From this morning's Cynopsis:
"SAG Strike Update: A cadre of more than 130 top box office actors including George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Kevin Spacey, Sally Field among others sent a petition to SAG national president Alan Rosenberg, national executive director Doug Allen and other leaders, asking for a cancellation of the strike authorization vote. SAG leaders have not publicly commented on the letter. The opposition letter from the actors said the weakened economy was their motivation to end strike talks and it further stated: "We feel very strongly that SAG members should not vote to authorize a strike at this time," the letter said. "We don't think that an authorization can be looked at as merely a bargaining tool. It must be looked at as what it is -- an agreement to strike if negotiations fail." Actors who favor the strike authorization vote include Ed Harris, Rob Morrow, Martin Sheen, Holly Hunter and Mel Gibson."
While I think Martin Sheen played the best president ever immortalized on film (sorry Kevin Klein's Dave) What I'm taking away from this is that any interest Mel Gibson has in a subject, the opposite is better for the masses.
But seriously, and I want to be clear - I FULLY SUPPORT JUST COMPENSATION FOR ACTORS IN THE DIGITAL MARKETPLACE! I just don't think that the market is at a place to justify the requested deal.
Our economy is in a very brittle place at the moment. Most large Media corporations are looking at "sure things" that will bring in ad revenue to keep their companies afloat. There simply aren't metrics to prove that internet content is a lucrative investment at this juncture. We're getting there. And we've made GREAT progress in the last 2 years alone, but it's not there yet.
If there is a SAG strike, the Media companies who have, up till this point, invested in this content will NOT move forward with new productions. And this new market will be cut off at the knees until our economy strengthens- however long that will take.
BUT we all know in periods of economic distress, innovation is often the solution. If companies are free to produce this cheaper content, take more risks, and find alternative ways to profit... there will be a resounding effect for ALL involved.
Now, when the next contract is up (in a BRIEF 3 years) hopefully the Media companies will have ironed out all of the variables and have real numbers to prove or disprove profitability. My instincts tell me that this type of content will be HUGELY successful at that point, and the SAG members will have a greater leg to stand on for a negotiation that will be hard to justify NOT giving in to the new digital deal points. No striking, no great conflict. The producers will have to acknowledge that talent deserves to be compensated.
But in such an embryonic place, where widespread consumption and ad support is fluid and sporadic, a strike could regress the development of this new media to a place where Studios deem the platform volatile.
I know it's a lot to ask. You hear studio execs making bold statements about their profits from internet media, and you say you want a piece of it. And no one will say you don't deserve it. Truthfully, you do. But like so many startups and new ventures there is always a period of famine before feast. I encourage you all to think about the BIG picture, think about the future, and fortify your numbers against a strike. I'm not sure many of us could survive it.
