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Susan Sarandon and Bebe Neuwirth are putting some serious star power behind the battle commercial actors are fighting right now. The actors are striking against the advertising industry because they are threatening commercial contracts and destroying salaries and pension plans. "People don't know anything about it because they would have to get the word out in the media," says Bebe, "and the advertisers are running the media, and they're on the other side of the table. Really, actors' livelihoods are at stake."
Actors currently get residuals, or payments, each time their commercial airs. The actors are not striking because they want more money, but because the ad industry is threatening to remove residuals. In other words, actors will receive one payment for doing the commercial, and that's it. "People are losing their houses," says Susan, referring to the fact that a settlement has not been reached. "They've been ordered back to the table twice now...by the federal mediators," says Bebe, "and the advertisers have not budged on their original offer, which came a month before the strike. They won't move at all, and we have moved."
According to Bebe, 80 percent of SAG members make less than $5,000 a year. Susan believes that actors and celebrities who have big contracts need to be educated as to what is happening. "They're the people who have to not cross the line," she says.
[ © Courtesy of ABC.com ]
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