RAT Fw: The kind of people we're dealing with

[jonoh1@juno.com]

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From: jonoh1@juno.com
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Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 16:47:44 -0700
Subject: The kind of people we're dealing with
Message-ID: <20000517.164757.-3870011.2.jonoh1@juno.com>

This is an outrage. The National Organization for Women and the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, I'm sure, would agree
-




TRADE AD DRAWS FIRE FROM STRIKING UNIONS

"At least one leading commercials producer has taken off the good taste
gloves in its battle with the striking Screen Actors Guild.
  The ad, placed in the most recent issue of Shoot magazine by RSA USA,
shows a picture of a black woman's breasts with the proclamation 'In
South Africa, this is what SAG means.'  The ad also says, 'To service
clients, Marcus Nispel is setting up a temporary office in South Africa,
where production is cost-effective and they've never heard of SAG.'
  A spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild said he was 'shocked and
appalled' by the ad. 'It clearly insults women, actors and advertisers,'
he added.
  But RSA managing director Linda Ross said the ad was designed to gain
attention through its shock value and added that response within the
industry had been mostly positive. She portrayed the ad as a way to use
humor to address the serious issue of commercial producers needing to
stay in business amid efforts by strikers to disrupt commercial shoots.
  'We have had some negative reaction about the ad being in questionable
taste,' Ross admitted, 'It's a bit of shock value for shock value's sake.
But there is a lot of business at stake here'.
  Ross said the South African office has not yet attracted much business
but stressed that the ad was designed to send the message that the strike
was not going to stop production at RSA.
  German-born Nispel, who was included in the ad because he is RSA's
busiest and highest profile director, said the ad is not meant to be
insulting but rather to draw attention to larger issues such as runaway
production.
  'I got loads of messages from people who got a good chuckle about the
ad,' Nispel said. 'I wanted to make it clear that we can produce in other
countries as well as we can here.'
  The director said he has been using non-union actors. 'I just shot with
three non-unions casts in a row and you can't tell the difference,' he
added.
  Nispel gained notice in 1998 following disclosure of he 64-page
'Manifesto,' detailing guidelines for shooting. He had been set to direct
'End of Days' but left a few days before shooting began.
  The Assn. of Independent Commercial Producers, which has maintained
that producers are operation at pre-strike activity levels by using
non-union actors and foreign locations, had no comment on the RSA ad.
Tuesday was the 16th day of the strike by SAG and AFTRA."  - Dave McNary
- Daily Variety - Wednesday, May 17, 2000.