Chapter 108 The Union Meets Morgan Freeman

There is a mountain to support you, but there is no mountain to carry the burden on your own. This is an old saying in China. It is very reasonable. It means that when someone can help you, it is naturally good. But if no one can help you, you have to carry it yourself. .

After dealing with the Harry Potter matter, it was a slight warning to both parties not to cause trouble. Ye Ming now has the biggest bargaining chip, so he is not afraid that the two families will not cooperate.

When the people from the Actors Guild learned that Ye Ming had arrived, they called Brilliant.com and told the staff of Brilliant.com that they wanted Ye Ming to go to the Actors Guild for a meeting. What was this time like? The matter left Ye Ming a little confused. Why do I always have problems stopping me every time I want to go back?

Fortunately, the Screen Actors Guild is also in Hollywood, so you can just take a bus there.

I found the front desk staff and told me my identity. The front desk checked and said, "Jeffrey, who is in charge of labor disputes, is dealing with some things. You can wait in the lounge for a while. In twenty minutes, Jeffrey should be there." I’ll come over and talk to you about some issues when I have time.”

When he came to the lounge, Ye Ming looked for a cup of tea, but there was no one. There were only two drinks: coffee and cola. It was really discriminatory. But think about it, how many Chinese actors are there in the Hollywood Screen Actors Guild? It doesn’t seem to be true. A lot. I just made a cup of coffee and stirred it there. It is instant coffee anyway. Don’t expect the coffee here to be the same as the coffee in Murdoch Villa. It is impossible to have instant coffee. This is already A very good result.

Therefore, under such a situation, Ye Ming wondered, this time he came to him, maybe there was something wrong with the pay for Minority Report? It is estimated that this is the only possibility, and since Jeffrey, the person in charge of labor disputes, came to receive him, it should be something like this.

At this time, a ruthless old man walked in. He looked older in his sixties.

Morgan Freeman, Hollywood's gold medal supporting actor, the uncrowned king, is one of the few late bloomers. Supporting roles are still veteran actors and actors who can earn tens of millions of dollars. It is not an exaggeration to say that Morgan Freeman is a witness of Hollywood. .

Anyway, this old man's qualifications are very old, but the road to fame is very difficult. The late bloomer is Morgan Freeman.

At this moment, Morgan Freeman saw Ye Ming and was very surprised and said: "Ye, I am really surprised to meet you here. Welcome to Hollywood, what are you doing here? , no one owes you money, right?"

I have to say that model Morgan Freeman is a crow’s mouth. At this moment, Jeffrey, a big fat man, came out with a document. When he saw two people chatting, he immediately said with a smile: "Freeman Sir, you are right, it was because someone owed a debt that I brought Ye over to discuss this issue."

Morgan Freeman shrugged his shoulders and said: "Sorry, Ye, I really didn't expect that you came here really to pay a debt."

Naturally, Ye Ming did not take this joke seriously. Instead, he said: "Mr. Freeman seems to be very experienced. Don't American actors not come to the Screen Actors Guild because of debts?"

Freeman immediately said: "Well, more or less, most of the time, it's to pay debts. I came here almost twice a month back then. Speaking of which, I'm a local snake. What do you need?" If you can help, please tell me directly.

Of course, there is also my situation. My movie needs some stunt actors, so I might as well come here to choose and see if there are any who meet the requirements. If so, I can find a few more. You go about your business, don't worry, the Actors Guild will take care of it. "

I'll go, Ye Ming waved goodbye to Freeman. Only then did Jeffrey say: "Mr. Ye, come to my office to talk. Your problem is not very difficult. It only takes ten minutes."

When he arrived at the office, Jeffrey sent over a document and said: "The thing is, it's the issue of Minority Report. According to the contract, your minimum salary is 750,000. Of course, there is no box office share. After all, you are not a first-line actor, so , it is impossible to give you a share of the box office.

But if it means that no box office share is given, after the filming of the movie is completed, if the producer does not provide you with corresponding unfavorable records, then an additional buyout fee will be charged at this time, which is usually 20 Ten thousand. "

At this time, Ye Ming said curiously: "What is the cost of this buyout? I have never heard of such a condition."

Jeffrey said with a smile: "Actually, it is in the rules of the Screen Actors Guild. It can be seen that you have not read the rules of the Screen Actors Guild carefully. The thing is like this, those big-name stars generally have basic In terms of remuneration and box office share, for the top few, it is very normal for a movie to cost 20 to 30 million yuan.

Therefore, these are high-income groups and pay relatively high membership fees.

Of course, once they run into trouble, the union will help them out. And those of you who are below the line are not eligible for a share of the money. This is the unspoken rule of Hollywood, so there should be no way you can do it.

Regarding an issue like this, the trade union will naturally not see the interests of people below the front-line actors being harmed.

Therefore, generally speaking, as long as the actor does not violate the agreement during the filming process, such as being late, absent from work, etc., then after the filming is over, the supporting actor will have to pay a buyout fee. Whether it's a video tape or the Internet, your portrait can be used at this time without any additional payment. This is the cost of the buyout, and your cost is 200,000. "

This kind of explanation made Luo Tian understand what was going on in such a situation. He said solemnly: "Then the crew of Minority Report didn't give me enough Money, right?”

Jeffrey said with a smile: "It can be said in this way, because for such a matter, they are actually in debt, but it is not the crew, but Cruiser Films, one of the distribution companies of Minority Report. What he means is that he won't pay you for the buyout.

