Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/821178
4 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2017 | SAGAFTRA.org Letters to the Editor LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must be signed with your full name and local affiliation. Selected letters are limited to 150 words and may be edited for accuracy, space and clarity. Every effort will be made to preserve the author's intended substance. This section is intended for the general membership and with the exception of convention delegates, is not available to SAG-AFTRA's elected officials. Letters are published at the discretion of the National Editorial Subcommittee. SEND LETTERS TO: Letters to the Editor SAG-AFTRA Magazine 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, 7th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90036 Letters may also be faxed to (323) 549-6500 or emailed to magazine.editor@sagaftra.org CLOSED CAPTION Each year, I am grateful to receive DVD screeners of movies under consideration for SAG Awards. I would wish, though, that all movies would have closed captioning available. In today's mail, I received Manchester by the Sea, which I was quite anxious to view. However, without the closed captions, I turned the DVD off about two minutes into it, as it was hard for me to hear the dialogue. I'm sure that other hearing-impaired members would appreciate this consideration also. Paul E. Hill Los Angeles Local The SAG Awards responds: Thanks for reaching out regarding your concerns over closed captioning. We share these concerns. Over the years, the SAG Awards has pushed the studios to close caption or subtitle films for consideration during both the nominations and final phase of voting. This past season, in fact, we required closed captioning on all screeners being mailed to the Nominating Committee during the pre-nom phase. The final voting phase is a bit more challenging, as our nominations were announced Dec 14 and voting opened very shortly after on Dec 19. The studios are then pressed to provide their films — either digitally or as DVD screeners — to our 120,000 eligible members as quickly as possible. Though we strongly encourage closed captioning in the final round, this tight timeline can impact whether or not a studio can conceivably achieve this goal given the size of our membership. The good news is that nine out of the 11 nominated films provided to members for consideration had closed captioning or a subtitles option, either digitally or on DVD. Hope this gives you a little insight to the issues. TRASH DAY In the '80s, SAG had a union meeting about the use of seatbelts. We, along with other unions, vowed to not only photograph actors using seatbelts during the filming process, but encourage the public to use the newly designed safety belt by using the seatbelt ourselves. In my effort to change my surroundings, I would like help in eliminating trash in Los Angeles and the country. I have seen trash while driving our local highways and streets. I have written letters to the mayor's office and the governor's office about the issue, but no response. If SAG-AFTRA could use the same method as we used for the seat belt issue, then we should be able find a way to have Trash Day. If we encourage the public to pick up trash with their TV stars, emphasize the disposing of trash on camera, maybe together we can clean up our country. Together, we are one. Dale Steinek Los Angeles Local Ed. Note: The seatbelt initiative was part of a larger coalition the union proudly participated in. Similarly, we certainly support efforts to not litter, but we are not in a position to create or lead this campaign on our own. Corrections: In the SAG-AFTRA fall issue, Tony Becerra's and Charmian Carr's names were misspelled. We regret the errors. EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief Pamela Greenwalt Managing Editor Damon Romine Art Director Yvette Youssefia Senior Writer Tom Leupold Magazine Staff Geordan Baker, Yanelis Garcia, Aaron Goddard, Tiffany Massey, Michael McNulty, Kamalei Pitoy, Alexandra Tashman, Ron Thomas, Gwen Walker, Valerie Yaros Editorial Subcommittee Liz Zazzi (chair) Assaf Cohen (vice chair) Joe Krebs (vice chair) Jeff Austin Mike Hodge Mary McDonald-Lewis Jenny O'Hara Mike Sakellarides Woody Schultz Rik Deskin (alternate) John Carroll Lynch (alternate) Dileep Rao (alternate) Jeff Spurgeon (alternate) Contributors Trish Avery, Richard Baldwin, Brenda Ching, Chris Comte, David Conover, Julie Crane, Linda Dowell, Shelley Figures, Marcia Fishman, Consuelo Flores, Melissa Goodman, Jillian Hipsman, Deeann Hoff, Rio James, Pat O'Donnell, Sean Miller, Ellen Stoolmacher, Shayna Young Advertising Sales Ron Thomas (323) 634-8144 2016 ILCA Award Winner for General Excellence and Best Publication Design - 9