SAG Armadillo Day Poster

@ THE CROSSROADS OF NEW MEDIA

Saturday: March 13, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Venue: 219 West
219 West 4th Street
Austin, Texas

Join new media gurus Mike Prasad, Co-Founder and CEO of GirlGamer.com; Mark Friedlander, SAG National Director of New Media; and Will Marshall, SAG iActor online casting coordinator for a compelling look at the phenomenal growth in new media production and distribution.

FREE and open to the public.

Seating is limited: RSVP to Sheila Cooper at  sheila.cooper at sag.org or (800) 724-0767, option 7 or (972) 361-8185 by March 10.

We could use your support in attending our next script to screen this
Sunday. As an experiment this time around, we are using audio and visual
cues:

SAG Script to Screen Team presents Returning Champion Film Script

TV Writers Michele Gendelman and Ursula Ziegler test the film waters

The Austin Script to Screen Team presents a LIVE film script reading
event with Michele Gendelman and Ursula Ziegler’s Returning Champion.

The general public is invited to join actors, writers, producers,
directors, and film aficionados at 4 p.m. Sunday, August 30, at St.
Edwards University Jones Hall, 3001 S. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas.

Admission is free.

Returning Champion is an off the wall comedy about a college freshman
who is booted out of school and has to move back home to his has-been
game-show host parents. The only way out of answering relentless trivia
questions and guessing which door breakfast is behind is to get his
out-of work parents back on the air.

An ever-growing independent film market has enticed these two TV writing
pros to submit Returning Champion to area investors, directors and
producers.

Michele Gendelman has written for TV shows: Newhart and
Facts of Life and is the author of What the Other Mothers Know
published by HarperCollins and contributor to What Was I Thinking? -
Bad Boyfriend Stories from St. Martin’s Press.

Ursula Ziegler has written and produced TV’s Empty Nest and also written for Head of the
Class, Sister-Sister, and Larroquette. She has developed TV pilots
for CBS, Fox and Castle Rock when not appearing as a contestant on TV
game shows.

Where: Jones Hall in the Ragsdale Center, St. Edwards University

When: Sunday, August 30 – 4 p.m.

How Much: Free

What prompts this little rant? I received an email yesterday from an acting related blog I’m apparently subscribed to that led me to a link to a message board at backstage dot com. For those who don’t know, BACKSTAGE is trade type publication that originally was centered on NY theater and film issues and has for some years also been also covered the LA market as well. It is a legitimate publication, so what I have to say is not a criticism of Backstage.

Here’s the link: Backstage Message Board

Do me a favor and finish reading here before bolting for the message board. I’ll give you a taste of what you’ll find. Here’s the way the discussion begins:

Is anyone familiar with Peter McMahon? He wants my 14 yr. old daughter to be in his new movie. I am excited about this, is it for real? …he said I needed to send him $250. for the SAG, AFTRA, and ACT memberships. He said he could get her 150 hours in in about 3-5 days, because he owns a radio station, cable network, and so on in New York. We were in touch via telephone. He got my daughter’s resume from ***talent.biz, where she can go for casting calls, gigs, and so on for $20.00 per month. I haven’t heard from him since Friday night, and he said he’d send us a “confirmation” for our airline ticket on Sunday night, or Monday morning. It is Monday after 2pm, and he hasn’t returned my phone call. I realize that I am not high on his priority list, since she has 0 experience, but I am getting nervous. His phone number is out of Nashville, TN. Thank you for ANY info you can give me!!

How many red flags do you spot in this post? For the promise from a complete stranger, via a contact across state lines and over the internet, some well meaning but completely clueless parent is about to waste her money, at the very least, and quite possibly jeopardize the safety of her 14 year old daughter. Unbelievable. But believe it, it’s true.

Let me save you some time it will take to read the entire thread on Backstage. An frighteningly large number of other posters responded that they had already sent the scammer identified as “Peter McMahon” at least $250 to be ‘cast’ in his supposed film project called “Italian in the South”. At least one person posted that they had already purchased their tickets to NYC but were waiting for Mr. McMahon to forward their itinerary.

