, Zucker’s bosses are going to ask tough questions and expect strong answers. Same with the other networks and movie studios.
A united Screen Actors’ Guild is most certainly able to get a contract that doesn’t neuter the guild and turn acting into a hobby if your last name ain’t Hanks (um, Tom, unless he extends his largesse to his child). The press releases and the statements and the bluster from the AMPTP is just so much negotiating-related noise.
What’s truly sad about this situation is SAG has a cadre now of chickensh*ts who are afraid to fight fire with fire. They’d rather eat their own kidneys than piss on the AMPTP’s “last best final” BS offer. They don’t realize it’s far better to be singed now than incinerated later.
This must be the happiest day of AMPTP and AFTRA’s lives.
Incredible. Not only is SAG not competent enough to negotiate with AMPTP, it isn’t even competent enough to negotiate with itself.
AMPTP may be composed of jackasses, but this 30-hour waste of time and effort does not help SAG’s claim that AMPTP is the problem party in negotiations.
And so the de facto strike continues.
“There IS something you can do. You can NOT take the deal and go to the mats and watch Chernin and Moonves et al squirm while the entire town goes up in flames and stockholders in their companies call for their heads because they couldn’t come up with a deal for ACTORS.
Yeah, you really think they would get to keep their jobs if there was a strike? But, by all means, let’s not strike because we all wanna keep working for pennies.”
this is a beautiful example of the horrible selfish additude here. You would let the town go up in flames so that you can get a better deal for yourSELF. It makes me sick. really.
Just because the strike is right for us doesn’t make it right.
mheister: I hear what you’re saying but you are missing the meta argument. The studio boss says to the corporate boss: “We have saved X millions of dollars by extending this negotiation process and continuing to make movies under the old contract and Y millions of dollars will be saved by holding the line through a strike (which would be what, six months at the most until the union cracks? Probably more like 2-3, but anyway). However during the strike we will potentially lose Z dollars.” So long as X+Y<=Z then SAG is up the river without a paddle.
Also, there are two further points. My 10% calculation was based on a full year. If the sag is 1/4-1/2 year then we are talking about 2.5-5% of annual net. Second, this assumes that none of that lost revenue is recovered. The films that are frozen become unfrozen and get made, just later than planned and the TV schedule is hurt, but with reality, Leno at 10pm and AFTRA contracts, they don’t lose 100% revenue, they are just down by 25-50%.
I know this is all speculation but I think a reasoned analysis of the situation shows that the studios are not shaking in their boots.
SAG’s best course is to find someone practical to negotiate on their behalf, improve somewhat on the studio LBO and do a halfway decent job of preparing next time.
I’ve been watching all of this for a very long time. I’m not a shill, not an actor, just an indie guy out in the sticks with a lot of friends in all guilds in the biz in LA. I hoped for SAG to get it together and win the day for the other guilds after DGA sold the whole lot up the river, but they’ve missed the moment – they had no executible plan, and it’s clear to anyone watching the the union will not be unified toward any meaningful action that could possible change AMPTP’s position.
AMPTP is full of crap, such annoying paper thin rhetoric, as to make anyone with a brain want to twist their own ears off – but be that as they may, they are not going to give one inch. The members of the guild are too hungry at present to be able to endure a strike of the duration that would be required to break AMPTP. It’s that simple and AMPTP knows it, so there’s no point in pretending the situation is otherwise.
That brings us back to the two available options. 1) Offer to sign the deal that is currently on the table, but only for a two year duration. This would allow SAG to be first at bat at the next contract renewal period (something AMPT NEVER wants to happen), it would allow a unified effort with the writers, and it would put AMPTP in a very difficult PR position if they balked at signing, simply because of the term.
2)Draft and publish a fair deal that SAG would accept, then announce that no further negotiations will be initiated by the guild – The idea here is that SAG would work under the old contract until such time as WGA’s contract comes up for renewal, then be ready to go on strike with the writers.
I see no other viable options that are in any way advantagous to the guild, or any of the other industry guilds in the short or long run.
It’s unfortunate that it has come to this, A lot of things might have been done differently to change the dynamic, but looking back does no good what-so-ever. The simple fact is that AMPTP had a strategy for the contract renewal cycle and they executed on it in a unified fashion. The guilds did not. To win next time around SAG is going to have find a means of getting out front with the writers — DGA and AFTRA (or whatever that lousy soap opera guild is called) are never going to be any help.
Good night to all. And, SAG crap or get off the pot, you’re not going to win this fight. To salvage some position for next time around is all that can be hoped for at this juncture. I wish it were otherwise, but sometimes clold hard reality bites.
