Women have voted in greater proportions than men for almost three decades. But the hard-fought candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket have put new cultural and ideological elements more fully into play.
The SAG circular doesn’t constitute an official strike authorization vote — even though it contains a polling card that asks members to “continue to fight for a fair deal” or sign on to accept the final offer from the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. “We need your guidance,” SAG notes on the card. “Tell us what you think.”
The 684-page report’s conclusions singled out advertising/marketing as well as movies as likely influences on youth smoking. With regard to films, the chief recommendation made in the report is that “anti-tobacco advertisements” should be included before feature films “to partially counter the impact of tobacco portrayals in movies.
The Screen Actors Guild, which has insisted it deserves a sweeter deal than the other guilds, had no official statement at deadline. The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers responded with frustration, tweaking SAG for having its members continue to work under terms of the expired contract. The AMPTP made its final offer to SAG on June 30, the day the previous contract expired, and have stressed repeatedly that they’re done negotiating.
The Screen Actors Guild continues to insist that it’s still engaged in contract talks with the major studios. However, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers has denied these assertions. “Negotiations concluded when the producers presented their final offer on June 30, 2008,” the AMPTP said.
There were twists and turns that no one predicted. Who would have bet that “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” would not have the summer’s biggest opening, or that “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” would outgross it? Bottom line: Success at the box office can be determined by a confluence of mysterious factors.
Screen Actors Guild leaders have been sending mixed messages about a possible strike for months. On the one hand, guild administrator Alan Rosenberg and national executive director Doug Allen have proclaimed that SAG doesn’t want to strike, but they’ve also said that a work stoppage remains a weapon in their arsenal.
The Unite for Strength faction, which is trying to displace the Screen Actors Guild’s current board, also said in a statement that it supported the original goals of SAG’s negotiating committee. The current board voted unanimously over the weekend to reject the new-media provisions in the offer from the major studios.
The Screen Actors Guild’s national board reiterated its earlier position: the new-media portions of the deal proposed by producers can’t be accepted because it allows non-union workers. The Guild has repeatedly asserted that it must get a better deal than the ones previously signed by directors and writers.