Message posted by Jose on March 14, 2001 at 19:04:07 PST:
Word has come that William Shatner's Groom Lake project had been the subject of a "stop work" order from the SAG. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the science fiction film which was written and directed by Shatner, was hit with the notice by the Screen Actors Guild due to word that over 20 of the actors and stuntmen who had been working on the project had not been paid. Still, the SAG notice, which ordered all SAG members to immediately stop working on the project, was sent out after the production had wrapped back in December. The problem stems from complaints from several stuntmen to the union that they were told they would be receiving checks after the project wrapped. Unfortunately, the payments never came. SAG spokesman Greg Krizman told the trade that "the company responded on Jan. 11, saying that they thought that they would have money coming in and that they are aware of their obligations and that they hoped to correct the problem by the end of January. The end of January came and went, however, and no money was forthcoming, so we referred it to our legal department on Feb. 16, and they are in the process of submitting the matter to arbitration." The trade further reports that the film had been shot under the SAG's modified low-budget contract -- which means that it had to be produced for less than $500,000. Groom Lake Prods. is also said to have posted a $10,000 bond to cover the actors' salaries, but that may not be enough to cover everyone's missing salaries. Beyond that, getting that money may be difficult, with word that the film's distributor, Full Moon Universe, claims the film was actually produced by Tempe Entertainment. The SAG maintains, though, that Full Moon is actually the producer and is responsible for the money. Full Moon's director of publicity, David Budge, issued a comment on the situation, saying, "Full Moon is the distributor, not the producer. We're aware that there have been some financial problems, but we're also confident that they are being worked out as we speak. The problem seems to come from the fact that there was some outside financing promised on the project, and, at the crucial juncture, unfortunately, it did not come to pass. But it is being worked out now, and everybody is going to get paid." http://www.cinescape.com It was orginally posted to discussion forum on feb 26th by Gary. http://www.dreamlandresort.com/forum/messages/1127.html
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