Actors on a soap-box

20 August 2014 - 02:00 By Andile Ndlovu
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
The Generations cast. File photo.
The Generations cast. File photo.
Image: Gallo Images / Sunday Sun / Sipho Maluka

Like in the Bad Boyssequel, the principal cast of Generations is embracing the "We ride together, we die together" credo - but what if the entire local industry falls with them?

What if the 16 fired Generations stars, who stood up to but failed to beat producer MMSV Productions and the SABC, had backed their demands from the start by staying away from work until they got what they wanted? Would their bosses have had to grovel at their doors?

Stars of the Big Bang Theory, including Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting stood firm and CBS eventually begged them to come back and agreed to a pay hike.

The show had been the No1 TV comedy for the past three seasons in the US, according to reports.

Generations is the most watched show on local television, with more than 7.4million viewers.

Isibaya's award-winning casting director, Kutlwano Ditsele, says South African actors, writers and producers need to be looked after by a union such as Equity in the UK and the Screen Actors Guild in the US.

"The reality is that, for as long as actors, producers and directors are not mandated to be part of a guild, they will never fully have power," he said.

Ditsele said: "The writers' strike in the US showed how powerful a guild can be. The difference with them and us is that every writer belongs to that guild, so if they strike, they all strike.

With us, you will always be able to replace whoever is on strike."

Actress Faye Peters agreed. She said that although the actors might have legitimate grievances "it's just not smart for them to go on strike while unsupported by a big and effective union".

"The question is not what are they going on strike for, or do they have a right to go on strike; it's 'is a strike an effective way to get what I want?'

"In my view, it's not.

"We need an industry-wide agreement of what we are all prepared to accept as artists, otherwise we're losing."

Sekoetlane Phamodi, the coordinator of the SOS: Support Public Broadcasting coalition, said: " Generations attracts a great deal of advertising and it is important this impasse be resolved amicably before it scares advertisers away."

This month a 30-second advertising slot during Generations on SABC1 costs R220000.

Vundla's Gaza option

Could Mfundi Vundla, creator of soapie Generations, put all his 16 former actors on a plane and send them to their deaths?

Times Live readers on Facebook let their imaginations run wild to give Vundla some ideas on how to write the actors out of the script.

Hanad Mohamed said: "They all fly to Gaza to help the Palestinian children when an Israeli air strike kills them all ..."

Lwando Mange wrote: "They should be on board a 747 boeing which disappears in the isolated skies and waters of the Indian Ocean MH17 style till an amicable solution is reached.

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now