McCarten deluded

I don’t agree with Matt McCarten much but normally his columns are honest opinion. I really can’t say that about today’s HOS column:

The NZ Actors’ Equity has been trying forever to reach agreement on basic conditions for actors from New Zealand film producers. Jackson point blank has refused to even meet.

As that is the role of SPADA, not Peter Jackson. Even the media understand this now.

Also NZAE do not represent most actors. Despite that SPADA had been trying to meet with them for the last 18 months.

To get Jackson’s attention, the union wrote to their counterparts around the world asking for support, up to and including a possible boycott of Jackson’s next film.

Not a “possible” boycott”. There was a boycott. It was voted on in June and remained in place until mid October.

But here’s some good news. NZ screen producers have agreed to meet Equity to negotiate standard terms and conditions for actors.

In the meantime, they will use the internationally union-approved Pink Book as the minimum basis for performers’ contracts.

This is a huge victory for Equity.

A huge victory? Jesus Matt – you are in another dimension on this one. This “huge victory” is what SPADA tried to get them to do 18 months ago. Equity has been refusing. Claiming this as a victory is like Germany claiming the Treaty of Versailles as a victory.

Is Andrew Little the only union leader honest enough to admit that Equity screwed up massively? It seems so.