Equity, the actors’ union in Australia, remains on strike, declaring that its members will not work on foreign (“offshore”) TV commercials Down Under until a labor agreement is reached with the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA).
SPAA officially withdrew from the prior contract on Aug. 7, at which point Equity went on strike. Since then, there’s been no movement toward renewing talks between the two parties.
Last Friday (8/14), Equity picketed SPAA headquarters with some 150 union members turning out. However SPAA got wind of the plans in advance and closed its office that day.
Still, Simon Whipp, director of Equity (which is part of Australia’s Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance–MEAA), said the protest at SPAA headquarters reflected solidarity on the part of union rank and file.
“We understand that the producers are using casting agents to try to get Equity performers to individually break away and work on jobs,” related Whipp who is confident that union members will not break ranks until a contract is agreed upon.
Furthermore, Whipp said the union will take action if necessary in the event producers try to cast nonunion talent on foreign commercials shot in Australia.
Geoff Brown, executive director of SPAA, said that the organization’s producer members are currently bidding on projects and offering local talent work. “These are generous deals being offered by our members to actors. There’s no wholesale cutting of fees,” he affirmed, noting that producers are looking to fashion “flexible usage and session fees” so as to improve the chance of offshore commercials being produced in Australia.
“We have to be more competitive. We weren’t getting this work anyway,” related Brown. “We are hoping that local talent will see that offers being made are reasonable and acceptable. Otherwise we will continue to be in a pattern where Australia is losing out on [foreign] work.”
According to Brown, Australia has for some time been seeing foreign spot production, particularly from the U.S. and U.K., go elsewhere, primarily to New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.
Brown said that SPAA is hopeful of engaging local union actors willing to make “an informed decision in their best interest with their agents, working through casting directors and our members.” He added that SPAA is not at the point where it is considering bringing in actors from outside the union.
A series of contingency plans for producers who want to work during the strike is being drafted by SPAA. Brown said this document will serve as a template for producers to consider. “It’s not a document that will be imposed on any producer. It’s still very much an individual company decision as to how to proceed.
Meanwhile Equity’s Whipp noted, “We sent an open letter to the head of the Producers Association that we remain ready, willing and able to talk, I cannot force someone to talk to me but I very much hope that we can get back to having a dialogue to address the issues.”
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More