SAG can do absolutely nothing to you.
As much as they would like to make noise and pretend they do, SAG has no jusrisdiction whatsoever over producers, directors, or
anyone or anything other than their own members.
You can cast Anthony Hopkins in your non-SAG film and pay him a dollar a day....
IF he is willing to do it. It's entirely up to the talent.
Any repercussions to that deal would only be a problem for the
talent, not for you.
Now, SAG might try to make it difficult for you to, say, legally hire their talent on your
next SAG project... but if you do each and every separate project under a diffrent company banner (they way the majority of films are produced) they can do nothing to or impose any restrictions or sanctions against the "new" production company (even though it might be exactly the same people).
SAG
should be working hard to make it
easier to hire their talent... but they don't. Most of the time they just throw up a mountian of red tape and make it
more difficult to hire their members, not easier.
I know that first hand... as not only am I a producer who occasionally needs to hire SAG talent (and yes, we do it "legally"), but before I became a wannabe movie director I was a wannabe actor myself... and am an AFTRA/SAG member. I personally never scabbed, but there were many instances when producers and directors on non-SAG projects wanted to cast me, but SAG made it so darn hard (and not just the money thing) that they didn't. In hindsight I probably should have taken the jobs anyway... I know many actors who do.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
