Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

[kport]

Perhaps we need a new thread about Equity scales and the economics of producing a musical, as this one keeps reverting to those issues? Which is great (and I admit some blame), but comments such as those are slightly misplaced in this thread!

OK, here is my segue to get this thread back to the subject: do all cast members and guardians receive a free copy of the Blu-ray/DVD?

[BillyBob]

Kport, I have been wondering the same thing about royalties for the DVD for the cast and crew. Would they get a one time payment or royalties for a period of time? I would think there would be something. And I certainly hope they got at least one free copy for themselves. I also wondered if the cast had any input on the final editing for the DVD that was released?

[ayates]

Just received by Blu-ray in Canada from Amazon UK and watched it last night! My family was supposed to get it for me as a Christmas present, but say the region 2 note and figured I couldn't play it So I had to get for myself It was quite nicely produced, a lot of angles and closeups you can't get as an audiance member (even with the most expensive tickets from the three performances I have caught). The MASH up was cool, as was Elliott's intro and the behind the curtain extra. I found the shots bounced around a little too much during the dances, and they messed up the piano jump The promo of Dean going off the piano is done much better.

But my playback stutters for a second every 15 minutes of so I'll have to get the disc exchanged...


Allan.

[kport]

Kport, I have been wondering the same thing about royalties for the DVD for the cast and crew. Would they get a one time payment or royalties for a period of time? I would think there would be something. And I certainly hope they got at least one free copy for themselves. I also wondered if the cast had any input on the final editing for the DVD that was released?

I can only toss in some personal experiences relating to this matter:

At one time I was a member of another arts/performance Trades Union in the UK; we made a number of recordings and we were broadcast, recorded and live, on the BBC on many occasions. We were paid a union-agreed rate by the recording companies and/or the BBC, in addition to our normal union-agreed pay for the session. I cannot recall ever being given a free copy of a recording or a tape; I never received a residual or a royalty (wait - I did once, when the Beeb rebroadcast a recorded concert that was in addition to the number of broadcasts agreed under the original agreement.) Basically, unless one is a star like Elton John, you get what the union agrees on your behalf. And we had a member who was a union rep, just as an AE rep was behind the scenes at Ogunquit. (If every cast member was given a disc of BETM Live, it would have been part of the agreement. Unions can be twitchy about details.)

Several union questions arising from this are: if a regular cast member was restricted from performing his/her usual role in the recording session because a guest artist was brought in to play it, would he/she still be paid the full amount, even if the replacement role was of less importance, or if they are not able to perform at all because their role had been taken by a guest? Do all actors receive the same recording rate, or is their fee pegged to their contractual salaries, which might not be uniform? Are guest performers, who are not part of the regular cast, paid the same as a contracted performer they replace, or can they negotiate other rates?

And finally, this has been bothering me for some time: are UK Equity Union regulations, or negotiations over this production, the reason why no US former Billys (who are member of US Actors Equity, a different union) were invited? Was it a Trade Union(s) conflict; or was it simply too much of a hassle to arrange the details for such a brief event?

Equity is as important to actors as the NUM is/was to miners; when the cast hold up their drinks as Jackie sings that he 'paid his union dues', or Billy genuflects before the Durham Miners' banner, the respect is heartfelt and genuine. I recall the touching pride, both back stage and front of house, at Ogunquit, when three cast members became fully paid members of Actors' Equity - including Sam Faulkner.

As far as the cast having any say in the editing: surely even the cast would agree that this role is up to the director and his team, and only if they are asked for an opinion would an actor have any say in it. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and all that..........

I do not know if any of this answers the questions, but there you go!

[Billy Whiz]

I'm assuming that the cast did get a free copy of Billy Elliot Live.

James Lomas tweeted on December 11th:

DVD No.2 @universaluk @Working_Title @BillyElliotUK #thankyou

https://twitter.com/jameslomas20

[Steamboy]

Performances that are recorded or broadcast are usually compensated at a higher rate than normal live performances, and that can go one of three ways. First and most common is buyout, where you're just paid a higher rate than normal, and you have no further claim or payment in the future. Second, and very rare, would be license, where you are paid once for the rights to X number of showings or copies (additional above that would be another payment, possibly renegotiated at that time), and last is royalties/residuals, where everyone participating gets a small cut from each showing or copy sold.

As a stagehand, once or twice I've been involved with a show that was filming for broadcast where we got a bit of a bump in pay, but usually the contracts I've been under that were telecasts involved haven't included any language for that situation, so I've gotten nothing (mostly pay-per-view sports events at the local arena). Other times, we've been paid double time for the performance that was taped.

Usually residuals go to actors with speaking roles (thinking tv mostly here), extras and crew members aren't part of that deal. It can be a nightmare trying to track everyone down to cut each a small check however often the contract specifies, so they try to limit the number of participants.

I would suspect that the Live broadcast and discs were negotiated with the cast as an extra, one-time addendum to their contracts (or, if the office was planning far enough ahead, the language was added to the normal contracts for that portion of the year). The main guest star was Liam Mower as Adult Billy, but I didn't see him in the rest of the show, so I'm guessing the normal actor who plays that track did all the other scenes except Swan Lake, and would have been paid the usual rate (plus whatever extra for the broadcast/recording). Liam would have negotiated his own deal to guest in, as a one-off contract. Most theater contracts are based on eight shows a week, and pay is based on how many shows of the eight you do, plus or minus rehearsals, etc., or if the role is especially challenging, such as Evita in 'Evita' or Christine in 'Phantom', those are both limited to six shows a week to protect the actress's voices.

The editing of the disc would have been strictly up to the video crew and a few of the directing/producing team, the performers would not have had any involvement. Video production is a far different world than a stage actor lives in, and they wouldn't have much useful to contribute, aside from the 'art by committee' problems letting them be involved would cause.

My guess on not having US Billys is that they were primarily trying to celebrate the UK production, plus hiring and flying in any US Billys, and housing and feeding them not just for the performance weekend, but also during whatever rehearsal period they had before the show night, would have run the costs up through the roof. Besides, they would have had to get the US and UK actor's unions to agree to the event, which might have been thought a non-trivial task.

As for free copies, that's not an automatic thing, although they may be included in some contracts. The BETM team has generally been fairly generous over the years, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did give discs to the cast and crew, especially the lead actors.

[Ed Berger421]

I just want to say thank you to those of you who put up with my slight tirade regarding obtaining a copy of "Billy Elliot The Musical "Live". I do appreciate your input and suggestions, and yes of course i will try to be in Wichita to support the Wichita Music Theatre and a superb Billy Elliot cast, even tho it is a short run.Also looking forward in December when the Maltz Theatre in Jupiter, Florida will have a longer run , 20 days i think.
Thanks Again
Ed Berger421

[ERinVA]

Last night while watching American Masters on PBS, I saw the newest "PBS: Be More" promo, containing clips from upcoming Great Performances shows, and there were quite a few bits from BETM Live included.

[angelenroute]

Last night while watching American Masters on PBS, I saw the newest "PBS: Be More" promo, containing clips from upcoming Great Performances shows, and there were quite a few bits from BETM Live included.

Awesome! Can't wait!

[Frank]

Billy Elliot the Musical Live will be available on both Blu-ray and DVD in the USA on October 13, 2015. No special features are included according to the press release. You can pre-order it on Amazon.com.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=17275