SAG Performers . . . An Invaluable Commodity

SAG is an abbreviation that stands for Screen Actors Guild which has been a mainstay and protective organization of Actors and Actresses in the realm of Hollywood since the year 1933. The Guild was founded in 1933 in an effort to eliminate what was described as exploitation of Hollywood actors who were being forced into oppressive multi-year contracts with the major movie studios. Opposition to these contracts included that they did not include restrictions on work hours or minimum rest periods, and often had clauses that automatically renewed at the studios' discretion. These contracts were notorious for allowing the studios to dictate the public and private lives of the performers who signed them, and most did not have provisions to allow the performer to end the deal. Now enter the COVID19 Pandemic of 2020 and now continuing into the year 2021 and perhaps even beyond! SAG Actors and Actresses have been severely challenged with their respective professions because Hollywood for all intents and purpose has been “Shut Down” and their viewing audiences “Shut Out” from the theater realm to see and experience these multi-million dollar production extravaganza’s and the enjoyment of seeing their favorite actor/actress perform. During this time, there has also been quite a shake out in the ownership of the the studio’s as foreign interests, mainly China have been swallowing up large, brand name production studios at will during these opportune times of lost revenues. Now that Hollywood is coming back, what will the future hold for these Actors/Actresses and more importantly what have they done to survive these many months of impaired performances? Today, I will be interviewing a SAG Actor and a Producer/Director who have weathered this storm and currently are like “Phoenix’s” rising up out of the ashes. Join me as we delve into one the world’s largest business market’s the film industry and discover how those whom you see and love have not only survived but have every intention of thriving into the future.