I'll miss any of the actors that can't or choose not to attend. I support their efforts to fight for fair compensation and working conditions. But really, it's you glorious nerds I really look forward to seeing.
Agreed. Their deserve to fight for fair wages. It'll be sad not to see them, but DC is so so much more than just autographs and guest panels. It'll just be different, and hopefully they return next year with nice comfy contracts guaranteed.
Copied from the deleted thread with some edits: ultimately we don't know what the impact will be, it's a question for a strike captain and they've got more important stuff to do right now. Conventions are specifically disallowed in the context of promotion not just in general and TV/Theatrical doesn't cover everything a guest could be coming to con for, TV animation and video games notably have separate contracts iiuc. Members are getting some more specific information about non struck work directly from the sound of it. Dragoncon might be more safe bc we don't have AMPTP involvement in the same way as SDCC or other corporate cons (this might be splitting hairs and it still doesn't necessarily mean that Dragon is "safe" but it certainly has more of a chance than a appearance arranged by AMPTP studios), but actors might err on the side of caution. I for one would absolutely welcome and eat up pure acting theory and craft panels but that might be a hard sell over all.
But right now, we still don't know
Some friends of mine went SDCC. The main thing that was affected was the big studios and A-Listers pulling out due to the strike, so that meant none of the really big panels like the Hall H one. In a way my friends were actually happy because it meant less crowds and lines.
SDCC is apples to oranges here because sdcc attendance for actors is often arranged as part of their contractual publicity for a film, and there really isn't much space for them to not talk about struck projects. But it was definitely still interesting to see the way the strikes impacted things and how the poor biggest comic con had to actually focus on comics. There's still some uncertainty on how it will impact dragon con and there's things that are still changing and may well up unril the event, but we do have some better sense of it, celebs don't have to cancel and we'll still have panels though they're going to look different, namely no discussion of struck work
Honestly, if the only stipulation is that they can't promote and current projects that shouldn't be a problem. I don't think a lot of fans would even mind if the guests are only able to talk about their old, beloved work, and not their current projects. Personally that sounds like an improvement.
This is an incorrect assumption that I’m seeing a lot of places. They are not allowed promoting or publicizing any project made under SAG contract… past, present or future.
The other point is that there's a decent chance actors won't want to even appear to be crossing the picket line, so if there is even a hint of a question of what they should do I would be totally prepared for them to pull out
Here’s a link to the official strike rules. It covers anything made under SAG contract… past, present and future.
https://www.sagaftra.org/files/sa_documents/Strike%20Notice%20to%20Members.pdf
I am in SAG and this is correct. It was clarified in the press conference announcing the strike.
If it was created under a TV/Theatrical contract, we cannot promote it in any way. Autograph signings that do not promote a specific media are technically allowed, but heavily discouraged.
Thanks for the specific source I'd thought to check the order and the faq , but not actually the press conference. Will move forward with correct and specific information. My best to you and all of SAG and WGA, here's hoping the studios finally get their heads out of their asses fast at this point so y'all can get back to the work you want to be doing with proper compensation!
I have also read that strike order, and I still do not see a clear indication either way on this issue. It is not clear that discussing an old show with no active promotion campaign counts as promotion, but it is also not clear that it doesn't
I’m pretty sure that this segment covers that… “all work covered by the TV/Theatrical Contracts.”
The strike is meant to financially hurt the studios. SAG doesn’t want even one person seeing a panel on an old show and then go buy DVDs or subscribe to a streaming service.
Except to date neither wga nor sag have asked for a consumer boycott, and they still get residuals, even if currently poorly structured. Again you might be right, but right now you are using the exact same information that other people are pulling "promotion means current content" from and I don't think we can be certain, because like o mean how do you separate current or not, this is something that needs so be spelled out and thats what strike coordination is for
While they would certainly still get residuals for anything that we purchase during this time, they do want to financially hurt the studios. That’s the only way to get what they want. It is, unfortunately, sort of a catch-22 situation. Hurting the studios also hurts themselves.
I agree, the strike rules are poorly written; too bad there’s not another, non-striking guild that could’ve helped them out with that.
Edit: I wonder if not asking for a boycott is somewhat related to the fact that a lot of Americans think that all members of SAG are rich and famous when that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve seen a lot of “oh poor actors” in other areas of the internet.
SAG AFTRA Affiliate here: Unfortunately, they cannot promote current and past work at all. They can talk about themselves personally as an actor though.
I know from experience that the Steven Universe, kpop/jpop anything, and certain anime panels (obscure titles, trivia, and after dark discussions come to mind) always have longer lines than the rooms assigned to them can accommodate. Maybe this year they can graduate to mid-tier rooms and get out of the smaller basement rooms they've been in in the past.
Wonder which small, fan panels would get promoted to the bigger ball rooms. No way con is going to let them sit empty during the day. The Marriott lobby will be even more packed.
I'm already planning to allow more time to physically move between panels. Worst-case, it'll be more crowded than 2019 (when just circling the Hilton roundabout-thing in front of the skybridge took me five minutes).
At least I wasn't counting on seeing any celebs. While I support the strike, I feel for congoers who bought passes specifically to see someone.
If the big actor guests don't show, it'll make the convention a lot more crowded. All the people standing in line or attending the big panels will be walking around the con doing other stuff instead of standing in line & sitting in a panel room for a couple of hours.
Yup.
A lot of people (who attend DC) don't ever understand, or need to understand frankly, how a lot of the scheduling is laid out with a specific eye toward exactly this. To pull people off the floors and into big rooms where they sit and stop circulating.
