News

SAG Members & Leaders Question Break:Double Dealings

NVM:
Breaking News: START
*******
Are they Actors or are they Producers?
We as SAG members will soon be asked to authorize a strike against the AMPTP. Our SAG leadership has encouraged us to authorize the strike as we make a statement that the June 30th offer was unacceptable. There seems to be a united Union front in this effort. Solidarity is what makes a Union strong.

However, some A-Listers broke rank. On December 17, a petition signed by prominent actors was released. The petition called for the acceptance of the June 30th offer and recommended against the potential strike. The list was impressive. Here are some of the names:()
What a great group of outstanding actors. But they are all something more -- they are Producers. Many of them running active production companies. Here's the list:

George Clooney Smoke House Productions and Section Eight Productions
Tom Hanks Playtone
Rob Lowe Lowe Profile
Ted Danson Anasazi
Alec Baldwin El Dorado Pictures
Matt Damon (Ben Afleck) Live Planet
Robert Redford South Fork Pictures
Russell Crowe Fear of God Films
Morgan Freeman Revelations Entertainment
Charlize Theron Denver and Delilah Films
Glen Close Trilliam Productions
Josh Brolin The Donners Company
Kevin Spacey Trigger Street
Danny DeVito Jersey Films
John Cusack New Crime Productions

And to add to that, Toby McGuire is the son-in-law of Ron Meyer, the President and CEO of Universal Studios.

It goes without saying that these are some of Hollywood's good guys and to cast suspicion on them is blasphemy. But it does need to be said. We can't know what their motive was for signing that petition. Were they thinking as actors or were they thinking as producers? We know this. A strike would affect them as actors. A strike would stop their income flow. They don't rely on residuals as we do. They negotiate their own contracts. They don't care about us rank and file middle class members. A strike would be an inconvenience for them and they would gain nothing from a revised contract. While they all came out of the middle-class ranks, perhaps they have forgotten their roots as they turn their backs on us.

As Producers, it's obvious what a strike would mean to them -- a shut-down of their projects. And a revised contract would mean higher costs and less money flowing to the bottom-line -- something accountants just can't stand. And less money in the Producers pockets.

Were these people thinking of you when they signed that petition? Of course not. You are a necessary evil in the scheme of things. This is what greed is all about. The sad part about all of this is that their names lend credibility to their position. There are many in the SAG membership that believe that if George Clooney says it's so -- then it's so. George couldn't be wrong. He's a great guy. And I agree. He is a great guy. But he's out for himself.

One other point that needs to be made. How many of these people have given their time to be a part of SAG leadership as Alan Rosenberg has? Name them. These people are taking potshots from the sidelines. Am I a part of SAG leadership? No. I am one of us. But I do see the conflict of interests.

Please forward this to every SAG member you know. We are a Union. We need to unite. Norma Rae (Sally Field) held high a sign that said "Strike". Hold your sign high "Strike."
END
  1. groups:
    News,   Entertainment,   TV and Film,   Hollywood
  2. tags:
    News,  Entertainment,  Current TV,  TV and Film, 7 more + add
livejelly
  • added January 20, 2009

16 comments // SAG Members & Leaders Question Break:Double Dealings

  •  

    >ABOVE the original article received: as is (except the word wow & re listing of actor names due to 4000 char limit)

    We know that some will try to gloss over the information here. We were trying to collect some articles about the SAG negotiations situations, came up with various viewpoints. This was especially interesting because, some powerful SAG players on the top spots are influencial producers,neglecting thousands of members in the middle. This article was put together by a prominent SAG Leader & given to some other leaders and send to one of our performer's by her(you only need 2 guesses as to who she is since her blabbering has been constant at live jelly & now off it) friend m.

    are they double dealing? who is protecting the interest of 90% of SAG members?
    they are hungry! will you feed them? Mr. McGuire, please tell your father-in-law to throw
    them a sandwich or somtin. if they can do this, does it mean others can do what they want? so yea lets do that: no solidarity, we gonna be in it for us too and do
    everything yep:we wil go country to country and act in everything, we will produce, direct, write use cheap camers to make good stories we will do our own half in half out the union claus.

    se:
    People such as Pres. Alan Rosenberg & crew are looking for long term solutions. The current economy should not be used as a scare tactic, t-girl will write an article later questioning "shoulder patting-buddy tactics" (as she is weighing the pros & cons of being black listed by producers & studios & never hired again for speaking up for a fair deal--well she hardly gets hired at all for roles with lines but if she was in the black list, well at least she would be on a list right?) thought according to california labor laws, it is illegal for employer producers to fire employee performers for speaking up for a strike.

    keep eye out for other articles from various leaders about: agency monopolies revealed
    and other kick backs. (from various sag members)

    livejelly
  •  
    Image...

    From the Los Angeles Times
    Opinion
    Ed Asner on SAG's choice
    Former SAG president Ed Asner says actors in the union can't take the deal that is being offered.
    By Ed Asner

    December 28, 2008

    livejelly
  •  
    Image...

    (as you can see already her pic has been graffitied for speaking up about neglect & negative play of both sides by LJ managers, producer, other actor, 3 writers & crew-left cheek where a dart pierced & a fellow writer drew to depict that her fangs will leave a worse bite than her words)

    lately we have not been reading the physical news papers and T girl's(pictured above) actor friends forwarded asner article to her. She gave us her reply which she had sent to the sender m in Dec.28th Which is:
    START:
    Thanks for sending this message by mr. ed asner, i know it is heartfelt of him.but i feel that Sag (screen actors guild) sometimes has become a highly negative institution.

    and I must say that I am disillussioned with SAG for quite a lot of reasons. It seems that actors who get the lead roles back rub with prodcers / studios
    & they highlight or promote films that are made non union or made out of the country for even sag awards (now isn't that a double standard) we did not get to choose the nominees (they say oh the actors nominate work of fellow actors (yea we get to vote but we did not get to nominate.)

    also SAG lacks committment to dues paying actors there is no way to move up & we have no guarantees of work. so then why should we continue to
    support the organization that we stand 100% for but it does not stand for us in that matter.

    why do established well publicized actors keep supporting non union actors (who may get a big role, then if they get into union, they pay high %),
    but do not bother to highlight any up and coming actors already in the union?

