Posts by Eleanor
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Well said Pat. Summed up nicely what I've been trying to say. I am backing out of this now but I hope that Kyle and others can now see that MEAA does not actually represent actors in NZ - even paid up union members were not consulted on MEAA's damaging boycott. MEAA has a cynical agenda, they do not care if NZ loses The Hobbit. In this case, "union solidarity" is misguided and cannot be taken at face value. The "union solidarity" stuff means that MEAA has NZ actors over a barrel, and is precisely why NZ Actors Equity needs to differentiate themselves from MEAA's rash boycott. Meeting the producers in good faith is totally separate. Oh and a petition is underway against the boycott - for what it is worth! Lots of actors signing up, as well as film workers...
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no one ever called it sabotage just because members were willing to take industrial action over better pay/conditions.
I haven't seen the NZ members call for this boycott though Kyle. That is the point. It's MEAA that is doing it, and they have an agenda which is cynical and not in the best interests of NZ actors. That is why I think the NZ Actors Equity needs to state whether it is for or against the boycott - but they are steering clear of that point altogether. I don't believe they have a democratic mandate for such a boycott, not in the slightest.
Do you understand this differentiation?
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Well it can't be an actual boycott until there's an actual production.
Exactly Kyle, which is why it smacks of sabotage.
I do apologise if I have appeared somewhat abruptly here, and used some strong language... but it's personal, with my family's income completely reliant on the film industry. The Hobbit has been fraught with setbacks, but this one is especially alarming because it appears to be controlled and supported from "within", so to speak.
I have also acted in film and television in this country. I support reasonable endeavours by actors to get a fair deal - but I completely fail to see that they WON'T get a fair deal on The Hobbit, in fact, it's a career-maker. There has been NO boycott threat by the union on any other production that I'm aware of - so why the double standard?
In addition to this, I know actors who are furious at the clumsy way in which this has been handled - it makes us look really, really amateur - and as Craig pointed out, pawns in someone else's game.
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Kyle... it's not just a threatened boycott - the MEAA has actually issued a directive to actors to boycott the production. That has gone global. Yet plenty of actual NZ actors are horrified about this. I believe that JWL and the NZ Actors Equity need to make their position clearer about the boycott - but they have not mentioned it!
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Let's not forget that livelihoods are potentially in the balance...
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I agree Craig. Jennifer W-L may be sounding "measured and reasonable" now, but she basically endorsed a cynical, spiteful, internationally-publicised BOYCOTT of a major film production that NZ and its crew and cast had everything to gain from. We are now precariously close to losing it all, as a result.
This meek "we just want to talk with the producers" stuff is not good enough.
She needs to urgently come out for or against the boycott. She needs to let actors know that The Hobbit is NOT toxic; to give actors the reassurance that they are not traitors if they want to negotiate roles in the films. She also needs to consult the Wellington acting community - many of whom are understandably ropeable and incredulous about all of this.
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Thanks Heather. I'm a munter at the best of times on this blog. Hence I haven't visited for weeks n weeks. But I shall refer to your 'Link Breakdown for Beginners' here from now on. HNY!
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is Annette the next sacrificial woman?
This has nothing to do with the fact that Annette King is a woman, and a little to do with the fact that she is now 2iC in the Labour Party. Her 36 year political career shows some very senior appointments but is remarkably short of highlights, or any specific gutsy decision-making that I can find evidence of, or that you have pointed out verbwangle.
I understand loyalty and I understand how worthy it is to build a strong team around you. But when her supporters are queried as to any excellent policy that Annette King has implemented, instigated or even initiated, it proves to be too much of a challenge.
True, I have a major bug bear: I support regulation of complementary and natural health products. It makes complete sense in the interest of good healthcare.
Yet through her condescending wringing of hands from a high horse from which professional practitioners, consumers and business people were not consulted or informed during ANZTPA development – and in fact we were belittled and under-estimated by her own office – King completely and utterly botched it.
What an enormous waste of energy and time went into a failed process.
I would like to admire her, I would like to support her, and I even thought at one stage it would be great if she stood for Mayor of Wellington. But then I applied a tiny bit of scrutiny, and drew a blank. She is simply taken for granted - and that lack of reasoning is questionable.
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No.
O well that's good then. So your homework must evidently differ from mine.
verbwangle's example to follow:
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Actually I am not sure what you can easily identify from many MP's on a local plane.
So a constituency MP vote might as well be a Party vote then??
Anyway... I don't care.. The Groke has Spoke, and sHe is my friend. :o)