No SAG Strike! ...please

[rydot]

Wow, my first movie industry related post?

If you are a member of SAG, and you find yourself in possession of a "Go on strike? Y/N" type ballot, I implore you to vote NO...

No SAG Strike! PetitionTo: AMPTP & SAG

Comments

[stacymckenna]

I use the word sheeple because that's how those in the industry at the top levels view them - digits who will fork over money when you push the right buttons. Few investors are willing to front huge money for those films typically considered geared for the intelligentsia rather than the mass market. It's very arguable that the "higher class" film market does poorly on the bottom line due to inadequate marketing (which in large part is true - we're much more likely to see bus posters for the latest blockbuster stereotyped allegory than the well characterized nuanced drama). Unfortunately, you and I (and most of the people reading this blog, I'd bet) are not the ones who need the convincing on this score. The big investors are going to stick with what they know is "safe" and the industry has been propped up in such a way that the $20m headliner format is "safe".

It has been argued by many for a long time that the traditional structure of entertainment media is a dinosaur. The music and film industries have been shaking at their foundations for a long time now with the advent of digital formats and the prevalence of DVD usage. Even TV now is struggling to cope with the shifting balance thanks to commercial-less viewing habits and online streaming. It's very obvious to many that restructuring the industry to the lower level flexibility mode would be beneficial - in all sorts of industries - but our country is full of examples of upper level management in all sorts of industries ignoring or disbelieving this is the case. The major corporations (in which category the entertainment players largely fall) have been in a trend of ever-increasing instead of dropping back down to smaller, more agile configurations. Much of our corporate culture is looking like Aged Rome. I do hope that it doesn't all fall simultaneously - one industry at a time is enough, really. But is increasing scale going to make it easier or harder for smaller, more agile players to get into the game? It just sounds like a move that could be counterproductive to long term longevity of the industry for either the majors or the little guys trying to break in.