Here’s all I want for 2009:
1. SAG accepts the deal and we get to work and don’t strike.
2. The Sacramento nimrods agree to give tax incentives to production companies to STAY in Calfornia to shoot both big budget and ALL budget productions
3. AFTRA and SAG get along and work together for the membership at LARGE, so that we can work.
4.California gets out of bankruptcy
5. My nephew who’s a recent Annapolis graduate is safe on his journey at sea protecting all Americans its allies.
6. Our new President Elect keeps his word to not raise taxes, and smoothly takes office
7. We all have robust healt
8. Jack Bauer keeps kicking ass
I know I got off subject, but then I think I redeemed myself with Jack Bauer.
Let’s just get on with a good year –shall we?
Membership First,
You have ruined any chance of SAG ever getting a decent contract.
You have ruined this entire union.
You have divided us at a time when we could least afford division.
This will NEVER be forgotten.
I just threw up in my mouth……
“Spin”?
Ha-ha-ha… Now that cracked me up. Thanks!
To Matt Mulhern:
How long does it take for ya’ll to educate yourselves? Are you guys waiting for someone to hand you a script?
6 fucking months! We’re educated and going broke! DO SOMETHING RELIVENT!!!
Oy…
You know, if you “Vote Yes” folks can’t see that you’re destroying your own union, then maybe you deserve to lose it all to AFTRA.
I just hope you don’t “burn the town down”, as you said you’re willing to do, while you hang yourselves.
Pay attention, everyone. You are witnessing Hollywood history right now. These are the last days of an actors union called SAG.
if you bail on our union then we will give up all residuals for our work if it is shown on the internet.
We are losing sight of what we are fighting for.
We are in a digital revolution and we have to stake our claim.
$3500 prime time down to $24 a month on the internet for a principal lead in a series’ residuals.
Can’t you see how important this time is?
The producers are using the economy as a scare/negotiation tactic.
Stay strong.
Wow you idiots sound like your fighting to end child labor and not the pocket change you make in residual from your five minute appearance on 30 Rock going on up on Hulu.
Its not like your going to be negotiating again in three years. Oh wait you are! Swallow your pride and take the deal, get rid of idiots like Rosenberg (his wife already did) and Allen, and work on unifying your broken guild, get together with WGA and DGA and have a stronger bargaining position in three years.
Well this isn’t good, but it isn’t as bad as it could be. The truly stupid move would be to listen to UFS and the NY board and say yes to that travesty of a contract.
Short term memory loss – the deals struck with the Writers and the Directors didn’t happen until Nick Counter was essentially sidelined by the moguls. That’s right, even the supposedly ‘easy’ Directors negotiations stalled briefly during their unofficial stage – and since the moguls wanted that one signed quick they stepped in.
They have never stepped in with the actors.
More short memory time: anyone remember the great non strike of 2001. You know the strike that didn’t happen, but the same ramped up production schedule proceeded that was similar to what they did for two years this time. Welcome to NY in 2001 and 2002, production slowed to a trickle and we saw very little work. Because they needed to clear the shelves.
I’m not an actor. But here’s my two cents. Send out the contract. But make very sure that everyone knows what it says. And what that can mean in real life. Yes, new media is important. And it is unlikely that it will be revisited unless every Union and Guild band together – but that is still possible. Everyone of them is going to feel it, including the craft unions. What will never be revisited is force majeur – tell me what you are getting for giving up that protection. Crickets. Nothing. You do not give up something for nothing. But most of important is that minor clip issue. It affects no one like actors. You won’t get any help on that down the line. As an actor, you lose that protection it is gone – forever. Now take a look around at what is being done with digital editing and cgi. You can write off any control of your image, any build to a promising career because ‘new’ appearances will be manufactured from studio owned product. For promotion of products, for guest appearances, web programs. It will happen. What are you going to get for losing that future in this contract?
Even if it means working with this contract for years, actors really would be fools to accept and ratify what the moguls minions/enforcers have put forth. Send it out, vote no. Maybe then the actual negotiating team might show up for a meeting.
I side with going tough as nails against the AMPTP. It’s the only way to protect our interests. That said, I do think it is irresponsible to not move this thing along in some fashion after such a meeting. And I believe our SAG leaders owe it to the membership to move this along — even if it is a strike authorization call.
I don’t think this current “stalling strategy” (aka de facto strike) does the job. It is too slow and allow the opponent to reposition itself. A real strike doesn’t allow for a repositioning and causes the AMPTP to force its hand. A strike, really, is the only way out of this mess. Sending out the contract is just another “stalling strategy” and makes us end up back at strike or no strike. And we don’t even have the best and final offer yet from the AMPTP, which means they are still holding cards that haven’t been forced yet.
this is a beautiful example of the horrible selfish additude here. You would let the town go up in flames so that you can get a better deal for yourSELF. It makes me sick. really.
If you don’t want to negotiate in your own self-interest you don’t get to complain about a deal that screws you over. If the TOWN is your primary concern go ahead and take the shitty contract and then shut the fuck up about it.
If you laugh at the joke you don’t get to complain about being the punchline.