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Based on my conversations with SAG leaders on all sides of the issues, I wouldn’t be surprised if the election for a new SAG president in September comes down to Martin Sheen vs James Cromwell.
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SAG really needs to think about getting agents and managers involved in the board (or any office) so that things can run MUCH smoother. actors have always looked to managers and agents to help them….and it seems like they need it more than ever now.
Whoever becomes the next SAG president needs to begin to lay the groundwork for the next contract. This contract is a loss, and has to be taken, for now.
Which is why SAG needs to build a war chest, and fix the rifts that formed between them and the other unions so they can be ready for a real battle.
The studios insist on taking what should be business and turning it into war, then they have to start preparing for a fight.
I just watched the Martin Sheen vote “No” video (which included the other actors who so generously gave of themselves) and the Ed Harris vote “No” video again. These are the types of minds we need to vote into our Guild as we vote out the children who are presently running us into the ground!
So, if Martin Sheen wants the job, he’s got it.
My vote would go to Mr. Sheen. It doesn’t appear to be available for purchase.
the thought of james cromwell being sag president gives me goosebumps of revulsion.
Martin Sheen is someone who holds the highest good of the membership first and foremost and walks the walk of a principled man.
Cromwell? Disingenuous, self serving, all box, no cereal…
More importantly, SAG members, read your SAG information, learn your contract, the issues, the board members and what they stand for, get involved. learn the facts and make informed, considered choices. After all, it is your union, your career and your future and that of your families.
Martin Sheen all the freakin’ way!
I think James Cromwell would be an excellent choice. He’s a fine actor, has been politically active, has served the Guild in the past, and is a man of integrity. He would definitely get my vote!
Why “goosebumps of revulsion?” What’s wrong with James Cromwell?
@Middle Class Actor:
Just curious. A lot of people will drop comments like yours about someone (in this case Cromwell). I am not saying that you are wrong. I wouldn’t know. However, when I try to factor comments like yours into the equation, it would help if you could list examples of how they are “Disingenuous”? “…self serving,”? “…all box, no cereal…”? Anyone can hurl out an insult, but it carries no weight without examples. If it comes down to voting between these two candidates and it turns out that you are right about Cromwell, I’d like to know why before I vote against him.
Sheen is still the President (sorry Barack) to me. Always will be. (And I’m a brother guild member suggesting SAG vote NO.
Hey Gidgy – Cromwell stated publicly that he supports weakening SAG to force a merger with AFTRA. Does that spell it out for you? “Weaken SAG.” That’s no kind of leader for us. That’s another douchebag who’s already made his money already and is throwing middle-class actors (as well as the elderly) under the bus for his own political agenda.
Marty Sheen would be fine as SAG President. I would also be happy to nominate Clancy Brown. If either would accept the post, I would be very happy. In fact, I’d nominate my own sister as long as she’s not affiliated with U4S.
Sheen.
Cromwell has never seen a roll back he won’t accept, sell, or even embrace.
One of Cromwell’s ideas, which is fine in theory, is for all the Actors Unions to band together to form one great big International Actors Union.
Great theory, ‘kum-by-yah’ and all — but do you think all the Unions will immediately move up in price to SAG’s rates? Or will we all move down in price to the ‘Sri Lankan’ Actors union rates?
More like someplace in the middle.Which means?
Bye, bye residuals.
No, Mr. Sheen has my vote — if he chooses to run.
He has my vote, and my respect — always has had my respect.
I would respectfully point out two things: I have read, and heard, that James Cromwell SAID to David Clennon (who USED to be a “moderate”) that the long-term plan was “to so weaken SAG that it has to merge with AFTRA.”
Now, Dave, if you’re reading this, perhaps you can chime in. Only you would know that for sure – but it’s been oft repeated and never denied, not that I’ve seen or heard. So, know, if Cromwell throws his hat into the ring, he is as anti-SAG and pro-AFTRA and pro-merger as ANYONE in the union. ANYONE.
Martin Sheen did a good job in that video, and played the president on TV. He also has a political track record. I am a registered Independent, but consider myself a moderate. Martin Sheen has been arrested numerous times for civil liberties protests on a broad range of issues. I don’t doubt, if there was a list of his arrests and why, I’d probably say “good for you.” I have never been arrested protesting anything in my life. That either makes Martin Sheen much more courageous than me, or, just possibly, slightly unhinged.
Martin Sheen was, I believe, the mayor of Santa Monica (or maybe Malibu) for a short while. He seemed a level headed guy, and God knows Hollywood loves its celebrities. He enacted a series of civil practices, including allowing the homeless to flop on a series of previously private locations. There was a great hue and cry, Santa Monica being already a very liberal city regarding the homeless, whom we all want to be safe and warm and aided in the mental and physical challenges they face – but the City of Santa Monica was pretty riled up about Mr. Sheen’s ideas and tossed him out on his ear.