    I feel that SAG needs to come back to the actors. I think that SAG has become like the government who catered to lobbyists(stagnant & cannibalizing or neglecting its own members who support it to only highlight a few whom the producers they work with want them to highlight.)

    SAG has gotten away from the original purpose it was formed for and work, wages have become the politics of top 6% of earners & producer studios.

    that is my look right now. I have high respect for mr. Rosenberg but he didn't create this, this stagnation had years to build.

    i m glad he is taking a firm stand about new media and what is due to the actors. But there is more than that

    Thushari
    a member
    END
    Jan 20th,09 note
    (many things are not just black & white so there needs to be a fair deal for everyone if possible. SAG is supposed to protect performer interests, if top actors break ranks, then how is that a good example for a united front? I support SAGs decision to strike if no fair solution can be reached because we need to look long term not just at three months from now. I believe Mr. Rosenberg has the foresight to take care of the higher percentage of working actors, otherwise I think SAG will have to go into film & tv production. Why not? they have a highly talented & diversified talent pool to choose from. she states 'many performance arts pieces, interviews or documentaries that i may create does not earn money right now, so there is a huge difference when influential actors produce in a larger scale, even if i made it big, i would still give a fair deal because we should trust each other to do what is right.'

    livejelly
  •  

    like how Rob Schneider explains it all clearly.
    There is no one to really explain the history & highlight the struggle of the actors since much of the entertainment news is usually put out by the producers or the studios. An unbiased view of the other side gives a chance for us to be balanced in the playing field.

    livejelly
  •  
    livejelly
  •  

    Elliot Gould gets Eloquent and up front!

    livejelly
  •  

    She is one of our heroes. She broke barriers before many others did.

    livejelly
  •  
    Image...

    Get more information. Our representative Alan Rosenberg soft spoken but strong SAG leader speaks out. A good performer and a working actor looking for a workable fair solution.

    livejelly
  •  

    November 26, 2008
    Dear Screen Actors Guild Member,

    As your president, I want to take this opportunity to communicate directly with you about recent developments regarding our television and motion picture contract negotiations.

    Last week, under the guidance of a federal mediator, we attempted to resolve our differences with the AMPTP. Our national negotiators and committee met with the mediator prior to our sessions with management, and followed the protocol and advice of the mediator. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts over two days to find creative solutions designed to move the process forward and to reach agreement, the federal mediator adjourned the mediation process early Saturday morning after concluding that mediation was over.

    Now, per the resolution passed by 97% of our newly constituted national board of directors in October, we are launching a member education campaign and we will send out a strike referendum ballot to SAG members in December. We ask that you support your board and negotiating committee, and vote YES to authorize the board to call a strike only if it becomes absolutely necessary.

    Your leadership believes that we must be empowered with the real threat of a work stoppage in order to let management know that we are committed to protecting the future of all actors. We ask for your support, knowing that you have entrusted us to fight for your rights, and to protect your wages, working conditions and your health and pension benefits. We take your trust very, very seriously and will work towards reaching a fair agreement without a work stoppage.

    Management continues to apply its one-size-fits-all demands to SAG actors. And we continue to stress that actors have unique, reasonable needs that are different, not better, but different, than writers, directors and crewmembers. So they are telling us to allow the unions who negotiated before SAG to be our proxies. I wonder, would NBC ever let ABC negotiate its license fees for them? Of course not, but they think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask us to defer to the needs of other union workers and ignore what is critical to actors and their families.

    It’s also curious that these global corporations are preaching to us about the bad economy. Like it’s our fault. As middle-income actors we are the victims of corporate greed. We didn’t cause this turmoil.

    Now, more that ever, we need to take a unified stand, in solidarity, and protect the art of acting, and actors. I cannot stress this enough. Our ability to make our livings as professional actors for decades to come is at stake. New media is not an “experiment” as the employers want you to think. It’s their future, and it’s our future.

    So please, don’t believe all the rhetoric management is sending over the airwaves and to the press. Please read your SAG emails and watch our website for the real facts.

    In unity,

    Alan Rosenberg
    To see this message on SAG TV click http://www.sag.org/sag-tv or go to www.sag.org, click the “home” tab and select SAG TV.

    livejelly
  •  
    Image...

    LOS ANGELES, December 14, 2008 — Screen Actors Guild today released the following statement in response to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producer's (AMPTPs) ad scheduled for tomorrow.

    “There they go again. The AMPTP’s ad is great fiction, with convoluted bullet points and confused messages -- and, it’s completely wrong.

    Here’s the truth: read on to find out the truth

    (note: of course places like aol time warner owned aol news, fox outlets, will not highlight this type of stuff: as they are producers as well. we hope and are glad that current tv is unbiased.)

    livejelly
  •  
    Image...

    A SAG WatchDog Groups takes a strong & outspoken stand agaist the likes of Damon. They tell him to fk off.

    livejelly
  •  
    Image...

    This performer gives another perspective & raises some valid questions.

    livejelly
  •  

    No Wonder they want the union to take this paltry deal. they are going to get another deal bypassing SAG. well well well

    livejelly

Add your comment

keep browsing
News
Entertainment
TV and Film
more like this

current videos