Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546034
20 C I N E M O N T A G E G U I L D N E W S out for drinks in the neighborhood. All in all, a successful launch. Since then, we've hosted in-person, virtual, and hybrid Cut to the Chase events, including an early "Know Your Rights" discussion with our New York field rep, Tara Borth, in February 2024. Committee m e m b e r M a e S u s s m a n ( n o w E a s t e r n Region MOC co-chair) wanted to focus on this event because, she says, "I was on a project and realized that a newer member was regularly staying two hours after their timecard said they wrapped. I explained, 'You need to advocate for yourself; you're selling out every other member of the Guild when you don't enforce this for yourself.' When I asked them about turnaround and meal penalties, they said, 'What's turn- around?' So I thought we should be having regular events to tell people what these things are, and that this was an important conversation to have." A year later, the Guild began organizing regular hours-long Know Your R ights events, which have been invaluable and continue to meet that same need. In March 2023, when it looked inevitable that the Writers Guild was going to strike, we held a "Strike Intel" Cut to the Chase event. We laid out all the public informa- tion from the WGA, the DGA, and SAG. We also looked at previous WGA strikes and how they'd affected post-production, and we hoped to help the membership psychologically prepare for the impact. That June, after the WGA strike began and SAG was about to follow suit, we held a follow-up event, dubbed "Strike Intel, Part 2," to check how we were all coping with the massive slowdown. When work didn't bounce back after the strikes, we held a Cut to the Chase in September 2024 on "The State of the Industry." Co-moderator Grace Kline and I did extensive research ahead of that event. Grace says, "We went through anything we could find in the press that had been written about what was happening, and we tried to present it in a way that people could start to digest. The event was also a place for everyone to talk and be like, 'I'm not sure what's going to happen to us.'" We touched on the history of the streaming wars, how the Peak TV bubble was an inherently un- sustainable model, and how the sharp rise in interest rates had abruptly made it more expensive for studios to take out loans to fund production. Mae calls that event a support group and says, "I walked away from it with an under- standing that nobody knows what's going on, not even the people at the very top, so I shouldn't worry about the fact that I don't. It was actually very comforting, which is not what I expected this event to be." Other Cut to the Chase events have included an assistant editor roundtable subtitled "Keeping All the Plates Spinning," which included a lively discussion about how to set boundaries while maintaining comfortable working relationships; an event titled "Mentorship is a Two-Way S t r e e t " ; a n d m o s t r e c e n t l y, a "S h a r k Tank"-style hybrid event called "Workflow Wizardry," where participants presented their best tips and tricks to hack their work- flows. With member Louis Armistead as the MC, it was a full house — an opportunity, as Meg says, for members to get together and geek out. Grace says there were lots of great tips, and people really enjoyed being able to show off these hacks that make their lives easier. Mae says it's a perfect example of why there's value in things that are mem- ber-led: because this is the kind of idea that only members can come up with. The other main category of events that the Eastern Region MOC runs is social. We began with Pop-Up mixers at post facilities. Since there are almost no cutting rooms on the studio lots in New York, nearly all in-person editorial work takes place at these facilities, and they feel like our post-produc- tion home base. The first Pop-Up mixer took place at Harbor Picture Company in March 2023 and celebrated picture editor Maya Mumma, sound editor Eliza Paley, and mu- sic editor Suzana Peric in honor of Women's History Month. The second, that June, was a Pride-themed event at Goldcrest with event organizer Blake Pruitt enlisting his friend, drag performer Maxxx Tsunami, to dance for us. The third Pop-Up that year took place in November at Picture Shop/ Formosa, with a focus on raising awareness of the upcoming Basic Negotiations surveys from IATSE and Local 700. Unfortunately, because of the limited number of post facilities in New York signed to Local 700 agreements, it was difficult for us to branch out to other post houses. In addition, as Meg points out, "Because of the contraction, these places don't have the funds they once had to host these events." In reminiscing about the original Pop-Ups, she says, "There was a beauty to having the events at places where people edit as opposed to a bar. There was some- thing warm about that that I still miss to this day." Since 2024, these social events (mix- ers) have taken place at various bars in Manhattan and Brooklyn as well as in other public spaces, such as a bowling alley. Grace devised an informal "short and sweet" survey asking members where they wanted to go. "We got a lot of responses, and the takeaway was that more people live in Brooklyn than in Manhattan, but more peo- ple wanted to have events in Manhattan." Several respondents indicated they wanted to bring their families, which inspired a family-friendly event at the Focal Point Brewery in Queens. These events have been quite successful; a recent one at the Brass Monkey, a bar in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, was filled to capacity. Committee member Edward Chin says his mentee from the Women's Steering Committee lives in Pittsburgh and drove six hours to attend. I n t e r e s t i n g l y, K a t e B r o k a w, M a e Sussman, and Grace Kline have all run for the Editor's Guild board of directors after becoming involved with the Eastern Region MOC. Mae calls it a gateway drug. Kate and Mae are currently Eastern Region board members, and Grace is an Eastern Region alternate. Edward explains his interest in the committee: "The union is an abstract idea. You're part of this union, but you don't interact with everyone all the time. It's hard to figure out how to get involved. I've