Playing a politician is one thing. Actually governing is another. And, as much as I love Martin Sheen as an actor, I wouldn’t let him run SAG anymore than I would let James Cromwell.
There are people on both sides of the hard-liner vs. moderate divide: Clancy Brown (my first choice), Anne-Marie Johnson (radioactive? perhaps – but no one knows the details better than Anne-Marie and she would do an outstanding job). On the moderate side of the fence, it’s difficult to say, because all those involved in the SAG government right now, those who are members of UFS or USAN or the NY or RBD boards all seem to be dedicated, with varying degrees of passion – to destroying SAG, the practical result of the merger they ALL recommend with AFTRA.
When Ned Vaughn advocates merger and says, glibly, that he wouldn’t care if the resulting entity ended up being called “Uncle Joe’s Actor’s Union,” that makes me realize SAG, as an institution, as the brand that it is, with all it’s accomplishments since its formation in the 1930′s at the height of the Depression, is not all that important to Ned Vaughn. What Ned Vaughn wants is philosophical – a merged entity that he thinks will solve the majority of the problems that currently exist in terms of jurisdictional overlap, and “the race to the bottom” we’ve been hearing about.
Well, call me crazy, but it appears to me, an admitted partisan, that AFTRA has been the deep sea diver these past years in the race to the bottom – not SAG. It was AFTRA that just chose to break from SAG for the first time in 27 years, causing SAG severe difficulties in it’s current labor crisis. AFTRA didn’t have to do it, but they did, claiming, essentially, “hurt feelings” as a justification. That is infantilism as policy, not adult decision making of true labor leadership.
So, for me: Clancy or Anne-Marie. I hope they both run. We need clear-eyed, informed, experienced, smart, tough, leadership simply to survive as actors and as a union over the next decade. Either of those two would pursue smart policy.
JAMES CROMWELL AND THE ONE-PERCENT SOLUTION
In December of 2008 I spoke by cell phone with James Cromwell.
Cromwell was in New Mexico, driving to Santa Fe, where he was to receive a Luminaria Award at the Film Festival.
We were arguing about a strike authorization vote and other matters. I had been an ally of Cromwell, Masur, Farrell and Melissa Gilbert. The more I learned, the more I disagreed with them and their newest factional incarnation, “Unite-for-Strength.”
Maybe James thought he could win back my loyalty. Maybe he thought these words would do the trick:
“WE’RE THE ONE PERCENT, DAVID. WE’RE THE ONES WHO HAVE THE MOST TO LOSE.”
I think that statement revealed the spirit of Cromwell, Amy Brenneman and the Unite-for-Strength faction.
They’re the One-Percenters.
Part of SAG’s problem is that the majority of the voting members haven’t the foggiest as to which candidate will take the union in which direction. It is all name recognition, star appeal, A-list, B-list, etc.
Want a really good president dedicated to members all over the country? David Hartley Margolin from Denver. Honest, forthright. Oh, but he doesn’t live in Los Angeles and hasn’t been on Hollywood Squares. Sorry David, you’re disqualified.
No matter who’s president, it will be up to the membership to support him/her. You could have Harry Bridges himself running the show, but w/o the support of the membership, he/she would be ineffective.
Dear Larry Blyden and Gidgy,
I can appreciate the fact that both of you, and especially, judging from your posts, Gidgy, are questioning, and wanting more concrete information on the situation. The two of you may not be aware of the fact that James Cromwell has been very active in a particular faction within SAG. That faction has a certain political orientation.
Whenever one is anaylizing a situation, it is imporant to ask who stands to gain and who stand to lose. In our case, that answer is confusing — especially since our own union is putting out informaiton that runs contrary to the urging of other voices — not only high profile, but also just outright convincing.
James Cromwell has been active in a faction that is characterized by the belief that we actors should take this deal now, although it is crap (as admitted by the current Executive Director of SAG, David White and many others on the current National Board who support it), in the hopes for a better deal in the future when the economy improves.
The main problem with this position is this: What if the economy does not improve? If you look at the news, it goes back and forth, but the predominant trend is DOWN.
The current economic crisis is not our fault. In times of difficult economy, it is more important than ever to have a STRONG union. A STRONG union is one that does not give in to the pressures of the bosses — the ones who squandered their money and want US to PAY FOR IT NOW.
Universal Studios is owned by General Electric. General Electric also owns GE Capital, which is hoping to get some money from the bailout.
