Question: It’s an age old battle and I’ve heard arguments on both sides of the issue though never impartial.  Give it to me straight, what are the advantages and disadvantages to working with unions?

Jonathan McCoy: Unions in the film industry, whether you like them or not, are part of the business of production and are not going anywhere anytime soon. While unions do outline very specific rules and regulations that everyone can refer back to, keeping crews safe and sane, and while they establish rates and pay stipulations that crews and producers accept as fair and standard, and that everyone will agree to and abide by, and while they establish in general a fair wage for the artisans, unions are costly and difficult to work with. Any film over $1MM shot in Los Angeles is going to have to be union.  They’ll find you and strike you, so you might as well make a deal upfront. And while acquiescing to going union does give a certain sense of legitimacy to any production (it really takes it from a student film to a profit-oriented business), it is quite frustrating and backwards at times. Many of the rules are outdated, and will drive you crazy. That said, filmmaking IS complex, and having an outside labor unit govern wages and practices does take a lot of the stress off of the production. It simply is whatever the contract states, no more no less. That part is pretty handy.

Jonathan McCoy began his career in advertising where he produced TV and radio commercials for Fisher-Price Power Wheels®. After confronting the moral dilemma of hawking gas-guzzling toys to children, he made the switch to independent film in 1999. McCoy’s recent projects include co-producing The East (Fox Searchlight/Scott Free – coming out fall 2012) and A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas (New Line).

See a full list of McCoy’s credits here.

March 7th, 2012 • No Comments