a neopets blog

Any person who has worked on a set for more than a few years has at least one person they know who died.  

Not usually on set, but afterwards.  Because we don’t have anyone shutting down production for unsafe practices when “unsafe” means 16 hour days.  Or more.  For weeks.  Finishing a day before hour 12 (not including lunch) is considered an early leave.

I had teachers tell us not to, unless we absolutely had to, take music video gigs because they’ll work you for 24 hours and send you to drive home.  And if we had to work that, pull over and nap in our car because multiple people per year fall asleep at the wheel and go over the canyons around LA.

I know you mean acting but please.  Don’t forget the crew.  We have a shockingly high rate of suicide because these working schedules leave us with no sleep, no time outside of work, and it destroys lives, relationships, and families.  Burnout is high.  Chronic illness and broken bodies are common.  Cocaine use in order to get through a 20 hour day is rampant.  Every single one of your reality shows is fueled by cocaine.

The number of days that are scheduled to shoot a feature has shrunk dramatically in the past two decades.  Which means longer days.

Netflix shows are notorious for being poorly organized, understaffed, and long days.

When I worked on BBC Causalty, as soon as it hit 5pm, everything stopped. The producer/director etc would have a quick meeting to decide if we’d go into overtime or schedule it in later in the week. And I got an extra payslip in the mail for every minute of overtime I did, even though I was paid a weekly rate.

I don’t care if it means producing less content. I don’t care if it means it costs twice as much - if treating your creatives and your crew like shit is needed to make your show, then your show doesn’t deserve to get made.

And that’s aside from the fact that actors are often exploited, neglected, coerced into doing scenes they’re uncomfortable with etc or outright abused by directors for the sake of ~performance.

I’m (thankfully) paid very well for those hours, but to prevent burnout I usually have to take a month or more off after every show I’m on before I can even consider looking for another job. Many many people in the industry who have to work shows back to back often cope through drug and alcohol abuse or by verbally abusing their inferiors in times of stress.

Every day I grab food after work, eat while driving, go home, and then pass out. On weekends I mostly sleep and order DoorDash. This lifestyle is incredibly strenuous and I’m constantly told that I have it GOOD.

I worry every day for the non-union workers who work far more hours than I do for very little pay with no health insurance. My best friend, who worked non union for 5 years, has shared so many horror stories about suicide due to verbal abuse from superiors, people living in their cars, people living on a food budget of $100 a month because rent for a studio in LA is a minimum of $1500, and people dying from a tooth infection because they didn’t have the free time or finances to treat it.

Don’t even get me started on how many people have DIED due to lack of regulation while filming during COVID, which has only gone on because film workers have been deemed “essential workers.” The only reason I’m on a show right now is because my unemployment ran out, and I am incredibly lucky to have found a show that takes this virus seriously.

What can you do? If you’re in Cali you can call your representatives or vote people who support workers rights into office. Otherwise it’s difficult to try to limit the media you consume to productions that team exclusively with IATSE, as so many hire a mix between union and non-union. Definitely try not to give your money to Marvel or Disney though because they treat their employees like utter trash.

Hero, dodging: but your entire room? I’m not painting my entire room orange