Another day, another feature.
[Seth Rogen] has been cast to voice a lead character in the studio's "Boo U." The comic story centers on a ghost who must return to ghost school to learn how to be a better spook.
"Igor" director Tony Leondis is directing the 3D project, which Gil Netter and Courtney Pledger are executive producing. ...
I see a lot of development going on at DWA's Glendale campus, but Boo U hasn't been on my radar, either because I've been in a trance or because development is going on at PDI in Northern California.
(Or maybe if I lower the dosage of some of my meds, more projects will swim into focus ....)
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32 comments:
Or maybe because igor was an imminently forgettable movie.
Casper did it first.
Hey--it was better than astroboy!
I can't wait to see "Tangled". It's gonna be the bets movie ever made.
Trance isn't even close to what you've been in for years. What do you do?
And why does DW still use Seth Rogen, even though he's publicly said he can't stand kids' CGI's?
Trance isn't even close to what you've been in for years. What do you do?
Come by the office and I'll show you.
1105 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA
And how are things at Animation Nation?
Ewww...they're like cheerleaders that couldn't make the cut.
Worse yet, they re-designed their site so you can't see or find anything and it's heavy. And ugly. If that piss-poor designed sight is indicative of the "talent" at that site, I'm glad it's fading fast.
That's funny, I've never heard of "Animation Nation" until now. Just watched the union fail over and over.
Oh my God, now that you let me know about the "Animation Nation" site and reading "Empowering The Union" all I've got to say is Holy Crap! That was written 11 years ago and it could have been written yesterday. What fantasy world do you live in? Or is it just pure arrogance?
**Hey--it was better than astroboy!**
Nope.
That's funny, I've never heard of "Animation Nation" until now. Just watched the union fail over and over.
Fail how?
Please be specific and show your work.
"Please be specific and show your work."
Typical union bully statement.
Anonymous is anonymous because TAG can cause more problems than the studios. Specific:
Storyboard artists being blamed for shortcomings and fired in a week on numerous occasions with no union support (WB). No one probably let you know because everyone knows you do nothing. Someone new to animation forced to pay the outrageous initiation fee, works on 1 show for 3 months and never again. Out a lot of money with nothing to show for it. No real job listings, the alerts are almost always filled before they're posted. Run around when calling the union for info.
I know of no other "union" that cares less about their members.
I think anonymous above is right.
"**Hey--it was better than astroboy!**"
They were both awful, but igor wins out of those two flops.
Storyboard artists being blamed for shortcomings and fired in a week on numerous occasions with no union support (WB). No one probably let you know because everyone knows you do nothing.
Nobody contacted the guild? Gee. No wonder they did nothing.
Hulett filed a grievance when I contacted him. Got me my dismissal pay.
But then, I contacted the union office.
Someone new to animation forced to pay the outrageous initiation fee, works on 1 show for 3 months and never again. Out a lot of money with nothing to show for it.
The guild asks for $635 down on an initiation fee that is two weeks of the minimum rate. (Which ranges from $1700 to $3300, depending on the classification.)
Balance is paid in increments over 6-9 months. Somebody who worked three months would pay roughly a third to half of the total initiation fee, depending on how it was set up. ($1100 to $1650, by my claculation). When he stopped working under TAG's jurisdiction, fees would stop unless the individual elected to continue paying them.
At the same time, the studio would be paying retirement money into the board artist's Individual Account Plan at $112 per week. So ... twelve weeks of work would equal about $1340 into a pension plan that would be vested after ten forty hour weeks.
No real job listings, the alerts are almost always filled before they're posted. Run around when calling the union for info.
Actually, they are real job listings, in the sense that artists do get jobs from them. There are far fewer listings than there are artists, but jobs are filled. Studio tell us they don't fill the jobs prior to listing. (It's certainly possible that they're lying, but why would they be motivated to do that?)
We list both union and non-union jobs.
Last point: Initiation fees are asked for 30-45 days after new employees begin work.
What??!! A Dreamworks Feature with only ONE DIRECTOR??? Say it aint so... Singular vision on a movie? Thats just wrong in so many ways... You need a committee to make a movie if you really want to have it magical. Please add at least 3 more directors to this film immediately Dreamworks. We worry about you.
Hey Steve
I dug around the internet and couldnt find it: how do I get a report of my individual account plan? How can I be sure my studio is reporting all my hours?
Thanks!
Actually, they are real job listings, in the sense that artists do get jobs from them. There are far fewer listings than there are artists, but jobs are filled. Studio tell us they don't fill the jobs prior to listing. (It's certainly possible that they're lying, but why would they be motivated to do that?)
The job listings for union gigs are indeed seen as a joke. The studio in question will have artists already at the studio in line to fill the job, but say they have to "advertise" the job as per either union or California job code or some such nonsense. I've heard of people taking tests for allegedly available jobs on certain primetime shows only to be told that their test was great, but the show doesn't have any openings. SO WHY GIVE OUT A TEST?!
