Logo

Actors Guild Turmoil Continues

Mar 10, 2009  •  Post A Comment

The Screen Actors Guild continues to deal with internal turmoil, as its
Hollywood board is asking the national board to send out the media
companies’ final offer to members without a recommendation, Daily Variety reports. The Hollywood board recommended the request on Monday night on a
split vote, even though the national board decided against sending out the
offer two weeks ago, the trade paper says.
—Aimee Picchi

2 Comments

  1. The Screen Actors Guild and any other similar organization had better think twice befor to voluntarily discontinueing employment. We the people who have been truly unemployed for many months and are losing our homes and dignity do not have sympathy for an overpaid industry. We have been forced to cut back on everything including homes, medical, and food. To walk out of a job is sinfull under any conditions. Wake up. You just don’t get it. So geedy.

  2. To outsiders, it may appear that those who work in the acting industry are overpaid. This is an easy conclusion to jump to if the only impression people get is what is written about the “A -List” actors and their incomes. But did you know that most actors don’t earn a living income from acting? When it comes to unions, the vast majority of SAG’s “rank & file” make far less than any other union. It’s a rough estimate but last time I checked, most actors make less than $20,000 a year….in fact most SAG members have to work a “day-job” to support themselves so they can continue to audition, take classes, update photos….all in the pursuit of simply earning a living at the craft of acting.
    For the uninformed, the actors are simply wanting a fair deal for payments in new media, an increase in mileage reimbursements ( which hasn’t changed in years ) and consideration / payment for product-placement ( ads in movies ) which is a de-facto endorsement. Many actors make their living from TV commercials but if they appear in a movie that has product placement, it can make them inelgible to appear in commercials for competing products and that’s not fair if they aren’t allowed to be compensated for their casual endorsement.
    Most actors don’t earn their incomes from acting. Perhaps less than 20% of SAG union actors do earn a living income soley from acting jobs…it’s perhaps 5% of the union who really make the kind of money that would be the envy of most.
    So please, understand that professional actors have a lot to lose by accepting a bad offer from the AMPTP which would have long-lasting, negative effects for all actors. But for a majority of union actors who don’t make a living income from acting, accepting a bad deal would impact them the most.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)