Kerry Butler: "Lincoln Center, make a deal with unions and broadcast your archive recordings"

[TaleofTwo]

I know we've been endlessly discussing this, but I think it's nice to see it's also something actors would like to see happen.

"For years @LincolnCenter has been doing high quality recordings of #Broadway shows. Why not make a deal with unions to broadcast them & pay everyone involved? Retweet if you would want to see the original cast of (insert fav bway show) live. @DisneyABCTV @netflix @ActorsEquity"

http://filmedonstage.com/news/186-kerry-butler-quotlincoln-center-make-a-deal-with-unions-and-broadcast-your-broadway-archive-recordingsquot

[Sutton Ross]

I completely agree, it's all so ridiculous. The lame things they've been streaming are so boring, but airing My Fair Lady with Lauren Ambrose? Yes please! 

[HogansHero]

For the reasons exhaustively rehearsed here, not.gonna.happen. As I have posted multiple times, the unions are the least of the impediments. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Just for fun (because what else are we gonna do today), what are some shows filmed for LCT that would have the LEAST amount of hoops to jump through if, just for arguments sake, this ever could happen?

[VotePeron]

I know Lincoln Center would never publicly respond to these posts, but omfg it's so annoying. This literally cannot happen. It's not possible. It's so frustrating that these actors just think it can. It can't. 

[latitudex1]

Jordan Catalano said: "Just for fun (because what else are we gonna do today), what are some shows filmed for LCT that would have the LEAST amount of hoops to jump through if, just for arguments sake, this ever could happen?"

The things filmed for PBS, I'm assuming.

 

[Call_me_jorge]

https://twitter.com/jimmyludwignyc/status/1265654287239127041?s=21

[Jordan Catalano]

Is he referring to the “Live From Lincoln Center” recordings which are being re-aired?

[SmoothLover]

Around what year did they start video taping their productions? Does anyone know?

[Kad]

I think Butler and others are conflating the Lincoln Center archives with the broadcast tapings of Lincoln Center productions.

The archives are NOT broadcast-quality recordings. And, frankly, I don’t know how much of their archive is even digitized.

[TaleofTwo]

Kad said: "I think Butler and others are conflating the Lincoln Center archives with the broadcast tapings of Lincoln Center productions.

The archives are NOT broadcast-quality recordings. And, frankly, I don’t know how much of their archive is even digitized."

That's actually not true. The archive recordings these days are usually filmed with 4-5 cameras and are edited very well.

 

[TaleofTwo]

James Ludwig @JimmyLudwigNYC

"Hey Kerry; the Media committee at @ActorsEquity (which I Chair) made that possible in March from our end. It's called a COVID Archive streaming agreement - I believe it pays a fair wage for that usage, with incentives to make it easier for Producers to use."

https://twitter.com/JimmyLudwigNYC/status/1265654287239127041

[Jordan Catalano]

Going back to the 90s, all the archive recordings I’ve seen, I would say, are broadcast quality and are shot and edited better than the very well done “Next To Normal” that was put out earlier this month. I’ve seen so many of them and I would say only a handful from the 80s that I’ve seen wouldn’t fit that bill.

[CATSNYrevival]

The Live From Lincoln Center titles should be easier to negotiate since they’ve already been aired on television. There are a few I’d love to see again in broadcast quality like Contact, Light in the Piazza and South Pacific.

[qolbinau]

TaleofTwo said: "Kad said: "I think Butler and others are conflating the Lincoln Center archives with the broadcast tapings of Lincoln Center productions.

The archives are NOT broadcast-quality recordings. And, frankly, I don’t know how much of their archive is even digitized."

That's actually not true. The archive recordings these daysare usually filmed with 4-5 camerasand are edited very well.

"

I personally would still not describe it as 'Broadcast Quality' based on the most recent recording I have seen (The Visit, 2015). I mean, it's certainly professional, good enough and watchable but it wouldn't compare to the quality that is coming out of Broadway's video recording sweatshop (London), or the rare Broadway recording that is made (at least in recent times). I can easily imagine a desire from creatives involved to want to spend more time on post-production rather than just airing 'as-is'.

