D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Over on the Slipstream, the Andromeda fan website, there is a story about a possible strike. Any of you cast and crew members want to comment on this story?
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>The contract between the Alliance of
Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio
Artists (ACTRA) and studios is set to
expire in January 2002, not only
precipitating a potential strike threat
but also a withdrawal of Hollywood
support for Canadian productions.
Despite the fact that in sixty years of
negotiations ACTRA has never called a
strike, U.S. studios are attempting to
pre-empt any breakdown in negotiations
by shutting down many productions to
be shot in Canada, the Montreal
Gazette reported. The studios are
apparently wary because of the recent
strike threat by actors and writers in
the U.S.
Although the current contract will not
elapse until January 16 next year,
ACTRA is already preparing for the
upcoming negotiations, according to the
union's web site. Last month, the
alliance began collecting information
from its 18,000 members and will meet
with the producers' associations in two
months time to exchange proposals.
Issues up for discussion include Internet
royalties, increasing the number of
Canadian actors in U.S. productions,
and a rise in the basic daily wage for
actors. Currently, a Canadian 'principal
performer' (6 lines or more), earns $510
Canadian dollars per day, while their
counterparts across the border receive
the equivalent of $950.
Canadian industry leaders have
responded swiftly to the move by U.S.
producers to pull productions out of
Canada. "This pre-emptive move by the
Hollywood studios to set their own
strike deadline months before contract
negotiations even begin, will foster
instability within the Canadian
entertainment industry," said Stephen
Waddell, ACTRA's National Executive
Director. "It is as important to ACTRA
members as it is to producers that there
be a smooth and structured process
leading up to, and during collective
bargaining negotiations."
Waddell highlighted the unfairness of
this move by Hollywood studios. "No one
at ACTRA wants a strike and there
won't be one, provided the producers
are willing to negotiate a fair and
equitable settlement," he said. "The
U.S. producers assert that the mere
possibility of a performers' strike is
forcing them to reconsider the
investment of hundreds of millions of
dollars in the Canadian economy."
In order to halt this withdrawal, ACTRA
has said that it is willing to offer
contracts with Hollywood studios on a
production-by-production basis, thus
ensuring that some U.S. shoots would
continue unimpeded if an industry-wide
strike was called.
According to the IMDB, 20th Century
Fox has withdrawn the film 'Daredevil'
from Canada, and an $80 million
production of Stephen King's
'Dreamcatcher,' originally set to shoot in
January, may also be pulled. Gene
Roddenberry's Andromeda isn't likely to
be affected like these productions as all
of season two will have been filmed by
January.
This move by the studios comes at the
same time as an attempt by the Screen
Actors Guild (SAG) to block studios that
relocate their films overseas. These
so-called 'runaway' productions choose
countries such as Canada or Australia
for their shoots because of the lower
production costs. Andromeda is part of
this group, produced by the American
Tribune company, but shot in
Vancouver.
The guild voted to endorse a
countervailing tariff scheme against
producers who shoot in foreign
countries, according to Variety. Under
the terms of this plan, any studio that
makes use of foreign production
subsidies will have to pay a tariff of the
same amount before the production can
be distributed in the U.S. Coupled with
the strike action, this could have
dramatic ramifications for Canadian
actors.
Any upheaval in the Canadian
entertainment industry would have the
potential to affect Andromeda. In
addition, five out of the seven principal
actors are Canadian, so any ACTRA
strike could cripple production on the
series. However, there is currently no
filming planned for January, so in the
event of a strike, there would be a
window of several months in which the
series would no be affected.
Further details on the ACTRA strike
threat can be found at the alliance's
web site or in this Montreal Gazette
here. More information on the SAG tariff
situation is available in this
Reuters/Variety report.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
------------------
Peace, Love and Rock & Roll,
Kailin
(Starriders clan)
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>The contract between the Alliance of
Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio
Artists (ACTRA) and studios is set to
expire in January 2002, not only
precipitating a potential strike threat
but also a withdrawal of Hollywood
support for Canadian productions.
Despite the fact that in sixty years of
negotiations ACTRA has never called a
strike, U.S. studios are attempting to
pre-empt any breakdown in negotiations
by shutting down many productions to
be shot in Canada, the Montreal
Gazette reported. The studios are
apparently wary because of the recent
strike threat by actors and writers in
the U.S.
Although the current contract will not
elapse until January 16 next year,
ACTRA is already preparing for the
upcoming negotiations, according to the
union's web site. Last month, the
alliance began collecting information
from its 18,000 members and will meet
with the producers' associations in two
months time to exchange proposals.
Issues up for discussion include Internet
royalties, increasing the number of
Canadian actors in U.S. productions,
and a rise in the basic daily wage for
actors. Currently, a Canadian 'principal
performer' (6 lines or more), earns $510
Canadian dollars per day, while their
counterparts across the border receive
the equivalent of $950.
Canadian industry leaders have
responded swiftly to the move by U.S.
producers to pull productions out of
Canada. "This pre-emptive move by the
Hollywood studios to set their own
strike deadline months before contract
negotiations even begin, will foster
instability within the Canadian
entertainment industry," said Stephen
Waddell, ACTRA's National Executive
Director. "It is as important to ACTRA
members as it is to producers that there
be a smooth and structured process
leading up to, and during collective
bargaining negotiations."
Waddell highlighted the unfairness of
this move by Hollywood studios. "No one
at ACTRA wants a strike and there
won't be one, provided the producers
are willing to negotiate a fair and
equitable settlement," he said. "The
U.S. producers assert that the mere
possibility of a performers' strike is
forcing them to reconsider the
investment of hundreds of millions of
dollars in the Canadian economy."
In order to halt this withdrawal, ACTRA
has said that it is willing to offer
contracts with Hollywood studios on a
production-by-production basis, thus
ensuring that some U.S. shoots would
continue unimpeded if an industry-wide
strike was called.
According to the IMDB, 20th Century
Fox has withdrawn the film 'Daredevil'
from Canada, and an $80 million
production of Stephen King's
'Dreamcatcher,' originally set to shoot in
January, may also be pulled. Gene
Roddenberry's Andromeda isn't likely to
be affected like these productions as all
of season two will have been filmed by
January.
This move by the studios comes at the
same time as an attempt by the Screen
Actors Guild (SAG) to block studios that
relocate their films overseas. These
so-called 'runaway' productions choose
countries such as Canada or Australia
for their shoots because of the lower
production costs. Andromeda is part of
this group, produced by the American
Tribune company, but shot in
Vancouver.
The guild voted to endorse a
countervailing tariff scheme against
producers who shoot in foreign
countries, according to Variety. Under
the terms of this plan, any studio that
makes use of foreign production
subsidies will have to pay a tariff of the
same amount before the production can
be distributed in the U.S. Coupled with
the strike action, this could have
dramatic ramifications for Canadian
actors.
Any upheaval in the Canadian
entertainment industry would have the
potential to affect Andromeda. In
addition, five out of the seven principal
actors are Canadian, so any ACTRA
strike could cripple production on the
series. However, there is currently no
filming planned for January, so in the
event of a strike, there would be a
window of several months in which the
series would no be affected.
Further details on the ACTRA strike
threat can be found at the alliance's
web site or in this Montreal Gazette
here. More information on the SAG tariff
situation is available in this
Reuters/Variety report.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
------------------
Peace, Love and Rock & Roll,
Kailin
(Starriders clan)
