Comments (25)

• Forget about SAG_
  TOM HANKS FOR PRESIDENT….of AMERICA

  Comment by unionguy — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 6:48am PST  Reply to this post

• Jesus…who did the sound for Macy & Huffman..
  hard to hear.

  Comment by unionguy — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 6:50am PST  Reply to this post

• I love the new haggard, gently beseeching Tom Hanks look. A whole new gently exhausted flavor to his body of work. Plus – he really does collect old typewriters. That must be his closet… Hmm. Where’s Ryan? Wenty? Kevin? John? The Vinster?

  Comment by Ballantine — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 8:49am PST  Reply to this post

• Okay, I agree Tom, Bill and Felicity. We should have one united union. I really do agree. But do we have to have weathermen in it? Sportscasters? Shouldn’t we have a union that is just for actors? I don’t see the WGA representing grips. Maybe the DGA should merge with the teamsters. There should be a way to get the actors out of AFTRA and into SAG where they belong. Wishful thinking I guess. But don’t kid yourselves. This merger, if it comes, will be painful for actors. WE will take the brunt of reduced wages AND paying for AFTRA’s failed health care. It will be the money we make that funds the whole thing. And as that is happening we will be agreeing to lower wages in order to “listen to the other side” as Ken Howard put it. The idea of be more conciliatory in our negotiations makes sense. But this comes from a faction that staged a coup d’etat to gain power. So it’s okay to be militant with your own people? Something smells fishy.

  Comment by PB — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 8:52am PST  Reply to this post

• Ok, if TH is for KH then you know how not to vote…

  Comment by HelenofPeel — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 9:41am PST  Reply to this post

• Ok, so let me get this straight. Macy and Huffman are claiming that under MemershipFirst leadership, no contracts have been negotiated. Really?
  How about our Basic cable contract in 2006. How about the commercial contract in 2009 were I don’t believe there was a UFS member on the committee for SAG. There was for AFTRA thought. And although we all should remind actors all of the time that UFS/NY/RBD are responsible for the crap contract forced down our throats just a few months ago, there was no negotiating committee. Remember? The Written Assent got rid of that committee and replaced it with a “task force” which had no authority. They were not a negotiating committee. I think Clancy Brown made that clear in one of his postings and he was on the task force. No MEMBER NEGOTIATED THE 2009 CONTRACT THAT WAS RATIFIED!! That was negotiated by SAG staff. And where was the negotiations in that piece of crap? It was the AFTRA contract. So, we should actually be giving all of the credit to Kim Hedgepeth. Ken Howard was no where near any part of any negotiations. But far be it for me to tell him he can’t take credit for helping to deliver and “shill” the worst contract many have seen in decades. Oh, and one more contract Macy and Huffman conveniently left out; The Animation contract successfully negotiated by MF David Jolliffee and his non UFS controlled negotiating committee. Do a little more due diligence folks. Just don’t act like puppets. So, it’s MF fault that AFTRA chose to negotiate on their own? THEY FREAKING WALKED OUT IN THE 11TH HOUR BASED ON A BULLSHIT STORY ABOUT ‘THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.” AFTRA knew all along that they were going to do it on their own because they were afraid of a strike. And they wanted to make nice with the AMPTP. Tell me, when was the last time AFTRA struck any of their own contracts? Net Code? When. They are a weak, pathetic union that sits in the back pockets of our employers. That’s who Macy and Huffman what to merge with? Do you know why there’s a Phase I? It came about after the 1980 TV/Theatrical strike. SAG had to stave off AFTRA’s poaching and undercutting so they created a deal that no union (AFTRA) could undercut a sister union. That’s how it came about. Not because of a mutual desire to work together to form one union. AFTRA was poaching and undercutting. And here were are again. You know why the Non- Disparagement AGreement was created? To stop AFTRA from walking away from the commercials negotiations based on a flimsy premise like they used during the tv/theat negotiations. A huge fine was placed if either union walked away from joint negotiations. It was to keep AFTRA’s ass in the seat. Macy and Huffman think this is just one big joke. They’re set for life. Lord knows how much she makes from Desperate Housewifes and god bless her. Show got picked up for 4 additional seasons. Hopefully she’ll be in all four. I think she’s very talented. And I’m sure Macy isn’t auditioning any longer. Good for him. They’ve both worked hard for their success. But this is no fucking joke to me. I don’t have their careers. I’ll never have their careers. But I like the one I have and I want to keep it that way. They are toying with my future and treating it as if it’s some joke. I don’t hear many actors laughing. Just another sign of their complete ignorance and sense of entitlement. I wonder; did they sign the Qualified Voting petition? Does anyone know. It wouldn’t surprise me if they did. THIS ELECTION AND OUR FUTURE IS NOT FREAKING JOKE. If any reader cares about the future of SAG, please do not vote for Ken Howard and the UFS slate. They are AFTRA centric people who never ever want to really stand up for what is fair and right.

