Working with the US Guilds AFM Panel quotes

WORKING WITH THE U.S. GUILDS (3pm)

Kay S. Wolf

Senior Representative/Member Organizing Department, Writers Guild of America West

“You want to get all the protection and benefits of joining the union […] We really are plugged into the industry standards.”

“Don’t guess, just call. Some producers, they fear calling. We’re here as a resource, we really do want to protect the talent.”                                                                                                                                                                                

“The heartbreaking thing for me is when I hear from writers or actors, etc. towards the end of the process, asking if they should now get into the guild. But the credits are done, and the film is locked. That’s really late in the process to get going […] Going backward in time is harder, but if you do it from the get go, it’s a done deal.”

Cynthia Tollett

Assistant Executive Director, Directors Guild of America

“We represent the economic and creative rights of our members […] We have over 17,000 members working on all types of productions.”

“When I talk to independent producers, many of them assume that they don’t have the budget to go to the DGA.”

[comparing to SAGIndie] “The DGA has similar things for requirements for indie producers who want to employ our members called range assurance.”

Darrien Michele Gipson

National Director, SAGindie

“Our job is literally to go around the country and world and talk to filmmakers, and answer questions about how to start with a low budget film.”

“The best part is that we’re just a free service: you can call us anytime.”

“Ultimately  when you have questions and you need an answer very quickly and it’s pretty straight forward, sometimes your rep may have 50 productions. In those instances, you call SAGindie.”

“It seems like a great idea for the new media to say let’s just call it “new media” and then when we finish, we’ll switch over to a cable or something different. But SAG AFTRA can be like homeland security – which means if you are not being genuine, they will figure that out.”

“Shorts are usually so quick, people think they can just get in and get out – but then they forget to forgo something very important, they forgo worker’s comp.”

“Every state that you work in has a department of labor that expects you to pay those who are working for you minimum wage. That is the rule. Everybody who works for you should get minimum wage.”