Uh…don’t hold your breath on getting that ‘itinerary’. But this poor person wasn’t the only one taken in by this rather transparent scam:

All of this is happening to me now I have been talking to him peter mcmahon [sic] all day and am suppose to fly out to new york tomoorow [sic] I sent him 250 through western union. I think I got taken.

Ya think?

And this:

Same thing happened to me yesterday. I had noticed this blog yesterday but thought surely that he would call you. I actually called him last night and he answered and said that he would be sending my schedule and itenerary soon. Has anyone else heard anything??

And finally someone injects a bit of good old common sense:

DO NOT FLY ANYWHERE. Obviously, we are missing some information in this situation, but this simply cannot be legit. I guess this COULD just be a money scam, in which case you will never hear from this guy again. But if he was intending to actually fly a child to NYC, it sounds like more than a scam: it sounds more like sex trafficing [sic] . I’m not kidding.

Listen up actors, wannabe actors, and parents who want their kids to be the next big thing in TV and the movies:

I don’t even know where to start listing the DON’T and NEVERs that apply but here are a few in no particular order of importance:

1. NEVER pay any agent upfront money to ‘represent’ you or your child in the entertainment business. That is NOT the way a legitimate agent / client relationship works.

Agent’s work FOR talent in a effort to secure employment. AFTER the talent books a job and is paid, the agent will receive a commission. NOT beforehand.

NOT on the promise of getting the performer work.

NOT in advance in any legitimate situation.

IF an agent requires you to pay a FEE of any kind in exchange for representation that is NOT a legitimate agent and you will be throwing away your money. PERIOD.

Agent scams are as old as show business. See my former post on Headshots for some discussion of the old ‘use my photographer’ scam where the ‘agent’ is nothing more
than a referral service for one or more photographers from whom the ‘agent’ receives a kickback.

Old scam, still going on every day in Hollywood and across the country.

2. NEVER pay a casting service that purports to cast roles in film, television or commercials. Casting directors get paid by production companies, not by actors.

I suggest you check out LEGITIMATE casting offices like casting director Beth Sepko’s where you’ll find the following statement. By the way, Beth’s company casts both principal roles and background:

There is NEVER a fee to be registered or on file with our company. There is also NEVER a fee collected from the talent or extras for any booking. We are compensated by the production companies who hire us. Which means we only book talent for projects we are casting.

Google Beth’s name and you’ll find her site. Read all the information there and you’ll get a good idea of how a legitimate, professional casting director works.

Also check out the web site for THE ALLIANCE. There you’ll find a wealth of information about legitimate conduct for actors, agents and casting directors. This information applies nationwide, not just for actors in Central Texas, so if you’re in LA or NYC or Nashville, TN check out these resources for some very solid information.

3. NEVER post your home address and/or home phone number on some internet ‘casting’ site. Most of these sites have as much chance of generating a legitimate casting opportunity as I have of beating Lance Armstrong in a bike race. Not Likely.

I understand that parents and young actors are trying in every way possible to gain entry into a very competitive business that doesn’t seem to have many open doors.

You should understand that most legitimate casting sites, sites that are actually utilized by professional casting and production people, require that talent have some credentials: an agent, legitimate credits, SAG or AFTRA or AEA membership, for instance.

Listing your home phone and address only sets you up to be more easily scammed or possibly worse.

4. NEVER allow you minor child to have a private meeting with a casting person or agent. That is particularly true if you’ve made contact via the internet or, heaven forbid, Craig’s List.

You are a parent first. Your child’s future career, if there is to be one, will not be thwarted because you exercise good parental judgement.

On the other hand, your child’s safety could definitely be compromised if you do not. Unfortunately, pedophiles and other scumbags can be very clever. Wise up.

5. NEVER post provocative photos of yourself or your children on casting forums or sites. Don’t invite trouble. Unless you’re trying to get into the porn business,
no legitimate casting site wants to publish your nude or semi nude photos. Period.

And to wrap this up:

If you get contacted about a casting call, do your homework. Google is your friend. The IMDB is your friend.

The national or regional offices of Screen Actors Guild or AFTRA are your friends. You do not have to be a union member to get lots of FREE information off the SAG dot org site, for instance.

If you have a question about a producer or production that is supposedly shooting in your area, check with SAG. See if it is a signatory production. Not all legitimate productions are SAG signatory, but the SAG office may have information that will be helpful.

