ABC Tells Actors To Take The Bus
So, the SAG Awards are on January 27th. No one usually notices except the actors. Basically if you are an actor and had any job, you get an award. There are so many actors nominated that at last count there had been 14 corrections to the nominations list. If you try and print out all the names of those nominated it runs to almost 25 pages. Anyway, since it is not being picketed by the WGA, there are high hopes that people will actually pay attention to it this year.
The actors who are going from ABC, and ABC Studios and Disney and everyone else under that massive umbrella are going to have to pay for their own expenses that night. Usually the networks and studios pick up the tab for limos and hair and the blow (dry) in return for lots of mentions of the respective networks or studios. Kind of like watching a NASCAR driver speak.
ABC and the entire Disney family though feel that they will be paying actors money to go to a SAG award show. SAG is the same organization that is telling its members not to go on ABC for Jimmy Kimmel and have not gone to any other award show this season because of picket lines.
NBC and Universal are also said to be having the actors pay for everything because they are pissed that the actors aren't going on Leno and Conan and caused the whole Golden Globe fiasco.
I think the studios might be wise to remember that the actor's contracts end in just a few short months, and I bet that in their next contract they put in a provision that will make the studios always pay for these types of events just to get back at them.
I love how these people think the world is going to end if the awards don't go on.
ReplyDeletei might get shot for this but i really think that all of these people are selfish and people are always talking about well most of the actors dont have health insurance and a lot of regular people that work dont either so why should they feel special. second of all i dont blame the studios for not paying its their own group award show let them pay for it especially since you have cost us several millions of dollars already. third i feel bad for the people that are truly affected by the strike and that is the crews who probably received a good paycheck and received benefits and or not without a job because grown people cant make up their minds about being fair cause no one every told them what that meant. i am also sick and tired of people being like the fans of shows shouldnt be mad because the studios, writers, and actors need to realize how they receive money from us by using buying the products that are advertised doing the shows.....
ReplyDeleteBy the way I love reality shows so im ok unless they interfere with CSI and Monk I dont have a problem.
knm2003, word up! The writer's want more money fine, but I'm tried of hearing about it. Let's talk about the thousands of children who have no health care at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm a writer and once do a job for a company I don't residuals from that crap if the company wants to run a print ad on their website. It's all about the smash and grab.
Love reality tv too! Gawd I'm such a whore!
Will they just settle already?!
ReplyDeleteso many people are on forced hiatus because of this.
i'm going to be brief here, because i don't know all the ins and outs.
ReplyDeletebasically, one of the things the writer's union wants is is "ownership" (i'm obviously paraphrasing") of the animation unions (whatever they are called). besides being ridiculous, its not even legal. this is why there are so many back door settlements being made with paramount, dreamworks, nbc, etc.
i don't know what it has to do with disney/abc having folks pay for their own, but you know its connected.
seriously, guys, i'm not blowing smoke, i just don't know all the details. and yeah, it would directly affect me and mine if this were allowed.
i'll try to the right wording on this if anyone is interested, but i know its not well known if if you're not in animation.
thanks for the ear.
-buns
Buns! Tell us more! [propping ears open with sticks]
ReplyDeletebasically, the writers have absolutely refused to settle until they are "given" the animation (animators?) union. i'll have to get the details again from mr. bunny. we fall into the "crew" category, you know, those good folks who would lose their jobs if animation walked. it would still take a while for us, because there are still movies in production, and mr. bunny is in technology (computers).
ReplyDeleteit seems they are pissed because the production companies are able to fall back on reality stuff and ANIMATION. so they want full control/ownership of their union, too, which can't even be done.
sorry i'm so stupid about the inner workings, mr. b tells me don't worry, so i don't.
i do have a dear friend who is a legal secretary at fox, two years from retirement, and her boss' contract just expired. fox has a hiring freeze because of the strike, so they couldn't have extended his contract if they wanted to. she almost lost everything. the last writers strike? she was actually reduced to bikini dancing at a couple of local beer bars (she teaches belly dancing, too).
how's that for how the writer's strike affects the "little people"????