Anyway, even if it's impossible to go back and release these recordings - I hope that this crisis will motivate people to think about how Broadway video recordings can be made in a more economically-viable way in the future. Broadway is becoming less relevant for not catching up with this. Yes it's the 'theatre' and it's 'live' but times are changing. The people being hurt most are actually the performers & creatives who cannot showcase their work to a wide audience. With the amount of alternative content available in my opinion Broadway needs an audience more than an audience needs Broadway!!

[qolbinau]

Jordan Catalano said: "Just for fun (because what else are we gonna do today), what are some shows filmed for LCT that would have the LEAST amount of hoops to jump through if, just for arguments sake, this ever could happen?"

Whatever shows have the smallest number of people involved in terms of production, cast and creatives and who won't cause a fuss with wanting more than the bare minimum of money - as well as having a production company that can get money for this purpose, a strong legal team and have a lot of power & influence to negotiate with whatever roadblocks they are going to face from what I guess will end up being a myriad of different entities and individuals. 

What about ALW's Song and Dance with Bernadette Peters? ALW is clearly interested in having his work showcased, has money and a production company to help drive this, Song and Dance has a small cast so less people to involve, Bernadette Peters is apparently not very difficult. Of course, this would be my pipe dream. 

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[Broadway61004]

I'm confused, is Kerry Butler planning to pay everyone in the union involved?  Because otherwise, what would the Lincoln Center Archives have to benefit from this?  Unless Netflix or Disney+ or Hulu or some other streaming platform is lining up to buy the rights to all of these, or Lincoln Center Archives are setting up a platform to charge folks for it, then why would they ever do this?

[BrodyFosse123]

SmoothLover said: "Around what year did they start video taping their productions? Does anyone know?"

Early 1970s and only select shows were filmed.  Alas in terribly dark, grainy black and white video.  Sadly, none of Bob Fosse’s shows were archived per his request. 

[Fosse76]

Since the New York Public Library is chartered by the New York State Education Department, the "simplest" route would be to establish regulations that force the library to make the content available for online streaming. Since contracts are the domain of state law, the NYSED can more easily deal with the already questionable access restrictions to the collection that are in place. Since the collection is a research collection, no additional compensation is necessary or required to any of the performers or creatives.

Of course, that doesn't resolve the physical hurdles into actually making the collection available, or the financial aspect of the infrastructure to set up and maintain it. But this is all academic anyway, as the NYSED taking it up is more improbable than the other hurdles that currently exist. But it would technically be the simplest.

[LightsOut90]

(bangs head against wall)

[mikey2573]

The last video I saw was the original cast of THE SECRET GARDEN and it was beautifully filmed.  I would love to see that again! 

[HogansHero]

First of all, Lincoln Center has nothing to do with the TOFT archives. That's the library, which is a tenant of Lincoln Center.

Second, the NYSED does not have the power of eminent domain over the intellectual property rights in the archives assets. That is what one is suggesting when one says they should force the library to breach the contracts. (Those contracts, by the way, are not "questionable." They are built on copyright laws that existed long before the NYPL came into existence. And the idea of violating such rights is anathema to everything that the library stands for.)

Third, Mr. Morrow from TOFT has publicly written on this very subject, on the other board, within the last few weeks. 

[bwayobsessed]

I mean I get they can’t just practically release everything but you’d think they’d be able to something like the National Theatre or what ALW was doing where they do one show a week and then it gets taken off YouTube (or PBS?). I get they have to get all approvals but say you got an actor like Kerry to campaign her coworkers to pass their approvals, I think it could be done gradually as say a fundraiser for the Actors Fund.

[schubox]

I know it will never happen but it really is a shame that all of these great performances exist and a vast majority of people will never get to see them

[HogansHero]

bwayobsessed said: "I mean I get they can’t just practically release everything but you’d think they’d be able to something like the National Theatre or what ALW was doing where they do one show a week and then it gets taken off YouTube (or PBS?). I get they have to get all approvals but say you got an actor like Kerry to campaign her coworkers to pass their approvals, I think it could be done gradually as say a fundraiser for the Actors Fund."

As I have said over and over, the problem is not the unions, it's the authors, many of whom are dead on the shows people are pining for.