The Teamsters ratified their contract several weeks ago. However, four other basic crafts (plumbers, plasterers, electricians and laborers) negotiate alongside the Teamsters. Ratification by those unions was expected and, indeed, the AMPTP said today that the last of those just ratified their contract. Here’s the organization’s press statement:

“The five Basic Crafts Unions have now ratified new contracts with the producers represented by the AMPTP, ensuring that production can continue without interruption for the studios and union members.  The two sides reached a fair deal with gains in wages, benefits and other terms for the unions while recognizing the current economic realities of the industry.  This would not have been possible without hard work and commitment of the leadership of each of the Basic Crafts Unions, whose negotiating committee was chaired by Local 399 Secretary-Treasurer Leo T. Reed.  The five Basic Crafts Unions are International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 40,  Plumbers, Local No. 78, Teamsters, Local No. 399, Studio Utility Employees, Local No. 724, and Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons, Local No. 755.”

In strategy, you first have to determine what is the goal. Is it to build up a solid base of supporters? Is it to activate them to do something (buy a DVD, go to a screening, donate to a crowdfunding effort, tell others about your film)? Usually that is a goal. But if you begin with a campaign where you launch into selling and goading without first building up the base, you will never accomplish that goal. To build up, you have to allow time to do that.

A social networking strategy will take many months to a year to implement and it will be an ongoing effort. First, you will determine whom you are trying to attract into your community and what you have to offer them of interest. Then, you will start to put those assets out there. You will build your engagement pages and populate them with interesting and valuable content. You will not be asking them for ANYTHING. Ideally, you will not need to ask them at all because when you become a valuable resource, they will want to help you in any way they can. You may call on your group for help in achieving a goal every so often and if they can truly see how helping you will help the community in general, they will be happy to do it. You should never do anything that will make them feel that you have formed the community in order to use it for your own purposes. Companies and filmmakers who do this stand to ruin the very thing they have spent so much time developing, a genuine and authentic community that is very loyal and connected to you. That kind of loyalty is extremely difficult to accomplish with advertising and it is really the ultimate goal of all brands.

Too often, filmmakers and companies wait to start considering social networking until they need to achieve set goals and they need them now (usually when selling something). The problem with that is they don’t have a base of support in place from which they can achieve anything. In order to use the tools of social networking effectively, you really must commit the time to grow your base, feed and cultivate it. If you cannot commit to that, social networking tools will not work for you and you should turn to more short term tools like mass advertising.

Tags: community building, long term goals, short term goals, social media marketing, social media strategy, social networking

“The Festival has not only grown over 35 years, it has helped shape the film industry in Canada,” said Bill Marshall,
TIFF Board Member and Co-Founder of the Festival. “From our Talent Lab and the funding provided from our Festival Awards, to the Film Reference Library and our new screening and learning spaces at TIFF Bell Lightbox, TIFF offers filmmakers an international platform for their work, as well as year-round resources to bring great new Canadian art to audiences.”

“Since our start in 1976, the growth of the Festival has been incredible,” added Henk Van der Kolk, Co-Founder of the Festival. “To date, we have screened nearly 10,000 films, and in 2009, saw a record number of 500,000 attendees. We are humbled by our achievements to date, and look forward to more exciting growth and milestones for the organization in the future.”

In celebration of its 35th anniversary, the Festival is thrilled to host a free public block party on September 12th for the opening of TIFF Bell Lightbox. It continues with TIFF For Free, a week of free screenings in the space, starting with Richard Benner’s Outrageous!, which became one of the most successful films in Canadian film history after its debut at the 1977 Festival. Outrageous! was produced by Festival founders Marshall and Van der Kolk, along with Peter O’’Brian.

“The Festival is recognized for showcasing the greatest new films from around the world each year,” said Cameron
Bailey, Co-Director of the Festival. “This year is no exception, and to thank the public for 35 years of support, we are also offering a lineup of free screenings of great modern classics. From past Festival openers like Deepa Mehta’s Water to Hollywood gems like Paul Haggis’ Crash, the free screenings offer something for every age group and interest.”

