Strike, or No SAG Strike.... |
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While Match-Flickers have been enjoying an above-average array of summer box-office blockbusters in the air-conditioned comfort of their local multiplexes, Hollywood and the stars have been sweating out the possibility of a potentially crippling Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike.
For those "not already in the know": the Screen Actors Guild is the largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG now represents more than 120,000 actors working in motion pictures, television, commercials, industrials, video games and the Internet.
Earlier this year, SAG's sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) agreed to a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Because the two unions had always worked in tandem to negotiate new deals, the industry expected both labor behemoths to accept the contract that AFTRA ratified. This time, it didn't happen that way.
Generating the perspiration in Tinsel-Town is the fact that, since Tuesday, July 1, SAG members have been working 
Director Roland Emmerich's 2012 is Greenlighted. |
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without a contract. Should SAG'S 120,000 actors vote for a strike, the box-office could be stalled for the duration. A long strike may not affect next year's product, most of which is already in post-production, but 2010 could see a halt in the steady stream of flicks at your local multiplex.
Since the expiration of SAG's contract, the studios had been winding down production, fearing their actors could walk out, leaving productions high and dry. In mid-July a SAG strike looked unlikely. After all, the 70,000-member American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) had just ratified a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. For many and complex reasons, SAG rejected the same contract AFTRA ratified. Later, SAG rejected what the producers called their revised "final offer."
That left future box-office production hanging, and motion pictures already in production were accelerated to conclusion. For a while, it appeared that the SAG contract talk stalemate would effectively put the kibosh on the start of new 
Jerry Bruckheimer's PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME is also a Go! |
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productions.
Increasingly though, it looks as though this stalemate will last through September when SAG's leadership will be up for re-election. Likely, the election will be a referendum on the bargaining committee's efforts to achieve a contract.
Consequently, several big budget studio projects are starting production despite the stalemate in the SAG contract talks. As one Hollywood insider puts it, "Everyone is working under the assumption that nothing will happen, including a strike vote, until there is an election and the results are known. I think SAG thought, 'Let's drag this into July and August; let's force the studios into making a mistake. Maybe they'll lock us out, and that will galvanize the members and then we'll get a strike vote.' That didn't happen, either.
As of now, the Hollywood studios are, in effect, declaring, "Damn a possible SAG strike, full production ahead!" Director Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic, 2012, has already begun shooting in Vancouver. Over at the Mouse factory, Disney has put PRINCE OF PERSIA" THE SANDS OF 
Also defying SAG Strike, Apatow's FUNNY PEOPLE, starring Bana |
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TIME into production, even though it has pushed back the release year from 2009 to 2010, in advent of a possible strike production halt. And, at Universal, Judd Apatow's FUNNY PEOPLE and LOST FOR WORDS will launch production in September.
As for the chances of a strike, insiders claim, "Even if current SAG leadership wins the election, officials would be unlikely to muster the 75% membership vote to authorize a strike.
But what does all of this mean to Match-Flickers? Quite simply, by refusing to be intimidated by the threat of a SAG strike, producers have assured Match-Flickers that, strike or no strike, fresh flicks will be delivered to their multiplex box-offices every Friday, without interruption.
SUMMER BOX-OFFICE WATCH: THE DARK NIGHT keeps going and going. Setting a record for this summer, THE DARK KNIGHT made the Weekend of August 8-10, its fourth consecutive week in the Number One position. Domestically, Batman's latest cape(r) is on the fast track to $450 million. Worldwide, the superhero has amassed more than $700 million. And that's no Joke (r).
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| Christopher Stone |
Christopher Stone is the author of the international best seller Re-Creating Your Self. With Mary Sheldon, he co-authored three highly successful hardcover books of guided meditations.
He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West.
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