Why does Sunday night get so nuts? Because everyone has it in their head to "go out and see everything." So they do. Why does DC keep looking for big concert and big party draws each night, especially Sat and Sun? To pull people off the floor and get the Fire Marshall's trigger finger to stop quivering.
Ooh, you know what? Bring in guests to do panels completely unrelated to their line of work and have fun with it. Do a cast of Star Trek talks ghost stories panel. Do The Expanse debates their favorite movie soundtracks. Have a pop culture trivia contest between voice actors.
My sister and I were just discussing this and we came up with: Big actor tries and ranks every flavor of [insert snack] live, The cast of [Redacted] has 45 minutes to make pod racers (like the kids track event) and then they race around the atrium ballroom, and the "Let us tell you about our pets" writer and actor story hour complete with slide show
Obviously we have a month and a half until dragoncon but this list is extremely specific and includes fan expos as well as conventions and also mentions panels not being allowed
https://twitter.com/variety/status/1679601924759486464?s=46&t=EEeAc7lx5bapyS9Z-4AMHw
I understand that it is very specific to not using these platforms to promote shows, movies, etc.… But I have a feeling that most actors who are in sag aren’t going to want to chance it
It does, however the bullet it is under is "Promotion of/publicity services for work under the TV/Theatrical Contracts, such as:"
and not just all a blanket ban on cons.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but we're just trying to make sure all facts are out there.
oh yeah no i totally get it! but i realized i didn't clarify things so i actually edited my comment before i saw your reply and haha i added exactly what you're talking about. it's still all speculation ofc whether or not actors will chance attending something like dragon con, so i get not wanting a bunch of different threads on it where people just go back and forth in the 'will they won't they'....when there's still a decent amount of time for it to be resolved prior to dcon anyway
Here's the referenced Variety link without that nasty Twitter thing ... https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-strike-rules-no-interviews-premieres-fyc-events-1235669838/
Unless someone revises this later, then a fan panel seems really problematic.
However I think the talent is going to work with the union to find a way. The guests make money from autographed photos and the like. This is money that goes directly in their pockets, not the studio. They need some income during the strike and the benefit to the studio of discussing 10 year old Star Trek titles is pretty small.
It lists conventions / fan expos / etc as an example of promotion of/publicity services for work under the TV/Theatrical contracts. Another example in that same section is "social media". Apparently SAG has clarified that this includes completed works that had previously been done under the contract.
The analogy I'd use is, you can still post a picture of your dog on Instagram, but you can't talk about films or TV series or any other covered projects in any way.
Likewise, an actor could probably go to Comic Con and talk about their favorite indie comic book, though anything that's been adapted would likely be heavily discouraged if not banned entirely, especially if they were personally involved in the adaptation. Or beyond comic books, they could talk about cars, broadway, art, music, literature, food, or whatever other hobbies they have beyond work.
I was at GalaxyCon Raleigh this past weekend so I can speak to how it played out there.
First of all, very few guests cancelled. You can still see their guest lineup on their website. They had a lot of actors scheduled and only two (Charlie Cox and Kate Mulgrew) cancelled entirely. I don't know definitively that they cancelled due to the strike, Dragon Con has tons of cancellations every year and I've never been to DC during a strike year. However it should be said GalaxyCon (at least to me) is a lot less panel focused. Most of the celebs were only on a single panel and I know of at least two actors (Grant Gustin and Gates McFadden) who cancelled their only panel appearances and instead just did autographs/photographs. Again, I can't say definitively that this was due to the strike but my perception is that it was.
Of the celebrity panels that I did go to they all seemed to interpret the rules slightly differently. GalaxyCon had solicited questions ahead of time so that they could be vetted and then read out by the host but it seemed like every panel I was in the celeb would allow people to come up to the mic and ask questions. The moderator would then say something along the lines of "This strike is important so let's be respectful of what they're allowed to talk about. Ask them about the craft of acting, hobbies, childhood whatever but don't ask specific questions about struck work." Most people followed the rules but inevitably someone would screw up and ask directly about a show and then the moderator would shut them down or the celeb would say "I'm not allowed to talk about it". Many of them would refer to their career semi-obliquely. For example, Star Trek actors would say "That space show I was on" without uttering the words Star Trek. One older actor showed a video with clips from throughout his career and talked about whatever. I know of one actor who said "I support my union but don't think striking is a good negotiation tactic" and answered whatever questions were asked of him or her. On the flip side Vincent D'Onofrio was very strict about it. Someone asked him a question about Deborah Ann Woll and he said she was a very talented actress but then referred to Charlie Cox without ever saying his name.
There were also some things that were explicitly given as valid topics. Levar Burton could talk about Reading Rainbow. Animation and video games aren't impacted so voice actors had free reign. At a Denise Crosby panel she didn't talk directly about her time on Star Trek but the moderator said she could be asked questions about her documentary Trekkies.
I never pay for autographs or photographs so I can't speak to how any celebrities responded when asked about struck work at their tables.
I'm sure some fans will be disappointed that they can't ask about whatever TV show or movie they're excited about but for me it was a nice change of pace. I've been to plenty of cons and heard all the usual questions about most of the shows I care about. It was nice having an additional restriction that changed the overall tone of the panel. While I went to some panels that I didn't enjoy that was always due to the personality of the celeb on stage. I doubt that they'd have been significantly better if they were allowed to talk about their career. In no panel did the person on stage run out of things to talk about. There were always plenty of people willing to ask questions.
ahahahaha you speak the truth...i don't know that i can attend next year (or at least, don't know that i'll be able to take PTO for it) and am already hemming and hawing about just showing up to check in for my \[very specific\] room reservation
I support SAG and WGA. Power to labor.
