A raise for U.S. writers, a hike for U.S. actors, a boost for Canadian writers – will Canadian actors join the gang and make it four square?

And if they do, will they get the ‘parity’ they want with the Screen Actors Guild? And if they do, what price will Canada pay in terms of both domestic and imported production volumes?

Canada’s independent film and TV producers – represented by the CFTPA for English producers and the APFTQ for French – are set to begin negotiating with ACTRA in early October toward a new Independent Production Agreement. Predictably, the two sides diverge over how much an actor pay raise would affect business.

Many details of specific demands are unknown, as the producer groups and ACTRA – which represents actors in all provinces except B.C. – have just begun the layered process of asking their members what they want in the next IPA.

But some objectives are clear: ‘We would like to approach parity with SAG,’ says ACTRA national executive director Stephen Waddell. ‘We are completely confident that if we raise our rates to be comparable to SAG, production would still continue to come here. Why? Because of the Canadian dollar.’

But ACTRA’s confidence does not resonate with producers. At the CFTPA, national director of industrial relations Cara Martin and national VP, industrial relations John Barrack, say the trend in Canada is towards increasing levels of service production. Foreign producers, they argue, survey a competitive group of countries before choosing where to shoot. ‘Australia, Mexico and New Zealand want our business,’ says Barrack.

Marilyn Stonehouse, president of Toronto-based Pebblehut Productions, which has for years done significant service volume, says incoming producers are especially keen on securing international distribution (which requires controlling the choice of leads), tax breaks and a gain on the dollar. She says the two markets best able to provide these advantages, plus strong local crew and talent, are Canada and Australia.

‘I’ve noticed over the past year that Australia has become quite popular. I was talking to a producer who just shot an MOW in Australia and had a great experience. So if we don’t stay competitive, they’ll go back there.’

Stonehouse also says TV shoots – foreign and domestic – are much more sensitive to actor salaries than features, because when broadcasters know producers are shooting abroad, they offer lower licence fees.

Waddell says he has no precise definition of ‘wage parity.’ But Barrack and Martin say their understanding from ACTRA is that ‘parity’ would mean Canadian actors would earn the U.S. dollar equivalent of SAG actors. So if the SAG principal day rate was US$600, the ACTRA principal would earn Cdn$930. (See chart this page.)

IPA highlights

The current IPA, which went into effect Aug. 9, 1999, includes the following highlights:

* an 8% general increase in all rates and fees effective August 9, 1999, plus an additional 2% general increase effective January 1, 2001;

* Principal Performer line count reduced to 6 lines or more;

* 1% additional producer contribution to the Insurance Plan (for a total of 4%);

* discounted weekly rate reduced to 15% (previously 20% discount);

* stand-in minimum fees increased by more than 9% in the first year, plus an additional 2% in the second year; and,

* stunt coordinators’ minimum day reduced to 8 hours (from 10), with a minimum daily fee of $650. Stunt coordinators’ hourly rates increased by more than 35% in the first year.

The current deal expires Dec. 31. It was to have been a three-year agreement but last time, negotiations ran six months past the previous deal’s expiry date; actors seemed perched on the edge of a strike when the two sides reached a tentative deal in June, 1999.

Another hot issue involves how strictly ACTRA intends to enforce what are known as the ‘two-only’ rules. These confusing rules essentially try to limit to two the number of non-Canadians hired for many types of Canadian and foreign productions. There are exceptions, but producers argue that since they must always get ACTRA permission for work permits for non-Canadians, ACTRA gets de facto control over casting and, some say, creative.

Waddell says it’s important that ACTRA enforce these rules in order to provide maximum opportunities for Canadians; otherwise, he says, the talent won’t get steady work in prominent roles; and no matter the prominence, he says, Canadians should earn as much as the Americans they work alongside. He says producers will still save money in Canada, and argues we offer better crews and facilities than either Australia or current hotspot Czech Republic. ‘It is time we took our rightful place in the world.’

Boost box office

Producers in Canada have often applied for exceptions to the two-only rule, in order to boost box office appeal or secure a foreign sale in a particular territory. Stonehouse wonders whether ACTRA ‘will close the door on this type of appeal.

‘Most of the [producers] locate themselves where they can do the picture for the budget they’ve got. They’re taking an average of three stars to location. Networks traditionally get approval on the top three leads. If ACTRA says, ‘You can only bring in two,’ the producer will have to work it to the best of his ability. There’s no question we have artists here, but you need major international stars to gain foreign sales. The greenlight is contingent upon the cast. I don’t know if ACTRA is going to say ‘two or nothing,’ but if they do, in a lot of cases it’ll be nothing.’

Stonehouse warns that if ACTRA wants a contract reflecting both monetary terms and working conditions similar to those enjoyed by SAG members, ‘That same contract they want to emulate has caused a lot of production to leave the U.S. If they want to boost Australia, bring in the contract.’

Another major concern raised by the CFTPA is that SAG’s is ‘a studio deal’ with a rate scale that doesn’t take into consideration the needs of low-budget dramas or the increasingly popular lifestyle programming being ordered by specialties. Says Barrack: ‘Actors cost too much for budgets around $200,000 per hour compared to say $500,000 per half-hour in drama.’ The existing low-budget agreement is not working, he adds, saying producers want ‘to work with ACTRA on finding some flexibility in costs of actors which can be adapted to the budget of the production.’

Waddell says he has heard ‘rumors of concern’ about a potential ACTRA strike, ‘especially among productions going to be shooting in the winter and early months of next year,’ but emphasizes the union hasn’t even formulated proposals yet.

The CFTPA, which will negotiate on behalf of foreign service producers on this and other issues, will include as a member of its bargaining delegation a rep from the Canadian affiliates of the AMPTP – the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

ACTRA wants to have Larry Goldhar, of The Characters Talent Agency, observe at the talks as a rep from the Talent Agents and Managers Association of Canada. *

-www.tvd.com

-www.actra.com

-www.cftpa.ca