Monday, October 16, 2006
Unions square deal with indies
Variety.com: "While Gotham-based indies benefit from the professionalism of topnotch union crews, and labor union members want the work (especially if Hollywood shoots are scarce), low-budget filmmakers complain that union rates bust their budgets, while crews don't appreciate the lower wages."
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2 comments:
Independent work can benefit so much from Union labor, and unions do keep workers safe. But at what point is one compromising their dream of being independent. While the quality of the work may not be as wonderful, it may be better for an Independent director to find a crew that is going to be behind their work rather than a crew simply there for a paycheck.
-Kim Allen-Poole
It is so difficult for independent filmmakers in today's enviroment as it is, it is only adding insult to try to force them to work with unions. While there can be many benefits to working with a union crew, the cost is so prohibitive! Keep in mind that there have been some amazing guerilla productions made with no union help at all. Robert Rodriguez's $7000 El Mariachi would neve have happened had he needed to pay a union crew. It seems to me that if Unions want to have a bigger part of the independent pie, they must compromise a bit. The big issue right now is that unions have realized that indies are actually putting out good products and getting recognition, and they feel that they should be part of that. If they truly want to be part of the art, they have to be willing to make the same sacrifices others make.
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