SAG Actor and our short film; Waiver ?

J.R. Hudson

J.R. Hudson

Spirit Animal
We have a SAG Actor is showing concern about our current short project and is saying we need to find a waiver for him ?

We are in NC but I think his card is FLORIDI

Does anyone have experience in this matter and/or a form link for us ?

Thank :cheesy::undecided
 
Well, with SAG actors I've worked with in the past, I've had them sign a standard release form, not any kind of SAG thing though.
 
Ask SAG questions at saginfo@sag.org If you are dealing with SAG talent its best to play by the rules or you can get fined ect. Maybe the actor is just concerned that you are not a signatory. In that case you can run the job through a signatory. No big deal to do that.
 
FYI, in my experience working with SAG in NYC, trying to get any paperwork processed is minimally a 6 week turnaround.

This can be very frustrating for the filmmaker (trying to do the right things) as well as the SAG actors and often leads to SAG actors just doing the work without telling SAG. Something the actor can get in a lot of trouble for.
 
A signatory is an entity that decides to work under the benefits and provisions of SAG (or whichever union).

SAG is notorious for that 6 week turnaround and they normally require that the funds are validated as in the account 6 weeks before shooting and you usually leave a deposit.

Instead of SAG, contact SAGindie. http://www.sagindie.org/

They are a separate organization that will help you navigate these choppy waters
 
There is no such thing as a "waiver". It is one of the myths that gets perpetrated. SAG will never knowingly allow a SAG member to work on a non-SAG project; the very thought of it contradicts SAG Global Rule One.

There is no waiver. There will never be a waiver.

So you have two choices:
1) Ditch that actor and stay non-SAG
2) Sign an agreement with SAG and become a SAG signatory, and deal with all that that entails

Presuming you decide to stay non-SAG, your actor has three choices:
1) Skip your production and maintain his fidelity to SAG Rule 1.
2) Do your gig anyway by scabbing, and hoping nobody at SAG notices
3) Go Financial Core, and thus be fully eligible for all SAG and non-SAG productions
 
Well, correct -- you become a dues-paying non-member. You are still fully eligible to work on SAG productions and enjoy the benefits afforded SAG actors on those productions, and you are also free to work on non-SAG productions (without, of course, any SAG benefits on a non-SAG production.)

SAG hates Fi-Core, and rightly so, because it threatens the solidarity of the union. But many actors who can't get enough work on SAG productions need to have options, and they've elected to go that route. And some big names, like Jon Voight, have gone Financial Core.

Selecting Financial Core status does mean that you are not eligible to vote, or to run for office in the union. It also means that even if you're nominated for a SAG Actor's Award, the president of the Union can dis-invite you (as was done to Jon Voight).

Whether an actor should or should not elect to take Financial Core status is a matter for each actor and their agent to decide. It is a protected right created and guaranteed by the US Supreme Court and is available to all members of unions, not just SAG, and is designed to guarantee that membership in a union doesn't prevent someone from being able to earn a living.

SAG's very existence has been threatened by the concept of Financial Core, and their response has been to create some comparatively very attractive low-budget agreements to make it easier for producers to work with SAG. The first low-budget contracts they put out were offensive to producers and intolerable, but they've reworked them to where they're quite a bit more reasonable.
 
I attended the SagIndie workshop in LA about a year ago. All you need to do is use a "Short Film" agreement. It's the first contract on this page:

http://www.sagindie.org/resources/contracts/

According to the SagIndie rep, you don't have to be a signatory, but I've heard other people saying that you have to. Granted those other people didn't attend a seminar where there was a SagIndie rep and a SAG rep giving the seminar, so I would think what I was told by them is correct...

Good luck, John. :)

Look 1st said:
yes but NO LONGER BEING A SAG MEMBER, and not entitled to any of the benefits of being a SAG member.

when you go "core" you are NO LONGER in SAG.
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This is incorrect. Barry gave the correct information on this point, so I won't reiterate.
 
Considering the fact that SAG has a phone number on their site for people to infrom on other SAG members doing non-Sag stuff, I can understand the fellow's concern.

From their FAQ:

3. If I Discover That a SAG Member Did Non-Union Work, What Should I Do?
Contact the Legal Department at (323) 549-6627.
 
tommyinla said:
According to the SagIndie rep, you don't have to be a signatory, but I've heard other people saying that you have to. Granted those other people didn't attend a seminar where there was a SagIndie rep and a SAG rep giving the seminar, so I would think what I was told by them is correct...
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If you use any of their contracts, you are obligating yourself to abide by the entire standard agreement. The terms of your specific agreement are modified by the short film contract, but only those terms. In other words, you'd better read the entire massive standard contract, because the short film agreement does not contain all the provisions you need to adhere to.

Signing a SAG agreement is not something that should be undertaken lightly; anyone would be well advised to discuss the process with their own entertainment attorney before going forward. Notice: I am *not* telling someone that they shouldn't go with SAG, I'm saying that the responsibilities placed upon you are substantial and you'd better understand what you're getting into before proceeding, that's all.
 
And keep in mind that you can (and probably should) create a legal entity that will be signatory for each production. This way you can do other projects later on and not have to go SAG. IIRC if your personal production company becomes signatory, they are the obligated to continue that way. There are lots of other reasons to create a separate entity per project, but this is a good one.

We are negotiating some SAG modified contracts right now. If I learn anything of value I'll be sure to share it here.
 
Brandon Rice said:
Well, with SAG actors I've worked with in the past, I've had them sign a standard release form, not any kind of SAG thing though.
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Did these actors ever suffer any penalties from the SAG or did they get away with it?

I'm in a similiar situation. We already started shooting and I didn't go through the agreement process so I need to pray things work out (I'm sure they will. It's a short film that won't get too much exposure)!
 
Just to clarify, I shot a film under the SAG Indie Short Film Agreement.

I'm not saying it is good or bad, just that there is an unholy amount of paperwork and in my personal experience the processing time was painful.
 
I would assume that's why most student/indie film makers and SAG actors take the chance. I mean, I am aware of many SAG actors that do non-union films and get anyway with it all the time. I guess SAG rather go after those in higher budget, more exposed indie projects.

Frankly, I didn't fill it out because time didn't permit (I'm on a tight shooting schedule. I casted the SAG actor 2-3 weeks before shooting). It's a chance we are willing to take (however, this is the last time I'm taking this chance...).
 
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Barry_Green said:
If you use any of their contracts, you are obligating yourself to abide by the entire standard agreement. The terms of your specific agreement are modified by the short film contract, but only those terms. In other words, you'd better read the entire massive standard contract, because the short film agreement does not contain all the provisions you need to adhere to.

Signing a SAG agreement is not something that should be undertaken lightly; anyone would be well advised to discuss the process with their own entertainment attorney before going forward. Notice: I am *not* telling someone that they shouldn't go with SAG, I'm saying that the responsibilities placed upon you are substantial and you'd better understand what you're getting into before proceeding, that's all.
Click to expand...

Therein lies the problem. True, the Short Film contract makes it so that a SAG actor / actress can do a short film and have everything be OK, but it's all such a major pain in the neck that it's almost not even worth the trouble...
 
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