Variety reports: "SAG members back guild." AMPTP responds: "The questions were devised to give SAG negotiators only the answer they wanted to hear. The materials accompanying the postcard were hopelessly one-sided..." Read full story. Although more than 87% of the 10,293 SAG members who responded in this poll said they'd like to receive better terms than those in the final offer by the AMPTP, the poll generated less than a 10% response from the total 103,630 dues-current members. Since 90% of members did not participate, and the poll was not anonymous, I find the results are in essence inconclusive.
1 comment:
My biggest concern with SAG's proposal is the gigantic DVD residuals increase.
I am a small indie producer and stuggle to create work for all of us.
SAG wants to raise DVD residuals BY 15%, which would increase DVD residuals by over 400% bringing this amount to a whopping almost 20% DVD residual. Of course it sounds great to have such a huge pay raise, but I fear most actors don't understand how this works.
Residuals are paid on what the DISTRIBUTOR receives in GROSS sales and not what the producer receives after the distributor takes their share.
For example, if the distributor received $100K in gross sales, and then reports to have $100K in expenses, the production company would receive NO money from the distributor. But the production company STILL HAS TO PAY SAG actors $4700. If I have calculated correctly, with this new contract proposal, this would mean that any future projects, for the same example, producers would now have to pay $19,700.
This means that if the distributor will not sign an assumption agreement (and for small straight-to-DVD they usually won't), and even if the producer makes NO money from the distribution of your film, the producer will still have to continue to find money to pay to SAG actors.
This is very, very, very hard for smaller producers like me, and will ultimately stop me from making movies, which will ultimately eliminate work for actors...
Scary times.
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