The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has sent out a warning to Hollywood studios concerning the layoff or suspension of actors during the writers strike.
It comes after news that Sony Pictures Television put regular cast members on two sitcoms, 'Til Death and How I Met Your Mother, on unpaid leave because the shows were shut down by the walk out of members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA).
Grey's Anatomy cast member Katherine Heigl joins the Writers Guild of America picket line in Los Angeles on Nov. 7. Heigl's union, the Screen Actors Guild, is warning studios to honour its agreement with actors during the strike.
(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)
The WGA went on strike Nov. 5 after talks broke down with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP). The two sides are far apart on one main issue: residuals for writers for material appearing on DVDs, the internet, cellphones and other devices.
The actors guild says putting its members on unpaid leave while keeping them tied to the studio violates its agreement.
SAG released a statement late Sunday: "In the absence of extraordinary factual circumstances, any series production that is suspended at this time will require compliance with the force majeure provisions of the SAG Television Agreement."
The SAG agreement provides three options to studios in the event of a strike:
- They may hold onto series regulars and pay them a full salary.
- Suspend actors on half-pay for up to five weeks after which the actors can be terminated and lose exclusivity or restore full salary with exclusivity.
- Terminate the actors, but guarantee them a rehire when production resumes.
Many production companies say they have enough scripts to keep television series going until January or February. However, several primetime shows, including The Office, have already shut down production. Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Brothers & Sisters, will also be forced to end production in the coming weeks.
Bill Lawrence, the creator of the medical series Scrubs, said he refused to write a backup ending for the series finale. He said the network has 11 scripts out of the original 18 episodes that were ordered.
Lawrence revealed the studio had asked him for a script that would have shortened Scrubs' season but yet provide an appropriate ending for the series final bow. This was to have been the NBC series' seventh and final season.
Lawrence said he didn't want to fast-forward the final season and vowed to battle the studio to have a proper finale for the show.
"I will use all my leverage to end this show properly, even if it means I have to do all the voices myself and call people up to read it over the phone," he said over the weekend while appearing at the New York Comedy Festival.
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