The Denigration Express
Digital Media Law:
Hollywood’s labor troubles seemingly haven’t been so bad since the days of police brutality at studio gates, when actors, writers and directors were first trying to unionize. That’s an exaggeration, of course (and there has been much turbulence in the intervening years), but even in the dark and primordial days of the 1930s, it would have been hard for organizers to imagine the paradox of 2007-08: a writers strike over new media – the Internet and cell phones, both unimaginable 70 years ago – that lasted 100 days despite the fact that there’s been scant money in these media to date and not much likely for the next few years.
The writers strike settled in February, but in the months since, the Screen Actors Guild has been flying apart at the seams like a rag doll spun through the air by a petulant 2-year-old. First came SAG’s ill-fated attempt to marginalize a smaller actors union, an effort that only succeeded in helping that union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, become a more effective rival of the guild. AFTRA ended up reaching a deal with the studios, while SAG bought itself a continuing stalemate. As a result, SAG members work under a contract that expired almost three months ago, while AFTRA members have the benefit of wage increases and other improvements under a new agreement.
The key sticking point? New media, again. SAG has rejected several portions of the template deal accepted this year by the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America, and by AFTRA in two separate agreements (one for daytime TV, the other for prime time). The studios refuse to back down, and so does SAG – yet the guild has little leverage (despite making some valid points), because…