The economy is IN CRISIS. THAT IS NOT OUR FAULT. LET THOSE WHO MADE THE PROBLEM PAY FOR IT!
That is why I would not vote for James Cromwell. Like the Cromwell of yore, who orchestrated a coup for the English crown, James Cromwell, although an excellent actor, was behind a coup that now threatens the very existance of SAG, which, after all, was created to protect you and me, WORKING CLASS ACTORS, not stars who do not depend on the collective bargaining agreement.
I hope this post has been helpful to you. You seem like you really want to know and are not just being sarcastic. Thanks for your questioning. The best thing you can go, right now, is to VOTE NO! — ON THIS CONTRACT!
You can find out the politics of James Cromwell and Martin Sheen well before the election. VOTE NO NOW! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE AND EVERYTHING TO GAIN!!
The next SAG president has the monumental task of organizing in preparation for the 2011 negotiations. For a union our size, our organizing efforts have been absolutely abysmal. The WGA – a much smaller union – has a much larger organizing staff. Will the next SAG president actually take up this task?
Depends on who’s elected.
Should the membership choose JamesCromwell, it won’t be about organizing in preparation for a very strenuous 2011 negotiation. Instead, all we’ll hear about is merger with AFTRA. And maybe affected member voting.
Merger can be a good thing (and this is one place I part company with some of my fellow contract opponents and with some Membership First leaders). Roberta Reardon is correct in pointing out she sits across the table from the same companies’ representatives for practically every contract AFTRA negotiates. Some actors may not want to be lumped in with Larry King or DJ’s or on-air news personalities (most aren’t journalists, no matter how hard they pretend), but the same corporations that make the blockbuster movies also cut those news personalities their checks. And the work of the DJ’s and news personalities is increasingly finding its way to the Internet. Just like movies and TV.
This argument of course goes past the primary concerns actors have, which include variations in compensation, on-set protection, and split pension/health plans.
The case for merger is strong. The devil is in the details. The larger union is not likely to approve a merger plan that leaves a new combined union looking and feeling more like AFTRA than SAG. President Alan Rosenberg has given actors a taste of transparency, and we like it.
James Cromwell, while laudably progressive in his politics (Kucinich supporter, general Leftie), also said, “A union is not a democracy”. Variety published that. Look it up.
With respect, for an actors’ union to effectively represent the interests of its members, it must be a democratic institution. The primacy must rest with the elected leadership, not the appointed NED, for the union to be responsive to the membership. Statements like the one cited above along with the fact that James Cromwell is a fellow-traveler of the anti-democratic forces who muzzled the democratically-elected president of SAG should give us pause.
Martin Sheen, by contrast, is an intriguing possibility for the post. His left-wing credentials certainly match up to Cromwell’s, and Sheen’s earned a lot of respect over the years. Of the two, I would definitely lean towards Sheen.
A SAG President Martin Sheen would have his work cut out for him. On top of all the other obvious things that would be on his plate – AFTRA, TV, the Internet, budget issues, consistent sniping from Unite for Strength (or whatever the corporate appeasers rename themselves next year) – he would have the Herculean task of herding us cats into some semblance of unity going into the 2011 negotiations.
That’s where organizing comes in. The WGA withstood for as long as it did because Patric Verrone spent two meticulous years carefully cultivating relationships with prominent members of his guild and organizing organizing organizing. That requires a financial commitment. It’s the kind of commitment that, done properly, will pay off hugely for decades – pay off in billions in revenue for actors and healthy P&H. It’s one of the things I wish current SAG President Alan Rosenberg had put more political capital and guild resources into.
Effective organizing will make it far easier for the guild to speak with one voice (and ignore the braying from the anti-democratic elements and the corporate appeasers). Effective organizing will make it far easier to coax fellow creative guilds and AFTRA into a united stand with SAG. It’s simple human nature. SAG will not only look more powerful by being unified, it will be more powerful. And everyone will want to hitch their wagon to a winner.
Ironically, actors who are psyched about the idea of the creative unions presenting a united front in 2011 would be well-advised to ignore Ned Vaughn and his ilk in favor of a Martin Sheen or an Anne-Marie Johnson, because they’re more likely to lead us to do the hard organizing work that must be done to draw those other unions to us.
That new SAG president will not be able to do this on his or her own. It’s going to take rank and file actors clamboring for more investment in organizing. We’re going to need to kick MOVE into overdrive. We need to reach out to and support other unions, and not just unions in the entertainment industry. In short, we will need to act like a union.