So outside applying artists jump through hoops to get a job that isn't really open to them; they take tests that aren't looked at by directors or anyone else who actually has to create the product that the studios are pitching to get made. All for a job opening that doesn't really exist.
No wonder morale is low.
"What??!! A Dreamworks Feature with only ONE DIRECTOR??? S"
No. Not the only director. And not the first. And not the last.
The job listings for union gigs are indeed seen as a joke. The studio in question will have artists already at the studio in line to fill the job, but say they have to "advertise" the job as per either union or California job code or some such nonsense.
You're talking, of course, about Nickelodeon. (Strange how you don't mention that when you're anonymous.) I've talked to H.R. about the issue numerous times, and they swear up and down they fill the jobs from the ads.
So we're sort of behind a rock and a hard place, aren't we? TAG can refuse to post the listing, or we can post.
In the end, we opt to post based on employer testimonials. But if you have a new and better way of going, let us know.
Storyboard artists being blamed for shortcomings and fired in a week on numerous occasions with no union support (WB). No one probably let you know because everyone knows you do nothing.
Nobody contacted the guild? Gee. No wonder they did nothing.
Hulett filed a grievance when I contacted him. Got me my dismissal pay.
But then, I contacted the union office.
Right now TAG has three grievances going. One is in settlement mode ($2400 award), one has just been filed (grievance letter went out Wednesday), and one is in Step One and has multiple grievants.
I don't know if they did or didn't contact the union. I just know when ever I've heard it brought it was received with groans and chuckles. The only thing I've personally seen the union do is threaten an artist with dismal for not paying dues. That's with out asking why he wasn't paying them, he could have been broke. Well at least Steve got off his nepotistic ass and did something other than tell stories from the past and brag about how many people he knows.
Oh wait, it was you Steve that posted that last one, right?
"**Hey--it was better than astroboy!**"
They were both awful, but igor wins out of those two flops.**
Nah, Astroboy is achieving a cult status. Igor has already been forgotten.
Love how the nasty posts are always anonymous!
Anon--If you find this blog and everything the Guild does so distasteful, why do you spend any time posting here? Let's get back on topic.
Regarding the WB grievances: Steve, it's interesting that whenever you mention what's going on at WBA it's all sunshine and Bugs Bunny. Don't you think it would be helpful for union members to know that their fellow members are filing grievances against this studio? If this is not feasible, is there not some way to inform union members when all is not well at a union shop?
Regarding the WB grievances: Steve, it's interesting that whenever you mention what's going on at WBA it's all sunshine and Bugs Bunny. ....
I've never referenced any WB grievances. All I've said here is that we have three different grievances now in work.
Feel free to come to membership meetings if you want to know what grievances at what studios are ongoing. I talk about them there.
Generally, I think it's a bad idea to blat about specific grievances on the intertubes, and don't.
Come to a membership meeting? Contact the union when there's a problem? Actually learn how long it takes to become a union member, or how my dues and benefits work? Are you kidding? Why should I do that when I can sit on the sidelines and bitch and moan about how nobody is taking good enough care of me? Get real, Steve.
Of course, when I do get a union job with union benefits, I only have myself to thank. It's all me, me, me.
And when that job isn't going well, or comes to an end, then it can't have anything to do with me. It must be the union's fault. Oh, and you're the union, Steve, not me, not all the other members. Just you. So everything that is wrong, or has ever been wrong, with local 839 is your fault. Are we clear now?
I agree with the above posting about the union letting us know when grievances are filed. Steve, maybe you don't have to be specific, but it might help people who are on the fence feel that they're not alone. I know that when I filed a grievance (successful - thanks, Steve!) at one of the above named studios, I was extremely worried that it would affect my employability at said studio. Somehow, knowing that others were in the same situation would have made me less nervous about going forward. Ultimately, you are putting yourself and your career at risk when you stand up to the powers that be, but it's important that we stand together and shout as loud as we can when we're taken advantage of. That's the whole point of a union. The more people are willing to call bulls**t on the studios, the more powerful we become.
In my case, we moved forward and were vindicated (the studio was underpaying union hours for certain work, and the stuido labor relations department agreed). Immediately following the filing, I was suddenly "removed" from a project that had been offered to me shortly before. Sure, I'll never know for certain if it was just a coincidence, but the timing was extremely suspect. I'm sure many of us have had the same experience. The studios aren't afraid of us - and there's always going to be someone waiting in the wings who won't cry foul when they're wronged.
I'm not sure why I've gone off on this tangent - I guess I just want to encourage people to not be afraid to stand up for their rights. Likewise, it would be great if the union could give us all some kind of tally on the number of grievances filed at any given time (Steve, maybe you already do this. I confess total ignorance on this point.) Oh, and by the way, after I was booted off the above mentioned project, I was subsequently hired back by the same studio a while later on another project. Vindictiveness often has a short lifespan, provided they need you for something.
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