Therefore, our association decided to sue them, along with six other actors. Of course, this time requires your signed written authorization to be successful.

Everyone else has already signed the contract, so in this situation, you are the only one left. If it is an issue like this, after you come to sign, everything else will be left to you. The union will handle it, and we will make Cruiser get the punishment it deserves. "

This is actually the purpose of the existence of the union, which is to safeguard the interests of union members. Otherwise, what is the purpose of the fees paid by union members every year? It is actually just to protect the actors themselves.

After Ye Ming signed, he immediately said: "By the way, after you get these fees, donate them to the charity fund of the labor union for me. At the Christmas party, I may not have the opportunity to participate. Treat it as my own at the party." Forget the gift.”

This money is quite a lot, two hundred thousand, but this is unexpected wealth, and it was also recovered by the union. I have never participated in a union gathering before, so this time it is necessary to express what I mean. .

Jeffrey said with a smile: "As you wish, sir, your generosity is like the sun in the sky lighting up the entire earth."

Trade unions actually have their own charitable organizations. In fact, many associations and companies in the United States have charitable organizations. This one is to gain reputation and gain face. Another thing is that if we do charity in the United States, then It is tax deductible.

Therefore, under such a situation, it is not a big problem for the trade union to have its own charity organization. And donating 200,000 yuan at once is also very good.

Don't compare yourself to those A-list celebrities, whose salaries are in the tens of millions. In such a situation, Ye Ming was able to donate 200,000 so generously. This is also a rare situation under the front line. Signing another document authorizing donation is also very necessary in the United States.

For example, this time, the actors union will get Ye Ming's fees back. This is a lawsuit that will definitely be won, but the money belongs to Ye Ming, and the union people have no right to use it.

If this is to be used, even if it is a donation, Ye Ming must sign and agree. Otherwise, in such a matter, no matter how it is, he will be legally responsible.

In fact, it is the same in any country. Documents and contracts cannot be signed casually. Once signed, basically if you want to go back on it, you will pay a very high price.

This is especially true in the United States. The United States is a contract country, and once you breach the contract, you will be in breach of contract. In the future, loans, travel abroad, etc. will be subject to considerable restrictions.

It may be better in China, and there is not much punishment for being a bad person, but in the United States, it is almost impossible to be a bad person. Whoever's credit is recorded is basically finished for the rest of his life.

The Screen Actors Guild is called money-hungry. Yes, producers and directors call it money-hungry.

The price of actors is not cheap. Of course, this is relatively polite when it comes to collecting actors' dues. Anyway, you can't make much money from actors.

But for producers, directors, etc., if they come here to select actors, the cost is quite high at this time. However, at this time, it was Morgan Freeman who almost came out with Ye Ming.

This old gentleman said he was here to select some stuntmen. It should be possible to tell this time, and the old man was very happy. Ye Ming came over and said, "Mr. Freeman, I see you are in a very good mood. Things should go well, right?"

Morgan Freeman said very happily: "These people are just desperate for money, but I have to say that under such a situation, the Screen Actors Guild is still very professional. Whatever kind of actors you need, come directly to them. As long as you pay enough, no matter what kind of actor they are, they can find them for you, which saves you a lot of trouble. Otherwise, it would be more difficult to find stunt actors or something."

Ordinary roles such as protagonists and supporting roles naturally require interviews in person, but stunts are not ordinary actors. They require a lot of professional knowledge, such as stand-ins, etc. This is not required and interviews are not required.

For example, the Screen Actors Guild will not recommend an unprofessional stuntman to the crew. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens, the Actors Guild will be responsible for half of the direct losses.

Therefore, in a situation like this, if we are looking for a stuntman or something. Apart from the higher price demanded by the Actors Guild, there is basically no other big deal.

Freeman glanced at Ye Ming, then at Jeffrey's office, and then said: "How are you doing with your affairs? How dare you owe money to the actors' union? This is enough for a company like this." Yes, only a boss who is out of his mind would do something like this."

What does the Screen Actors Guild do? In fact, the lawsuit is to protect the interests of the actors. Therefore, in such a situation, anyone who wants to file a lawsuit with the Actors Guild is absolutely stupid. Basically, the Screen Actors Guild wins. If it cannot win the lawsuit, the Screen Actors Guild still has the ultimate trick it can use, which is to go on strike. This is the Screen Actors Guild’s sharpest weapon.

Of course, the Screen Actors Guild would not often use this trick unless it was forced.

It takes about two years or so to find a reason to go on strike or something like that.

This is actually to increase the sense of presence in Hollywood. This is a warning to the Big Eight in Hollywood, as well as those independent producers, and even underground films, as long as they use the Screen Actors Guild, everything must be done in accordance with the negotiated contract. Otherwise, in a place like this In terms of things, it will definitely be dealt with.

Ye Ming shrugged his shoulders and said: "Cruiser Company is not very famous. I guess I don't know the rules. Anyway, I have signed and handed it over to the union to handle. Basically, this matter has nothing to do with me." It’s related.”

Morgan Freeman is naturally very clear about this, and the union also likes to deal with such things.

Morgan Freeman continued: "New companies, if you don't understand the rules, you have to pay tuition. This time, I think Cruiser Company is in danger. In their eyes, these people just want to make movies and make money, but I don't know, some You can't go too far and offend the people of the Screen Actors Guild. This is the biggest mistake. Well, if there is a chance, we can work together on a movie. I believe it will be a very exciting movie." (To be continued)