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Alex Footman and Eric Glatt should not be allowed to enlarge their class action suit to include all Fox Entertainment Group interns, says Fox Searchlight. In a 24-page memorandum filed Wednesday in New York federal court (read it here), the studio claims that the request the former Black Swan interns’ made last month is speculative and not even plausible. Fox Searchlight did concede that former intern Eden Antalik could serve as a rep for interns in its NYC office. They did not do the same for Kanene Gratts, who served as an intern on (500) Days of Summer back in early 2008 in LA. Fox, who co-produced that film, claims that Gratts is time-barred under California law, which has a four-year statute of limitations. The plaintiffs sought to have Antalik and Gratts added in August when they sought to expand the claim. Yesterday Fox Searchlight also said that the action’s claims of overtime pay compensation for Gratts are baseless. The suit “is devoid of even a naked assertion that Gratts or any CA Class member worked beyond 40 hours per week or 8 hours per day, and its assertion that Gratts ‘worked three days per week for approximately 25 hours per week according to a set schedule’ suggests that she did not ever work any OT,” the filing says.
Footman and Glatt first filed on behalf of themselves and more than 100 Fox Searchlight interns back in September 2011. Their aim was to seek back wages for work they believe they should have been paid for. Additionally their suit sought to stop what the plaintiffs say is the studio’s incorrect use of students for what is supposed to be training similar to that provided by an educational institution, not getting coffee and other grunt work. Early last October, after the initial suit was filed, the studio fired back that the two were never Fox Searchlight interns and that they were actually working for Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky’s production company. Adam Klein, Rachel Bien and Elizabeth Wagoner of New York firm Outten & Golden represent Alex Footman and Eric Glatt. Elise Bloom and Amy Melican of Proskauer Rose’s New York office represent Fox Searchlight.
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All the Industry Job Boards have numerous listings for interns. Hollywood systematically takes advantage of people who want to break in and just wants to use free labor whenever it can. Try doing that with drivers or other unionized positions and see what would happen. It’s a shame.
As an ex PA, I’ve got to say this is a victory for PA nation with productions having to hire more paid staff but an epic fail for kids trying to break in.
I agree. Also the law is not being followed. There should be a requirement to provide the text of the law to potential interns as a condition for the internship. Too much money at the top, not enough at the bottom — in my opinion.
Oh cry me a river. So what if interns do grunt work and fetch coffee? Everybody starts at the bottom. If you’re smart and ambitious and motivated and don’t act all entitled, someone will notice you and you’ll likely get another gig. Be humble. Work hard. Pay your dues. Everybody in this business has had to eat some shit on the way up. Not the end of the world. If you can’t take it, you should really get into another business. Because this one ain’t for you. Attitude and gratitude are always the best policies.
Quite right too. A good spanking never did me any harm. These young whipper-snappers, they don’t know they’re born!
In my day, interns spent 12 hours a day licking production executives’ boots clean, 6 hours cleaning their toilets, and 3 hours carrying them round the set. If we were lucky, we got 1 hour off a day.
And we had to pay to work! And we were grateful for it!!
Let me get this straight. You do admit that this is a “business.” Yet, you insinuate acting entitled means getting paid minimum wage, which is the law.
Huh.
The internship programs do take advantage of interns. It is the advantage of this program from both sides that people can break into the business and be noticed. Without the internship programs, these jobs would not be created “for pay.” They are created as an allowance because of their affects on business. They are an opportunity for the students, to learn inside the business as well as for the production companies to take advantage of those eager whipper-snappers as you wish to draw to an old fashioned industry. If you feel you did not learn from this, then you take that information to learn from. In my career, I have learned more from failure than success. And if you look into history, the internship to assistant program has led to more producers, executive producers, and Vice President roles in the industry. I too hated all those days of getting coffee, lunch, and washing the car, but I would not trade those days for they allowed me to learn the application of contracts and negotiations, as well as to see and appreciate the people who work around me. The program is an opportunity that if you see that it is not good and choose to destroy it, you will find that the opportunities you were given will be lost to more nepotism and you too will be working for the bosses 20 year old son. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen but currently there are several ways to get into this industry in the creative and upper-management jobs; nepotism, straight out of college with NO insider knowledge of the industry, out of college or no college and given an opportunity through the internship/apprenticeship programs with insider knowledge of the industry, or you can spend 5 years on the streets eating Ramen creating your own independent film. I’m aware of all of these, but the internship program has led to less delusional, more appreciative people in the industry. Look inside yourself. Which one are you? Who would you rather work for?
Interned at Phoenix Pictures 2 years before Black Swan went into production. Worked long hours for most of the producers on this film, never paid. I learned more in 4 months there than I did in 4 years of film school. These two idiots deserve what they will inevitably get…which I’m sure is no money, and a one way ticket out of Hollywood back to whatever rich suburb they came from.
