July 2000

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Since May 1, 2000 SAG and AFTRA have been on strike over the terms for new commercial contracts. We’re writing to you because we are aware that our present work stoppage affects not only actors, but everyone in the creative community involved in producing commercial in New England. We want to take this opportunity to share a few facts with you that we hope will explain why we had no choice but to take this course of action.

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Health insurance is one of the necessary evils in life, especially for the self-employed. It’s expensive, for sure, but if you don’t have it can lead to financial ruin if you get sick. If you are thinking of pursuing a freelance career, be sure to consider your health insurance options.

When I made the switch from full-time associate producer to freelance producer and writer, I knew what my Mom would say: "Will you make enough money? And what will you do for health insurance?"

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A struggling filmmaker, beret askew, shoots in black and white on a deserted city street, with only one goal in mind: to capture the grit and reality of everyday life. "Finances be damned!" he thinks. "This is art."

For many, that is the image that comes to mind when the topic of independent film comes up. But filmmaking is more than art; it is also business. Just ask David Kleiler, director of Local Sightings, Inc., and a 30-year veteran of the Boston film community.

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The Nantucket Film Festival has progressed to become one the premiere film festivals in the New England region since its inception five years ago. Its catchphrase, "Where screenwriters inherit the earth," defines the emphasis that is placed on inspiration and creation of films. 

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These days it seems that weather has become Big News. Weathermen across the nation keep us informed of all the hurricanes brewing in the Atlantic and help us track their movement as they wander into the Gulf of Mexico or meander up the Atlantic Coast, leaving floods and wreckage in their wake. Weather correspondents deliver their reports from wind-ravaged piers and streets, debris and street signs furiously in motion in the background.

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Filmmaking and farming may not seem to have anything in common, but filmmaker Jay Craven unites them with a farming metaphor used to describe his work.

"A New England farmer milks the cows, looks after the livestock, tends to sugar maples, harvests crops, and does it all," he remarks.

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"Troublesome Creek," Steve Ascher and Jeanne Jordan’s Academy Award nominated documentary about a family’s struggle to save their Iowa farm, for many would be the achievement of a lifetime. But these filmmakers continue to produce and direct award-winning programs, partnering with other filmmakers and working together, as they did with "Troublesome Creek." Both Jordan and Ascher took time out to answer a few questions about where ideas come from, when to turn the camera off, and talk about their new projects.

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Attention indie film producers.  It's time to acquire music rights for your masterpiece.  You'll need to obtain synch licensing.  You won't find this at the DMV...

That's probably a blessing, considering the surliness of the average Department of Motor Vehicles employee. A few years ago, the DMV was convinced I was a man with a DUIon his license who lived in California. They refused, on these high moral grounds, to renew my license. Hmmm.

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