Proud to Be Union: Actors Highlight SAG Membership in a Theater Near You (Tom Hanks)

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/01/23/proud-to-be-union-actors-highlight-sag-membership-in-a-theater-near-you/

Proud to Be Union: Actors Highlight SAG Membership in a Theater Near You

It was “The Defenders” for Martin Sheen. For Kim Cattrall, the moment came when she was in “Testimony for Two Men.” For Matthew Perry, it was “Charles in Charge,” and for Hilary Swank, “Growing Pains.”

Those performances are the pivotal moments when these actors got their union cards with the Screen Actors (SAG) union. For each, it was a moment they’ll never forget. They and 16 other actors talk about it in a fun, jazzy two-and-a-half-minute ad, “How I Got My SAG Card” now in 1,000 Regal Theaters around the country. It’s estimated that more than 13 million people will watch the ad, one of the most widely seen advertisements for a union in U.S. history. There’s a good chance you already saw it the last time you went to the movies.

The other actors in the spots include Teri Hatcher, Matt Dillon, Jason Bateman, Lisa Kudrow, Helen Mirren, Barry Pepper, Thomas Haden Church, Kyra Sedgwick, Jennifer Garner, Treat Williams, Mary-Louise Parker, Glenn Close, Alec Baldwin, Rachel Weisz, Alex Borstein and Cynthia Nixon.


Tom Hanks holding his union card.

The ad highlights the SAG Awards, set for Sunday evening (TNT and TBS, 8 p.m., EST and PST; 7 p.m. elsewhere). The SAG Awards are the only honors in the entertainment industry in which actors are honoring actors—and the show is the only one on national network television that recognizes the work of union members.

FULL story at link.