C’mon Hollywood #164

… don’t let the actors strike!
by Sturdy

A while ago I pleaded with Hollywood and the WGA to end the writer’s strike. After thinking about it, I think everyone was a little late to the party when it came to working out a deal. It never should have gotten to that point. The writers and Hollywood powers-that-be should have sat down many months beforehand and hammered out a deal. But alas, that didn’t happen and we ended up with a few months of dead air on TV and some delays to some highly anticipated movies. In a few weeks, the actors are going to have to make a similar decision and I’m pleading with everyone involved to get together and work something out.

We don’t need a repeat of this

I have to admit that I don’t have a warm-fuzzy feeling about the negotiations between the SAG and the studio execs. I read that George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep among others asked the leaders of the SAG
to begin negotiating a while ago. Their response was basically they’d begin negotiating when it best suited them. Now, I’m not really involved with Hollywood, but if Clooney, Hanks and Streep walked into my office and asked me to do something, I’m going to do it. They’ve earned their place in Hollywood and if they’re taking that much of an interest to get together and make a formal stance, everyone in Hollywood should listen.

The biggest issue with the SAG that bothers me is the notion that they have more power than the WGA. Like I said about the WGA, I think writers are easier to replace than actors. Not too many people would notice if some dude in Iowa wrote an episode of “Two and a Half Men”, but everyone in the world would notice if the guy cleaning your pool wound up playing Danny Ocean in the next Ocean’s film. I just hope they don’t use that power to try and get a better deal than they deserve.

If Danny Ocean talks, you gotta listen.

I really don’t want to take sides in the issue, but before you get up in arms about whiny actors begging for more money, keep in mind that most actors don’t make enough money to survive. Yes, the biggest stars make $20 million a film, but your average commercial actor or b-movie actor doesn’t make very much at all. Those are the people that are trying to get a better deal. Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and other big actors are going to make their money no matter what.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about unions, but I fear that the people running the SAG aren’t acting in the best interest of their members. No, I don’t have all the detailed information, I’m just looking at what’s been reported and what the actors have said so far. If Alan Rosenberg was the head of my union, I would want to see an effort at every turn being made to prevent a strike and get us the best deal. Unfortunately, I don’t see that in the case of the SAG.

This issue should have been resolved by now

So c’mon Hollywood/SAG, don’t strike! It doesn’t do anyone any good and the fans are the ones that suffer the most. I hated that the writers had their strike and I really hope the actors don’t turn around and do the same thing. Grab some coffee, rent a conference room and don’t come out until you reach a deal.