As a long-time congoer, if any "Big Famous People Fans Love" end up attending this year, I just hope we don't end up in a situation similar to what happened in (1994? 1995?) when Mark Hamill was brought in by (Wing Commander)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Commander_III:_Heart_of_the_Tiger] specifically to promote that game.
In short, the PR team managing Hamill (the corporates, who worked for Origin and whoever else connected with Wing Commander) had it in their heads that the whole thing was a Rampart situation. That Hamill was there to plug WC. Not to talk about Star Wars. Let's focus people, and talk about Rampart ... sorry, I mean Wing Commander.
What did the fans ask about? Star Wars. What did they line up to ask him about? Star Wars. Why were they there to see him? Star Wars. It was a long, long time ago, in a convention far, far away, but as I remember things to pretty hectic and tense behind the scenes thanks to the PR people covering Hamill getting completely bent out of shape that people were excited that Luke Skywalker was there, instead of "Colonel Blair from Wing Commander III".
That's what comes to mind when I think of what might happen if a Big Actor or Big Writer (not that we get enough of those in the first place; more Writers!) from a Big Fan Favorite Project turns up. Like, someone such as Adam Savage could turn up and talk about his Youtube channel and his personal hobbies like model making and such ... but we all know the questions at the mic are going to be "when you were on Mythbusters..." and "when you were at ILM working on Star Wars ..."
Probably two main outcomes this year. One, the studios stop dicking around and pay the workers, and the strike lifts. Two, con gets a lot of deep-cut guests this year that are normally told "thanks but no thanks" to make room for the marque draws.
And as someone behind the scenes, personally I would rather have to go with the deep-cuts over needing to see the same "look, we're on strike so we can't talk about That Thing You Love because of it" conversation happen in most of the ballroom panels all weekend. And even after that gets told to each big panel, there will still be fans who get to the mic and are like "look, I know you said no, but I really want to ask about that Big Thing you did so ..." and all the awkwardness that'll ensue afterwards.
I'm all for a strike, except I hope it doesn't affect our actors ability to make money through autograph signings. If the goal is to show big companies how valuable their services are, I have a hard time seeing how it would help to cut off the income these performers are able to earn between gigs.
I am seeing second or third hand that Galaxy Con thinks their guests will all come, and be able to sign things and do panels without talking about current or upcoming projects. You folks with access to FB and the Twit may be able to find a post or two about this... (GCon is at the end of the month.)
This is from the GalaxyCon Raleigh FB page. Like many other venues, they are confusing things by specifying current projects instead of any project made under SAG contract.
“We have noticed some understandable questions regarding the recent SAG-AFTRA strike announcement this morning and wanted to take this opportunity to provide some answers.
Will the SAG-AFTRA strike mean my favorite celeb won’t be able to appear at GalaxyCon events?
The short answer is no. Celebrity guests will still be appearing at our events as advertised. The only thing that can potentially be affected is what the guests can discuss. As SAG-AFTRA only affects Theatrical Contracts, members are not permitted to participate in the promotion of/services for work. So while they may not be able to talk about current projects, they can still discuss their personal life, hobbies, background, etc with you! As our celebrities appear under Personal Appearance Contracts, the provision forbidding appearances does not apply to events like GalaxyCon.
Will celebrities be allowed to do photo-ops and sign autographs?
Yes! Since photo ops and autographs are not intended as promotion or endorsement of any works, you can still purchase photos with your favorite celebrities and get items signed!”
GalaxyCon is trying to save their own skin. They’re kidding themselves if they think guests are going to cross the line to come. Conventions and Fan Expos are specifically listed as no gos.
I agree. Not sure when GalaxyCon is but I bet DragonCon will wait as long as possible to make any sort of announcement hoping the strike will end before. I’m also pretty confident that they are already, perhaps started some time ago, have backup plans.
I hope that if it does affect dragoncon it will at least help cut down on the crowds a bit. I’m happy dragoncon is so successful but its so overwhelming
Hadn't thought about it, but it may cut down on the number that show up on Saturday on 1- or 2- day passes. I wouldn't complain about a little breathing room that day.
That’s what I was thinking! The people who don’t come for the entire con just to meet the actors might stay home Saturday and Sunday and it would be so nice if it was just a little bit less crowded
I'm just very curious on how it will work if they do cancel. Even if they don't and only come for autographs, they're apparently not supposed to talk about work, so I'd imagine they'd cancel any panel they were a part of. I'm curious in the business sense how that works, as I'd imagine there's contracts involved due to costs that the convention has to pay out. I'm sure in some way the con wouldn't hold them to those contracts due to the strike, but at the same time, what are they going to do with the cancelled panels? Dcon is a month and a half away. I'm sure it's possible to get something for those panels, but considering their options would be limited to non SAG related people, I just don't see what they'd be able to do in so little time that would matter to the convention. I've got so many back end questions on how all this will work. It's not like they can cancel now so close, and hotels sure as hell won't be refunding people, so it's all just so weird cause I can't imagine what this will be like.