  Comment by union advocate — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 9:55am PST  Reply to this post

• *smiling* Aaaaannnnnd… action!

  “Hi. We’re above the line actor/producers, who will never have to worry about another financial concern for the rest of our lives. We are so famous, in fact, that we don’t even work under the same contract rates and conditions that you, the rank and file actors/voters, have to.

  “That’s why we, the biggest celebrities U4S can get, want you to vote for Ken Howard and all of the other Unite For Strength candidates – because you’re nothing like us at all, and you could screw up our gravy train by voting for the Membership First “go it alone” (has a nice ‘loaded phrase’ ring to it, no?) slate. Now just be quiet and do what we say. After all we’re stars!” *more huge, warm smiles*

  Aaaannnd, we cut!

  (note: wasn’t it AFTRA who stabbed SAG in the back and “went it alone” in the AMPTP negotiations?)

  Nobody ever said famous people were smart, or had your best interests at heart. They’re just famous.

  As far as I know, Anne Marie Johnson isn’t against getting all actors under one union (a merger of some sort), as was alluded to in these two videos, and she may be all for it. (I do not want to put words in her mouth here.) Yes, it’s better for actors to be under one roof. And it’s not un-doable. Corporations do it all the time. But they do it under complete transparency from both/all parties, which is not the situation here.

  Yes, Tom, it will be difficult. The fly in the ointment is how to get it done. U4S would have you believe that we merge now and fix all of the crap afterward, or “Fix it as we go” – Adam Arkin said this exact thing to me – which in essence means no plan. It’s a huge business blunder to work corporate mergers that way.

  The merger issue has come up many times in the past, and has failed each and every time. Why? Because SAG members want to know what we’re getting into, and AFTRA has been less than transparent about its financial solvency with regards to ERISA and the IRS.

  (Roberta Reardon, Kim Hedgepeth: please put those financials out where we can see them and stop dodging the issue with misleading information.)

  When you look at who U4S is and how/why they came to be, you’ll notice they’re (primarily) two different groups:

  First, they’re NY AFTRA people who hold SAG cards and relatively few SAG credits, not the other way around, and they’re more interested in saving their primary and precious back-stabbing union than making SAG better for SAG members. They have shown, at every step, that their agenda (weaken SAG and merge) is top priority – and that the end will justify the means in which they went about it. Truly shady. And reprehensible.

  The other subset of U4S is above the line SAG actor/producers who can’t afford for SAG to fight (and perhaps strike) for a better contract and working conditions (neither of which applies to them because they’re either producers or ATL and they make their own deals).

  Please understand that I hold no ill will for any of these celebrity actors – I like them and I like and appreciate their talent and work (including Ken Howard, by the way). But you must remember that none of what they’re telling you applies to them or their careers – it’s a pure business/financial position.

  Unite For Strength is attempting to force this merger with AFTRA through – just like they took over the national board and forced this crappy contract on us – using ANY means possible, and at ANY cost to SAG. Star Power is nice if you can get it, but that doesn’t change the facts.

  Don’t be blinded by bright lights and people telling you what you want to hear.

