www.ibtimes.com: The Los Angeles-based production crew for "Sharknado 3" refused to work on Thursday for the third straight day. The roughly 40 employees on strike -- some of them union members, some of them not -- are asking for a contract with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (Iatse).
2 comments:
I'm honestly a little surprised that the producers even tried to move forward on the production without singing a union contract. From what I understand, it seems pretty par for the course at this point for most full feature productions to be unionized. The flippant attitude of the production company is also rather surprising. Perhaps the quality of the Sharknado series is a reflection of the quality of the production company that produces it... Anecdotally, I met an IATSE 33 console programmer who said he got his union card by doing pretty much exactly this. He would sign up to work a non-union gig, and then raise enough of a stink that the production would have to sign a union contract. This allowed him to get his days working for the union, and ultimately joining. A little bit of me wants to believe that is what is going on here with the non-union employees. It does seem rather ludicrous that Sharknado 3 would not be automatically a union contract even though Sharknado 2 was... I want to believe that even if Sharknado 3 is ultimately not finished, not that many moviegoers will be saddened by the loss.
As an avid fan of the ‘Sharknado’ franchise and the ludicrousness and lunacy it offers the world of cinema (basically all it offers, as they are incredibly horrible movies), I am very disappointed, and not very surprised that the producers of the movie aren’t treating the production crew with as much respect as they ought to. On any project, big or small, you want the crew to be treated fairly, if for no other reason then having them do better work for you. Leaving aside human decency for a minute, it would benefit any employer to do the best in their power to set up a comfortable work environment for their employees, as it tends to make them want to create a better product. If your workers are on strike, then your work won’t get done, and that is something that probably should concern the producers. The other incentive to treat a strike seriously, which they clearly aren’t, is that you should treat people well on principle. I’m not suggesting anything crazy, but you know, wether or not you want to sign a union contract you should probably not repeatedly joke about a protest against you. Again, even if you don’t care about being a scum bucket, chum bucket, or any other nautical bucket, it’s bad for PR. Sharknado, you have let me down, as you have so many times before.
Post a Comment