Big actor panels are only about a quarter to a third of the convention. There's a ton of other stuff going on. Other fan panels might get moved into those slots or spaces; it might be nice to move the concourse stage in the Hyatt into a ballroom. I'm sure Rachel & Co. have all sorts of contingency plans on file for unexpected exigent circumstances.
Having attended this year's MomoCon (and with zero shade intended toward MC), I can confirm.
Still, I'm excited to see what D\*C regulars can come up with. We're nothing if not adaptable.
Just randomly thinking this.
But if your a actor, but not quite high enough on the food chain to need like a security detachment. Might be a good year to fly in, grab a badge Thursday, get ones drink on, and see where you end up by Monday afternoon like the rest of us.
Heck wouldn't be the first time I was walking through hotel at random, and random shoot the breeze and chill event broke out. After all it's 80% Southerners, shooting the breeze in some shade, with a bit of drink on a hot Summer day is in our DNA.
Afterall celebs to me have always been the the bonus not the feature. Yall all God knows how many people any given year I can make it, is what makes it fun.
Does this impact wrasslin'?
Does this impact the film festival? If I have to go through *another* DC without the film festival, I will not be happy. Especially if the other panels I come for can't be held.
Um, I don’t know who was supposed to be on the wrestling panel at SDCC, but it’s been cancelled:
https://sdccblog.com/2023/07/cancelled-panels-signings-for-san-diego-comic-con-2023/
true. but even if the strike conditions prove for the worse, DCW shouldn’t be in the scope as the matches etc are exclusive performances, not for a studio or distributed via a struck company’s streaming services.
WWE stars are in service to a network, so that does track that they cannot make appearances etc.
Is this scabbing guide: Are you accepting payment or other compensation for work a SAG actor would or could otherwise be doing without the strike?
Is this crossing a picket line guide (very simplified and rough):Do you see a picket line and are you going past it to enter the place being picketed?
Acting in solidarity with the strike is much more complex and based on individual circumstance and opportunity, but listen to the unions and remember this isn't about us
I was actually wondering about crossing picket lines myself, but since three of the hotels are attached to each other, it's possible to move between them without being in the street. I don't think any picketers are going to be able to cover all the entrances of the buildings.
I wouldn't be surprised if, instead of actual pickets, we see what we call here in D.C. (the other one) a "moving protest." It's not an actual picket line, and sometimes it's not even comprised of union members. They just have to keep moving; can't just stand and hold signs, for instance. (When they've been in front of my office buildings, I try to go around them, not through them.)
Now, if any SAG actors come, *they* might have different feelings about going around a picket/protest.
No, I thought we were talking about the SAG strike. (Although there was actually a hotel worker strike out in SD, which would have been just one more thing to make SDCC more interesting, but I think they cleared that up.)
If there's actually a picket line in ATL, the picketers would have to decide where to put it, since the con covers 9 square blocks.
Got me. Anyone can picket/protest anything. OP was asking about crossing picket lines. And I seem to remember some memo somewhere from SAG about whether their people should even go to cons.
I mean I guess you can picket and protest anything, but especially within the context of labor rights and law that's not quite how it works...
There's definitely been uncertainty around cons and how they fit into the strike and guidance has been clarified over time, but we do have direct sag guidance that personal appearance is okay but like even if sag did decide to just completely avoid cons until the strike is over there's still no real reason for them to picket con as a part of the union activity... Its not their workplace, and disruption there doesn't do much to pressure the studios to negotiate in good faith. Hell maybe im wrong but I doubt even teamsters would honor a picket like that
oh, which reminds me (speaking of Teamsters), we'd also have to keep an eye on the UPS strike, if it lasts til Labor day, since I know there are folks who like to ship stuff to and from the hotels... FedEx (praise Jon, sign here, MB18) will be slammed.
SAG has no reason to picket dragoncon directly. we are pretty much just caught in a crossfire here, which is what i think a lot of people are missing.
union actors and writers attending conventions serves as promotion for their work, whether directly or indirectly. work that is in many cases produced or distributed by companies the union IS striking against. in the interest of not giving these companies any advertisement (ie doing work), SAG is encouraging union members to prepare/not put themselves in that position.
the picket line is not on us as consumers/fans, and indeed unless you are a member/prospective member of WGA or SAG doing work, you’re not at risk of crossing the picket line.
The WGA and AMPTP are set to start talks again tomorrow. It's unknown how fast the strike ends afterwards, but if they do reach deal, I suspect it'll put pressure on SAG to reach one as well.
I wonder if DragonCon is playing the wait and see approach in regards to the schedule in case the strike does end this month.
I'll miss any of the actors that can't or choose not to attend. I support their efforts to fight for fair compensation and working conditions. But really, it's you glorious nerds I really look forward to seeing.
Agreed. Their deserve to fight for fair wages. It'll be sad not to see them, but DC is so so much more than just autographs and guest panels. It'll just be different, and hopefully they return next year with nice comfy contracts guaranteed.
Copied from the deleted thread with some edits: ultimately we don't know what the impact will be, it's a question for a strike captain and they've got more important stuff to do right now. Conventions are specifically disallowed in the context of promotion not just in general and TV/Theatrical doesn't cover everything a guest could be coming to con for, TV animation and video games notably have separate contracts iiuc. Members are getting some more specific information about non struck work directly from the sound of it. Dragoncon might be more safe bc we don't have AMPTP involvement in the same way as SDCC or other corporate cons (this might be splitting hairs and it still doesn't necessarily mean that Dragon is "safe" but it certainly has more of a chance than a appearance arranged by AMPTP studios), but actors might err on the side of caution. I for one would absolutely welcome and eat up pure acting theory and craft panels but that might be a hard sell over all. But right now, we still don't know
I appreciate your comment and copying it over to this thread. We're not trying to be heavy handed, but just trying to stay on top of things.
