Strong Words, Softly Spoken

So, the SAG contract expired at 12:01am this morning with no new deal reached. Fabulous.

According to what I’ve read, there’s a 43 page deal on the table that SAG is most likely going to reject because, like the writers’ contract ordeal, it doesn’t do much for residuals on internet media. Sigh. Can the industry really take another hit like this? Thanks to the writers’ strike, TV studios are producing a record low number of TV pilots for next season. People are still out of work because the work just isn’t there right now. So what happens if there is an actors’ strike? How much worse will it get before it gets better?

The thing that’s different about this is that AFTRA, the “other” actors’ union, has already reached a deal and I’m assuming that if SAG strikes, AFTRA members will still be able to work - if they choose to, that is. Am I wrong about this? From what I understand, SAG and AFTRA share around 44,000 members, so if SAG strikes, does this mean those 44,000 AFTRA members would have to choose sides? I don’t know how that works.

What I do know is that this is a really disheartening thing to read. We’re supposed to move to LA in 6 months to work in an industry that is at a low point right now at a time when the economy is also at a low point. It makes me wonder how stupid I have to be to actually consider doing this. I mean….are we absolutely ridiculous to do this at this point in time? Please, someone, give me some insight.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m ready for things to turn around. I’m ready for the entertainment industry to be booming again. I’m ready for the economy to be booming again. I’m ready for it to not cost me more to fill up my tank than it does for me to eat in a month. But how many years is that going to take? Or will it ever happen? And what do we do in the meantime?

So many questions, so few concrete answers.