After getting smacked by the WGA writer's strike last season, and during a weak fall season by the broadcast networks already, the TV industry (and the movie industry) may be facing yet another strike, this time by the actors of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
Variety reports:
In a move toward Hollywood's second strike in a year, the Screen Actors Guild will seek a strike authorization from its 120,000 members -- prompting an angry response from the congloms.
SAG made the announcement early Saturday morning after federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez abandoned efforts to bring the two sides together, following their first face-to-face meeting in four months. Neither side budged significantly during two lengthy sessions Thursday and Friday with negotiators spending much of the time reiterating previous positions. [...]
The final decision on striking would rest with the national board, where control shifted to a less assertive coalition in September elections and away from the more aggressive Membership First faction. The moderates campaigned during the summer on the platform that Membership First had bungled the negotiations by alienating AFTRA, which ratified its primetime deal in July.
"Now, SAG is bizarrely asking its members to bail out the failed negotiating strategy with a strike vote - at a time of historic economic crisis," the AMPTP said. "The tone deafness of SAG is stunning."
Read the entire article here.
I don’t usually side with big business and I did support the writers in their strike efforts – but I would not support SAG here. There is no clear reason why in this economy it makes sense to strike. This would be disasterous to TV as we know it. I think that the American people will look down on this just like they have for golden parachutes, just like they did with AIG execs, just like they oppose the bailout of the auto industry. I have to agree with AMPTP “The tone deafness of SAG is stunning.”
Yeah…the writers strike, I was “ok” with… but this? Do they realize that the economy is in the crapper, and if these guys don’t have a job, I doubt there’s a market for other jobs as companies aren’t hiring…. and what, they’re going to take jobs that the average person needs?
I don’t support this AT ALL. It’s a LOSE LOSE situation for EVERYONE. To strike right now, is a no no.
BTW… what’s the vote schedule? Isn’t there a month wait or something with the authorization strike…and the main vote takes how long? Never really looked at that.
btw…studios better HURRY UP and and fasten up shooting schedules.
Yeah because actors aren’t payed insane ammounts of money as it is….
The writers’ strike, which I hated, caused enough trouble. Now the actors, maybe?!? And if they strike, it will affect other people who work in the industry. A LOT of other people. This is one of the last things the industry needs.
They are absolutely insane if the strike with the economy like it is today … that is unless they want to COMPLETELY finish off the entertainment industry. I supported the writer’s strike (I didn’t like it, but I supported it), but sorry not this one.
Both sides are asking for nonsense. The producers want no-residual internet programming. Ha! Yet the actors are asking for a closed shop for internet productions as well as “actor protections” even during work stoppages. Double Ha! I’d tell them to go have a happy strike. Actors are a dime a dozen and easily replaceable.
If a second strike goes ahead we can kiss everything goodbye in TV etc. The first one sucked the life out of some of our fav shows and now this! I usually support anyone who strikes, I’m not saying I don’t support the actors, but look at what was lost after the writers strike, how many jobs were lost in the end with all the tv show cancellations.
Will anything good come out of another strike? I don’t think so.
Can you even imagine these people striking when they are making tons of money while so many working class and middle class people have been put out of work? The gull of them!
David, I understand where you’re coming from. But the average actor makes less than 15,000 per year. The only people that we actually make the big bucks are the people we know by heart. But an SAG strike would be really bad. Not only for TV, but everything. SAG is being stupid
Any shadenfrued any right winger could derive from the writers’ strike has got to be blown away by what it did to TV for the foreseeable future. Right wingers, people do not live by stereos, computer games, birdwatching, reading the Wall St Journal or even the Internet alone. TV is still the entertainment instrument of choice, and in terms of hours per household, nothing but sleep even is in the same category. This actors’ strike, if it actually does occur, will be a disaster. Not quite the Hindenburg of airships, but the Titanic of ocean liners, lets say. TV will recover, someday, just as people today still go on scaled-down pleasure cruises, but it will be like the Lusitania before, Love Boat after. I already watch 0 hours of net per week, except for sports and news. Will cable, with its expurgated premium series rerun concept, its Law and Order on three channels simultaneously, its Jeapardy and Wheel of Fortune as syndicated ratings kings, be able to even be an option to the hell of network programmimng? This is a bummer.
Hey hey hey! Where is all this off with their heads mentality towards the little guy comming form!? Not all actors make tons of money, I believe that it would be in the best interest of both SAG and WGA to wage war against the AMPTP at the same time. Regardless of the outcome the effect would have on the television Schedule. I love TV, and this is a bucket hole economy, but I believe it is in the best interest of both the writers and the actors to stike. Especially now when the economy is in poor health.
I in fact will look forward for a 365 day strike, by both the SAG and the WGA. They should pool their resources together and help each other and really make the AMPTP realize that it would be more of a suicied on the AMPTP’s part to not cater to the established contractual obligations as agreed to in the past.