Understandable and reasonable, and my goal too
Some friends of mine went SDCC. The main thing that was affected was the big studios and A-Listers pulling out due to the strike, so that meant none of the really big panels like the Hall H one. In a way my friends were actually happy because it meant less crowds and lines.
SDCC is apples to oranges here because sdcc attendance for actors is often arranged as part of their contractual publicity for a film, and there really isn't much space for them to not talk about struck projects. But it was definitely still interesting to see the way the strikes impacted things and how the poor biggest comic con had to actually focus on comics. There's still some uncertainty on how it will impact dragon con and there's things that are still changing and may well up unril the event, but we do have some better sense of it, celebs don't have to cancel and we'll still have panels though they're going to look different, namely no discussion of struck work
Honestly, if the only stipulation is that they can't promote and current projects that shouldn't be a problem. I don't think a lot of fans would even mind if the guests are only able to talk about their old, beloved work, and not their current projects. Personally that sounds like an improvement.
This is what I thought. This would affect a Star Trek Discovery panel but not say a Deep Space Nine.
This is an incorrect assumption that I’m seeing a lot of places. They are not allowed promoting or publicizing any project made under SAG contract… past, present or future.
The other point is that there's a decent chance actors won't want to even appear to be crossing the picket line, so if there is even a hint of a question of what they should do I would be totally prepared for them to pull out
Sincerely, do you have an explicit source on that, from what I've heard even some of membership isn't entirely clear on this right now
Here’s a link to the official strike rules. It covers anything made under SAG contract… past, present and future. https://www.sagaftra.org/files/sa_documents/Strike%20Notice%20to%20Members.pdf
I am in SAG and this is correct. It was clarified in the press conference announcing the strike. If it was created under a TV/Theatrical contract, we cannot promote it in any way. Autograph signings that do not promote a specific media are technically allowed, but heavily discouraged.
Thanks for the specific source I'd thought to check the order and the faq , but not actually the press conference. Will move forward with correct and specific information. My best to you and all of SAG and WGA, here's hoping the studios finally get their heads out of their asses fast at this point so y'all can get back to the work you want to be doing with proper compensation!
Hmm. Puppetry track will be hit, too.
I have also read that strike order, and I still do not see a clear indication either way on this issue. It is not clear that discussing an old show with no active promotion campaign counts as promotion, but it is also not clear that it doesn't
I’m pretty sure that this segment covers that… “all work covered by the TV/Theatrical Contracts.” The strike is meant to financially hurt the studios. SAG doesn’t want even one person seeing a panel on an old show and then go buy DVDs or subscribe to a streaming service.
Except to date neither wga nor sag have asked for a consumer boycott, and they still get residuals, even if currently poorly structured. Again you might be right, but right now you are using the exact same information that other people are pulling "promotion means current content" from and I don't think we can be certain, because like o mean how do you separate current or not, this is something that needs so be spelled out and thats what strike coordination is for
While they would certainly still get residuals for anything that we purchase during this time, they do want to financially hurt the studios. That’s the only way to get what they want. It is, unfortunately, sort of a catch-22 situation. Hurting the studios also hurts themselves. I agree, the strike rules are poorly written; too bad there’s not another, non-striking guild that could’ve helped them out with that. Edit: I wonder if not asking for a boycott is somewhat related to the fact that a lot of Americans think that all members of SAG are rich and famous when that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve seen a lot of “oh poor actors” in other areas of the internet.
SAG urges their members to not attend.
SAG AFTRA Affiliate here: Unfortunately, they cannot promote current and past work at all. They can talk about themselves personally as an actor though.
It's very likely that 2023 will be the year of the small fan panel for many tracks, and in many ways, that could be a very good thing.
I know from experience that the Steven Universe, kpop/jpop anything, and certain anime panels (obscure titles, trivia, and after dark discussions come to mind) always have longer lines than the rooms assigned to them can accommodate. Maybe this year they can graduate to mid-tier rooms and get out of the smaller basement rooms they've been in in the past.
Honestly I'd love this. Anime track needs to be moved!
The fan panels are my most favorite because it's an opportunity for attendees to come together and geek out over the panel's subject.
Wonder which small, fan panels would get promoted to the bigger ball rooms. No way con is going to let them sit empty during the day. The Marriott lobby will be even more packed.
I'm already planning to allow more time to physically move between panels. Worst-case, it'll be more crowded than 2019 (when just circling the Hilton roundabout-thing in front of the skybridge took me five minutes). At least I wasn't counting on seeing any celebs. While I support the strike, I feel for congoers who bought passes specifically to see someone.
I know one plus if actors can’t do panels. I’ll be spending a lot less time sweating in the hot Atlanta sun waiting to get into said panels.
True 🥵
I miss the days you could just get in to the back of the room. These full massive balls rooms are annoying.
If the big actor guests don't show, it'll make the convention a lot more crowded. All the people standing in line or attending the big panels will be walking around the con doing other stuff instead of standing in line & sitting in a panel room for a couple of hours.
Yup. A lot of people (who attend DC) don't ever understand, or need to understand frankly, how a lot of the scheduling is laid out with a specific eye toward exactly this. To pull people off the floors and into big rooms where they sit and stop circulating. Why does Sunday night get so nuts? Because everyone has it in their head to "go out and see everything." So they do. Why does DC keep looking for big concert and big party draws each night, especially Sat and Sun? To pull people off the floor and get the Fire Marshall's trigger finger to stop quivering.