-buns
i know its real sad that other people have to suffer because they want more control over things to be perfectly honest i do understand why unions are important especially when safety and benefits are being concerned but because you want to control something because you mad that they found a subsitute is wrong...in the real world if you dont like your job and what it pays you find another job thats going to pay you want you want...
ReplyDeleteCall me crass, but the longer these people stay out of work the more *crazy* they get, which means more gossip for us. Aren't we lucky? Ha-Ha!
ReplyDeleteThe studios may be pre-empting SAG joining the strike by doing this but they're shooting themselves in the feet since this award show will probably be the only one that will be televised. I'm fully expecting SAG and DGA to join the strike after June.
ReplyDeleteThanks bionic bunny and everyone for telling us the real inside story. I hope you will keep us updated at the strike progresses.
ReplyDeleteThe "writer" here ( and I use that term loosely) has some facts mixed up - the cost has always been split between SAG & production, always.
ReplyDeletebionic bunny I realise you're passing along what you've been told but...the Animation Guild is an industrial union, WGA is a craft union. Big difference. They (WGA)want writers of animation & reality shows to be covered, not industrial workers in animation. The issues regarding WGA & Animation are over former storyboarders (really doesn't happen anymore, writers in other words). I agree with those who say the strike has affected the "little people", of course it has. This strike was planned long before it happened and I think WGA has a lot to answer for. SAG & WGA used to be up at the same time Some blame the SAG national board, led by then-president Melissa Gilbert, for its decision in early 2004 to agree to a one-year extension of its deal -- which effectively de-linked with SAG's expiration date from the WGA's and placed in synch with the DGA's. I think there's enough blame to go around without putting out bad, wrong info.
first off, i already said i didn't know all the ends and outs. this is the scoop.
ReplyDeletei'm talking about the CARTOONISTS UNION. you know, the old fellows that got together back in the '40's or so and decided to form a union of their own. what the WGA is demanding is that the cartoonists union be handed to them, period. the reason that can't be done is the reason there are unions in the first place. the WGA members have to hold a vote, then go to the cartoonists and ask them to agree to hold a vote. if their members voted to join the wga, all well and good, but that is not what they want. they are DEMANDING that the studios give them the cartoonists RIGHT NOW. the studios of course don't have the power to do that, and the writers know it.
it was ME that mixed up animation w/ cartoonist. and i never said this was the ONLY thing holding this up. the writers are power hungry (and assholes) at this point.
all i wanted to point out was this was a major sticking point that the public didn't know about.
that's about as much as i know. so i think you can see why disney/abc is not/can not settle.
bionic bunny where are you getting your info?? So wrong. Animation writers are stuck belonging to 839 the Animation Guild (there's no 'cartoonists' guild we've ever heard of) or they can't work. Less pay than WGA writers, in fact it varies from show to show as per whatever the union negotiated with that corporation. No overtime, no residuals or I should say the residuals get paid to 839 as a WHOLE, money going to all members, not the writers. So losing writers would affect the bottom line $ of the union and Short's position as the "alternative to WGA" as is known in the industry. Below the line people as you say your spouse is would NOT be affected by having 839writers going to WGA. There's NO takeover of a "whole" union, just people trying to make a living and support their families.
ReplyDeleteno, i'm making this all up for shits and giggles.
ReplyDeletei want sympathy from complete strangers for a job mr. bunny has that would be affected if it unions weren't protected by certain procedural "rules".
as soon as i have it all spelled out for me ( preferably via studio update, word for word), i'll post it. at least i can admit i don't know everything, unlike some people.
Studio update? Come on bunny that's ridiculous. Why would the "studios" have info that neither union has? Do you or your "husband" work AMTP? There's NO super secret union takeover and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and just guess you're befuddled and have miscomprehended some bad info.
ReplyDelete