SAG Residuals

[Andrew McCarrick]

I'm curious as to how SAG Residuals work. Is the percentage number (I believe it's 4.5%) per cast member or is that rate divided amoung the total amount of cast members?

[Jim Keller]

I'm curious as to how SAG Residuals work. Is the percentage number (I believe it's 4.5%) per cast member or is that rate divided amoung the total amount of cast members?

 

The short answer is that it's complicated and you should read the specific contract you're working under very carefully, but in general the percentage number given is the percentage of the actor's original salary for the role.

[Andrew McCarrick]

Aren't residuals a certain percentage of income from DVD and TV releases? So I don't see what it would have to do with the actors salary. It would have to do with total sales of DVDs and TV.

 

So say dvds gross 2 million dollars in sales, that's 90,000 dollars in residuals (at 4.5%).

2,000,000.00 * 4.5% = 90,000.00

[Andrew McCarrick]

We'd be using the Modified Low Budget Agreement... I saw nothing in there about residuals.

[Jim Keller]

We'd be using the Modified Low Budget Agreement... I saw nothing in there about residuals.

 

All the modified theatrical contracts (Low Budget, Ultra Low Budget, Modified Low Budget, etc.) refer to the Codified Basic Agreement. The other agreements were considered variations on the basic agreement, and therefore are only a couple of pages long instead of several hundred. Discussions about residuals are sprinkled throughout that document, beginning in section 5 (page 8) and are emphasized in section 6 (page 30).

 

I've never dealt with theatrical residuals, but glancing at the contract it appears that it's a flat rate based on your gross (which, presumably, SAG breaks up amongst your cast and itself). I'd suggest checking with SAG to be sure, however.

[Andrew McCarrick]

All the modified theatrical contracts (Low Budget, Ultra Low Budget, Modified Low Budget, etc.) refer to the Codified Basic Agreement. The other agreements were considered variations on the basic agreement, and therefore are only a couple of pages long instead of several hundred. Discussions about residuals are sprinkled throughout that document, beginning in section 5 (page 8) and are emphasized in section 6 (page 30).

 

I've never dealt with theatrical residuals, but glancing at the contract it appears that it's a flat rate based on your gross (which, presumably, SAG breaks up amongst your cast and itself). I'd suggest checking with SAG to be sure, however.

 

Where is this Codified Basic Agreement? I can never find anything on their website.

[Dan Goulder]

Aren't residuals a certain percentage of income from DVD and TV releases?

Yes, the residuals address those areas. Call your local SAG office and have them give you the specifics.

[Jim Keller]

Where is this Codified Basic Agreement? I can never find anything on their website.

 

Hmm. Looks like you need to be a member to download it off the website. ::sigh:: How useful...

 

It's 2MB. Does anyone know if there's a way to post it here?

 

If not, they were happy to send me a copy in the mail when I was prepping a feature 10 years back. They may still be willing to do so.

[Andrew McCarrick]

Hmm. Looks like you need to be a member to download it off the website. ::sigh:: How useful...

 

It's 2MB. Does anyone know if there's a way to post it here?

 

If not, they were happy to send me a copy in the mail when I was prepping a feature 10 years back. They may still be willing to do so.

 

Could it be emailed? or posted on webspace?

[Guest]

Aren't residuals a certain percentage of income from DVD and TV releases? So I don't see what it would have to do with the actors salary. It would have to do with total sales of DVDs and TV.

 

So say dvds gross 2 million dollars in sales, that's 90,000 dollars in residuals (at 4.5%).

2,000,000.00 * 4.5% = 90,000.00

 

4.5% of gross sales are you sure that's right? Sounds quite high to me.

 

R.

[Andrew McCarrick]

4.5% of gross sales are you sure that's right? Sounds quite high to me.

 

R.

 

Yep it's 4.5% of Gross DVD sales and after the first 1 million dollars, it goes higher to 5.4%.

 

 

http://www.bizparentz.org/residualpayments.html

 

Theatrical (Television and Film)

It is pretty common to think you hit the big time when you book your first day on a TV series or your first feature film that shows at your local theater. It IS pretty big time! Congratulations! Unfortunately, the money may not be big time at first. And you have to wait awhile for it. Here are some notes on theatrical residuals:

 

 

◊ No residuals for first showings, including all box offices. Residuals start when it is shown again anywhere in the world, any medium. For example: You got paid for your week?s work on Tom Cruises? next film. Good for you! A year later, the film goes to the theatres. Woo hoo?it?s #1 at the box office! Sadly, you are getting paid for that?it is part of your session fee (what the film was created for, a.k.a. ?first use?). A year after that (2 years after you worked), the film goes to DVD. About 6 months after that, you?ll get your first residual check! You?ll get paid again when it shows on Showtime, HBO etc. Then you?ll get paid again when they show it on regular TV and cable. Those will trickle in, year after year.

 

 

The really great news? This process goes on FOR LIFE. You will continue to get paid smaller and smaller amounts each time the film is shown, forever.

 

 

◊ How do they figure out what you should get paid on a feature film? It?s a formula made up of the following factors:

 

Your rate of pay in the session fee

How many days you worked

How many other people were in the film? SAG takes those factors and assigns a value to you, called ?units?. All the actors split up the piece of the pie according to the number of units they have. The ?pie? is this: DVD/video = 4.5% of distributors gross, up to $1M, then 5.4%

[Guest]

Yep it's 4.5% of Gross DVD sales and after the first 1 million dollars, it goes higher to 5.4%.

 

 

http://www.bizparentz.org/residualpayments.html

 

Wow! That's quite a chunk.

 

R,

[Andrew McCarrick]

Wow! That's quite a chunk.

 

R,

 

Well that's okay, one of the issues with SAG and the AMPTP right now is that SAG wants to double the DVD residuals. So it be 9% and 10.8%.

Edited July 13, 2008 by Andrew McCarrick

[Guest]

Well that's okay, one of the issues with SAG and the AMPTP right now is that SAG wants to double the DVD residuals. So it be 9% and 10.8%.

 

Holy smokes that is going to make it very tough for any indie producer to work with SAG. Impossible really, every one will go non-union. I see it all the time around here in Toronto. An actor joins the union and their opportunity to work goes way down as there are far fewer union shoots vs non-union.

 

So basically the principles would divide up 10% vs 4.5% of each DVD sale?

 

As your article you link to points out the British and Australian unions don't get any residuals, period.

 

R,

[Andrew McCarrick]

So basically the principles would divide up 10% vs 4.5% of each DVD sale?

 

Yep that's what it seems like would be if SAG gets that passed.