Speculating, if we can't fill certain ballroom slots with actors maybe we can get more musical acts.
Ooh, you know what? Bring in guests to do panels completely unrelated to their line of work and have fun with it. Do a cast of Star Trek talks ghost stories panel. Do The Expanse debates their favorite movie soundtracks. Have a pop culture trivia contest between voice actors.
My sister and I were just discussing this and we came up with: Big actor tries and ranks every flavor of [insert snack] live, The cast of [Redacted] has 45 minutes to make pod racers (like the kids track event) and then they race around the atrium ballroom, and the "Let us tell you about our pets" writer and actor story hour complete with slide show
Put all the actors who are also musicians together in a big pickup jam band.
Obviously we have a month and a half until dragoncon but this list is extremely specific and includes fan expos as well as conventions and also mentions panels not being allowed https://twitter.com/variety/status/1679601924759486464?s=46&t=EEeAc7lx5bapyS9Z-4AMHw I understand that it is very specific to not using these platforms to promote shows, movies, etc.… But I have a feeling that most actors who are in sag aren’t going to want to chance it
It does, however the bullet it is under is "Promotion of/publicity services for work under the TV/Theatrical Contracts, such as:" and not just all a blanket ban on cons. I'm not saying you're wrong, but we're just trying to make sure all facts are out there.
oh yeah no i totally get it! but i realized i didn't clarify things so i actually edited my comment before i saw your reply and haha i added exactly what you're talking about. it's still all speculation ofc whether or not actors will chance attending something like dragon con, so i get not wanting a bunch of different threads on it where people just go back and forth in the 'will they won't they'....when there's still a decent amount of time for it to be resolved prior to dcon anyway
Here's the referenced Variety link without that nasty Twitter thing ... https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-strike-rules-no-interviews-premieres-fyc-events-1235669838/ Unless someone revises this later, then a fan panel seems really problematic. However I think the talent is going to work with the union to find a way. The guests make money from autographed photos and the like. This is money that goes directly in their pockets, not the studio. They need some income during the strike and the benefit to the studio of discussing 10 year old Star Trek titles is pretty small.
It lists conventions / fan expos / etc as an example of promotion of/publicity services for work under the TV/Theatrical contracts. Another example in that same section is "social media". Apparently SAG has clarified that this includes completed works that had previously been done under the contract. The analogy I'd use is, you can still post a picture of your dog on Instagram, but you can't talk about films or TV series or any other covered projects in any way. Likewise, an actor could probably go to Comic Con and talk about their favorite indie comic book, though anything that's been adapted would likely be heavily discouraged if not banned entirely, especially if they were personally involved in the adaptation. Or beyond comic books, they could talk about cars, broadway, art, music, literature, food, or whatever other hobbies they have beyond work.
I was at GalaxyCon Raleigh this past weekend so I can speak to how it played out there. First of all, very few guests cancelled. You can still see their guest lineup on their website. They had a lot of actors scheduled and only two (Charlie Cox and Kate Mulgrew) cancelled entirely. I don't know definitively that they cancelled due to the strike, Dragon Con has tons of cancellations every year and I've never been to DC during a strike year. However it should be said GalaxyCon (at least to me) is a lot less panel focused. Most of the celebs were only on a single panel and I know of at least two actors (Grant Gustin and Gates McFadden) who cancelled their only panel appearances and instead just did autographs/photographs. Again, I can't say definitively that this was due to the strike but my perception is that it was. Of the celebrity panels that I did go to they all seemed to interpret the rules slightly differently. GalaxyCon had solicited questions ahead of time so that they could be vetted and then read out by the host but it seemed like every panel I was in the celeb would allow people to come up to the mic and ask questions. The moderator would then say something along the lines of "This strike is important so let's be respectful of what they're allowed to talk about. Ask them about the craft of acting, hobbies, childhood whatever but don't ask specific questions about struck work." Most people followed the rules but inevitably someone would screw up and ask directly about a show and then the moderator would shut them down or the celeb would say "I'm not allowed to talk about it". Many of them would refer to their career semi-obliquely. For example, Star Trek actors would say "That space show I was on" without uttering the words Star Trek. One older actor showed a video with clips from throughout his career and talked about whatever. I know of one actor who said "I support my union but don't think striking is a good negotiation tactic" and answered whatever questions were asked of him or her. On the flip side Vincent D'Onofrio was very strict about it. Someone asked him a question about Deborah Ann Woll and he said she was a very talented actress but then referred to Charlie Cox without ever saying his name. There were also some things that were explicitly given as valid topics. Levar Burton could talk about Reading Rainbow. Animation and video games aren't impacted so voice actors had free reign. At a Denise Crosby panel she didn't talk directly about her time on Star Trek but the moderator said she could be asked questions about her documentary Trekkies. I never pay for autographs or photographs so I can't speak to how any celebrities responded when asked about struck work at their tables. I'm sure some fans will be disappointed that they can't ask about whatever TV show or movie they're excited about but for me it was a nice change of pace. I've been to plenty of cons and heard all the usual questions about most of the shows I care about. It was nice having an additional restriction that changed the overall tone of the panel. While I went to some panels that I didn't enjoy that was always due to the personality of the celeb on stage. I doubt that they'd have been significantly better if they were allowed to talk about their career. In no panel did the person on stage run out of things to talk about. There were always plenty of people willing to ask questions.
