WARNING: do not sign the new release forms... yet

From a shafted SB83 extra via Myspace today:
"I was called about signing a release by BigSky... they said it was the last step before getting paid.

Sign it if you want... but give me a couple days to figure this out... my husband is an attorney and says that it is written as though we have ALREADY been paid... and if you sign it, you may inadvertently be signing away your right to be paid because of how it is worded.

This is what he has to say about it....

"It says good and valuable consideration, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged... Consideration is the quid you receive for the quo you give. You have not yet received any consideration, i.e., payment, so that part of the release is not true. The release they have sent to you is written as if you have already been paid. Looks like they have the cart before the horse."

Let me check into this.

I do not trust them... and they have not given us any reason TO trust them... so I'll get back with you."

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Please stay tuned for more developments. We MUST stick together on this issue!

ALSO a certified letter will be sent to Big Sky Motion pictures on 2/22 stating our intention of proceeding with legal action. If you sent your info to unpaidextras@gmail.com your name and monies owed will be included in the letter. If you have not sent your information, please do so immediately. Thank you.

We are the unpaid extras from "Spring Break '83".
We are tired of the excuses.
We just want to be paid.

Click on the IMDb screenshot

Like the Wiki entry, we're not sure how long this will be up until it, too, is censored, but here is a screenshot of the IMDb board urging people to come to this site. Post says:

Site for unpaid extras on Spring Break '83:
http://springbreak83.blogspot.com/
Spread the word.

The film was shut down in Louisiana by SAG in November, but now Big Sky Motion Pictures is attempting to resume production in L.A. To date, 99% of the extras still haven't been paid.

Copy and paste and repost, as posts like these have been mysteriously disappearing.

Click on the Wiki entry screenshot

Not sure how long this minor success will last, but as of this moment the Wikipedia page for Spring Break '83 says:

The Screen Actors Guild shut down production in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 16, 2007 due to non-payment of actors. As of February 14, 2008, the majority of the extras have still not been paid. The film is scheduled to finish filming in Los Angeles, California in 2008.

Comprehensive list

If you were an extra on Spring Break '83 and you have NOT been paid, please email the following information to unpaidextras@gmail.com:

• name
• email address
• contact number
• dates worked and your daily rate
• total monies owed

After being shut down by SAG for three months, the production company is now struggling to back-pay all cast, crew, and extras so they can resume production. W2 and I9 forms are legally due by Jan. 31 of the following tax year. As we have not been paid for work done in 2007 and therefore cannot file our income taxes accordingly, they are now in serious default.

At this time, we are only seeking:

1. The money we were each guaranteed in our contracts.
2. Public and individual apologies.
3. A truthful explanation.
   

As of this moment, we do not plan to seek additional payment and restitution, despite our treatment on set and the fact that Big Sky Motions Pictures is in severe default of payment.

If we are not paid, in full, by March 10, 2008, we will collectively seek legal action. Big Sky Motion Pictures needs to know that there are serious legal ramifications for not paying your contracted employees.

We are the unpaid extras from "Spring Break '83".
We are tired of the excuses.
We just want to be paid.

We were sooooo moded!

Hello, Big Sky Motion Pictures and makers of "Spring Break '83".

We are the unpaid extras from "Spring Break '83". Over three months have passed since we worked on your "film". We are tired of the excuses. We just want to be paid.

Our contracts stated we would be paid 8-12 business days after we turned in our vouchers. When that time passed, we made the appropriate calls.

We were then told we would be paid 30 days after we turned in our vouchers. When that time passed, again, we made the calls.

We were then told it would be 6- 8 weeks, then 8-12 weeks. SAG shut down your production, and your accountant Felicia assured us we would be paid by the first of the year. When that time passed, she later told us we would be paid by Feb. 1 so that we could file our 2007 taxes appropriately.

That time has now also passed.

Yesterday a number of us received phone calls asking us to resign our release forms. Your receptionist, Christian, told us we would be paid within three weeks.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me six times? We start a rebellion.

Our posts on IMDb have been censored. Our emails and letters to the production company have been largely ignored. We will not take it anymore.

At no point have we been offered an adequate explanation. At no point has anyone been honest with us about why we haven't been paid and when we will be paid.

We are the unpaid extras from "Spring Break '83".
We are tired of the excuses.
We just want to be paid.

We are taking action. Watch for it.

NOTE: to get involved, please send your contact information to unpaidextras@gmail.com

IMDb censorship

We began posting our complaints on IMDb around the end of November when it became apparent that we would not be paid in a timely manor. Our posts on IMDb were not of malicious nature (note: we are not associated with the group of enraged SB83 investors also on IMDb). Our posts were simply some anecdotes of our experiences on set and a re-posting of pertinent contact information for other background actors who had not yet been paid.

Because of the censorship going on with IMDb, we created and maintain this blog ourselves so that our stories can be heard in full.

However, if you submit a story for our blog, please note that we cannot include any correspondence in which you threaten physical harm to anyone else. It may also be edited for grammatical errors (i.e. to improve readability).

We are the unpaid extras from "Spring Break '83". We are tired of the excuses. We just want to be paid.

We will be heard. We cannot be ignored.