The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has launched what it describes as a "grassroots" campaign in an effort to help stem the flow of runaway production to other countries.
SAG will first try to generate thousands of phone calls and letters from its membership to build support for a movement designed to get U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky to raise the runaway issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, which begin next month (Nov. 30-Dec. 3) in Seattle. As earlier reported (SHOOT, 10/15, p. 1), eight congressmen initiated the effort by authoring a letter which they are trying to get other legislators to sign before sending it to Barshefsky. Those congressmen are: Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), Howard Berman (D-Calif.), Gary Condit (D-Calif.), David Dreier (R-Calif.), Mark Foley (R-Fla.), Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif.), Howard McKeon (R-Calif.) and Jerry Weller (R-Ill.).
The letter accused Canada of practicing "protectionism" by maintaining "trade barriers" that limit airtime for U.S. TV shows on Canadian outlets, while at the same time offering tax and employment incentives "to lure jobs in the movie and television industry away from the U.S." This is contrary to the "free and fair" global trade policies the U.S. has consistently advocated, the letter continued. The letter also stated that runaway production should be considered in a balance of trade context. As film and TV production are central to the economic prosperity of the U.S., the congressmen believe this issue merits discussion at the WTO meeting.
SAG requested that its nearly 100,000 members contact and urge their local elected officials in the House of Representatives to sign the letter in order to put the runaway problem on the U.S. trade agenda.
Beyond the WTO confab, SAG hopes to gain legislator backing of other possible remedies to the runaway plight. "The fact is major production centers around the country have experienced the brunt of the loss of film, television and commercial production," said SAG president Richard Masur. "That will be helpful in generating the type of support in Congress we’ll need to find a bipartisan federal solution to this problem."
