WGA/SAGAFTRA Strike Discussion Thread | SAG Ratifies Contract

[MysteryMovieMogul]

4 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

I know CEOs are seen as some form of evil and many are TBF but the salary argument is not one I can agree with especially when you consider directors like Nolan can get $20m plus 20% of the gross and actors with big name status ask for percentage of gross either with without an upfront salary.

 

 

Yeah, I'm not going to say "take Iger's $30 million salary away," but then defend folks like J Law making $25 million for an R-rated comedy that cost $45 million.

[Dementeleus]

1 minute ago, MovieMan89 said:

Paying Lawrence that for that kind of movie in 2023 is absolutely asinine from a pure logic standpoint. Now if you told me that happened in 2014 for that same film, I woulda been like seems extreme for that kinda movie, but I guess I see where execs might be coming from… but again, entirely illogical when she dropped off the map so long ago now.  
 

TLDR though, execs making nearly all of the pie and A list stars making nearly all of the pie is bad.  

The stars are NOT the problem here. It’s classic management style to try and foist off larger issues onto the more successful members of the workers. 

[Dementeleus]

1 minute ago, MysteryMovieMogul said:

Yeah, I'm not going to say "take Iger's $30 million salary away," but then defend folks like J Law making $25 million for an R-rated comedy that cost $45 million.

I guess you’re living up to your avatar name then. 🤪

[21C]

Just now, Plain Old Tele said:

The stars are NOT the problem here. It’s classic management style to try and foist off larger issues onto the more successful members of the workers. 

Nah they are absolutely part of the problem. Those stars have a lot more in common with the Iger and Zaslavs of the world than they do the average working actors, as much as they may try to pretend otherwise. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by 21C

[Cmasterclay]

1 minute ago, MysteryMovieMogul said:

Yeah, I'm not going to say "take Iger's $30 million salary away," but then defend folks like J Law making $25 million for an R-rated comedy that cost $45 million.

Jennifer Lawrence has talent and contributes something positive. Bob Iger does not. The third PA coffee fetcher on No Hard Feelings is worth more than Bob Iger, much less Lawrence. Classic union busting tactics. Based on posting style and opinions would think it is worth checking if this is EmpireCity btw.

[Dementeleus]

Just now, 21C said:

Nah they are absolutely part of the problem. Those stars have a lot more in common with the Iger and Zaslavs of the world than they do the average working actors, as much as they may try to pretend otherwise.

The AMPTP thanks you for buying their argument and helping sell it to everyone else.

[Cmasterclay]

Just now, Plain Old Tele said:

The AMPTP thanks you for buying their argument and helping sell it to everyone else.

Wonder how many pro-Sound of Freedom posts that dude is going to unleash this weekend.

[Jonwo]

I would say that sometimes paying for names can be worth it, Ticket to Paradise cost $60m which is a little expensive for a comedy but made $172m WW which meant it was a nice earner for Universal. 

 

 

 

 

[MovieMan89]

4 minutes ago, Plain Old Tele said:

The stars are NOT the problem here. It’s classic management style to try and foist off larger issues onto the more successful members of the workers. 

I agree that in this instance it’s not really a factor, which was my original point. Got sidetracked on stars getting paid what they do sometimes is part of a bigger problem though, but it’s been this way for so long anyways. In this situation, I still don’t see why the stars wouldn’t ultimately be in favor of what’s happening with the strike and not liking issues the writers are facing with AI protection either. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by MovieMan89

[dudalb]

12 minutes ago, InVy said:

well, we have a case of 2 r-rated comedies opening near each other. One had J Law, another didn't. and when they go to streaming guess which one will Netflix users open first & most. 

Also the J Law film was very much a vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence. If she had turned down the role,it probably would not have been made.It had a total budget of 45 Million, which meant her salary made up nearly half the budget, which makes it totally different  then Indy 5.

[MysteryMovieMogul]

1 minute ago, Plain Old Tele said:

The stars are NOT the problem here. It’s classic management style to try and foist off larger issues onto the more successful members of the workers. 

But they are part of the problem. Bob Iger, like him or not, runs the whole of Disney. Jennifer Lawrence acted in a comedy where the hardest thing she had to do was full frontal nudity. She made only $5 million less than Iger is said to be making this year. For a single film. That's wild.

 

And I'm not saying Iger deserves all that money. I don't think he does, but at least he's doing more actual work than J Law is to earn that money.

[Jonwo]

1 minute ago, Cmasterclay said:

Jennifer Lawrence has talent and contributes something positive. Bob Iger does not. The third PA coffee fetcher on No Hard Feelings is worth more than Bob Iger, much less Lawrence. Classic union busting tactics. Based on posting style and opinions would think it is worth checking if this is EmpireCity btw.

