14 DAY TRIAL // Ten years have passed since people started saying that the Internet was the next stage for actors and producers, and that some, if not most, productions would eventually move to the Web. Here we are, a full decade later, and the network still only hosts a few actors, but none of the biggest names in the industry. All important stars are sitting on the benches, saying they are more than happy with the revenues they make for the TV and cinema industry, and that they do not require the Internet to get ahead professionally. This controversy also appears in various meetings between actors and studios.
William Morris is just one of the talent agencies that is pushing for more big Hollywood names online. Its effort is supported by television networks such as NBC, which share this idea. Despite their best endeavors, their requests for Internet-based productions are balked at by actors and producers alike, who seem content to be able to play or produce regular motion pictures at the moment.
“Web shows blur the line between what would be considered professional content and what would be considered amateur content, because anyone who has a camcorder and a bright idea can produce a show,” the co-founder and chief operating officer of the video hosting site blip, Dina Kaplan, argues.
“Digital media is really one of the great avenues of the future. I don't know that anybody, truly from an entertainment standpoint, is firing all guns at that arena,” actor and producer Ashton Kutcher tells Reuters. There are currently numerous conflicts between actor unions and studio representatives, especially as far as online entertainment is concerned. That is to say, actors want to be paid as soon as the production is finished, whereas studio officials argue that the Internet doesn't hold sufficient money to allow them to do this, at this point.
Because actors win a lot of money even from unknown TV shows, and even additional cash upon reruns, they underline that they want about the same amount of money from Web-based productions as well. “They feel that if a bad deal gets embedded in the contract that they'll never be able to change it. The concern is not without justification,” Jonathan Handel, who is an entertainment attorney, states.
However, considering the fact that video-sharing websites such as YouTube recorded around 14.3 billion videos viewed in December 2008 alone, it's highly unlikely that actors will continue to ignore this tremendous market for much longer.