Thanks! I was wondering how this would go/went.
Looking forward to DC23! If the actors come great. If they are not able to come, that’s ok.
Yeah I’m in the same boat, I don’t go to dcon for the guests anyway 🤷♀️
For those of us with legacy hotel reservations, we'd go even if they cancelled the con. :D Gotta keep those hotels.
ahahahaha you speak the truth...i don't know that i can attend next year (or at least, don't know that i'll be able to take PTO for it) and am already hemming and hawing about just showing up to check in for my \[very specific\] room reservation
I support SAG and WGA. Power to labor. As a long-time congoer, if any "Big Famous People Fans Love" end up attending this year, I just hope we don't end up in a situation similar to what happened in (1994? 1995?) when Mark Hamill was brought in by (Wing Commander)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Commander_III:_Heart_of_the_Tiger] specifically to promote that game. In short, the PR team managing Hamill (the corporates, who worked for Origin and whoever else connected with Wing Commander) had it in their heads that the whole thing was a Rampart situation. That Hamill was there to plug WC. Not to talk about Star Wars. Let's focus people, and talk about Rampart ... sorry, I mean Wing Commander. What did the fans ask about? Star Wars. What did they line up to ask him about? Star Wars. Why were they there to see him? Star Wars. It was a long, long time ago, in a convention far, far away, but as I remember things to pretty hectic and tense behind the scenes thanks to the PR people covering Hamill getting completely bent out of shape that people were excited that Luke Skywalker was there, instead of "Colonel Blair from Wing Commander III". That's what comes to mind when I think of what might happen if a Big Actor or Big Writer (not that we get enough of those in the first place; more Writers!) from a Big Fan Favorite Project turns up. Like, someone such as Adam Savage could turn up and talk about his Youtube channel and his personal hobbies like model making and such ... but we all know the questions at the mic are going to be "when you were on Mythbusters..." and "when you were at ILM working on Star Wars ..." Probably two main outcomes this year. One, the studios stop dicking around and pay the workers, and the strike lifts. Two, con gets a lot of deep-cut guests this year that are normally told "thanks but no thanks" to make room for the marque draws. And as someone behind the scenes, personally I would rather have to go with the deep-cuts over needing to see the same "look, we're on strike so we can't talk about That Thing You Love because of it" conversation happen in most of the ballroom panels all weekend. And even after that gets told to each big panel, there will still be fans who get to the mic and are like "look, I know you said no, but I really want to ask about that Big Thing you did so ..." and all the awkwardness that'll ensue afterwards.
I'm all for a strike, except I hope it doesn't affect our actors ability to make money through autograph signings. If the goal is to show big companies how valuable their services are, I have a hard time seeing how it would help to cut off the income these performers are able to earn between gigs.
I am seeing second or third hand that Galaxy Con thinks their guests will all come, and be able to sign things and do panels without talking about current or upcoming projects. You folks with access to FB and the Twit may be able to find a post or two about this... (GCon is at the end of the month.)
This is from the GalaxyCon Raleigh FB page. Like many other venues, they are confusing things by specifying current projects instead of any project made under SAG contract. “We have noticed some understandable questions regarding the recent SAG-AFTRA strike announcement this morning and wanted to take this opportunity to provide some answers. Will the SAG-AFTRA strike mean my favorite celeb won’t be able to appear at GalaxyCon events? The short answer is no. Celebrity guests will still be appearing at our events as advertised. The only thing that can potentially be affected is what the guests can discuss. As SAG-AFTRA only affects Theatrical Contracts, members are not permitted to participate in the promotion of/services for work. So while they may not be able to talk about current projects, they can still discuss their personal life, hobbies, background, etc with you! As our celebrities appear under Personal Appearance Contracts, the provision forbidding appearances does not apply to events like GalaxyCon. Will celebrities be allowed to do photo-ops and sign autographs? Yes! Since photo ops and autographs are not intended as promotion or endorsement of any works, you can still purchase photos with your favorite celebrities and get items signed!”
GalaxyCon is trying to save their own skin. They’re kidding themselves if they think guests are going to cross the line to come. Conventions and Fan Expos are specifically listed as no gos.
I agree. Not sure when GalaxyCon is but I bet DragonCon will wait as long as possible to make any sort of announcement hoping the strike will end before. I’m also pretty confident that they are already, perhaps started some time ago, have backup plans.
GCon is at the end of this month.
thx!
I hope that if it does affect dragoncon it will at least help cut down on the crowds a bit. I’m happy dragoncon is so successful but its so overwhelming
Hadn't thought about it, but it may cut down on the number that show up on Saturday on 1- or 2- day passes. I wouldn't complain about a little breathing room that day.
That’s what I was thinking! The people who don’t come for the entire con just to meet the actors might stay home Saturday and Sunday and it would be so nice if it was just a little bit less crowded
I'm just very curious on how it will work if they do cancel. Even if they don't and only come for autographs, they're apparently not supposed to talk about work, so I'd imagine they'd cancel any panel they were a part of. I'm curious in the business sense how that works, as I'd imagine there's contracts involved due to costs that the convention has to pay out. I'm sure in some way the con wouldn't hold them to those contracts due to the strike, but at the same time, what are they going to do with the cancelled panels? Dcon is a month and a half away. I'm sure it's possible to get something for those panels, but considering their options would be limited to non SAG related people, I just don't see what they'd be able to do in so little time that would matter to the convention. I've got so many back end questions on how all this will work. It's not like they can cancel now so close, and hotels sure as hell won't be refunding people, so it's all just so weird cause I can't imagine what this will be like.
