Over the past fifteen years or so, a new type of labor force has exploded onto the scene. Traditional blue-collar unions–Teamsters, UAW, etc.–have made room for handmade, three-piece suit, designer unions. These guilds look out for the welfare and happiness of the truly oppressed: the affluent, multi-millionaire basketball and baseball players; the Armani-clad doctors and lawyers; and of course, Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts.
So exploited and subjugated are La-la-land’s thespians that the members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, their clenched fists resting dramatically on overwrought brows, are threatening to strike.
Actually, much like the rest of the beastly work schedule in Hollywood, negotiations are resuming today following the third hiatus–read: vacation break–of the short talks, with just 17 days left before the current actors’ contract expires. Yet optimism remains high in Tinseltown, based largely on the Writers’ deal that recently passed approval by the WGA’s membership, not that any news has been forthcoming from either side.
The snail’s pace of the negotiations hasn’t worried Jack Kyser, senior economist of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.
“Once the writers settled, the possibility of a SAG/AFTRA strike became a non-issue for many people outside the industry,” Kyser told Variety.
The Los Angeles mayor’s office, however, remains concerned, and is actively tracking the negotiations. Mayor Riordan, despite his term ending the same day the actors’ contract expires, has reportedly made numerous calls to negotiators, to keep abreast of developments.
Riordan has been low key thus far in his stance with the ongoing actors’ discussions, but was very proactive during the writers’ talks, often upstaging the negotiations by holding press conferences urging a compromise by both sides to get a deal done.
But while Riordan has been kept in the know by Hollywood honchos, the actors and studios have said nary a word to the public, abiding by a mutually agreed upon, self-imposed code of silence.
In fact, SAG has now said that they will not reveal the terms of the deal–if and when a deal is finalized–to the public. They will probably divulge key factors, including the total magnitude of the deal, but have no intention of revealing the total value of the updated contract, reports Variety.
“I have not heard of any plans to disclose the total contract value when negotiations conclude. We haven’t done that in the past,” SAG spokesman Greg Krizman told the venerated Hollywood paper.
SAG/AFTRA’s initial proposal included a 5% increase for minimum rates, and the cognoscenti assume SAG/AFTRA is haggling for an extra $100 million or so.
SAG’s silence over the total amount shouldn’t be surprising, even given the WGA’s complete disclosure over its deal. Neither the Directors Guild of America nor the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees make public the total cost of their contracts.
SAG was also remarkably tight-lipped on its deal with advertisers last fall that followed a six-month strike. Those talks were marked by bitter and acrimonious accusations on both sides. A total cost was never revealed, and SAG only offered numbers on certain cable payments and Internet jurisdiction.
Talks are not the only thing moving at a snail’s pace in Hollywood at the moment, affected by the wave of negotiations. As Hollywood braced for a potential writers’ strike in April and May, production companies stockpiled as much as they could in advance, and spent much of their production money.
Additionally, studios are unwilling to make deals with actors until negotiations are resolved with SAG/AFTRA, freeing actors to complete contracts that they sign.
The onslaught of summer heat may have movies exploding on screen, but it’s brought a wilting effect on Hollywood denizens.
