In terms of masculinity, a man who wears UGGs really spans the spectrum. I sort of admire a guy that has the guts to hold down both ends of the nancy bell-curve.Speaking of Yin Yang, read on for my answer to the following question I received from Ryan: “Can you talk about the troubles of being a SAG member, both on and off camera?”
SAG is terrific. There’s nothing quite like making the leap to union work and its residual checks and health insurance, but it does have its share of flaws.
Annual dues are not too bad – $116 – but the initial membership fee can be a killer to the tune of 2400 bucks, and it’s supposedly going to skyrocket in the next couple of years to five grand. Which means when you finally become eligible to join SAG and get hit with that bill you’ll be as happy as a clam that wants to kill someone.
Before I was SAG, I shot a role in a non-union commercial, and the production company decided not to pay me in full afterward. Had I been union, they never would have gotten away with that shit, which would have been nice, but for the most part it seems like SAG does more policing than protecting. If they find out you did a non-union shoot you will get the wrath. Remember, SAG is a guild, not a union – they don’t exactly shoot out the tires of scab workers’ trucks like UPS did in ’97. By the way – well played, Teamsters.
So those are the trouble spots, Ryan. Overall, having a SAG card is a good thing, and when you walk around this town with it in your wallet, you’ll feel the swagger of knowing that you are now a fellow member with your favorite actors, like I do with George Clooney.
Come to think of it, the similarities for him and me don’t end there. I mean, George Clooney has an Oscar, and I have a Golden Globe – that I stole from George Clooney.
Hope that helped. –Matthew.
