SAG...to vote down elitism? Ben Affleck, Kevin Bacon, Ethan Hawke, shame on you!

He that brings home the bacon, votes!


When the news broke that Kevin Bacon, Ethan Hawke, and Ben Affleck signed a petition - along with fourteen hundred other disgruntled actors in the union - to bar members working less than one day a year from voting on upcoming contract negotiations, my reaction was,

"Shame on you, folks!"


Imagine the audacity of those elitist bozos!
In a nutshell, these hyperactive thespians argue that if actors aren't working regularly, they may be inclined to support a walkout by actors if it comes to a show down over contract issues in June.

Baloney!

Sure, performers have a run of unemployment on occasion; in fact, a drought may span over a few years. That is the nature of the beast!

Flying high in April, shot down in June.

Don't kick a dog when it's down, dudes!

If the "Rebel 1400" had their way, SAG would become a cast system, rife with 1st and 2nd-class citizens. Bad move!

Sorry, guys. All actors were created equal!

If you ask me, this handful of upstarts have been wolfing down too many sprinkly-faced doughnuts at craft service in the morning - and as a consequence - their brains have rotted away from the deadly sugar rush!

Currently, any member in good standing can vote on upcoming contracts. And so, the tradition should remain.

I bet the producers are rubbing their hands with glee on the sidelines.

Never heard of the old phrase,

"Divide and Conquer?"

Too much junk food, rotting their brains!

Young and Restless...streams episodes on WWW for 35th Anniversary!

After 1,000 weeks of ongoing drama, sizzling sex scenarios, and bizarre plot twists, the ever-popular daytime soap - "Young and the Restless" - celebrated its 35th Anniversary this year online.

That was good news for a handful of actors, sure to be checking their mailboxes for residual payments, in coming months.

Because the daily serials broadcast a new episode each day, performers don't generally anticipate much in the way of additional pay-outs, since the sequential story lines are rarely aired a second time.

Life is not a dress rehearsal; likewise, on a soap you get one shot at it, too.

Of course, there are a couple of exceptions.

If a segment is used in a flashback or an episode is aired overseas months after the chapter broadcasts stateside (some serials are trailing behind the U.S. airwaves because they were picked up a year or two after production began in the U.S.) there will be extra compensation for use in that market.

The sums are paltry, though; a few cents here, a few dollars there.
Basically, lunch money!

Now, you know why AFTRA and SAG (the two entertainment unions) have been kicking up such a fuss about residuals in recent days and have been hagglin' over 'em in the new contract negotiations.

When most of the soaps were originated, no one fathomed the idea of podcasting, or streaming video.

In fact, rich media was beyond the Union's realm of imagination.

And, who knows what's ahead.

But now, actors may have hit the bull's eye.

You see, the powers-that-be at Y & R, elected to celebrate the show's popularity and success by streaming segments online for nostalgic fans who want to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about the early machinations of their favorite divas and rogues.
Now, soap opera die-hards can either tune in to CBS.com to catch 'em or surf to cable's SoapNet for a gander.

In addition, classic clips and episode recaps will be posted on The Minisode Network, which can viewed on YouTube, Crackle.com, Verizon, AOL Video, Gaia Online and Joost.


Soap teasers will be flirting, floating, and flitting all around the world- wide-web, to the joy of those who pine to bathe in the glow of their must-see soap on a daily basis.

Robert Oswaks, Exec VP of marketing at Sony Pictures Television, notes that blogs are of paramount importance in the scheme of things, too.
"Blogs are a tool for reaching fans," he notes, "The show's makers work closely with top soap news sites, which have become evangelists for us."

And, Christine Fix, editor-in-chief and Senior Producer of Soaps.com notes that fans are always looking for a consistent source of reliable information regarding their favorite sudsy dramas. Soaps.com draws a staggering 1 million visitors a month, while MovieWeb.com snags about 900,000.

That's a lot of bubbles!

Actually, I was cast to work on Young and the Restless back in the nineties.

Although I played a lowly waiter, my scene was important (yeah, I know, every actor claims that there are no small parts, only small actors!) because I delivered a message which bore all-important news about the arrival of a child.

A pivotal twist in the plot line!

I recall the booking well.

Although I didn't have my own dressing room, I shared the cozy little cubby-hole with just one other thespian. That's a fancy term for actor, by the way.

In case you weren't aware of it, when an actor has only been bestowed with one line, he wrestles with endless possibilities in his mind.

Should I say it this way or that?

When fate hands you a golden opportunity to show your stuff, you've got to get it right, after all!

A method actor might ask, "What is my motivation?"

Or, try to fathom the subtext.

Maybe the waiter in the scene got ticked off with a previous guest, so now's he annoyed, and in a huff?

Then again, maybe he's one of those snooty waiters bent on spoiling someone's romantic dinner date, just for the heck of it.

A handful of servers are "gay", so why not play it that way?

'Ya know, affect a little lisp, let the wrists flap around a bit.

Boy, it's terribly frustrating trying to get a handle on a walk-on part, believe me.

"They just want the line," the other actor whined at me pointedly.

"This is not your shot at stardom, you know," he hissed at me.

Then, just as I was about to go on stage and deliver my gem, he revealed his true colors.
"If you screw it up, they'll give the line to me."

Oh, how - "All About Eve" - of him.

My first taste of competition and jealousy in the industry.

I had one lousy little line to sputter, and this clown was trying to throw me off, so I would trip up and ruin my moment in the sun.

But, when that time arrived - about twelve hours after arriving at the CBS studios - I swaggered in on cue and uttered the words like a pro.

With little more ado, the second A.D. barked:

"Ok, let's move on."

Not even a second take? Oh well, that's show business.

Bottom line, the soaps are a "factory", just turning out product each day.

