Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, December 5th, 2023.
THE HOLLYWOOD STRIKES ARE OFFICIALLY OVER
I suppose that there is no more fitting representation of the last six months of Hollywood strikes than that when SAG-AFTRA sent out the results of the voting Tuesday night, I had fallen asleep on the couch, about 15 hours into my work day.
The SAG-AFTRA strike is now over and I think it's fair to say everyone is physically and mentally exhausted. Those members who generally supported the deal are just looking forward and those who opposed parts of the proposed agreement are just hoping that somehow their fears were somehow overblown or misplaced. Even though some of the people I heard from over the past several days remain convinced the end results were a mistake.
A lot has been made about the AI provisions of the deal and the truth is that we probably won't have a sense of the impact of the deal's attempt to reign in its impact on the industry's actors until months or even years down the line.
But for all of the industry press focus on artificial intelligence, many mid and lower-career actors I spoke with were focused on the decision by union negotiators to give up pay for most auditions, a decision several members I spoke with described as a "billion dollar concession"
The issue is a bit complicated, but here are the basics. Since 1947, there has been a provision in the various agreements between actors and the studios that have mandated that actors who perform an audition without booking the role are entitled to half the scale day rate. In the previous agreement, the day rate for every SAG-AFTRA TV show, studio feature, or high-budget indie film was set at $1,082, which meant that in theory performing an audition should net $541 per unsuccessful audition.
In reality, that pay has been inconsistently provided and successive contracts have led to a bit of a kabuki dance between actors and the studios. The original 1947 agreement between SAG and the studios distinguished between auditions and "interviews" and that distinction has remained in later contracts. And to be kind, there is a lot of wiggle room for the studios:
An "audition" is defined as the speaking of lines the performer has been required to learn outside the studio, without photography, and whether or not such lines are recorded,
If the performer reads or speaks lines which he has not been given to learn outside the studio, without photography or sound recording, the same shall not constitute an audition or test, but shall constitute an "interview" and the performer shall not be entitled to compensation.
When the audition clause was originally agreed to, Hollywood productions were still defined by the studio system and there was a fairly consistent studio-run process for auditions. But as the studio system collapsed, third party companies came into the scene, which led to a lot of inconsistent reporting about whether an "audition" had actually taken place.
The auditions clause was several four times over the ensuing decades and by the 1980s, producers became responsible for keeping sign-in sheets at auditions. The sheets were a way of holding producers accountable to pay for not just the audition, but for wait time and to reimburse for parking. A later clause also allowed performers to submit a written request to the producers to erase their audition if they didn't book the role.
There are way too many changes and tweaks over the various contracts to recount here, but if you are interested in a deep dive, SAG-AFTRA member Charlie Bodin has compiled a list of every Comprehensive Basic Agreement as a way of comparison.
The 2003 launch of Actors Access, an online casting process made the complex issue of audition pay even more difficult. Actors were forced to pay to access sides and submit tapes. And an increasing number of casting directors are simply wading through hundreds of tapes, sidestepping the part of the process that would require performer audition pay.
The COVID era moved even more of the audition process online and auditioning shifts almost entirely to self-tapes. Actors either have to invest in home equipment to produce self-tests or pay for an outside service.
The end result is a process in which a decreasing number of actors are entitled to audition pay and they have to have to file a claim to receive it.
After a growing number of complaints from actors, SAG-AFTRA issued a statement in 2022 that defined the limited circumstances under which an actor would be paid for an audition and it was a controversial move for some actors, given that the statement was a change from previous contracts with the studios and one that was made unilaterally by the union:
Until further notice, members should expect the union to pursue audition pay claims in the following circumstances, provided that the performer is not offered employment in the picture and that the requirements of the audition pay language within the schedule applicable to the role being cast are otherwise met:
1. When the producer or casting director expressly require the performer to memorize their lines in advance.
2. When the performer participates in a network or studio ‘test’ as that term is commonly understood in the entertainment industry. For context, ‘tests’ are typically used to cast series regular or feature lead roles, typically involve multiple performers who are expected to be ‘off book,’ may involve make-up, hairdress and wardrobe, and will have network or studio executives in attendance.
