With the current economy and the SAG conflict, several business strategies are proving to be less sound than initially thought. While some actors were able to command up-front fees of multiple millions of dollars, that is no longer the case since studios aren't tightening their budgets.
To help curtail the rising costs of actors, writers, directors and the like, I'd like to propose a new hiring strategy: salaries. This will do away with unions, as there won't be a need for the people to have voices (they'll already be able to talk with HR/representation) and possibly get much needed benefits.
It's something that's worked very well in the business world for years, so there's no reason why it shouldn't work in the entertainment industry. As an example, let's look at the video game industry (granted, it depends on where you work). Odds are, if you work at a publisher or publisher-owned developer, you have a salary and not a project-based income. With this, you have the comfort of steady work and benefits, while still being able to work on multiple projects.
Going back to actors, directors, writers and the like, if they are salaried, they can act as pool of talent, lending their abilities to multiple projects, be they TV shows or movies. While some of the more top-dollar players may be opposed to this, I'm sure there are a number of less-demanding, but still very talented people that wouldn't mind this.
Also, to put it one way, for those who really enjoy money, there should easily be a way to factor in residuals into the salary (e.g. bonuses). I'm guessing that Pixar probably has a strategy similar to what I'm thinking of, as most of the players should be salaried by Pixar, and since their films are highly profitable, they should be getting amply compensated. But then again, this is all speculation.
In any case, thanks to SAG's predicament, perhaps it's time to rethink unions in the entertainment industry.
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