Author Topic: PEOPLE: Has anyone read/heard about this? (Movin out Discrimination suit)  (Read 6171 times)

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HollywoodH

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I heard about this on the radio this morning and found the article and thought I'd pass it along.....

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11933742/
« Last Edit: Jun 08, 2009, 11:12 pm by PSMKay »

groovygert

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Has anyone read/heard about this? link to article
« Reply #1 on: Mar 24, 2006, 06:50 pm »
wow, i hadn't heard about that

centaura

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Has anyone read/heard about this? link to article
« Reply #2 on: Mar 24, 2006, 07:01 pm »
Hmm... like most short articles - it leaves me wanting to know more about the details.  Is there medical evidence that there was injury to the toe?  I've lost an actor to a thumb - a seriously dislocated thumb that he was leaving to have surgery on - so there was an ongoing medical history of the dislocation, how it got worse, and then the final surgery.  But I have also had non-injuries, where repeated medical professionals couldn't find anything wrong with the offending appendage, and knowing the personality of the actor(ress), I totally believed were fake.

I'd have to know more about the people involved to have an opinion.

-Centaura

Mac Calder

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Has anyone read/heard about this? link to article
« Reply #3 on: Mar 24, 2006, 09:57 pm »
Totally agree with centaura. There is no where near enough evidence to draw a half decent conclusion from the article. My mum was an OH&S nurse, and was responsible for the investigation of work cover claims, that included things like hiring a PI if it is a suspicious case etc. It really was sad how many people would fake injuries to get out of a contract, or to get extra cash, and then go and play hockey or football the next day.

As for the heckling - we all know how sensitive actresses can get, there is a chance that this 'heckling' was nothing more than the SM making an offhanded comment like "We need to make you an appointment to see costume, because I think your costumes are becoming a bit tight arround the bust". That said, there is of course the chance that the SM was 'heckling' her....

Will be interesting to see how it pans out, but it certainly is not worth $100M - if I was a judge and I saw that ammount, I would laugh it out of the courtroom, and tell her to go and file another complaint when she has worked out how much it was really worth. Hell, I would probably laugh it out at $1M.

megf

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you might also want to look at...
« Reply #4 on: Mar 24, 2006, 10:21 pm »
There is a site devoted to the suit at www.movinoutlawsuit.com. The complaint is quite a read, but does provide some details that may satisfy the curious...

Mac Calder

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Has anyone read/heard about this? link to article
« Reply #5 on: Mar 25, 2006, 12:56 am »
Well I slogged through the entire thing (very painful) and whilst I do believe she has a case, I believe (as with all documents of the sort) that a large % (up to about half of the 'event descriptions') has been exagerated to some extent. It reeked a little too much 'pity me' for me to believe it entirely truthful and down the line.

I am not going to justify the company here, but I am going to mention a few things.

There are certain things with performing that I know that I look at when I assit in casting a show - one of them is body shape, it is impossible not to. In a job that involves the presentation of a person to a group of people as another charactor, a large percentage is physical suitability for the show - and whilst you can easily make a skiny person obese, the other way is not so easy - and in my opinion some level of assurance of those sort of things should be written into long term contracts (actually, any show I have worked on long term has used 3 or 6 month contracts with no promise of renewal, but obviously management had not thought that far ahead in this case). As a stage manager, I would probably be quite annoyed if an actor came back from injury and they told me they needed a costume refitting. She says she told them on many a time, but I do wonder about how much she said - I have had to have costumes alter actresses busts before, and there is quite a bit of work involved if it is anything more than a slight change - the way it was done the day before makes it seem to me that she used wording like 'slight change in breast size' - that would certainly count for a lot of the anger.

That is one 'issue' - the next that I can certainly relate to is the delaying of return by an extra week and her complaining about the fact another actress may need to be trained for the lead - well I am sorry, but in the world of deadlines, a week is a long time. I have never SM'ed a ballet, but I have come in to do lighting and sound for a few, and I know that they often need all the rehearsal they can get.  I can certainly understand where some of the anger at the request for an extra week comes from.

I am not going to excuse stage managements (and the company in general's) behaviour, as (if she is not exagerating) it is appalling and I would never condone treating of staff like that. That said, some of the stresses she placed on the SM were quite major and I could understand the SM never wanting to work with her again.


And I still maintain 100,000,000 is FAR too much. Half a million + costs maybe, but 100M - bull.

centaura

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Has anyone read/heard about this? link to article
« Reply #6 on: Mar 25, 2006, 11:11 am »
Wow - well mc, I give you credit for actually making it through the entire thing.  I got about halfway there and couldn't finish.  So, the injury was real,  and if the ASM (I think it was asm - the john fellow) took her aside and had her talk to higher authority, then I also believe that the SM's comments were out of line.  I went through it only because I was curious what kind of injury/claim would merrit $100M.

But, while I have a hard time reading the wording that the complaint is written in, as it resonates with a particulary bad cast I had once, I do believe that she should at least be re-imbursed for monies paid out of her own pocket for medical expenses.  And for her medical leave - as a foot injury in a ballet dancer is nothing to play around with, that is one thing that I didn't take as an exageration - that it could be a career ending injury.  And possibly some settlement if there was harrasement going on - though I do agree that $100M is a bit of a joke.

Some of the other firings - again, I need to know the other side of the story.  What might have been coincidence is being assumed to be conspiracy in the complaint - and without the reasons for the other firings, I don't want to make an opinion.

I too am now curious about how things are going to turn out, as I do think that things need to change on that tour.

-Centaura

Sarah

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Criminy!
« Reply #7 on: Mar 25, 2006, 09:40 pm »
That complaint reads like a ABC afterschool special version of John Grisham's The Rainmaker.