It should be really simple: Is it work? Then you get paid. Any other argument is as if you negotiate better conditions in an abusive relationship while keeping the abusers feelings in mind.
Gianmarco I love it, I resonate with your attempt to problem solve with creativity, I wish people were more open to play with ideas like this, especially on podcasts
Okay, let me preface, that I know shot about acting and could be totally wrong here. For callbacks I totally get it. If you saw someone act and think they could fit, but actively want to see this person again, you should definitely pay them, but why agree to pay someone you haven't seen act before? I would feel like this would lead to a system, where the preselection would be made by a big agency and not during the casting. If I were to cast for a role and had to pay everyone coming in to audition, I would not just let anyone come, I would ask my buddy agent to bring a few people in and only this selected group gets to audition. I feel like this would take away power from the actors and give it to the agencies in a major way.
Time is valuable, especially for actors/entertainers trying to make it in the industry while juggling 500+ things in addition to that. How can you expect people to put in a shit ton of time into learning a part for something YOU AREN’T GUARANTEED A JOB/ROLE IN. You put in actually work before even being hired. That time should be paid or at least given a form of credit in. I can’t imagine how much time wasted and money lost for so many people. All of the “people will remember” just won’t cut it. Auditions should be like a flat rate or at least minimum wage. If you cannot afford this- can you really afford the talent and limited resources you have? People who apply for regular jobs aren’t required to basically study up and do work before being even offered a job is insane. These guys are just defending unfair and unethical treatment of people who should be compensated for their time and labor. I can’t believe Gianmarco had to really defend his position with strong points while the others just basically say “it is what it is”
Many jobs in computer science - there’s usually some sort of programming project or test after the first or second interview. You can spend 5-10 hours on those and do not get paid to interview.
It seems like they don’t always voice their opinions because they don’t want to be black listed in the industry. If I go to a job interview it’s literally 40 mins of my time and I didn’t spend $600 on a casting tape or whatever. Being an actor seems like a Ponzi scheme almost where the top actors get more opportunities than anyone else even if they aren’t a great actor or if they have name recognition in the industry. Maybe that’s why a lot of shows are not very good anymore.
Didnt know actor's can be this conservative about something that would benefit them... And also "but there is story about someone succeeding" isnt a good argument if there are stories of someone being asked to audition again and again and again even when everyone knew they wont be picked
I think all callbacks should absolutely be paid, one day I can understand but if you’re using up multiple days where I could be doing literally anything else I should at least be compensated for it. But like it doesn’t even have to be a minimum wage hourly thing like just a small stipend would make it so much better, at least to just pay for travel and stuff like that
I think you bring up very good points. I dont know the history of the construct of .10/mile or whatever it is in California - I feel like somewhat of a similar structure would work for casting calls - If a casting call is 4 hours long, they can pay applicants $10/hour of the call or something like that. It doesnt necessarily make anything fair - but it does bring context to effort made on the actors potential
Paying makes sense for callbacks or solicited auditions, but it's bizarre to insist any employer pay for all applicants' time in an open call, acting or otherwise.
@ 7:33 “but would paying help”…”I don’t think it would help the working class actor”…why would it not help? You can say less people will get to audition if they have to pay them, but that just means less people lose money they would’ve never seen again.
The questions you're asking will lead you, if you're serious--and I think you are, to studying Marxism. Happy to recommend a class or some (free) things to read if you're interested.
Just realized that this is the classic capitalism convo, every agrees it's not fair but those who succee bc of it either arent ready to loose their good potion to make stuff more fair, have a kind of srvival bias by mainly knowing their succee story and not hearing about everyone else who lost (usually mix of both)
This would be the same as being paid to apply for a job at McDonald’s. If every applicant got paid to apply, it would break the business by having to plow through so many more resumes Applying would become their “job”. I see that you feel it is a waste of your time to audition, but imagine the waste of time to the employer, having to sit through so many more auditions because now the number of applicants will increase exponentially. What if you pay the auditioners, make your choice and then the actor turns down the part?
The other side is, even getting a chance to audition will be much harder. Since there is an added cost, only veteran seasoned actors will be auditioned, or for young actors, if you have tape or evidence of experience from High School plays.
"I wanna be paid to interview for jobs, not actual jobs!" Could there be anything more millennial? "Why does it have to be so hard?" BECAUSE IT IS. YOU ARE THERE VOLUNTARILY.
"But it isn't fair!" Um yeah, have you heard about life? Man I never expected you to be such a whiny baby. If you only booked 2 days last year means you need to stick to stand-up.
