tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post115501046280211120..comments2024-03-26T22:42:06.412-07:00Comments on TAG Blog: Artists, Moolah, and RetirementSteve Huletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05537689111433326847noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-1155284380353525432006-08-11T01:19:00.000-07:002006-08-11T01:19:00.000-07:00Wow- That was depressing.Wow- That was depressing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-1155189625313570932006-08-09T23:00:00.000-07:002006-08-09T23:00:00.000-07:00This job of business rep gives you a bird's eye vi...This job of business rep gives you a bird's eye view of the smart (and stupid ) things people in our industry do.<BR/><BR/>I know artists in their sixties and seventies who have Social Security, and that's about it. They never saved, they seldom worked a union gig, and now, as the saying goes, the Rhode Island Reds have come home to roost.<BR/><BR/>I know artists in their forties and fifties who were in the right place at the right time during the nineties animation boom, and are now set for life. (Can we say, "Disney Feature Animation"? Can we say "bonuses"? I'll bet we can.)<BR/><BR/>And I know older artists who SHOULD be okay, but have made one stupid move after another, and now have to scramble. (Case in point: a sixty-eight-year old artist had a pension coming at 65, but failed to contact the plan. His son and daughter called the office to find out if there was any way he could go back and get those monthly checks he never got because he didn't fill out an application in a timely manner. I had to tell them "no." On industry pensions, there is no retroactivity. You gotta ask for it to get it.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-1155184828201643252006-08-09T21:40:00.000-07:002006-08-09T21:40:00.000-07:00Its true that the studios attitude changes when th...Its true that the studios attitude changes when they start seeing the grey hair. When I got in the business silver locks meant you had made it, like Frank & Ollie. Now that I'm sprouting grey hair someone changed the rules on us! Now you're thought of as overpaid and out of ideas.<BR/><BR/>The most important thing I discovered when I was president was the number of animation "celebrity" types who despite their fame depended upon the 839 pension to support them. MGM didn't make Hanna & Barbera rich for making them all those wonderful Tom & Jerrys, Warners didn't make Chuck Jones rich for creating Roadrunners for them. They got straight salary like the rest of us. They made their fortunes afterwards as independents. <BR/><BR/>But if you don't want to go the Donald Trump route, then stick with your union gigs or do something about your retirement. I wish I could be Joe Grant or Al Hirshfeld and draw until I'm 100 and die at my desk, but the odds of that are unlikely.Think of yourself like a ballplayer. The nestegg you make now will keep you when it's time to hang the jersey up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-1155181775658786552006-08-09T20:49:00.000-07:002006-08-09T20:49:00.000-07:00All the more reason to save your money. This is no...All the more reason to save your money. This is not just an animation concern, the entire entertainment industry is currently obsessed with youth.<BR/><BR/>When I came into the business, all my bosses were old codgers -- animation veterans. Today, a veteran could very well be in his or her twenties. Like it or not, I don't think it's going to change anytime soon.<BR/><BR/>If you're unlucky enough to be an aging veteran, put that experience to work in other areas. Those years working in the business can still count. There are options other than working in the mainstream studios.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-1155168503804072292006-08-09T17:08:00.000-07:002006-08-09T17:08:00.000-07:00I wish you'd address the persistence of ageism in ...I wish you'd address the persistence of ageism in the entertainment industry (and, by extension, in animation). It may or may not be a little better in feature animation, but as a salt-miner in the television trenches, there are very few directors in their fifties, and next to none in their sixties. <BR/><BR/>So any retirement planning has to take into consideration that you may be unemployable in the industry <B>earlier</B> than you may expect...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-1155147137360866442006-08-09T11:12:00.000-07:002006-08-09T11:12:00.000-07:00Job Security, or, the lack there of, is something ...Job Security, or, the lack there of, is something schools are not teaching the students, and how to cope with it.<BR/> And yet, kids, these days seem well prepared in other areas. Lots of them have their own websites when they graduate! when I graduated, I did'nt even know what e-mail was !! (yahoo was a few years old at the time!)<BR/> <BR/> I lost a buch of money on some poor investments, during the tech bubble in the nineties.<BR/> Should have done more research!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com