PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

(THREAD)

1/ Sixty days ago, I got “the worst cold of my life” and had to cancel and/or postpone gigs and auditions. During that time, I lost my voice completely for over a week and became really concerned about my Q1 earning potential...

2/ So when shelter at home orders were issued, it was clear I wasn’t going back to work any time soon…and the unsustainable epidemic of content I’ve warned about for a decade was about to create an existential crisis for the entire industry...and those it employed.

3/ I immediately contacted my Agents to explain my equipment & experience to create “stop gap” branded content ( http://brendanAbradley.com/athome ) Some said I was being inappropriate and histrionic. Some never responded. (Note, I faced similar reactions when I made my own website in 2002.)

4/ This week casting notices began requiring listing equipment & roommates/partners who can operate. The trades are filled with hot takes for breaking film sets into smaller, self-sufficient “units.” Let me spare you the suspense - we’re all going to be asked to do more for less.

5/ Historically, we make bad choices in times of desperation/scarcity. We negotiate against our future selves for *something* today. But our creative unions have NEVER had a bigger bargaining chip than this moment. Everyone. Needs. Content. Right. Now. We must stand in our power.

6/ I will not hear empty threats that “we’ll just find someone else” and we are “a dime a dozen.” The last year has taught us the importance of transparency to circumvent abusive culture in Hollywood. We've been here before & we need to be honest and LOUD about bad deals/people.

7/ Many of you know my feature films and digital series which I (ironically) wrote/shot/produced/edited/etc in my apartment. But many don’t know the story of the scrappy theater producer who started making commercials for the front page of a new website called YouTube in 2007.

8/ Brands would hold contests (similar to the popular Doritos Super Bowl Challenge) for you to submit a commercial and they'd choose a winner (or a few) to use as pre-roll advertisements on YouTube. Actors like me essentially produced entire commercials from their living rooms.

9/ So allow me to go first…In 2007, the average buyout for one of these 15-30s Youtube-exclusive spots was $40K. Adjusted for inflation, that sets the FLOOR at $48,000. For context, we didn’t really have access to consumer cameras shooting HD until late 2008 (at the earliest).

10/ Let’s educate and empower each other! COMMENT BELOW WITH YOUR OWN DEALS & NUMBERS. If @IATSE are asked to become background artists and @sagaftra members expected to supplement @ICGLocal600, we should know our SHARED value and fight for the collective bargaining of ALL.