TIFF For Free screenings will be ticketed on a first-come, first-served basis, on the day of the screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

TIFF FOR FREE PROGRAMMING:

Outrageous!, Richard Benner
American Beauty, Sam Mendes
Roadkill, Bruce McDonald
Water, Deepa Mehta
Away From Her, Sarah Polley
Crash, Paul Haggis
The Big Chill, Lawrence Kasdan
The Princess Bride, Rob Reiner

Tuesday, September 14 at 7 pm
Wednesday, September 15 at 5:30 pm
Thursday, September 16 at 10 pm
Friday, September 17 at 10 pm
Saturday, September 18 at 7 pm
Saturday, September 18 at 9 pm
Sunday, September 19 at 7 pm
Sunday, September 19 at 10 pm

The Toronto International Film Festival is generously supported by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC and BlackBerry, the Government of Ontario, Telefilm Canada, and the City of Toronto.

Labor unrest is hitting SAG close to home.

Negotiations between the actors guild and Teamsters Local 986, which represents more than 40 of SAG’s Los Angeles-based business representatives, have gotten bumpy. The contract between the parties expired June 1, and one issue still to be resolved is what wage increases the new deal will grant.

Yes, even unions have unions. In this negotiation, SAG functions as management, not labor. The guild’s business representatives handle claims and meet with actors on set.

After about a dozen meetings, the two sides are far apart.

The Teamsters have proposed 5%, 4% and 4% annual raises for the first, second and third years of the contract, respectively, whereas SAG is offering 2% annual bumps for each year of the three-year deal.

SAG’s number is consistent with other recent Hollywood deals. In June, AFTRA accepted 2% for a one-year extension of its daytime agreement, and Teamsters Local 399, representing Hollywood drivers, agreed to the same figure last month after initially holding out for 3%. The American Federation of Musicians also accepted 2%, and numerous smaller negotiations ended up at this figure as well.

Of course, SAG is a far smaller organization than any of the major studios, and it’s a nonprofit to boot.

But SAG and AFTRA are expected to seek higher wage increases when joint negotiations on a new deal with the AMPTP begin Sept. 27. The fact that the guild is trying to hold the line at 2% with its own employees is ironic, but that is not expected to influence those talks because the economics of a nonprofit are much different from those of a media conglomerate.

Still, the difficult negotiation raises the possibility that disgruntled SAG employees might actually picket their own guild’s talks with the AMPTP if no Local 986 deal has been reached by the time studio bargaining begins.

As one SAG business rep put it, “I will guarantee you this, if there is no contract by that time, we will bring the demonstration to the doorsteps of their negotiation.”

SAG and the AMPTP declined to comment on the matter.

Another issue is a proposal by SAG that its unionized employees be required to submit claims of discrimination or sexual harassment to binding arbitration. That would strip the employees of the ability to bring such claims before a judge or jury. Companies often prefer arbitration for that reason because it might reduce the possibility of large damage awards and publicity.

Many of SAG’s nonunionized employees already are bound by an arbitration clause. However, until a Supreme Court decision last year, it was unclear whether unionized employees could be required to accept such provisions. The court answered that question in the affirmative by a 5-4 vote.

However, SAG might be one of the few employers seeking to take advantage of that ruling, according to Seattle labor lawyer Kathleen Barnard.

Forcing employees to arbitrate discrimination and harassment claims is controversial. A bill seemingly stalled in Congress, the Arbitration Fairness Act, would prohibit such practices based on a view that arbitration stacks the deck against individuals. Ironically, one supporter of the legislation is SAG’s parent organization, the AFL-CIO.

A source close to the negotiation said SAG believes the arbitration proposal is not much of a sticking point and that the employees’ primary objection is to the guild’s wage proposal.

Whatever the hangup, the SAG employees voted unanimously during a July 29 meeting to authorize a strike if the SAG proposal stands. The authorization gives the Local 986 negotiating committee the ability to take the employees out on strike without any further vote.

Local 986′s Stephen Burke, chief negotiator for the employees, told THR that the committee “does not want or anticipate a strike” and that he believes the parties will reach an agreement. A SAG spokesperson also was optimistic, saying the guild “looks forward to productive discussions and concluding a deal.”

SAG chief negotiator Laura Beedy Ritchie, the guild’s deputy general counsel, has requested a formal bargaining session Monday with the local. That’s two days in advance of a previously scheduled session.