You have only to review the stats on the "Young and Restless" to figure that out.
The number of scripted pages written over the years by a team of professional writers?
An amazing 620,175.

And, some of those storylines included blessed nuptials; in fact, there were 77 walks down the aisle in total.

But, did all the loving couples make it to the altar to swear - "I do"?

Of course, the makeup folks had to pretty everyone up each day; in order to carry out that tall order, 133,000 powder puffs were used over the years.

Me? I don't recall being swiped by one.

And, after the stars and day-players were primped and preened up proper, they were squeezed into an astounding 128,625 custom-made costumes.
No wonder wardrobe staff breathe a sigh of relief when an actor can contribute his own clothes to a fitting.

In my instant case, I provided my own black dress slacks and snappy designer shoes for the waiter gig; which they paired up with a tasteful jacket cinched in at the waist - with a wide padded shoulder.

Veery flattering for my physique, I must say!

Of course, when folks stand around on stage, they gulp down coffee.

On the Y & R sets, they swilled down 166,250 gallons of it on the sidelines as dramas unfolded.

And, just imagine what it took to capture all the scintillating images and ongoing daily fluff.
2,210 video tapes were gobbled up annually to facilitate that task.

Over the years I've worked with a number of props - some novel - others not.

On this popular soap, the most obscure one was a freeze-dried tarantula.

Wonder if they've ever used a whoopee cushion or a cod-piece?

Well, someone in production would know.

Do tell!

http://www.julianayrs.com

Bold & Beautiful...the "Blond and the Bad"; set the greedy b**tards adrift!

Well, guess 'ya heard, our two sisters unions are in a big cat fight right now over jurisdictional turf!

This past week my e-mail box has been rattled by missives from the administrative heads of SAG and AFTRA, respectively, begging for support.

A bitter dispute, but there will be a resolution, no doubt.

Traditionally SAG maintained jurisdiction over all productions that were shot on film; while AFTRA kept a vigil over projects taped on video.

The three camera video process first developed by Desi Arnaz for the long-running comedy - "I Love Lucy" - is generally used for the Soaps, TV Sitcoms, and News Broadcasts.

However, a few years ago, shows like "Cheers" - although 3-camera in nature - started using film to rustle up a higher quality image for a more sophisticated night-time audience.

The sad part - for performers anyway - is that working on a project that falls under the AFTRA contract usually means less pay. Hence, the reason actors prefer the more prestigious offerings that come SAG's way.

Of course, in recent years - what with run-away production and industry expansion into Cable, Music Videos, Reality TV, and Internet rich media - AFTRA and SAG have become more competitive about the pickings; hence, the current bitter dispute which is a major departure from the past amiable stance of the two entertainment heavies.

I was quite galled, though, when I learned that part of the recent upheaval was due to the fact a posse of spoiled actors over on the "Bold & Beautiful" suddenly decided to entertain the ludicrous notion of jumping ship (fleeing the AFTRA camp) to take wing under the SAG umbrella for purely selfish greedy motivations: bigger bucks!

You know, I've always referred to that dim-witted show - deservedly so - as the "Blond & the Bad".

For good reason; after all, I know from whence I speak.

When the daytime soap first started up, a storyline featuring a catering company was crafted around one of the young nubile leads, Brooke. For several weeks, I played one of the caterers in the tawdry slow-moving subplot which went nowhere fast.

Yeah, life's a drag for the rich in Malibu, you bet!

What astounded me most were the temperaments of the young stars, who - for the most part - were dredged-up out-of-the-blue with little or no acting experience or newly-minted from some dismal acting academy east of La Brea, somewhere.

In all the years I've been in the "biz" I've rarely encountered such "ATTITUDE" among a regular cast of featured players, a lack of empathy for fellow actors, and an overall lack of professionalism.

Talk about a disregard for others; Ron Moss (Ridge) acted like he owned the show.

But, Susan Flannery - who plays the part of the matriarch to the hilt - was the absolute worst! Rarely ever content, she often haggled with the director - and more-often-than-not - threw her weight around which was considerable.

In fact, the tensions were so high on the set you could cut through 'em with a chainsaw, just maybe!

The soap tattlers are tittling that Flannery may pack it in, retire. Good riddance!

But, the problem was not just in front of the camera.

Shortly after the sweet casting gal Jill hastily departed to marry a rock musician, some mousy little secretary by the name of Christie Dooley crawled out from under a rock to take her reins.

After that, I never worked on the show again. Cast out, like a leper!

I have a theory that she didn't want people around who were witness to her humble beginnings; after all, the low-life schemer was inclined to weave some grand plans of her own!

In a short while - in spite of the fact she lacked the credentials - she was actually conducting acting classes and workshops for struggling actors in the Hollywood area.

Talk about the blind leading the bland.

For twenty bucks or so she'd rent herself out to actors. But the truth of the matter is that most thespians regarded her coaching skills with disdain.

If the truth be known, actors were only signing up to charm her pants off, with the specific aim of landing a plum role on the show.

Of course, Ms. Dooley was wise to the game; she not only played it to the max, but lined her sow's purse with their cash and laughed all the way to the bank, as well.

The acting workshop "scam" is one of the oldest in the business and is generally frowned upon by Agents and Union Officials in particular.

Frankly, I was appalled that head honcho William Bell - the respected producer of "B&B" and "The Young & Restless" - didn't cut her loose.

I mean, it reflected so negatively on CBS and the soaps produced there and industry standards, at best.

So, of course, look who ended up on the show?

A non-charismatic cast of no-talents.

Go figure!

I say, cut the greedy b**stards loose, and set them adrift.

We need unity in our profession now, not petty outbursts from prima donnas, with little regard for what's best for the Industry and the solid traditions of Hollywood.