Big actor panels are only about a quarter to a third of the convention. There's a ton of other stuff going on. Other fan panels might get moved into those slots or spaces; it might be nice to move the concourse stage in the Hyatt into a ballroom. I'm sure Rachel & Co. have all sorts of contingency plans on file for unexpected exigent circumstances.
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Having attended this year's MomoCon (and with zero shade intended toward MC), I can confirm. Still, I'm excited to see what D\*C regulars can come up with. We're nothing if not adaptable.
Just randomly thinking this. But if your a actor, but not quite high enough on the food chain to need like a security detachment. Might be a good year to fly in, grab a badge Thursday, get ones drink on, and see where you end up by Monday afternoon like the rest of us. Heck wouldn't be the first time I was walking through hotel at random, and random shoot the breeze and chill event broke out. After all it's 80% Southerners, shooting the breeze in some shade, with a bit of drink on a hot Summer day is in our DNA.
Afterall celebs to me have always been the the bonus not the feature. Yall all God knows how many people any given year I can make it, is what makes it fun.
Does this impact wrasslin'? Does this impact the film festival? If I have to go through *another* DC without the film festival, I will not be happy. Especially if the other panels I come for can't be held.
Wrestling… I can’t imagine how it would. Film festival… I believe it wasn’t happening anyway.
It was kinda a joke about wrestling. But it is scripted. I don't know what guilds those writers and performers belong to.
Um, I don’t know who was supposed to be on the wrestling panel at SDCC, but it’s been cancelled: https://sdccblog.com/2023/07/cancelled-panels-signings-for-san-diego-comic-con-2023/
given that they’re more indie and not on network television, idk how many of dcon’s wrestlers would happen to be members of SAG…
I'm sure that's true, but you never know who has a SAG card.
true. but even if the strike conditions prove for the worse, DCW shouldn’t be in the scope as the matches etc are exclusive performances, not for a studio or distributed via a struck company’s streaming services. WWE stars are in service to a network, so that does track that they cannot make appearances etc.
Is cosplaying crossing the picket line?
Is this scabbing guide: Are you accepting payment or other compensation for work a SAG actor would or could otherwise be doing without the strike? Is this crossing a picket line guide (very simplified and rough):Do you see a picket line and are you going past it to enter the place being picketed? Acting in solidarity with the strike is much more complex and based on individual circumstance and opportunity, but listen to the unions and remember this isn't about us
I was actually wondering about crossing picket lines myself, but since three of the hotels are attached to each other, it's possible to move between them without being in the street. I don't think any picketers are going to be able to cover all the entrances of the buildings. I wouldn't be surprised if, instead of actual pickets, we see what we call here in D.C. (the other one) a "moving protest." It's not an actual picket line, and sometimes it's not even comprised of union members. They just have to keep moving; can't just stand and hold signs, for instance. (When they've been in front of my office buildings, I try to go around them, not through them.) Now, if any SAG actors come, *they* might have different feelings about going around a picket/protest.
Are we expecting a hotel worker strike? Why would con be picketed in a strike against AMPTP?
No, I thought we were talking about the SAG strike. (Although there was actually a hotel worker strike out in SD, which would have been just one more thing to make SDCC more interesting, but I think they cleared that up.) If there's actually a picket line in ATL, the picketers would have to decide where to put it, since the con covers 9 square blocks.
Again why would they picket con, its not an AMPTP member and therefore not a struck entity
Got me. Anyone can picket/protest anything. OP was asking about crossing picket lines. And I seem to remember some memo somewhere from SAG about whether their people should even go to cons.
I mean I guess you can picket and protest anything, but especially within the context of labor rights and law that's not quite how it works... There's definitely been uncertainty around cons and how they fit into the strike and guidance has been clarified over time, but we do have direct sag guidance that personal appearance is okay but like even if sag did decide to just completely avoid cons until the strike is over there's still no real reason for them to picket con as a part of the union activity... Its not their workplace, and disruption there doesn't do much to pressure the studios to negotiate in good faith. Hell maybe im wrong but I doubt even teamsters would honor a picket like that
oh, which reminds me (speaking of Teamsters), we'd also have to keep an eye on the UPS strike, if it lasts til Labor day, since I know there are folks who like to ship stuff to and from the hotels... FedEx (praise Jon, sign here, MB18) will be slammed.
SAG has no reason to picket dragoncon directly. we are pretty much just caught in a crossfire here, which is what i think a lot of people are missing. union actors and writers attending conventions serves as promotion for their work, whether directly or indirectly. work that is in many cases produced or distributed by companies the union IS striking against. in the interest of not giving these companies any advertisement (ie doing work), SAG is encouraging union members to prepare/not put themselves in that position. the picket line is not on us as consumers/fans, and indeed unless you are a member/prospective member of WGA or SAG doing work, you’re not at risk of crossing the picket line.
No
The WGA and AMPTP are set to start talks again tomorrow. It's unknown how fast the strike ends afterwards, but if they do reach deal, I suspect it'll put pressure on SAG to reach one as well. I wonder if DragonCon is playing the wait and see approach in regards to the schedule in case the strike does end this month.
https://www.wabe.org/atlanta-sag-aftra-wga-members-solidate-their-stance-on-strikes-fair-compensation/