The major unions for actors have put Tyler Perry’s new stage play Madea on the Run on the “Do Not Work” list.
Tyler Perry is in hot water. His stage play, a production we posted several lead role casting calls for in the past, is currently touring across the country, but SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity are telling members not to work on the show.
According to Deadline, actors that choose to work on Tyler Perry’s Madea on the Run will face disciplinary action because the production is on the “Do Not Work” list.
Apparently, Tyler Perry’s production company has yet to sign a contract deal with Equity. Those kinds of contracts control such things as how much actors will be paid, and when and if actors will receive payments if the production is turned into a TV series or is featured in a movie.
The other union, the Screen Actors Guild, doesn’t represent stage actors, but it has an agreement with Equity to stop its members from working on any projects that appear on Equity’s “do not work” list.
Both unions are serious and they both mean business. SAG-AFTRA says that if it finds out that any of its members work on Tyler Perry’s play, it will be viewed as a “unbecoming a member” which means their is a serious chance they will be kicked out of the union and unable to work on major TV shows and movies that work alongside the SAG-AFTRA.
Most of these disputes circle around how much actors should be paid.
Shadow and Act gave background into the situation. Apparently, Tyler Perry has a history of not getting along with unions.
This is at least the second time that Tyler Perry has had a run-in with an industry union. You may recall when, in 2008, the Writers Guild of America West filed an “unfair labor practice complaint” against Perry’s production studio after it fired four writers (all African American) who worked on his then TBS comedy, “House of Payne” – firings that were said to be because the writers were seeking union representation. [Source]
Tyler Perry refused to agree to a WGA contract that would give the writers health care benefits and a pension plan. The WGA said that the four writers were then fired after negotiations between the Writers Guild and reps of Tyler Perry’s production broke down. The writers were also working on the development of what was then a new TV series produced by Tyler Perry, “Meet the Browns.”
Attorneys representing Tyler Perry argued that the writer’s firing had nothing to do with the contract negotiation but was just related to “the quality of their work.” Moreover, “We continue to work toward a resolution of their contract, and after months of negotiations we have reached agreement with the Guild on every major issue but one – residuals from repeats shown on broadcast television stations.”
This didn’t help. However, it made Tyler Perry’s production company more suspicious given the timing of the firings, which happened right before ‘House of Payne’ was being syndicated, which is when residual payment checks start coming in. In case you didn’t know, residuals are extremely important and it is how a majority of writers, actors, and producers make their money.
The situation was eventually resolved after the NAACP got involved, even though the agreement was never made public.
Tyler Perry is a major force in the entertainment industry especially in Atlanta, Georgia. Last April, Project Casting reported that Atlanta signed a major deal with Tyler Perry to build a major movie and TV studio. The Atlanta City Council signed off on a deal that would allow for Tyler Perry to turn much of Fort McPherson into a movie studio.
Tyler Perry wants to use the base to expand the number of studio facilities he currently owns and operates. Currently, Tyler Perry owns over 1000 acre property which features five sound stages, a post-production facility and a 400-seat theater in Southwest Atlanta. However, not everyone was too happy about the deal. Concilwoman Felicia Moore, voted against the resolution saying, “I just can’t stop on a dime and absorb it all,” Moore said. “I’m not ready to move where everybody is.”
