Actor Seymour Cassel Says Vote No!

Seymour Cassel was the guest tonight on Filmnut and we explored the reasons why sag actors should vote No on the proposed agreement with the AMPTP… Personally, while I agree with some of the reasoning, I haven’t made up my mind yet as I also see the other point of view. If you asked me a year ago I would have told you I was in favor of granting the board the authorization to strike, (I still feel that way) but given where we are, it is a difficult decision on which way to vote. I do think reasonable people can disagree on this issue and it saddens me that as a nation we seem to be losing our ability to respectfully disagree. Depending on the message board that you go to, you can be the antichrist for being for or against the agreement…

As I said on the show, I’ve been in touch with the SAG communication office and I hope to know in a day or so if Adam Arkin will come on and present an opposing point of view to Seymour. I really hope he does.

If the agreement does pass, then it is the responsibility of every SAG member to stay more informed and get involved at an earlier stage and insist that the two sides of our union work together and work with our sister unions as best they can. After all, part of the reasoning those offered in opposing the strike authorization was that on the next agreement, the contracts would expire close to the same time and we would be in a better position to negotiate together and or strike together.

Nobody wants what has happened with vhs/dvd over the years to happen with new media. It is debatable whether or not this agreement puts us on that same path. When the next round of negotiations occur in 2011, (the AMPTP clearly wins this round) hard work, holding people to their word (producers, studios and union reps.), and standing up for what is right could save the day in the two years. Apathy, excuses, and fear could mark the consummation of massive rollbacks from which we do not recover. Time will tell.

If you missed the show, you can watch it here:
http://www.thestream.tv/watch.php?v=1460

Best,
Jeff Schubert
Host/Co-executive producer
Filmnut