  Comment by Gary A — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 10:04am PST  Reply to this post

• I like Bill Macy and Felicity Huffman. However, I think they are dead wrong. Relying on other guilds will get you skewered by the DGA every time. I’m WGA, I should know. Unless you are willing to take a hard stand for yourselves, you (SAG members) will get less and less each contract. It’s a tough world. There’s no Kumbaya moment coming.

  Comment by m. tinker — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 10:22am PST  Reply to this post

• Tom Hanks is a MILLIONAIRE PRODUCER who still owes Peter BOSOM BUDDIES Scolari money!

  Comment by Rey Lynch — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 10:41am PST  Reply to this post

• Honeslty, Tom hanks should just not take any part in these elections. He’s more a producer than an actor now. And he certainly couldn’t care less about background actors or middle ground actors. Did he even ever?

  Huffman is on one of the most lucrative shows on TV, and Macy is nearly an A lister. They have no clue anymore of what it is for actors to struggle.
  Just indecent for them to talk or do anything inside the union when they really just care about their own royalties which are not even governed by the MBA since they negotiate their own contracts outside of it.

  Comment by Carine — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 11:20am PST  Reply to this post

• while talented actors, Macy. Huffman and Hanks have not a moment of honesty in these scripted speeches. and while it’s true that UFS was able to negotiate contracts that MF could not, the bigger question is what kind of deal did the negotiation return? ANYONE could have made the deal U4S worked because they were willing to give away any gains made in past efforts. The answer isn’t in just making a deal. It’s making a deal that allows the SAG actor to earn a living which is getting harder and harder and will continue to do so as the TV in the living room morphs into the wi-fi computer. WAKE UP SAG MEMBERS. The future is now.

  Comment by mgreyman — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 12:50pm PST  Reply to this post

• Thank you PRODUCER Tom Hanks for your endorsement SAG/AFTRA merger, and your tepid endorsement of Ken Howard.

  William H. Macy is an amazing actor, but on this, I have to disagree with him. He’s speaking in support of an anti-democratic coup within SAG, and subsequent muzzling of the democratically-elected president of the union. He blames Membership First for SAG not getting a deal sooner, but the fact is that it takes two to tango, and the AMPTP was dragging its feet.

  The deal U4S and the New National Majority did get SAG included a range of rollbacks and giveaways, along with the fundamental change of the SAG/signatory relationship from being a closed shop (all acting work has to be union) to an open shop (signatories can produce work outside the union, with no union protections for actors).

  With due respect to Felicity Huffman, her statement that Membership First believes that “working in a real partnership with AFTRA will make us weaker” is simply not the case. In the run-up to the last theatrical/schedule A contract negotiations, Membership First led a transparent joint W & W process with AFTRA, which led to unanimous agreement. AFTRA found an excuse – that soap opera incident – and bolted to negotiate separately with the AMPTP.

  Of course a single merged actors’ union would be in a better position to negotiate with the AMPTP than two separate unions. But the last time a merger proposal was considered, SAG members turned it down because of P & H fund issues and because the structure of the merged union wouldn’t give the actors the autonomy we need to control our own destiny.

  The issue isn’t whether we should merge, it’s what a merger would look like.

  Ken Howard has essentially zero experience in SAG management compared to Anne-Marie Johnson, and his attendance record is spotty at that. Maybe this is why Tom Hanks didn’t have anything nice to say about Ken Howard’s record at SAG – it would invite comparisons to Anne-Marie Johnson’s record, and there’s simply no comparison.

  Maybe this is one reason Ken Howard has refused to debate Anne-Marie Johnson.

  Anne-Marie Johnson has already demonstrated her commitment to bringing the two actors’ unions closer by winning a seat on AFTRA’s national board this year. She’s in a strong position now to learn more about the inner workings of AFTRA, as she has with SAG, build relationships and trust with other AFTRA leaders, and help bring our two unions onto the same page in the 2011 contract negotiations – and keep us there.

  And why again, if Ken Howard says he’s “listening” to actors, do we see that comments for both Hanks’ and Macy/Huffman’s videos are CLOSED? They’re talking AT us, not TO us. This isn’t two-way communication. Same with the Unite for Strength website. Go ahead and try to comment on a post there.