That is, if we don’t want acting to slide into being a hobby for all but the A-listers and perhaps a handful of others.
why merge when all actors could and should be under one roof, and that roof is screen actors guild?
nobody has been able to figure out how to not raid sag pensions to pay for the merge with aftra, a financially weak union. why would sag want to be sucked into aftra’s financial black hole?
let sag represent actors, and let aftra represent broadcasters, etc.
the solution is so simple.
what’s wrong with james cromwell?
he’s a phony and a fraud.
he has said, “We’re the one percent. We have the most to lose.”
well, he made it into that “one percent” by the skin of his teeth.
so now, perhaps, he’s afraid he’ll lose his status as one of
the hollywood elite.
twenty some years ago cromwell was just another
middle-aged journeyman actor bouncing form one small gig to the next.
one job that sticks out in my mind is when he played the recurring
part of the boyfriend to the third banana on “Mama’s Family”.
he was despondent because his father had been a famous director
and james had studied acting at carnegie-mellon
( probably carnegie tech in those days ) and he couldn’t get cast in
any parts he found satisfying
because he was too tall and goofy looking.
my friend from “Mama’s Family” said he thought his career was
over when he was cast in BABE.
he’d be playing second fiddle to a pig.
well, this is the “YOU NEVER CAN TELL BUSINESS”.
and most of us probably would’ve felt the same way in his position,
but it was his big break. after 25 or 30 years in the business.
it could’ve gone another way.
i’m certain he wasn’t the producer’s first choice and if one of the name
actors they had offered it to had needed the money,
cromwell might not have been blessed with that part.
he might now instead be counting his change every day before putting it in his pocket.
you’d think that someone who paid dues and pounded the pavement
for so long would have some compassion for actors who might
very well have residuals taken away from them for good.
or maybe he has always considered himself to be hollywood royalty
and now after many years in the wilderness has regained
his rightful station and title.
Blowhard. Arrogant. Entitled. Selfish. Out of touch.
Poor character traits for a potential president of SAG.
Harry98 -
I wouldn’t vote for James Cromwell for SAG president either, because IMHO he’s on the wrong side of the union issues I care about. It concerns me deeply that he was so strongly part of the effort to talk up a SAG/AFTRA merger last year as a distraction from dealing with the issue of AFTRA’s lousy contract. He even responded at my blog to a post I wrote about his views. It troubles me that he supported AFTRA’s rotten lousy contract and now supports the moguls’ piss-poor offer to SAG.
The one-percent quote sticks in my craw, because it does hit my ears as elitist. James Cromwell’s quote from Variety that “A union is not a democracy” disturbs me deeply.
I can’t understand how James Cromwell can be a such a strong Dennis Kucinich supporter and advocate for an offer from the moguls that creates a non-union space for them to produce within. I can’t imagine Kucinich ever supporting a contract for any union, anywhere, that allows the employers to hire cheap non-union labor – which is exactly what this giant crap sandwich of an offer from the moguls would do.
Harry98, in opposing this offer, you and I are more in line with Dennis Kucinich’s politics than James Cromwell, and he’s hosted fundraisers for Kucinich in his home. This really does puzzle me.
I went back just now and reread my blog post on this issue (http://mheister.com/thepodosphere/?p=100) from June of last year, and James Cromwell’s response. I was specific with my emphasis on the importance of a “closed shop”, IOW, that all acting work (and writing and directing and a range of BTL work) has to be union work. In his response, James Cromwell spoke to debating the minutiae of new media in joint W&W sessions, but he didn’t address the vital union principle of maintaining a closed shop.
I can only conclude now that James Cromwell and I have fundamental philosophical differences about unions. I believe in closed shops to protect union jobs; he doesn’t. I believe unions must be run democratically so the leadership is responsive to the membership. He doesn’t.
Even with all of this, I think James Cromwell is a great actor and have nothing but the utmost respect for his work.
Acting talent, lamentably, seems to have little if any correlation to political acumen. If it did, James Cromwell would see the disconnect between his activism in national politics and his activism in union politics. That disconnect – that blind spot James Cromwell, talented as he is, apparently suffers from, is why I can’t vote for him either. Okay, and in my case, also the hope that he uses the time he would have spent on guild politics turning in more great performances.
I am so weary of the infighting in SAG.
I am adverse to voting for a celebrity. I would rather have someone who does a good job for SAG rather than a celebrity who may only be good for soundbites and saber rattling rhetoric.
I don’t know who that someone would be, but it would be nice if the SAG leaders would put aside their egos and think about the 90% of actors whose jobs are few and far between, and can’t get health insurance.
It’s not my intention to anger anyone. I’m just tired. Tired of SAG fighting amongst itself instead of standing up to the AMPTP and those that want to weaken the SAG.
i would never, ever vote for anybody who had anything to do with a faction that muzzled the union’s elected president.