I don't get this slagging off of Bob Iger. You may not like him but to say he's talentless is wrong.

[MysteryMovieMogul]

Just now, dudalb said:

Also the J Law film was very much a vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence. If she had turned down the role,it probably would not have been made.It had a total budget of 45 Million, which meant her salary made up nearly half the budget, which makes it totally different  then Indy 5.

Then it shouldn't have been made. At all. But then that's one less production and hundreds of paychecks lost, so there's that Catch-22.

[21C]

4 minutes ago, Plain Old Tele said:

The AMPTP thanks you for buying their argument and helping sell it to everyone else.

The AMPTP isn't making this argument lmfao In part because most of those execs are in love with those stars; there's a good reason as to why Zaslav tried to become buddies with all the major stars in Hollywood and why he's been going to those fancy premieres. There's a reason Iger has been doing that too. The stars they're fine with and they absolutely love because they see them as equals. They're freely invited to their parties and their houses and their offices. In many cases, the mansions that these execs have are bought from or sold to actors. They're both part of the 1% and have "class solidarity" with their own kind. 

It's the working actors they truly could not care any less about. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by 21C

[dudalb]

7 minutes ago, ZattMurdock said:

The they the tentpoles go away, then the movie theater experience as we know it is done. Hence why I think this WGA/SAG strike is incredibly important. The one edge that the movie theater experience has over streaming is that they swing big, they bring on the spectacle. It’s the reason why streaming didn’t take over completely in my opinion.

No one is saying get rid of the tentpoles. Just don't make nothing but Tentpole or tentpole wannabes.

You really don't get that some of us don't want every trip to the theater to be a trip to the circus.

[TalismanRing]

1 minute ago, 21C said:

Yes, J-Law should absolutely be paid more than your typical star, but the idea that said amount of money has to be 25 million is ludicrous. 

 

Depends on the project. If she came back as Katniss and there was still huge interest in the series it would be more than worth it - and probably more at the back end.  For an R rated comedy where her salary is more than half the $45m budget - and those moves don't make what they did 10-15 years ago - not so much. 

 

Interesting, to those complaining about $20m paydays - Jim Carrey was the first to get that up front for the Cable Guy - 27 years ago.   It's the back ends that then got out of control (see MIB2) which studios then cut by offering a bit more on the front end.

[Cmasterclay]

2 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

I don't get this slagging off of Bob Iger. You may not like him but to say he's talentless is wrong.

All those CEO corporate striver types don't get there on talent or creativity, they get there on ruthlessness and a sociopathic ability to see human beings and turn them into numbers and widgets. The C-Suite of MBAs at every business in America is almost universally talentless, psychotic, greedy freaks. 

 

I cannot imagine why any person would defend a CEO, but then I remember what country I live in.

[Dementeleus]

2 minutes ago, MysteryMovieMogul said:

but at least he's doing more actual work than J Law is to earn that money.

okay, time for me to move on. We have fundamentally different opinions here.

[ZattMurdock]

2 minutes ago, Deep Wang said:

 

You do understand that Ford was once an unknown too, right?

I do, just like Robert Downey Jr. was jobless before Iron Man. My point isn’t that unknown or in the case of Robert jobless and deemed not trustworthy actors aren’t able to show up and ascend to the big league. My point is that this food chain is integral to the industry as a whole.

 

Take for example music. Streaming took over that industry completely. Do you really think that is good for them? I know personally big 00s musicians that in order to keep their livelihoods, need to go from tour to tour and the situation is obviously worse for those that weren’t as big as them if you aren’t a big ass name in the music industry. Can’t you see it’s a lot harder for musicians to break out in the business today? It’s because streaming, namely Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, YouTube Music and etc took over to the point it’s hard for new artists to make a livelihood out of their art. There is a reason why Taylor Swift is so big today, and the means for another Taylor Swift to ascend isn’t really there. My whole point is that cheapening what it’s paid for actors, directors and screenwriters isn’t the answer when it comes to the film industry. There is precedent about this.

[dudalb]

1 minute ago, 21C said:

The AMPTP isn't making this argument lmfao In part because most of those execs are in love with those stars; there's a good reason as to why Zaslav tried to become buddies with all the major stars in Hollywood and why he's been going to those fancy premieres. There's a reason Iger is doing that too. The stars they're fine with and they absolutely love because they see them as equals. They're freely invited to their parties and their houses and their offices. 

It's the working actors they truly could not care any less about. 

You just lost me.

You seem not to like anbody who makes some money for themselves.