  Heck, I’ve even sent a direct message to U4S candidate David Lawrence (Puppetmaster on Heroes, and in his political views very conservative, like Ned Vaughn) through Twitter, and have gotten crickets.

  My take-away from both of these endorsements is, we’re famous, so STFU and vote for our slate.

  Comment by mheister — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 12:59pm PST  Reply to this post

• Once again, proof of an installment of power. A powerful, intelligent actor, respected and acclaimed by all, is backing a candidate with little or no experience as a leader.

  “corporal umpum, be careful you don’t step in the bullshit.” Saving Private Ryan.

  I just really hope this election doesn’t get rigged again. I want a way to be able to verify the votes.

  Comment by Member — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 2:00pm PST  Reply to this post

• The Comments option are turned off at the youtube pages of these videos, and all UFS Videos. That speaks to me.

  Comment by zackery — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 3:29pm PST  Reply to this post

• All of these actors work hard and have worked hard to attain their status.

  Are there those who believe that once one attains a certain level, they shouldn’t have a right to vote?

  What madness. Where is the honesty?

  Comment by Tom Ligon — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 6:13pm PST  Reply to this post

• if this were wall street and tom hanks came out with this statement, it would be a contra-indicator for growth and prosperity.

  i’m in total agreement with the comment by
  union advocate — September 1, 2009 @ 9:55 am

  and normally I am NOT a union supporter – but sometimes and in some businesses, a strong voice is needed to represent the interests that range from the gamut of the workers involved.

  this is one of them.
  VOTE.
  that’s your voice at this time and let it be loud.

  Comment by kay — Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 11:14pm PST  Reply to this post

• Damn, actors are stupid. SAG is a complete laughingstock. It’s not even a viable union anymore. And yet you’d vote for the same people who brought you to this sorry place?

  Comment by wow — Wednesday September 2, 2009 @ 1:19am PST  Reply to this post

• Tom Ligon -

  Way to try and change the subject. I just scrolled through the comments. NOBODY here is suggesting any SAG member doesn’t have the right to a vote.

  In fact, if you’re looking for the group that has most recently advocated removing the franchise within SAG from a percentage of dues-paying members, look no further than a number of your U4S colleagues, including board member Ned Vaughn.

  The U4S slate is far more likely to try to disenfranchise actors than the Membership First slate. Both sides are on-record concerning this issue.

  Comment by mheister — Wednesday September 2, 2009 @ 1:49am PST  Reply to this post

• HEY-I HEAR THEY’RE GOING TO RENAME THEIR GROUP “UNITE FOR OUR PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNTS”. ARE THESE PEOPLE REALLY THAT SELF-INTERESTED, OR ARE THEY JUST OUT OF IT?
  AND WHY DO PERFECTLY GOOD ACTORS NOT REALIZE THEY COME OFF AS SILLY FOOLS WHEN THEY MAKE SUCH SELF-INVOLVED ‘POLITCAL’ STATEMENTS?

  Comment by SideLines — Wednesday September 2, 2009 @ 6:26pm PST  Reply to this post

• Macy and Huffman. Really? Really, dude? I kept expecting a technician to step behind them and wind them up after they ran out of electricity…a Non-Union technician.

  Comment by Gus — Wednesday September 2, 2009 @ 9:17pm PST  Reply to this post

• Let me see, the Hanks video might as well have said ‘hey actors if you’re going to vote I need you all to vote to disenfranchise yourselves and for contracts that pay you as near nada as possible because now I make my living as a producer & there ain’t no way I can afford to hire you & keep buying myself pricey vintage typewriters like the ones you see every time I make one of these craptacular substance free videos’

  As for the Huffman Macy video, sweet Jesus is that sad. They may have great acting instincts otherwise but here they’re disappointingly so very damned dumb.