And yet it never occurred to you to ask yourself, “WHY am I working long hours and not getting paid?” In this capitalist country, you work–you get paid. Labor laws don’t change because you’re in some (supposedly) glamorous industry.
And, Jojo, same answer to your comment. Starting at the bottom should mean starting at minimum wage, not working for free.
Obviously he asked himself “Why” he was working long hours and not getting paid- and he has clearly stated the answer- he learned more in 4 months of an internship than he did in 4 years of film school (which he paid to attend). So- the choice is yours- receive a so-so education by paying thousands of dollars out of your own pocket, or receive an amazing education for free. And PS- if you have a huge problem with not getting paid because you aren’t receiving your “educational value”- well, nobody is forcing you to do the work.
Then you should have quit after four months.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with hiring unpaid interns and making them do grunt work as long as they are legitimately learning and hopefully making connections.
But 2 years is too long to work for free.
Stop giving this publicity. You are making it worse. This is what they want.
There’s a big difference between paying your dues and being taken advantage of. Whether it was Fox Searchlight or Mr. Aronofsky’s production company is irrelevant. Somebody crossed the line and since fox produced it, they should pay. A little humility wouldn’t kill Hollywood.
@Chris,
Interns rarely get paid in any industry. And when I asked myself, ” Why am I doing this if I’m not getting paid?” I simply replied, “Because this is what I want to do, and it will be worth it.” Get a grip Chris.
“…if the interns are engaged in the operations of the employer or are performing productive work (for example, filing, performing other clerical work, or assisting customers), then the fact that they may be receiving some benefits in the form of a new skill or improved work habits will not exclude them from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements because the employer benefits from the interns’ work.”
That quote’s from the US Department of Labor’s Web site.
Unless an unpaid internship meets specific criteria, it’s illegal. And it’s illegal because it’s exploitative and leads to the loss of paying jobs. But hey, if you wanna try to get through Hollywood without legal advice, good luck to ya!
Internships are becoming a class problem. If your parents have money to support you while you’re not getting paid then you get to pay your dues. If you’re poor, then it’s a million times more difficult to get into the industry. I wish there was a poll of how many people take internships AFTER graduation. It’s VERY common. Further, these internships are replacing PA jobs which is illegal. Plain and simple.
If you’re getting coffee, they can pay you $8 an hour.. it’s hard enough to live on that. Not to mention that the PA wages for the most part haven’t changed since the 90s. It’s not ‘entitlement’. It’s law.
Everyone believes in hard work and elbow grease. The industry should be competitive! But paying your dues has become ‘work for free for years and then maybe someone will hire you’.
This is a great comment!
The unpaid interns have begun to replace entry level jobs. It’s unbelievably easy to get an internship in this industry, but getting an assistant position at agency/studio/not bullshit production company is TOUGH.
In order to even get the interview for the assistant position at least 1 or 2 internships are expected which is an expensive ordeal that is mostly supported by wealthy parents supporting their kids ambitions.
Can’t wait to see what they’ll do when Yoshikazu Takeuchi goes after them for “borrowing” his story.
Intern abuse is a cycle. If they have a career in 20 yrs, they’ll do the same thing. Welcome to the business bitches.
As Clint Eastwood said ‘Say you’ll work for free, then make your self invaluable’. If you aren’t willing to do what it takes (which may mean working for free at the beginning) then get out of the business. It’s those early stages that separates the wheat from the chaff.
Right, I agree, BUT you should also put an expiration date on making yourself invaluable, ie, be willing to go somewhere else for paying work once you have some/enough experience.
It’s a truism in a lot of different businesses and industries, you have to be willing to quit to get paid more. How many times have you heard the story about the boss saying “Well, I’ll pay you that!” after someone gives notice.
On the other hand, you have to concede that these educational programs requiring internships create an artificial market of people willing/having to work for free–”Why should I pay you anything when a bunch of other kids want/need to do this for free?”
Politics and the film industry seem to be the only places where parasites exploit the vulnerable. Everywhere else people entering a field with minimal experience it’s called “on the job training” (OJT). Which is a paid wage.
As much as I agree that one should start at the bottom and handle whatever scut work comes your way with grace and energy, I really disagree with the abuse of internships. Working for free was never an option for me as I nor my parents had money to bankroll that, simple as. As it was I had jobs on the wrong side of minimum wage and the first few years were tough, really tough. But I learned to live on not much and it made me realise how much I wanted to succeed and earn a living wage. So I worked even harder and thankfully it paid off. Despite that invaluable lesson, could I have done those jobs for free? Actually impossible. The only ones that can take advantage of unpaid opportunities have to have family support or are geting themselves into debt. If we want diversity in the industry then the attitude that interns demanding a minumum wage are ‘entitled’ has to be curbed.