fangirljen: (Comic Geek)
fangirljen ([personal profile] fangirljen) wrote2008-06-25 03:46 pm
Entry tags:

Possible SAG Strike and Comic Con

Many thanks to [livejournal.com profile] vdovault who made a links post about people's thoughts on how a SAG strike might impact Comic Con.

So, this has been on and off my mind since the WGA strike. How would a strike effect Comic Con? I don't know anything about the legalities of the contracts, but if there is a SAG strike, it doesn't seem realistic to me that SAG would let actors promote shows and movies made by the studios they are striking against. Now, I don't think this would actually mean there wouldn't be a panel for a show or a movie, but those panels wouldn't have any of the actors there. Which...okay, honestly, part of me has a morbid curiosity how this would effect Comic Con as a whole. As Frosty of Collider points out, it wouldn't impact ticket sales, as 4 Day passes are already sold out and Saturday tickets are sold out. I've been to the Comic Con of old, when most of the panels going on were comic studio related. There were fewer people and there was a lot of breathing space. It was really nice. That was in the day when I went to Con strictly to pick up cool merchandise that I couldn't get anywhere else and comics at dirt cheap prices. I've fallen for the love affair that Comic Con has with Hollywood, as the last couple of years I've been going to Comic Con to see a panel for a specific show and actors. It's not about the comics so much for me anymore.

Many people are in this boat with me and I really don't want to see them disappointed if things don't go as they had previously planned.

Re: UPDATE

[identity profile] fangirljen.livejournal.com 2008-06-25 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Better than not talking. *nod* I wonder how today is going for them. I heard about the possibility of a waver from someone else, too. But it would have to be something in SAG's interest too, right?

A very long way off from June 30th. I heard there was a possibility that people might still be working without a contract. Somewhere I read that WGA actually went TWO YEARS without a new contract? I don't see this happening with SAG, though. SAG seems more intent on the contract to me.

The WGA strike decimated the industry, especially for the under the line people. Tons of money lost and a severe drop in viewship that hasn't come back yet. And then there are those industries that you might not think about, like caterers and dry cleaning businesses that took heavy hits too. Gah. I wish I was more up on this information.

I hope you're right about SAG working to avoid a strike. They just seem to be holding out a lot longer than they should, especially with AFTRA getting their tentative deal. Ahh, okay. When is the AFTRA vote?

I've heard conflicting reports on the AFTRA deal. Some say it is bad and some say it is as good as they're going to get. AFTRA wasn't interested in the new media very much, right? I thought I had heard that.

I heard the same rumor, too. I also heard that it's a 50/50 chance of there being a strike, too. Everything is up in the air right now.

I really appreciate getting your opinion. You can offer an inside perspective. :D Thank you!

Re: UPDATE

[identity profile] thepandorarose.livejournal.com 2008-06-26 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
Your just so kind Jen, so refreshing. :) Anyway, I think the AFTRA deal is good depending on what is important to you. As an unknown actor with out an agent, consent of clips and new media is important to me. Most things on the internet is non union, which means all that work isn't open to me. And as an unknown with out representations its very easy for to get auditions for such things -- and there is so much of it. A friend of mine has a website with little funny videos and I can't be in any of them. And I feel someone could take advantage of my image online with out ardent rules and that worries me.

I think compromise is a very important thing, but I do think this is a different world because of the writers strike. That needs to be taken into consideration. If that hadn't happened it would be a whole different ballgame. I do hope they know that, but the people who run SAG have some money in the bank so perhaps they will will forget. I'm big on standing firm on one's principles, but sometimes you have to make hard choices for the greater good of the the many vs the few.

OMG, I sound like Arthur Petrelli. lol.

Re: UPDATE

[identity profile] fangirljen.livejournal.com 2008-06-26 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
:D I try to be kind whenever possible.

That makes perfect sense about the AFTRA deal. I had no idea that there's only about ten AFTRA shows out there. All the rest are SAG. But there's a few thousand actors who are both SAG and AFTRA, I think.

Who is the AFTRA deal designed for? What sort of actor? Yipes! That's not good. The new media could open doors for you, get you out there. It is easy to get auditions without representation? I've always heard the opposite. Maybe that's on this coast. You should have say over how your image is used. I know California has laws like that. A friend of mine wanted to sell fan art for charity, but we couldn't depict the actors, or the characters. Eventually, we scraped the whole thing because it just wouldn't work! Those laws don't extend to online, though, do they?

It's a very different world. I don't think we know the full ramifications. The strike only ended four months ago.

They should be thinking of the needs of the many outside the needs of the few. But the few are the ones who bring in the big bucks.

LOL I'm not surprised. :D

Just got an email from SAG

[identity profile] thepandorarose.livejournal.com 2008-06-26 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
It says: We will be negotiating a fair contract for you 24/7.

Okay,I am attemping italics, I hope it works. I keep reversing the / -

That makes perfect sense about the AFTRA deal. I had no idea that there's only about ten AFTRA shows out there. All the rest are SAG. But there's a few thousand actors who are both SAG and AFTRA, I think.

AFTRA is easy to join. You walk up and pay, no credits no nothing. Most actors, I know, don't join AFTRA unless they have to because you can do the work as SAG. I have worked SAG at an AFTRA rate as an extra on shows that are really AFTRA. Paying another union I don't have to join, there seems no point. Everyone else join, just to join and are usually green, young, actors who think joining a union will help them. It really doesn't.

Who is the AFTRA deal designed for? What sort of actor? Yipes! That's not good. The new media could open doors for you, get you out there. It is easy to get auditions without representation?

For film and high paying theater, no its very difficult, but the internet is so new - there are so many people out there doing things - so if it was union it would open more doors. Did that make sense? So, what I'm saying is, You are correct, both coasts.

What happens when something new comes out is the laws just don't follow over. That is why these contracts are so important, its an important time for the WGA and SAG. New media is like being in the wild west - and it needs to be policed. I read an article about an actress (and this was a long time ago) whose image was used on line for a lewd video game to promote her movie. And she knew once it happened there was nothing she could do about it.

They should be thinking of the needs of the many outside the needs of the few. But the few are the ones who bring in the big bucks.

Yeah, I'm afraid they are forgetting about the little people.

OMG the italics worked... well for now.