The SAGWatch Blog - Observing the Screen Actors Guild and its Management

Everywhere you look…

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:28:48 +0000

Variety: Homevideo biz takes a hit in ‘08; Overall sales drop 3-4% despite Blu-ray’s rise.

LA Times: Auto sales in U.S. fall 18% in 2008. That plays into advertising being down overall.

Bottom line: it doesn’t look like the entertainment business is immune this time around. We’re aware that some are calling this all pro-AMPTP propaganda… they remind me of the guy who insisted “the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are sound.”

Nine Broadway Shows Close on Same Day

WW — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:04:34 +0000

Can’t remember ever hearing about anything like this. The New York Times says nine Broadway productions — including “Hairspray,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Boeing-Boeing,” “13” and “Grease” — closed for good on Sunday, some as scheduled, and some as a result of declining audiences in grim economic times.

This represents the loss of hundreds of acting jobs in New York, and many IA and AFM jobs as well.

It’s also not the end of the closings. Spamalot is due to go dark at the end of this week, and three more are to close in the following week.

WSJ: Ad Spending Expected to Drop 6.2% this year

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:24:32 +0000

The first phrase of the Wall Street Journal tells the critical part story: “With U.S. ad spending expected to fall 6.2% to $161.8 billion this year, …” The rest of the story is no big deal.

Commissioner Gordon Departs

WW — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:44:26 +0000

Veteran character actor Pat Hingle may have been best known for his portrayal of the square jawed Commissioner Gordon in the Batman series, but his repertoire was far greater than that. From an uncredited background slot in On the Waterfront, Hingle took his budding career to Broadway - and for the next 50 years he worked consistently, drawing raves and a Tony nomination for his work on the boards, and more positive words for his film and television roles - which continued right through this past year.

Pat Hingle was 84.

So, How’s Your Sense of Humor This Morning?

Number Six — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:52:14 +0000

Joel’s Stein’s Op-Ed this morning is worth a look. It’s a funny pro-merger column. Here’s the final bit:

I ran my mega-union idea by Patric M. Verrone, the president of the Writers Guild, and he loved it. “Why stop there? Let’s merge with AFTRA, the IATSE, Teamsters Local 399, the basic trades unions and the AFM,” he said, clearly making up extra unions to seem tougher. “If the AMPTP can unite competitive, global media conglomerates, why can’t talent do the same?” Verrone’s eagerness to join hands with the other guilds told me one thing: Writers definitely are the least important people in Hollywood.

I hope the directors’ and actors’ unions are just as enthusiastic. If we can all come together, we’ll have the leverage to avert a SAG strike and get much of what we all want. Besides, in a few years, our mega-union is going to have to merge with the AMPTP itself so we can take on our common enemy: people with video cameras and a YouTube account who are willing to work for free. You think negotiating with Rupert Murdoch is tough? Try getting concessions out of a funny cat.

Allens Heading for RBDs in Search of Support

Editor — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:51:55 +0000

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Allens will be visiting the RBD this week for Town Hall meetings on the delayed, but officially not dead, Strike Authorization referendum. The branches have been centers of opposition both to the referendum and to the hard line tactics the Allens and Membership First have taken in the TV-Theatrical negotiations, so we wouldn’t expect a really warm and fuzzy welcome.

As always, we welcome posts from those who attend these sessions, either via e-mail or our comment space.

Worth a Read, as Usual

WW — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:31:42 +0000

Steve Diamond’s Vallywood, with a new post on Hulu’s profits that never were. It links to a financial analyst’s discussion of Hulu, and the bottom line seems to be somewhere between mass confusion and a general consensus that Hulu’s business model is “lousy.”

Well, duh. If you give it away and the advertising revenue is almost zero, what does that leave you?

Does Bumping Doug Allen from TV-Theatrical Violates His Deal? - UPDATED

Editor — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:58:48 +0000

We don’t know, but someone e-mailed:

I’m fairly certain that his contract mandates that he will be chief negotiator on all contracts and that removing him as such on TV/Th would constitute a violation of that contract by SAG NBD. Therefore, if they remove him, in his humiliation, he’ll resign and make SAG pay the balance of the contract with impunity, I would think. THE NBD would be right to do so, and he would be right to insist on payment and that’s simply the price for getting out of this.

As we said, we haven’t read his contract. Does anyone have the facts?

—

Update: Yes, apparently it does. Here’s what we heard from someone who knows:Allen is contracted to be SAG’s chief negotiator. The only reason he wouldn’t negotiate a contract is if he didn’t want to or he is no longer employed. The new board may be able to talk him into not wanting to but that’s unlikely.

Ordinarily We Wouldn’t Post on this, but…

Editor — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:44:02 +0000

Just because the producers’ financial situation has been so much in the news lately - we’ll note the Universal Pictures unit of General Electric has completed its sale of Rogue Pictures, a maker and distributor of lower-cost films, to Relativity Media for about $150 million… not all that much, if consider what a hit or two could yield.

Las Vegas Odds on Allen Firing?

Editor — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:16:31 +0000

We don’t know how seriously to take the talk, but you can’t miss it. While the Allens are pumping out pro-strike authorization messages, including videos featuring Membership First supporters in heavy rotation on the SAG website, the buzz is building that there may be a move to dismiss the controversial SAG NED at the upcoming special board meeting Jan. 12-13.

Variety’s otherwise un-new recounting of the latest from the Allens contains this as the third sentence: ”The SAG topper made no mention of efforts to fire him as lead negotiator, a step that could be taken at the emergency national board meeting on Jan. 12-13.”

We don’t know if there are Las Vegas odds on Allen making it through the month, much less serving out his contract. But right now, this union’s working from at least two entirely different scripts, and that’s not good for anyone.