Understand that every state has CHILD LABOR LAWS and legitimate casting and agent’s office go out of their way to make sure they are in compliance with all legal requirements for working with or even interviewing minor children.

Finally, don’t be so desperate to break into the film business that you break the rules of common sense. I could go on forever on this subject…and probably have but the situation that prompted this post is disturbing. To resurrect a line from Hill Street Blues (yeah I’m old enough to remember HSB), BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.

Once again the list of POSSIBLE SAG signatory productions for Louisiana and Texas show that Texas is playing in the rough, with one arm tied behind our back without a competitive film incentive program.

Happily HB 873 passed this week by a vote of 139-6. Now we await the vote on the Senate version of the bill, SB 605.

Passage of these bills is critical, of course, but there is still the matter of funding. Keep an eye out for directives from the AMPTP on when it’s time to contact your representatives about funding for the enhanced film incentive program.

In the meantime, look at how many Theatrical contract productions are slated for Louisiana. The Theatrical SAG agreement is for the larger budgeted films. Bigger budgets mean more local jobs for actors and crew. More jobs that extend for longer periods of time. More money into the local and state economies.

We are glad to have so many low budget and ultra low budget films shooting in Texas. We want those projects. But to survive as an industry, and surely to actually make a living in the film industry, we MUST have larger budgeted productions shooting on a regular basis in Texas.

Louisiana

Caged Innocence #00226166

United Spirits LLC – Theatrical

Location: Shreveport, LA

Start Date: April 30, 2009

Champagne Society #00239437

Champagne Society, LLC – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, LA

Start Date: May 1, 2009

Dead of Night #00234500

Long Distance Films, Inc – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, LA

Start Date: To be determined

Dead Whisper #00231285

Dead Whisper Pictures, LLC – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, LA; Big Bear, CA

Start Date: To be determined

Disconnect #00235354

Triumphant Pictures – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, LA

Start Date: March 10, 2009

Expendables, The (aka Barrow) #00233317

Alta Vista Productions, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Shreveport, LA

Start Date: March 28, 2009

Jonah Hex #00240540

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc

Location: Louisiana (non-specific location)

Start Date: April 13, 2009

Casting: Tiffany Little Canfield, CSA – (212)868-1260 x29

Leonie #00238888

Leonie Productions, LLC – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, LA

Start Date: April 12, 2009

Little Murder #00239911

Little Murder, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Detroit, MI; New Orleans, LA

Start Date: April 20, 2009

Wrong Side of Town #00237651

WSOT Productions 1, LLC – Low Budget

Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Start Date: February 3, 2009

Texas

Apparition #00233593

Firestorm Pictures – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Houston, TX

Start Date: To be determined

Basement, The #00237744

T.L.P., LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Dallas, TX

Start Date: To be determined

Casting: Shawn Griffith  shgriffith at earthlink.net

Beyond The Farthest Star #00233502

Pathlight Entertainment, LLC – Modified Low Budget
Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX

Start Date: October 1, 2009

Casting: Benjamin Dane

Broken Promise, A South Texas Story #00210652

Que Tal Productions, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Brownsville, Mercedes, TX

Start Date: February 15, 2009

Mario Torres – (956) 227-1933

C.A.B. #00239396

Tom Proctor – Low Budget Modified

Location: TX, AZ and Los Angeles, CA

Start Date: May 16, 2009

Carried Away #00238361

Carried Away, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Start Date: TBD

Location: Fort Worth

Casting: James Johnston

Earthling #00239014

The Abductors, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Start Date: April 1, 2009

Location: Dallas

Casting: Josh Ridgeway  earthlingprods at yahoo.com

Iron Horses #00237421

Curveball Films, LLC – Low Budget

Location: Austin, TX

Start Date: August 1, 2009

Letter H, The #00233247

GCP Film, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Houston, El Paso, TX

Start Date: June 1, 2009

Casting: Rodney Acevedo

Love and the Texas Sky #00238741

Dust Bowl Pictures – Low Budget Modified

Location: Austin, TX

Start Date: April 1, 2009

Love Thy Neighbor #00238949

Nail Scarred Films, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Keller, TX

