Posts by Samuel Scott
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I really doubt most working writers, musicians or artists would have the time, energy or expertise to start and manage a union from scratch.
There is a musicians union, it is part of the Service & Food Workers Union. I rang them once to see if I should join....they didn't seem too fussed either way! They were friendly but err exceedingly vague.
YAY for
dialogue between Equity, SPADA, and Three Foot Seven
interesting to note its Three Foot Seven and not Wingnut. ie its the production company who are making The Hobbit in New Zealand not PJs company who will be Directing/writing/Producing the film no matter what country it is filmed in. That in itself seems like a victory for common sense.
...although maybe that was always going to be the case. Certainly, it seems very unlikely they will be dealing with Peter directly. It is much more likely there will be people in the room who work on a range of NZ films and can be realistic about not setting industry standards that your ole NZ Film Commission funded locals wouldn't possible be able to afford.
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They retain copyright of the music - so if you buy the soundtrack on disc the composer makes money, not the production company (usually).
I would think that Warners would have the rights to release any music composed for The Hobbit. Release 'options' have been in every composer contract I have signed (all 3 of them!). But you are of course right that composers retain the publishing copyright of any composed score, with the recordings sync licensed in perpetuity to the film. Well usually something like that.
I am no expert but residuals or a profit share are negotiable as well (though probably harder to get if you are getting paid a million bucks up front for a score). And of course there are APRA/AMCOS payments (or the 'needle money' as Ian called it, ie songwriters get paid every time the needle drops{thank you wikipedia!}).
So, being a rather minor player in film land who loves the dribble of ongoing royalties (yay $50! pizza night!) I think actors getting residuals just seems fair. But as has been stated over and over again in this forum and others; residuals were written into the acting contracts for this film before any union action was taken.
This issue is pretty much all people are talking about in Wellington at the moment. In fact some people are no longer talking to each other because of it! what a stink buzz.
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Actors' Equity used to negotiate guidelines with Spada annually, but hasn't done so for five years, since the Australians took over.
I think that sentence pretty much sums up where this all went wrong.
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Oh dear - I don't know if I should have read those 5 pages of comments...
a few things that I can't resist commenting on;
Someone suggested that if actors unions were too strong it would put agents out of their jobs. I really don't have any connection to the world of actors but it takes only a distant interest in film to know that both SAG and Hollywood agents are both very powerful in the US film industry.
Also, there have been a few comments about actors getting paid very poorly for these sort of films in the hope might lead to work on US productions. I have nothing against actor seeking collective contracts or better working conditions, that is any unions perogative (and I think Russell was pretty clear about not being against what MEAA is seeking, but its process and validity as a legal union at question)....BUUUUUT I really doubt supporting cast actors in the LOTRs films were getting paid peanuts, I know being a featured extra was a pretty well paid days work - not crazy money, but worth the horrible hours anyway.
It was also suggested that being in these sorts of films doesn't lead to SAG membership or roles in US made features. Well, sure it might not, but it certainly did for a bunch of people in LOTRs. It probably doesn't hurt your chances of getting small roles in the next Lucas/Cameron megafilm to come downunder. And every actor loves dancing in spandex in front of a big green wall right?
Obviously NZ actors deserve to be treated by respect by the US studios that come here to make films, but we should sensible in understanding why those films come here; value for money. If NZ crews were shit, they wouldn't come here, if they were expensive, they wouldn't come here.
And NZ film rates (for crew, post-production, actors etc), while low compared to other countries perhaps, they are a bloody good payday for a lot of people .
Man, I don't really feel like hitting reply. Its a subject I know very little about other than having a lot of very close friends working on these productions...and I apologise for not 'quoting' when responding to stuff, I am a lazy late to the argument lurker.
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I'm a bit confused by the referendum. I have heard that, behind closed doors and off the record at least, National are quite happy to stick with MMP and keep the fringe conservatives in ACT. Basically it means the fringe loonies can't taint their current middle off the road More FM farmer mums status. So is the referendum just for show?
Is everything I just said nonsense? Probably.
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Okay, you can't expect everyone to 'get' the difference between a record and a song, but a Silver Scrolls panel still would, surely. :)
Well its not decided by a panel. The shortlist of 20 is, but beyond that its voted for by every APRA member who bothers to do so.
I agree though, people genuinely do not think in terms of songs and records now. The hook is so often a clever piece of production, instead say, a crafted melody that complements a wry lyric. In a way I have no problem with that. Low has to be one the best albums in the history of the universe. I love those songs, but they don't sound written, they sound like they have squeezed out of many hours of experimentation with fancy contraptions. So do I love the songs or the recordings? The performance or the production? The Bowie or the Eno?
I love Eno, it settles the stomach.
Young Blood probably is a better record than it is a song, but I could say the same thing about lots of stuff that I have released, and lots of stuff that I love.
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Well Graham Reid expressed some misgivings about your last record ;-)
...he didn't hate it. I read Elsewhere often, but Graham got it round the wrong way; Happy Ending had our best album cover but was our weakest record - and Buffalo is our most cohesive and complete record to date. Well at least thats how the band sees it.
Oh god now I am talking about my views on my bands reviews in a public forum. Not such an admirable thing for an artist to do!
I do find it funny though how music is automatically considered something we should all classify and critique but writing about music is something musicians should never question (for fear of seeming self obsessed and petty, which is basically what all interesting people are).
But I'm not saying the whole thing's now meaningless because my pick didn't win.
I agree with that 100%. In fact the Silver Scrolls process is very transparent and has a huge judging base. APRA do a wonderful job, the votes are cast by any NZ songwriter who bothers to do so. Every now and again something totally awesome like Apple Pie Bed wins without receiving huge amounts of airplay, but more often than not the winner will be a big hit, people tend to like big hits, and more people love Young Blood than don't. It is about as far off some sort of industry stitch up as you can get.
PS did Graham really get hate mail? that would be hilarious!
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They sometimes sound to me like The Phoenix Foundation's Tribute band. In a good way.
Heh, I think they quite good. :-)
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That comment was too long, sorry. To compensate here is the best music video of all time;
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Yay Sweetman has made it to PAS. Hating on Big Sweets only makes him stronger!
But yeah, despite the fact that in-person I really like the guy and that I oft agree with his dislikes, I do find his harshest articles are utterly unjustified. He really missed the boat on the (FANTASTIC) last Ruby Suns record - saying it was an Animal Collective rip off. I love AC, as does Ryan I'm sure, but that Ruby Suns record reminds me of all sorts of wonderful things (kinda sounds like The Orb meets 60s California pop) - most essentially it reminds of The Ruby Suns!
I think Simon writes too much, and sometimes doesn't properly explain himself. If he could refine his style, maybe not blog every day, then he could be a much more important critical voice and not just piss everyone off. But hey, he's making a living so why should he change?
And what architecture dancer in this country would I fully stand behind? The writers whose craft I admire are often just too democratic about anything from New Zealand, the harsh ones make me cringe (because they are usually being harsh about me or someone I know - Mr Kaye I will never forget 'the beardy Coldplay' comment NEVER!!).
...I also love Tears For Fears. Good songs.
....also I need to listen to the Naked And Famous album properly. I thought the first song had the EXACT drum sound from Take On Me, no mean feet. I thought Young Blood was like, pretty good. 'Say Goodbye' however, is such a near perfect song/record that I thought The Minties really deserved the vegemite scroll this year.
......AND, I think Street Chant have a superb pop sensibility with a slightly dangerous spirit. Surely a winning combination, I hope they get to CMJ this year....or SXSW in March. I can't imagine them not causing a positive stir.