  ‘We want to do something funny in this video. Why? Because we haven’t a clue about the real issues facing actors, especially not actors who don’t get paid enough to have a team of agents/managers/lawyers/accountants. Also we don’t want to be inconvenienced, not by voting or waiting around for those actors who don’t have a team like we do who will eventually screw us out of our money because we’re too busy living in our pricey delusional dreamworld to watch to make sure the team doesn’t cut corners or cheat (and by the way we don’t care that federal labor law says those non-represented actors get to vote on contracts because otherwise they’d have no say **at all** in their working conditions), not by paying attention to what is going on in the real world (like the financial crisis that the big companies caused because they all engage in Hollywood accounting or the ever increasing adoption of new media by the consuming public around the world), and certainly not by looking after our own (i.e. not fellow actors and not even the industry professionals who ‘aged incorrectly’/ aka got old & chronically expensively ill and are being tossed out of the MPTF home). Because we don’t want our guild to be a union or even a guild but a country club to which the ‘wrong actors’ shouldn’t ever be admitted (or if they have been admitted, then there should be a way to take their dues money and maybe even their P&H contributions and in return give them squat). And boy oh boy those ‘wrong’ uppity ‘militant’ actors certainly shouldn’t stand in our way, impeding our dreams of emulating the execs at the conglomerates and becoming ‘producers’ because that’s where the money is and we want ours (never mind what they need or want). And now we’d like to show you our oh-so-clever finish by doing the real world labor equivalent of what John Slattery did over on Mad Men this past week and instead of donning blackface, the great William H. Macy will don a pair of mouse ears, try out a silly cartoon voice and conclude this video with the new millenial version of a Steppin Fetchit routine just to make sure the corporate ‘massa’ remains amused’

  If you actors vote for the UFS & USAN candidates based upon the 2 ‘celebrity endorsement’ videos, then I’m pretty sure you’re not smart enough (as my beloved rural-dwelling but very sensible grandfather would say) to even pour pee out of a boot before putting it on your foot.

  For those of you actors who are taking the elections and whether and how and when you get paid fairly for your work seriously, I am so sorry that you have to contend with the likes of Hanks Macy & Huffman on set. That however doesn’t mean you have to vote for them or their ‘friends’ or their ‘issues’, in fact these videos are a clear signal that you should question just how much the ’stars’ really know and where their interests really lie.

  The fault dear thespians lies in the fact that your stars are really half-wits. (my apologies also to the bard for the bastardization of his great prose, but here it fits).

  Comment by VDOVault — Wednesday September 2, 2009 @ 10:42pm PST  Reply to this post

• I’ll defend Hanks, Macy & Huffman this far – they’re very talented, and Macy in particular has chosen some great quirky projects that never would have been made if he hadn’t provided his name and talent. Tom Hanks has demonstrated strong business acumen as a film and television producer as well. BUT – when it comes to SAG-related issues, these three are also clearly advocating in their own self-interest, and NOT in the best interests of their fellow actors.

  Comment by mheister — Thursday September 3, 2009 @ 12:25pm PST  Reply to this post

• Can anyone please tell me, how much are the actors in “Band of Brothers” getting paid in residuals for DVD sales? I’m guessing that “Band of Brothers” has generated several millions in DVD and foreign sales. My guess is $00.00, please let me know I really would like to know.

  Comment by Hector Herrera — Monday September 7, 2009 @ 1:42pm PST  Reply to this post

• It’s actually downright offensive that these people who are making more money than several hundred of us will probably see in a lifetime — while many of us are struggling to survive in this profession — have lent their special talents to the creation of a video, urging us to vote to protect their interests while simultaneously making light of our dire situation — actually donning animal ears and laughing. Are they drunk? I guess they count on their star status to make us believe they are cute. They may as well be Marie Antoinette, quipping, “Let them eat cake!” And we all know what happened to her.

  Comment by working class actor — Tuesday September 8, 2009 @ 12:36am PST  Reply to this post

• And, what kind of watered-down contract will Sir Tommy be supporting and trying to ram down our throats in two years (AGAIN!) — And, still, not one mention of the horrible situation with the MPTF!

  Comment by Anonymous — Tuesday September 8, 2009 @ 9:15am PST  Reply to this post