Start Date: April 25, 2009

Casting: Zach Smith (817) 938-9971 or  zachsmithkeller at yahoo.com

Maybe, Maybe No #00239585

Red Rider Films, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Wylie, TX

Start Date: June 12, 2009

Casting: Ryan Paige

Minority Western #00220674

FAD Productions – Ultra Low Budget

Locations: AZ & Dallas, TX

Start Date: December 30, 2009

Nerveracker

Troublemaker Studios

Location: Austin, TX

Start Date: June 2009

Casting: Beth Sepko

Player’s School #00238898

Nexus Entertainment and Greg Carter

Location: Houston, TX

Start Date: To be determined

Shadow Play #00236154

Silvatar Media, LLC – Low Budget Modified

Location: Waco, TX

Start Date: April 11, 2009

TIME: 7:15am

LOCATION: The South Steps of the Capitol Building

WARDROBE: Wear Red. Look nice.

AGENDA:

· 7:15am – CALL TIME! Be on the South Steps of the Capitol Building in
your snazzy red outfits! There will be a table set up where you can get
information, pick up a Rally Fan, and be directed to the Rally area.

· 7:30am to 8:30am – Governor Rick Perry and other film bigwigs will
address our group while we RALLY and make a big show for the press

· 8:30am to 9:15am – Skits based on popular Texas films will be
performed for our entertainment and encouragement

· 9:15am to 11:15am – Rally on the steps OR walk the halls of the
Capitol wearing your red and carrying a sign or fan

· 11:30am to 1:30pm – Form a receiving line into and out of the lunch
tent so we can thank the legislators for their time and attention to our
issue (NOTE: Lunch is being served only to the legislators, their staff,
and TXMPA members who are taking meetings with them, not all in attendance!)

You are not REQUIRED to stay for any length of time for the Rally, but
we’d love to have the largest group possible earlier in the day to make
the best impression on the Governor and the press. If you can only come
for an hour or two, plan to be there right at CALL TIME!

Note that Texas has 11 potential signatory projects listed and Louisiana has 14. Of the eleven projects slated for shooting in Texas, three projects have budgets that place them in the ‘Theatrical’ category (Total budget over $2,500,000) and the other eight projects are “Low Budget” (Total budget of less than $2,500,000), “Modified Low Budget” (Total budget of less than $625,000) or “Ultra Low Budget” (Total budget of less than $200,000) projects.

Of the fourteen projects slated for Louisiana, nine have budgets at the “Theatrical” level, one is a Television Series, and only three are at the “Low Budget” or “Ultra Low Budget” level.

The TXMPA effort to significantly increase Texas’ current 5% incentive program is well underway. Visit the TXMPA site and see how you can help us bring more Theatrical budget level productions back to Texas.

Texas

Apparition

Firestorm Pictures – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Houston, TX

Start Date: To be determined

Beyond the Farthest Star

Pathlight Entertainment, LLC – Low Budget

Location: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

Start Date: February 2, 2009

Broken Promise, A South Texas Story

Que Tal Productions, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Brownsville, Mercedes, TX

Start Date: February 15, 2009

The Chops

Steven Cortinas – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA

Start Date: To be determined

The Final

Final Fate Features, LLC – Low Budget Modified

Location: Dallas, TX

Start Date: March 2, 2009

Kalle King

Susie T. Entertainment – Low Budget

Location: Dallas, TX, New York, NY, Hollywood, CA

Start Date: November 23, 2008

The Killer Inside Me

KIM Productions, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Oklahoma City, OK; Lockhart, TX

Start Date: To Be Determined

The Letter H

GCP Film, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Houston, El Paso, TX

Start Date: March 2, 2009

Minority Western

FAD Productions – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Arizona, Dallas, TX

Start Date: To Be Determined

Restive

Restive, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Waco, TX

Start Date: February 16, 2009

Shadow Play

Silvatar Media, LLC – Low Budget Modified

Location: Waco, TX

Start Date: February 16, 2009

Louisiana

Caged Innocence

United Spirits LLC – Theatrical

Location: Shreveport, LA

Start Date: To be determined

The Chameleon

Chameleon Productions, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Start Date: February 2, 2009