“RealD is excited to partner with a brand like Polaroid that has a heritage in polarizing lens technology,” said Joseph Peixoto, President of Worldwide Cinema at RealD. “Polaroid Premium 3D Eyewear promises a range of custom frames with precisely curved lenses so moviegoers can fully experience RealD 3D with an uncompromising field of vision and a pair of glasses to match their personal style.”

Polaroid Eyewear’s launch collection features a range of appealing designs to satisfy demand from all types of movie-goers. And prescription lens wearers are not forgotten, with a range of premium 3D cover styles that fit comfortably over any optical frame. There is even a junior style for the younger audience to enjoy. The collection has been developed under the umbrella of a full 3D vision marketing concept, supporting an easy-to-handle sales system in movie theatre and cinema lobbies, and professional optical and retail channels and will be available soon. All styles feature Polaroid Eyewear’s unique 3D formed lenses, differentiating the product from standard 3D cinema glasses provided at theatres and similar products currently available on the market. The product is also fully UV-protective so that a consumer can choose to wear the product outdoors without risk of UV damage.

“We are a brand that is all about technical innovation, style and great value for the money” said Andy Suszko, President of Polaroid Eyewear. “This endorsement from RealD recognizes the high quality of our 3D lenses, made possible only by our unique, patented ThermoFusion™ Technology, the same technology used to make our linear polarized lenses for the highly successful sunglass collections we sell worldwide. We are delighted to be associated with RealD and look forward to working closely with them and their other technology partners as 3D pushes into the consumer electronics mainstream.”

For further information on Polaroid Eyewear’s Premium 3D range please contact Rachel Scholan, North American Marketing and Product Manager at marketing@polaroideyewear.com.

About Polaroid Eyewear

Polaroid Eyewear is a world leader in optics and lens technology, manufacturing high quality polarizing lenses and distributing fashionable polarized sunglasses, optical frames and licensed sunglass brands around the world. Polaroid Eyewear has a worldwide exclusive license for the Polaroid brand with PLR IP Holdings, LLC, the owner of the Polaroid brand. Demand for polarizing eyewear is rising steadily as more and more consumers come to realize the benefits of glare-free vision. Polaroid Eyewear has offices in the US, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Russia, China and the Netherlands, as well as a comprehensive network of distribution partners around the globe.

Polaroid Eyewear is part of the global StyleMark group which, additionally to the brand Polaroid, also markets brands such as Hello Kitty, Jones of New York, Disney, Panama Jack and Revlon.

For more information: www.polaroideyewear.com

The licensing agreement between RealD and Polaroid Eyewear heralds the launch of the new Polaroid Premium 3D Eyewear collection giving consumers a superior 3D visual experience.

For more information: www.polaroideyewear.com/3D

Edward Norton and Director John Curran To Walk Red Carpet for Opening Night on Thursday, October 7

CHICAGO, August 16, 2010 – The 46th Chicago International Film Festival will officially open with the highly anticipated drama Stone. Oscar® nominee Edward Norton and director John Curran (The Painted Veil, We Don’t Live Here Anymore) will walk the red carpet and welcome the film for its Chicago premiere at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park (205 E. Randolph St – Chicago) on Thursday, October 7, 2010 at 7pm. Other surprise guests to be announced at a later date.

Stone delivers powerful performances by Academy Award® winner Robert De Niro as a seasoned corrections official and Norton as a scheming inmate whose lives become dangerously intertwined. Founder and Artistic Director Michael Kutza says “De Niro pulls in his best performance in a decade. Norton and Conroy’s performances are fantastic and Milla Jovovich offers a captivating breakthrough performance – the entire ensemble is at the top of their game.”Head of Programming Mimi Plauché adds, “It is great to welcome back Norton who filmed his first feature Primal Fear in Chicago.”

Tickets for the Opening Night of the 46th Chicago International Film Festival are on sale now. For ticket information, please visit www.chicagofilmfestival.com or call 312-683-0121. Tickets range from $35 for film-only tickets to $150, which includes the screening at the Harris Theater followed by a reception at theWit Hotel (201 N. State St. – Chicago).

“It is going to be a night to remember. We are so happy to open the Festival at the beautiful Harris Theater in Millennium Park and enjoy a wonderful reception at our headquarters hotel, theWitHotel” comments Managing Director Vivian Teng. Opening Night of the 46th Chicago International Film Festival is sponsored by presenting partner Columbia College Chicago and evening partners American Airlines and Stella Artois.