The Bitter Losers: Alan Rosenberg, left, Anne-Marie Johnson, Kent McCord and Diane Ladd (Getty Images photos)
Just when I thought things in Hollywood were starting to get back to "normal", whatever that is nowadays, I got some news that really made me scratch my bald head. At second glance, maybe it shouldn't, after all, this wrecking crew of four, which I have renamed The Bitter Losers, hasn't shown me anything approaching sanity during this (current) protracted SAG contract dispute. The lastest bit of drama in this long running saga finds SAG honcho Alan Rosenberg seeking to nullify an action taken by a national board majority last week that removed national executive director and chief negotiator Doug Allen from his post via written assent. Rosenberg, first vp Anne-Marie Johnson and board members Kent McCord and Diane Ladd filed the complaint before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant, however, the request for a temporary restraining order filed by Rosenberg and his confederates was rejected out of hand because of errors in the petition. Somehow, I don't think this will deter The Bitter Losers and as a practical matter, this now extends indefinitely the seven-month stalemate between the actors and the movie and television producers with whom SAG is negotiating a new TV/theatrical contract since Rosenberg's legal action scotches any new negotiating sessions until the internal matter of who's actually in charge is resolved.
The immediate fallout from this desperate act was to scuttle Tuesday's scheduled round of talks with the AMPTP, which SAG was planning to resume with a new negotiating task force in the place of the dissolved hardline-heavy negotiating committee under Mr. Allen. This is a disaster in the making as the economy continues to sink further and Hollywood's newest action hero, Barack Obama, is obviously "in over his head" at this time (and won't be able to "help" the economy for quite a while, if ever). I personally don't see things shaking out for our suspect money issues in the near future, in all candor, it took some time for us to get to this point and no matter who is in charge, it will take time to dig out of this financial mess. Now is certainly not the time to haggle over future (possible) profits but if Rosenberg and his allies are successful in getting a restraining order, that could have much more than a direct impact on film production. Credit markets are still extremely tight, and lenders might be even more reluctant to finance films the longer this impasse continues. The state of the economy -- and the perceived indifference to that by Allen and his negotiating team -- is one of the reasons SAG moderates wanted that team removed. Allen may have played pro football in the past but this is a delicate dance and his tactics have been more bullying than subtle, and subtlety is the trait desired for most successful negotiations. SAG has been working under an expired contract since July. There have been a few attempts to restart negotiations, including a few days of federal mediation in November, and while TV production in Hollywood remains healthy at the moment, film production has definitely slowed, for factors that go far beyond labor turmoil. The bottom line to all of this is the simple question; Even if Rosenberg's freaky faction wins an injunction that invalidates the written assent and reinstates Allen, where does that leave us? All parties are back to the impasse of 10 days ago, only with any remaining possibility of compromise thrown under a two ton bus and run over (twice).
Even worse, in my opinion, this latest SAG leadership struggle soon could wreak major havoc on the guild's commercials contract negotiations, scheduled to begin Feb. 23rd. SAG and AFTRA recently agreed to negotiate its deal with the ad industry jointly, and the two unions are scheduled to hold a joint plenary meeting Saturday to approve their contract proposal. The Bitter Losers could really screw all this up, big time... What do you think about all of this nonsense? Do you support Rosenberg's faction? Please feel free to email me back and let me have your opinions, I always love the feedback...
The immediate fallout from this desperate act was to scuttle Tuesday's scheduled round of talks with the AMPTP, which SAG was planning to resume with a new negotiating task force in the place of the dissolved hardline-heavy negotiating committee under Mr. Allen. This is a disaster in the making as the economy continues to sink further and Hollywood's newest action hero, Barack Obama, is obviously "in over his head" at this time (and won't be able to "help" the economy for quite a while, if ever). I personally don't see things shaking out for our suspect money issues in the near future, in all candor, it took some time for us to get to this point and no matter who is in charge, it will take time to dig out of this financial mess. Now is certainly not the time to haggle over future (possible) profits but if Rosenberg and his allies are successful in getting a restraining order, that could have much more than a direct impact on film production. Credit markets are still extremely tight, and lenders might be even more reluctant to finance films the longer this impasse continues. The state of the economy -- and the perceived indifference to that by Allen and his negotiating team -- is one of the reasons SAG moderates wanted that team removed. Allen may have played pro football in the past but this is a delicate dance and his tactics have been more bullying than subtle, and subtlety is the trait desired for most successful negotiations. SAG has been working under an expired contract since July. There have been a few attempts to restart negotiations, including a few days of federal mediation in November, and while TV production in Hollywood remains healthy at the moment, film production has definitely slowed, for factors that go far beyond labor turmoil. The bottom line to all of this is the simple question; Even if Rosenberg's freaky faction wins an injunction that invalidates the written assent and reinstates Allen, where does that leave us? All parties are back to the impasse of 10 days ago, only with any remaining possibility of compromise thrown under a two ton bus and run over (twice).
Even worse, in my opinion, this latest SAG leadership struggle soon could wreak major havoc on the guild's commercials contract negotiations, scheduled to begin Feb. 23rd. SAG and AFTRA recently agreed to negotiate its deal with the ad industry jointly, and the two unions are scheduled to hold a joint plenary meeting Saturday to approve their contract proposal. The Bitter Losers could really screw all this up, big time... What do you think about all of this nonsense? Do you support Rosenberg's faction? Please feel free to email me back and let me have your opinions, I always love the feedback...
