An Important Message for Parents asked to participate in the new movie, "Masters and Commanders" starring Russell Crowe

I can never fully set-aside my beliefs and duties as an official of the theatrical unions, but as Founder of A Minor Consideration and a father as well, I feel the need to have a serious talk with you about this movie about to film in Mexico.

First, thank you for taking the time to gather information. Obviously your instincts are warning you that something is not right about this entire project. You have to ask yourself, why are these movie-makers only offering non-union contracts and filming in Mexico? Could it be that they know they are going to be operating "outside the boundaries?"

Mexico is not known for protecting the rights of workers. Throw in a 100 million dollar film and the temptation for officials to look the other way will be enormous. The experiences our SAG members had with The Titanic filming were not pleasant. If adults could not protect themselves in that work environment, what can be said for children and their rights?

A union contract guarantees the performer many rights and protections, and we've worked hard over sixty years to negotiate those rights and protections. This movie project (now known as "Masters and Commanders") has set off alarm bells all over the business. We remember The Titanic.

For kids, a union contract guarantees limited work hours, mandatory education, housing, per diem, safe transportation and adequate work breaks. Moreover, such matters as single-sex dressing rooms (no Minors with Adults), the presence of a Guardian ("within sight and sound of their child at all times...") is a contractual obligation. Why would a movie company with a high-profile star like Russell Crowe (a union member), and a director of the stature of Mr.. Weil deliberately set out to avoid the very contracts that brought them fame and success?

What's going on?

I don't know what kind of parts have been offered or promised to your children, whether they are principal roles or background performers, but I urge you to exercise caution when you meet with the casting people. You must inquire closely as to those matters of most concern to you as parents, above all, Safety. What does it mean when a company wants 12 weeks of training so performers know how to operate a sailing ship? Are we talking climbing up in the rigging? Hauling hawsers? Swabbing decks in the Mexican sun? The days of ten and twelve year old Cabin Boys is long since passed, and good riddance.

What about your children's education? Is that going to just be forgotten for that admittedly rare chance to be in a major film? Will the California and union contract work rules be in effect as to the presence of a studio teacher (one teacher to every ten children on a school day) and will that studio teacher have valid credentials?

If the teacher is paid by the Producer and is working in a foreign land, what kind of authority to protect your children will that person really have?

Who is going to police the set for real or potential hazards to the health and safety of your children? Mexican labor officials?

I want you to think past the first few days of work when the excitement and energy is almost more than you can stand. Do you have any idea what a six-day work week feels like, week after week? Movie production is rightly compared to a war; hours of boredom interrupted by moments of stark terror. It's tough enough when you film within a structure of union rules.

"Masters and Commanders" is a deliberately non-union enterprise. That means pickets and a hostile work environment. Screen Actors Guild is committed to our Global Rule One policy. We are not going to go away.

The cast list is going to be a matter of public record. We will not forget, ever.

Are you smart enough to negotiate every detail of your children's employment? Are you tough enough to stand up for your children in the face of production pressures and excessive overtime, bad food and hazardous conditions? Do you think it's going to be easy to walk off a movie when you're in a foreign country? What happens when someone gets hurt or gets sick, which happens far more than you know during the course of movie-making?

In short, do you risk your children? Why are they asking you to meet with Casting in Mexico?

I realize many people have forgotten why unions came into existence in the first place. Please remember that at the floor of organized labor, and I'm talking all the way back to the days of coal mines and sweat shops, were the generally recognized principles of child welfare. A grown man might willingly endanger himself to provide for his family, working around machinery that could kill or rip off an arm, but that kind of employment should not be visited on children...here or anywhere else. Not in 2002. Bad things can happen to good people. What these movie-makers are considering is hazardous in the extreme. When have you ever heard of a 12 week training course for a movie? If you think for a second that having a hundred adults around a working set is going to be protection enough for your children I ask that you remember "The Twilight Zone." Two children were hired illegally, their immigrant parents kept away from a set that included explosives and a hovering helicopter, and the end result was that three actors were beheaded when the chopper fell on them. More than 100 adults stood around and watched it happen at 3:30 in the morning. "The Twilight Zone" was a union feature working in California.

If you choose to go to Mexico and meet with the casting people I pray that you have a long list of questions, and that you set-aside whatever ambitions you and your children may have for a career in this business. Take along a copy of the California work rules and a digest of the Screen Actors Guild Basic Agreement and demand answers of your children's potential employer, point by point. I have enclosed the California rules in an attachment.

The sad reality, my friends, is that there is more care and concern for movie ANIMALS than for children. Don't believe me? You've seen the end credits of movies where they say, "No animal was injured in the making of this film." It doesn't say a thing about children, does it? Why would the Producers of this film put you and dozens of other parents in this kind of position? What are they planning? What's the deal?

I urge you to be extremely careful.

It has become commonplace for people to knock unions and all of organized labor, saying we only care about ourselves for our member's benefit and our welfare as an institution. That is exactly correct. The "other side" has a singular focus as well; to produce their product at the lowest possible expense (including labor) for the maximum possible profit.

You have to ask yourself why your children are being asked to take sides in this centuries long struggle. What artistic imperative is at stake here, and is it so important that the welfare of children can be put at risk?

Thank you for taking the time to ask the important questions. I hope this message helps you make your decision.

Fraternally,
Paul Petersen