Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, September 16th, 2021
Deadline is going to be Deadline....
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, September 16th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by a small grilled steak and Diet Rite.
DEADLINE IS GOING TO BE DEADLINE
Of all of the Hollywood trade publications, I'd argue that Deadline is the one that is most aggressively pro-studio POV in its coverage. I'm not sure if it's the result of trying to curry favor with sources to get the best access or if the pro-studio stance reflects the attitude of Deadline's management and journalists. But it's a real editorial slant and seeing it played out in stories tends to bring on a sad combination of resignation and rage.
Last night Deadline's David Robb published "IATSE President Matt Loeb Says Contract Negotiations Have Reached "Critical Juncture" As Others Make Case For A Fair Deal," which takes a look at the negotiations between the IATSE (which represents a number of Hollywood crafts) and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the big studios.
There are a number of issues being negotiated, but the overriding issue is what the IATSE describes as an industry-wide problem of low pay and often difficult working conditions:
“We are united in demanding more humane working conditions across the industry, including reasonable rest during and between workdays and on the weekend, equitable pay on streaming productions, and a livable wage floor,” Loeb said in a statement today.
There are several excerpts in the piece from the statement issued by IATSE president Matthew Loeb, as well as comments from other union leaders. But the piece also includes a number of near-snarky, unnamed comments from the studio side, arguing that the union members are all incredibly well-paid and should be happy with what they're getting already:
An industry source, meanwhile, countered by saying that the union’s members “have it pretty good” and made the case why that is so, noting that the average full-time worker is making more than $100,000 a year, with health benefits that the union itself often refers to as a “Cadillac” health plan.
And then there is is this long, unidentified rebuttal:
An industry source told Deadline that “people who work in the entertainment industry are fortunate and IATSE crew members are no exception. IATSE members have good jobs. The average hourly rate paid to IATSE employees is $57.99 and the average hourly scale rate is $48.45 per hour. Annualized at 40 hours per week, that’s $120,619 and $100,776, respectively.” And that doesn’t include the vast amount of overtime that has become the norm – which the union wants to see less of.
IATSE members also have “marvelous health and pension plans,” the source said. “Unlike most American workers today, IATSE members have access to excellent health benefits where there are no premiums for participants and very little cost to cover dependents – $300 per year for participant plus one dependent, and $600 per year for participant plus two or more dependents. Crew members have a generous pension plan plus individual retirement account contributions of six percent of scale earnings, paid by employers – for every job.”
“When productions are interrupted,” the source said, “it threatens the health and pension plans. The Covid-19 pandemic brought productions to a halt, and the IATSE pension and health plans lost $10 million per week – from April thru August 2020.”
As for the union’s demand for more rest time during productions, the source noted that “A vast majority of productions provide a 10-hour rest period and offer free meals and time to eat the meal. Safety of crew members is a priority. If a crew member is too tired to drive home after work, employers offer a courtesy hotel or a ride home. During the term of this contract, there have been no reports of IATSE members being denied a ride home or hotel room, if requested.”
There are a number of problems with these statements. I still can't tell what the source is for the average IATSE pay rate mentioned in the piece and since the source is unnamed, there's no way to fact check the figures from the outside. And a number of the other comments seem to be exaggerated or slanted in a way that makes them essentially untrue.
And as writer Erin Conley pointed out to me, the IATSE represents a wide range of trades and while some do make that level of money, many of the crafts represented by the union are making much, much less:
This is a huge, complex issue. And while I'm no expert in the nuances of the details, it is clear that there is a wide inequity of pay in Hollywood that has only accelerated over the past five years. We have people doing jobs that are integral to the success of a project making less money than they would if they worked at Walmart.
And it's not just that the low pay inflicts a hardship on the workers. It also helps create a situation in which only people who have a secondary source of income (family, friends, significant other) can afford to stay in the industry. That's bad for everyone and it will contribute to the problems the industry already has with diversity.
All of this is why the pro-studio stance of Deadline is so unhelpful. This conversation is complex enough without journalists allowing one side to take shots at the other without identifying themselves.
Have a thought about this issue? Email rick@allyourscreens.com or reach out on WhatsApp or Signal at 612-207-2108. You comments will be considered off-the-record until you tell me otherwise.
A GREAT JEAN SMART INTERVIEW
Variety's Michael Schneider has a really wonderful interview with Jean Smart and it's worth reading the entire thing. But a couple of things jumped out at me, which are more related to classic TV than to Smart herself:
Early help came from producer Linda Bloodworth, who had cast Smart and Annie Potts as jewel thief sisters in the short-lived Robert Wagner action drama "Lime Street." Bloodworth loved their chemistry so much she brought them back to play something completely different in the landmark comedy "Designing Women."
When I read this paragraph, I immediately wanted to watch Lime Street. Which is, of course, not available for streaming anywhere, Although there are episodes available on YouTube.
The second part I wanted to highlight was this discussion about the episodes of Designing Women that are currently streaming on Hulu:
Now that “Designing Women” is available on streaming, Smart has caught up on some episodes — and recently talked with co-star Delta Burke, who is upset with the way the shows have been cut down for syndication.
“It’s such nice nostalgia, and makes me appreciate the show more,” Smart says, while sharing Burke’s concerns. But don’t bring up any idea for a reboot. “Doing it without Dixie [Carter, who died in 2010] would be ridiculous.”
The issue is that the episodes provided to Hulu are the ones that were used in syndication - which typically have a couple of minutes edited out of the episodes in order to fit in more commercials.
It's a frustrating situation for fans of the the show as well, especially since fans like Will McKinley are quick to note that the full episodes are readily available on DVD.
I reached out to Hulu and was told on background that essentially "it's not our problem, we stream the episodes that are provided to us."
The episodes were originally produced by Columbia Pictures Television (which had previously been called Screen Gems and before that Pioneer Telefilms). By the time CPT was sold off to Sony in 1989, the company had been through a series of mergers, name changes and acquisitions that left it with an impressive number of television shows. In fact, the CPT library contains shows that are some of the core assets of Sony's TV syndication arm, including Embassy Communications (home to many of Norman Lear's best known shows).
As for Designing Women, it was produced when CPT was part of TriStar Pictures and the show was part of the assets acquired by Sony in the sale of CPT.
All of which is a long-winded way of explaining that Sony Pictures TV controls the Designing Women episodes and when I reached out this afternoon with questions about the episodes running on Hulu, I was essentially told "yeah, we don't know why Hulu received the syndicated version of the episodes. My guess - based on other similar situations - is that the syndicated version had previously been readied for streaming and no one at Sony or Hulu felt the need to spend the money to convert the original prints.
I think it's a bad decision and there's a case to be made that replacing the edited versions with the originals (and then promoting the fact) would be worth it. But maybe that's just the TV fan in me talking.
EMAIL PITCH OF THE DAY
Honestly, I don't even know what this means. You clean your skin with battery acid? The CEO is a bit of a tool?
ODDS AND SODS
* While you might know who the YouTuber Mr. Beast is, I guarantee your kids know who he is. And in a video posted this week on the Colin & Samir YouTube channel, it was revealed that Mr. Beast spent $48 million last year on production, prizes and staff for his channel.
* Starz is making the first three episodes of its new show Heels available for free streaming on Facebook, YouTube and the Starz app beginning on September 17th.
* Season two of HBO's How To With John Wilson premieres on November 26th.
SEE YOU FRIDAY
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.