Dead Whisper

Dead Whisper Pictures, LLC – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, LA; Big Bear, CA

Start Date: To be determined

Dead of Night

Long Distance Films, Inc – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, LA

Start Date: To be determined

Disconnect

Triumphant Pictures – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, LA

Start Date: March 10, 2009

The Expendables

Alta Vista Productions, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Shreveport, LA

Start Date: To be determined

Eyes of the King

Eyes of the King, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Louisiana (non-specific)

Start Date: To be determined

Happy Holidays Katherine Sloane

Happy Holidays Katherine Sloan, LLC – Theatrical

Location: New York, NY; New Orleans, LA

Start Date: February 1, 2009

Mania

Mania Productions, LLC – Low Budget

Location: New Orleans, LA

Start Date: March 10, 2009

Preaching to the Pastors

Digital Media Production House – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Start Date: To be determined

Sons of Thunder

Insight Entertainment, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Montgomery, AL; Atlanta, GA

Start Date: March 1, 2009

Three Stories about Joan

Three Stories Productions, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Shreveport, LA

Start Date: To be determined

True Blood – TV Series

HBO – TV

Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Dates: February, April and June 2009

WSOT Productions 1, LLC – Low Budget

Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Start Date: February 3, 2009

Our legislative rallying cry/ kickoff mixer & information session will be Monday, January 26 from 6-9 at:

Roux Restaurant
214 E. 6th St, Austin 78701
512 479 0474
just a couple of doors down from the Alamo Ritz.

Special Guests:
Bob Hudgins, Texas Film Commissioner
Brandon Aghamalian, TXMPA lobbyist with Hillco Partners

Come early for networking Happy Hour (till 7) with great food & drink

This is a very important meeting for all of us.

WE HAVE A BILL. WE HAVE BILL SPONSORS IN HOUSE & SENATE.

We have a new speaker of the house. The legislature is in full swing, and we will know who all the power players are- committee chairs, etc. The past few months have been about raising money & membership numbers (which we do still need.) Now we turn our focus to action. At this meeting we will talk about what to do when to whom. Brandon & Bob can answer questions about our legislation, and best tactics for getting it passed & funded. We’ll talk about lobby day. Bring ideas you have for how to make our message heard. We’ll have volunteer assignments, letters to sign, etc. As most of you know, there has been a lot of bad press lately regarding incentives.

Now more than ever, WE NEED EVERYONE TO COME TOGETHER. We’ll have special guests & plenty of networking time, so we promise it will be fun as well as informative. If you are concerned about the state of the moving image industry in Texas, COME TO THIS MEETING! NOW IS OUR MOMENT! BE PART OF THE SOLUTION!

WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK & NEXT.

1. Recruit 5 new people. An antique dealer, a film buff, an aunt, your neighbor, or anyone else you can get to care. If you can get them to join, great. If not, at least get their emails, go to website, & add them to email list. 20 seconds total. We need to build outreach so when it’s time for letter avalanche we reach as many people as possible.

2. FIND OUT WHO REPRESENTS YOU. WRITE THEM.
Go to this link to find your legislators.  http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us Scroll down to your Texas State Senator & Representative. Then, write them.

It can literally be done in 2 minutes. You just check email, fill in your information, and then enter a brief message. Please support the Moving Image Industry Incentives. Add a brief personal comment like “Thanks for your support. I’m an actor. We need this legislation! Our jobs have left the state. We have families too.” You get the picture.

If you are concerned about the state of the moving image industry in Texas, COME TO THIS MEETING! NOW IS OUR MOMENT!
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION!

December 04, 2008
By Mark Dundas Wood
Recently, Drew Barrymore directed and starred in a feature called Whip It!, set in Austin, Texas, and based on a novel by a former Austinite, Shauna Cross. The film was shot in…Ann Arbor, Mich.

Say what? Why would a town with a rich film culture and at least two major favorite-son film directors — Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater — miss out on hosting a project that’s such an obvious fit?

As usual, it’s a money thing. Michigan — along with such states as New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Louisiana — currently offers producers hefty incentive packages to shoot on its soil. As Gary Bond, director of the Austin Film Commission, points out, the 8.25 percent sales-tax exemption and other incentives that Texas offers to filmmakers don’t add up to the same breaks available elsewhere.

