Actors can’t share :-(
The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) just don’t get it. A world first remixable film project has ground to a halt because the creative commons license is deemed “inappropriate” by the MEAA.
The full sad story from apc.au ict rights monitor:
SYDNEY — Film company, MOD Films, employing Creative Commons licensing, was refused any dispensation from the Australian Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) to contract local actors to an interactive re-mixable sci-fi film called Sanctuary. The decision on Wednesday brings to a halt an AU$100,000 short film shoot scheduled this month by preventing actors from being contracted under the MEAA award, despite letters of support from all the principal actors.
The MEAA Board decided that it could grant none of the dispensations sought by MOD Films, on the grounds that these would be “inappropriate”. The production had asked for dispensations and support for its world-first plans to employ professional actors in a film with only “Some Rights Reserved” by the production company. The company intends to permit non-commercial use and re-voicing of the film by the audience. The MEAA also rejected the option of any further negotiations with MOD Films.
Heh heh, and I thought an old lefty like you would have been right behind Unions and protectionism! ;^b
They should just forget about the MEAA, and use non-union actors. Or perhaps Oz’s lefty history still labels them as scabs? Over here, non-SAG projects abound - the only barrier is distribution (most of the distribution channels won’t touch non-union stuff), but in this particular case, it sounds like they would be using non-traditional distribution channels anyway… And don’t forget - being in the Union is _not_ what defines being a professional actor! I am a Professional Engineer and a Professional Actor (meaning I earn money doing both), and I would fight tooth and nail to avoid being forced to join a union for either of those…
If they want to move it all to California, let me know - I have a book full of non-union actors who would _jump_ at the chance to tackle this sort of project…
I’m turning into a libertarian lefty these days, if there can be such a thing.
Too many plain stupid bureaucracies and committees are out there spoiling everything or being led blind by lobbyists into stupid laws and decisions destroying any freedom that we have left.
I wonder why they are doing the MEAA thing? They have some funding that requires it or something? I’ll see if I can find out…
Hmmm, that label would almost work for me too. I would label myself a “Libertarian”, except over here they have a tendancy to live in small cabins in Montana stocked with large numbers of firearms… Maybe a “Liberal Libertarian”, which would of course mean something completely different back in Oz. Damned labels! :->
Liberatarian maybe? But that sounds like somebody that will only eat books :-)
or Librarians? ;>
The reason we engaged with MEAA because a) we did have government (UK/AU) funding to try and do things by the boo, b) this was a pilot production to explore how traditional film-makers can engage with new processes and c) we saw (and are seeing) the benefits of doing this experiment with industry involvement. The project was never about dismantling or bypassing traditional distribution but supplementing it with something even more exciting.