Arizona 2009:02

February 9, 2009

URGENT REQUEST TO ALL ARIZONA SAG MEMBERS

From the Arizona Film and Media Coalition

As many of you know, we are far from our goal of raising the funds we need this year to save Arizona’s film and infrastructure tax incentive program. Right now our legislature is seeking to cut any and all programs it can. Your financial assistance is necessary to help pay our lobbyists and, most importantly, to pay a professional independent research firm to prepare an Arizona economic fiscal impact study. Other states are generating studies showing what a powerful economic impact a successful film incentive program means. We know our program pays off here. We just need to show it, and with hard data and numbers that will tell the story. Unfortunately, a study like this is not cheap. It can cost more than $50,000. But to make our case to legislators, it is absolutely necessary.

Please consider a donation of $20 or more to SAVE the tax incentive program.

Please send a check to:
Arizona Film and Media Coalition Inc.
Attn: Matt Englehart
4032 N. Miller Road, Suite 104
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Or, go online and donate via PayPal.

Keep the vision alive. Your career could be at risk. Let’s all do our share.

ABOUT AFMC: The Arizona Film and Media Coalition Inc. is a group whose mission is to enhance the economic vitality of the Arizona film and media communities through public relations, education and legislation. In its five-year history, AFMC has grown to include just about every field and discipline represented in our filmmaking community. The board of directors is made up of individuals from the following organizations: AFTRA, Arizona Entertainment Alliance, Arizona film festivals, Arizona Production Association, chambers of commerce/convention bureaus, financial groups, IATSE, IFP/Phoenix, MCAI, schools, Screen Actors Guild, talent agents and Teamsters.

PROUD TO BE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD

By Lucky Hayes
Arizona Branch President

What a time we live in! I write this on the day of the inauguration of our 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, who happens to be black.

Most of you were not yet born when Rosa Parks struck a huge blow for equality in our country—a tenet that is expressed in our Declaration of Independence, but not the reality of everyday life. I, of course, was alive way back when people of color were referred to as “colored.” I remember vividly the very public prejudices that were common sights—signs that read “Colored go to the back of the bus,” “White” and “Colored” restrooms, separate drinking fountains, even separate schools.

I lived in Selma, Ala., for several months, and was there when Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rallied his compatriots and commenced with those famous marches to bring attention to a cause that most of our countrymen simply did not wish to recognize. Even Hollywood was prejudiced. There were films with only blacks, for only blacks. In films for whites, there was an occasional “negro,” who was given dialogue and postures that furthered the notion of inferiority. How they must have hated playing those subservient roles.

Even in show business, black stars had to enter the venues where they were performing through the back door. And, of course, they could not stay in the hotels where they headlined. They couldn’t even eat a meal there.

There still are folks who cannot let their intolerance go. But most of us acknowledge that our Declaration is indeed a wondrous document, and makes all the sense in the world—that all are created equal, and that our country can abide by its own doctrines.

I am not proud of our past bigotry. But we’ve made strides. Yesterday we celebrated Dr. King’s birthday; February is Black History Month; and today, we have a new president, Barack Obama.

We still have a way to go, but we have cut through the surly bonds of injustice. And I am proud our industry was among the first to discard discrimination.

COMMERCIALS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS COMING SOON

Our Arizona employment records show a significant portion of our work is performed under the Commercials Contract. Please be advised the joint SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract Negotiating Committee will meet with the Joint Policy Committee on February 23 in New York to initiate our national negotiations. The current contracts were extended from October 31, 2008, to March 31, 2009.

Information regarding the Commercials Contract negotiations can be found on SAG.org. Check your e-mail and mailboxes for updates.

WATCH THIS!

By Betsy Beard
Arizona Branch Executive Vice President

The SAG-LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) Committee has come up with an innovative idea with the potential to change forever the way we communicate in the Guild. They have allocated funds to set up an account with a Web broadcasting firm to make it possible for members everywhere to participate in meetings, discussions and presentations the Guild makes available for its members in Hollywood, or in any other Branch, streamed live on the Internet!

The system will be tested during an upcoming panel discussion sponsored by the LGBT Committee on the exciting new field of self-promotion made available by the Web. The "Do-It-Yourself Now Media Symposium” will focus on producing content yourself, getting you and your talent in front of a camera and then out on the Web, leading to more jobs for all of us. It will be a panel discussion with members who are doing just that, including the first Internet Emmy Award winner, as well as representatives from tech companies who are helping performers promote themselves in the new climate of YouTube and more. Learn about the support and resources SAG offers to members. Member/viewers from any location with an Internet connection can e-mail or instant-message questions to the panel, which will answer them during the program.

This is a revolutionary opportunity for us in the membership, especially for us in the Branches; as far as we are from the center of things, we now can participate in a most immediate way. In the future, similar live webcasts, from any event in any Branch throughout the membership, can be produced and shared with ALL the membership at a very low cost. Way to go, LGBT-SAG.

There will be a membership-wide e-blast to invite you; be sure and keep an eye out. You’ll be able to go to SAG.org and click on an embedded page, which will take you to the Cagney Room in Hollywood and give you the ability to participate, even from the comfort of your own home! You and all your member friends will be able to sign in to SAG.org on your laptop and participate in the discussion. Organize an informal viewing party with your member friends at a local Starbucks, your own house or any other Wi-Fi point!

Pretty much unprecedented, wouldn’t you say?

NEW MEMBERS AND TRANSFERS

New members: Tyler Christy, D. Anthony Delligatti, Jerry B. Phillips and Amar'e Stoudemire

Transfers-in: Rebekah Chaney, Jillian DiFusco, Chase Goldsmith, Curtis Johnson, Rick Martins, Shauna McCoy, Ryan McDowell, Katrina A Rivera, Karen Saltus and Rose Valdez

YES, WE HAVE MOVED

Most of you know, but for those who have not gotten the word, we have moved. Here’s the contact information to have on hand for questions about contracts, talent agents or your dues status. Need to file a claim? The Arizona office is ready to help.

Contact Us
Telephone: (480) 264-7696 or (800) SAG-0767, select option 3, then option 7
E-mail: don.livesay@sag.org
Fax: (480) 275-6987 or (800) 859-2964
Mail: 1820 E. Ray Road, Chandler, AZ  85225

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