Representatives of the actors’ unions and the ad industry are slated to meet next week in New York to try to breathe life back into contract negotiations that broke down in late September. The two sides are scheduled to get together on Oct. 19, with the promise that they will remain at the bargaining table if progress is made.
Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) figure to continue their efforts to shut down spot production involving nonunion actors. This will likely translate into further picketing of shoots, as well as organized actions against major national advertisers—a prime example being the earlier-reported union plans to boycott Procter & Gamble (SHOOT, 9/29, p. 1).
While picketing has proven effective in dramatically curtailing location lensing in Greater Los Angeles, as evidenced by film permit figures (SHOOT, 10/4, p. 1), it has arguably served to divert much of that production to other U.S. cities and foreign countries. There is a growing industry concern that this exacerbation of the runaway production problem will have a lasting effect well after the strike is finally settled. Many advertisers and agencies have had positive experiences—creatively and in terms of cost savings—when shooting in Canada and overseas. These clients and ad shops have come to view shooting outside the U.S. as a viable, practical alternative. Therefore, those caught in the middle of the strike—like U.S. crew and support service companies—could be adversely affected financially for some time to come.
"The impact is going to be far beyond what it’s meant thus far in lost dollars to the town, crew and actors," contended Patrick Collins, general manager of BBS Pacific, the Los Angeles-based operation of Westport, Conn.-headquartered production consultancy firm Bird Bonette Stauderman (which also has an office in London).
"A window has opened up to multinational advertisers," Collins continued. "The strike has forced them to realize that the production world goes beyond the U.S. There are some great creative resources [globally], and the strength of the dollar in many foreign countries is incredibly advantageous. [Prior to the strike] there were already smart clients who knew about some of the benefits of shooting offshore. But many other clients had considered it a boondoggle—’You guys just want to travel there,’ or it was going to cost too much money. The strike has caused them [clients] to see otherwise."
INTERIM PACTS
SAG and AFTRA have countered that production can go on in the U.S. during the strike—with union actors—if advertisers and/or agencies sign interim agreements. The latest wrinkle is that SAG and AFTRA are reportedly developing new interim contracts reflecting terms of the proposal they left at the bargaining table when negotiations broke off in September with the Joint Policy Committee (JPC) on Talent Relations. (The JPC represents the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies.)
The unions claim to have more than 2,000 interim signatories. The most recent include copier manufacturer Ricoh and brokerage TD Waterhouse.
Last month, prior to the start of the ill-fated talks between the JPC and the actors’ unions, the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) signed an interim pact (SHOOT, 9/22, p. 1). Since then, CMPB executive director Jeff Manning confirmed that three "Got Milk?" spots have been produced under the interim agreement.
The three CMPB commercials were directed by Noam Murro of Biscuit filmworks, Hollywood, for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco. The first spot, "Taunt the Monkey," is slated to debut on Oct. 23. The other two ads aren’t scheduled to break until 2001. Manning noted that casting the right actors is important to the success of CMPB’s advertising. He reiterated that it was in CMPB’s best interest to sign an interim agreement.
—additional reporting by Sarah Woodward