Nevertheless, last January, Austin was named the No. 1 American movie city by MovieMaker magazine, beating out such incentives-rich locales as Albuquerque, N.M., and Shreveport, La., not to mention Los Angeles and New York. Austin may not be getting the same kind of commercial projects as other states, but apparently it is doing some things very well.

A (Lone) Star Is Born
The first Hollywood-size project that lensed in Austin, says Bond, was 1977’s Outlaw Blues. In subsequent years, a handful of TV movies and occasional theatrical features (1982’s The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, for instance) shot in the area, but no cinematic stampede to the city ensued. Things began to change in the mid-1980s when the first sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Jeff Bridges-Kim Basinger vehicle Nadine were shot back to back in Austin, with both films employing many of the same personnel. Gradually, says Bond, local crew — especially members of art departments — amassed impressive production credits and reputations.

At the same time, Austin was becoming a major music hub. The city’s famous South by Southwest (SXSW) festival actually began as a music event in 1987 but soon incorporated film and other media. “We were sort of a two-headed calf,” says Bond. “People wanted to come here and see what this buzz was all about.”

Filmmakers venturing to Austin found a city surrounded by a wide range of physical terrains: hills and lake chains to the west, rolling prairie to the east. “It’s always been an excellent place to do a road movie,” says Bond, noting that the bulk of the cattle-drive miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989) was shot within 30 miles of Austin, with the countryside standing in for Canadian and Mexican locales.

In the 1990s, the scene grew, especially with the emergence of Linklater and Rodriguez and the latter’s then wife, producer Elizabeth Avellan. Other Austin-based filmmakers include Tim McCanlies (Secondhand Lions) and Mike Judge (Office Space).

Rodriguez and Avellan developed Troublemaker Studios at the site of Austin’s former municipal airport. Meanwhile, Linklater had founded the Austin Film Society. What began as a film-appreciation organization eventually expanded, assuming management of Austin Studios: other refurbished, city-owned airport property that became “production central” for projects coming into town.

The Actor Factor
But what about human infrastructure? What does Austin provide to filmmakers in the way of an actor workforce?

Beth Sepko, who operates Beth Sepko Casting, as well as an affiliated company, Third Coast Extras, began her career as an agent in San Antonio, returning to her native Austin in 1994. Sepko has worked on several films with Rodriguez. She also casts Austin’s first major network series, NBC’s Friday Night Lights, for which she won a 2007 Emmy. “We have a really strong talent pool,” she says, “but it’s sort of shallow. If I have a film project that has, like, 90 roles on it, then I definitely have to pull from other markets.”

Read the FULL BACKSTAGE ARTICLE HERE.

Add in the fact that the WGA is threatening a suit vs the AMPTP for not paying residuals on so called NEW MEDIA content as required in the contract that AMPTP insists is their ‘last best offer’ to SAG and the situation just gets muddier.

HERE’S THE SAG STATEMENT:

“Our leadership was optimistic that federal mediation would help to move our negotiations forward, but despite the Guild’s extraordinary efforts to reach agreement, the mediation was adjourned shortly before 1:00 AM today.

“Management continues to insist on terms we cannot responsibly accept on behalf of our members. As previously authorized by the National Board of Directors, we will now launch a full-scale education campaign in support of a strike authorization referendum. We will further inform our members about the core, critical issues unique to actors that remain in dispute.

“We have already made difficult decisions and sacrifices in an attempt to reach agreement. Now it’s time for SAG members to stand united and empower the national negotiating committee to bargain with the strength of a possible work stoppage behind them.

“We remain committed to avoiding a strike but now more than ever we cannot allow our employers to experiment with our careers. The WGA has already learned that the new media terms they agreed to with the AMPTP are not being honored. We cannot allow our employers to undermine the futures of our members and their families.

“No timeline has been set for the mailing or return of the strike authorization ballots.”

And the AMPTP RESPONSE:

“The AMPTP accepted the federal mediator’s invitation to meet with SAG in hopes of concluding our seventh major agreement of 2008. The Producers met for two days with SAG at the request of federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez. The parties were unable to reach an agreement and the mediator has adjourned the mediation process.”