3. When a performer is owed pay for waiting time in excess of one hour as provided in the applicable schedule.”
That SAG-AFTRA statement quickly led to producers adding disclaimers to auditions, claiming performers are "not required to learn or memorize lines in advance of your audition."
While actors seem to have varying ideas of the point at which an audition should trigger a payment, nearly every actor I've spoken with over the past six months believes the current process is unfair and heavily slanted in the direction of producers and the studios. So there had been hopes the pay issue would be addressed in the 2023 Memorandum of Agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the studios.
Instead, the requirement to pay for auditions was apparently discarded by union negotiators early in the process, in favor of focusing on other audition-related issues.
And while the new MBA forces producers to provide sides and other information to actors without being forced to go through a third party, it also specifically codifies that self-tapes are not eligible for a payment to auditioning actors:
No compensation is due to a performer for a self-tape.
And
Performers may not be asked to memorize any materials nor be prohibited from holding sides and/or using a prompting device during a virtual interview. No compensation is due to a performer for a virtual interview (except as may be provided under the Schedules for waiting time, subject to subparagraph (8) below). A performer shall be compensated for a virtual audition pursuant to the applicable Schedule (subject to subparagraph (8) below) only if the Producer requires the performer to memorize lines in advance of the virtual audition.
The net result, say critics, is that SAG-AFTRA negotiators have now virtually (so to speak) eliminated audition pay for nearly every situation, potentially saving the studios hundreds of millions of dollars. And it's not lost on those critics that the impact falls hardest on the members of the union which already have the least leverage in the process.
"I'm scrambling to pay the bills and they negotiate away audition pay," one angry union member told me last week. "This is a big deal to me. But those A-listers don't fucking care. How many stars did you see on the lines during the strike? If fucking Tom Cruise or Scarlett Johansson cared about audition pay, negotiators would have fallen over themselves to make it happen."
One actor who is a recurring cast member on a broadcast TV series told me on Monday that he had voted yes on the deal, but the decision was driven as much by resignation as anything else. "I can't afford to go back out at this point, even if I am furious about how this played out," he told me. "It's like deciding to stay in an unhappy marriage for the sake of the kids. You worry that the consequences of saying no are worse than living with the feeling there's something better out there. Which is honestly a pretty horrible place to find yourself after six months."
However several union members I have spoken with in recent weeks were happy with the deal. Or at least, not so unhappy that they were willing to walk away from the negotiated deal and go back out on strike. "It's not perfect - no contract negotiations are perfect," a SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee member explained to me on Tuesday. "But looking back over the process, I think we achieved a lot of good things and I'm not convinced we could have gotten more under the circumstances."
Which I suppose is a win?
ODDS AND SODS
* HBO has renewed Last Week Tonight With John Oliver for another three years, through 2026.
* Yesterday, I was ranting about the industry conventional wisdom that the streaming industry is headed back towards a cable-like bundle. I remain unconvinced this is happening, but if you'd like to read the best argument for that point of view, read this very comprehensive take from Doug Shapiro.
* Apple TV+ has renewed Foundation for a third season.
* Max has renewed the Adventure Time spinoff Fionna And Cake for a second season.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW TODAY AND TOMORROW:
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5TH:
* Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too? (Paramount+)
* Great Photo, Lovely Life (HBO)
* Isabel Preysler, My Christmas (Disney+)
* Life Below Zero: First Alaskans Season Premiere (NatGeo)
* Partnair: The Forgotten Tragedy (Viaplay)
* Real Time Crime (Investigation Discovery)
* Stavros Halkias: Fat Rascal (Netflix)
* TMZ's Merry Elfin' Christmas (Fox)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6TH:
* A Historia Delas (Hulu)
* Blood Coast (Netflix)
* Bring Back My Girls (WOW Presents Plus)
* Christmas As Usual (Netflix)
* Guy's Ranch Cook-Off (Food)
* Hollywood Houselift With Jeff Lewis Season Premiere (Freevee)
* Soundtrack #2 (Disney+)
* We Live Here: The Midwest (Hulu)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!
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