It may sound unrealistic and untried – but look at what ‘out of the box’ thinking accomplished for the Obama campaign. People thought it was ludicrous for them to hit 50 states at once. But they managed to conjure the most successful white house runs in history.
I believe that if both WGA and SAG have the guts, and the management, they should run a 365 day campaign against the AMPTP. Use the time to create solidarity among their members. Have regular meetings and help provide assistance to the out of work actors and writers. Let the big kahounas at the top like Jim Carey and such shake hands with the green actors and prove that they are all in this together. Run ads to inform the public about their cause. I mean, look at toyota, they are actually expanding their business in an economy where deflation is now starting to take route.
I guarantee you that if WGA and SAG were to solidify themselves against the AMPTP they would get major compliance to all their terms in the future. Tightlipped and sulking compliance, but a hefty compliance all the same.
Look at it this way, an economy like this only comes around once in a blue moon. The democrats basically rode the wave on the opportunity it provided. This it the prime market for buyers to purchase a house, ergo this is the best market for an entrepreneur to become super rich by becomming a real estate mogul. It is a gamble, but not all rewards in life will be handed down to you on a silver platter. SAG and WGA should do as Catherine the Great did, while the AMPTP lick their lips and prepare to watch them suffer – shock them by how not only agreeable that all the members are accepting of the strike, but how they are not allowing union members to suffer during such harsh times, and they can more than take care of their own. The best during the worst times.
Whilst its true that the vast majority of the Screen Actors Guilds members don’t earn large sums of money it is inevitable that the face of any actors strike would be the household names who are paid large sums, which would ultimately do the Guild and its members no good. I can’t imagine it would help the careers of many big name actors to strike because, ultimately they want more money and in the end that’s how people would see this regardless of their motives. People may not have liked the writers strike but on the whole I think people probably thought their ‘demands’ were reasonable, the same won’t be true for an actors strike the public will turn and turn fast.
With that said I really can’t see this ending in a strike – no one can afford it, not the actors and not the studios/producers. Everyone in the industry got hit in the pocket with the writers strike and productions weren’t instantly forced to shut down during that an actors strike would shut everything down straight away and no one can afford to have that happen.
a strike would suck for me… i have a movie waiting to be greenlit (i’m a writer). but i know from personal experience producers are evil evil evil. liars liars liars. so don’t assume it’s just a few rich actors wanting to make some extra money. i’m sure the producers are just trying to f-ck them as much as possible. and the idea that actors are all rich is ridiculous… my friend is a working actor and he is not rich. lives in a 2 bedroom apt with his wife.
maybe the producers should go crying to congress and ask for a handout. no they are not gonna do that… they’ll just get a free deal on internet and eventually make tons there. they are liars liars liars. u have no idea!!!!!!
auto execs, lending companies golden parachute a-holes, corrupt politicians… movie producers…. just big greedy cheating suck everyone else dry monsters. well… not all… but most.
and i have no doubt the actors are begin greedy themselves but i think it comes more from past experience with producers. evil evil evil! it drains you to work with these untrustworthy people. but you have to… because then you get nothing done.
i should have become a dentist
What the actors are asking for is not unreasonable. AMPTD dumps an offer on the table and says that’s it we’re done -take it or leave it – and call that negotiating? I call it bullshit. Touting a contract that includes 200 million in increases or whatever it is — sorry, but Quantom of Solace made that in what? A weekend?
When I download something from the internet — ressiduals should be paid to the artists — those highly paid names — because they are why I’m downloading.
Mel, there is a big difference between revenue and profits. The latest Bond movie might not have even covered its marketing budget after the first weekend, let alone the cost of the movie.
This is one of those deals where both sides suck.
I’m not saying the individual actors all suck, just the union. just like the the individual writers didn’t suck, but as a union the WGA certainly did blow, and the SAG seems little better. The difference here is that especially with the economy I’ll be very surprised if the actors strike.
First: My bias is very pro-union. So that may be why I’m looking at this as why would the AMPTP allow a strike in this sort of economy? Everyone is saying damn the SAG for threatening to strike, but they wouldn’t have to threaten if the AMPTP would meet some of their demands. The thing is that everyone is going to blame the union for halting work and causing problems for so many people in this sort of economy. I really hope it doesn’t happen, but I can’t blame SAG if it does.
Just to you let you all know we the tax payers are already bailing out the film and tv industry it’s called TARP, the 700 Billion dollar bailout plan that every Tom, Dick and Harry got their greedy ass hands in to. This 450 page document includes $470 million dollars to help bailout Hollywood. So let the actors strike, AMPTP doesn’t care they know we the tax payers are paying them to shore up their stupid projects like Prom Night 3.
$470 million isn’t nothing, but it’s too small a slice of the “whole pie” for the AMPTP to take a “doesn’t care” position.
It’s true. Unfortunately if this thing does happen, the face of the SAG strike will be the wealthy actors we all know on TV and in the movies. It’s as if people will fail to realize that they make up a small percentage of SAG. I guess it’s just the way we all see things. Citizens automatically assume that SAG is full of rich actors.
I say no to the strike.