Being at the bottom of the Hollywood ladder, production assistants are often overlooked and especially vulnerable – especially during tough times like the current Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Many members of the cast and production team Chicago PD They step in to help 13 PA groups and offices on the popular NBC series, donating to give each of them $1,500. The money was distributed a week and a half ago, and a second batch is on the way.
Campaign organized Chicago PD. Olm Richard White, with stars Patrick John Fluger, Marina Squireciati, Amy Morton and Tracy Spiridakos, Executive Producer/Showrunner Gwen Segan, Writer/Executive Producer Gavin Harris and Writer/Co-Executive Producer Scott Gold are among those who have contributed.
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AD said Flueger, who made a donation when White called him two weeks ago as he was about to go on a trip, reached out to White again upon his return and offered more money. with a colleague Chicago PD Cast member La Royce Hawkins who previously committed to participating while asking for time to deal with a personal matter, White said he would wait for that and then send each PA a second batch with the cast’s contributions.
White said that taking into account Flueger’s second donation, the total money for the entry-level staff of the Chicago-based Wolf Entertainment/Universal television drama rose to $25,000.
“They’re a really good team of kids,” said White, who was present Chicago PD Over the past three seasons, the personal assistants who worked on the show last season have said they perform a wide range of duties, from opening sets in the morning, taking breakfast orders and doing AV closeouts around Chicago and on stages for setting PAs to distributing scripts. and establish aspects and coordinate the transport team for protected areas in the office. “I had an idea, while the strike was going on, to try and do something for them because I knew it would be the ones who would really hurt them the most.”
White was inspired to help the PAs from his own experience in the 2007-2008 WGA strike just as he was beginning his career in Hollywood.
“I was a DGA apprentice in New York, and had just moved to Los Angeles in 2007 to work on Desperate Housewives; “I was the base camp,” he said. “I had been working for about two-and-a-half or three months when the strike happened.”
White said he had three more days of work until then Desperate Housewives The episode finished filming and was halted for four months in production. To stay afloat and save money, he had to return home to North Carolina.
A little bit of the Chicago PD White PAs spoke with that they were experiencing similar issues.
“Someone’s computer broke down, someone’s car was in the store and they were worried about whether they would get the money,” White said. “They’re not on health insurance plans or under the union, and they all still have Chicago rent to worry about, groceries and everything else.”
White was also pushed to act because the PAs are not part of the union and earning little in the entry-level position dramatically narrows their options for central strike financial aid and unemployment benefits, with more eligibility restrictions for support staff outside of Los Angeles and New York.
With the WGA strike ending for Day 113 and Day 40 of SAG-AFTRA, it’s hard for even the highest-ranking crew to continue, with nearly all television production – and most film production – shut down.
“I’ll tell you, every friend I’ve spoken to in every department on a wide range of programs, everyone is ready to get back to work,” White said. “I haven’t spoken to anyone who is happy with this long period of unemployment.”
With no end to the downtime in sight, White urged film crews who had to shut down, as well as streaming shows and especially veteran network series that produce 22 episodes a year like the rest of Wolf Film procedurals to have long-standing relationships with production assistants to help.
He said many personal assistants are just starting their careers in Hollywood and, without support during strikes, may quit.
“I don’t want them to give up on their dreams right away because now they’ve been through so much hardship,” White said. “My goal is to try and get publicity and see if other people are willing to step in to help out and do the same with their shows, for their own production staff.”
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