Wife Of 'Nashville' Crew Member Speaks Out On Industry

[Richard Lightstone, CAS]

Fri, 05/17/2013 - 10:30am  |  Newsroom

Category: 

Santa Clarita News

By Micaela Bensko

 

A letter to our entertainment industry:

I probably shouldn't be writing this. I have always prided my tight lips after a steamy episode of pillow talk. Too many things happen during my husband's day that could easily end up in The Enquirer. But this isn't about gossip. It's about heads that rarely get to fall on a pillow.   

 

Ten months ago, my husband Don was tapped as Production Supervisor of the most touted new show on television, "Nashville" on ABC, created by Callie Khouri, Oscar-winning writer of "Thelma and Louise." This show was hot. But not in Cleveland. It was in Nashville. The last time I hit Music City was as a young and struggling songwriter who couldn't catch a break.

Now we sat atop my favorite skyline, complete with the Batman Building. (It's not really Batman's, it just looks like Batman.)

 

With our family based in Los Angeles, the experience of being bi-coastal sounded romantic. And it was for a while. Until I witnessed how hard the crew worked. The 14-20 hour days with an unrelenting schedule due to issues beyond their control. (I have since been corrected by my husband that he rarely worked twenty-hour days. Nineteen, yes.) Don is no stranger to production hours or studio dynamics, his resume includes Co-Producer of Big Love Don was the Production Supervisor of "Nashville". Every square-inch of every set, location, stage, is because of a dedicated team led in part by him and Line Producer Loucas George.

Until last week that is.  

 

 

You know you've made it in Hollywood, when a studio replaces your team, and doesn't even bother to call.

 

We have always been fortunate. In a business where many rarely find work, the work has always found my husband. Because Don is good. He is real. He will never tell you what you want to hear when fifty million dollars is at stake. He will tell you what you need to hear. And that's why he is unique. He does not schmooze anyone. Networking is not his thing.  

 

His thing is family. He lives for stolen moments, when he kisses his children on the top of their heads and holds me in his arms. Because these moments are his fuel. For working days when lunch comes at midnight.

 

Season One of "Nashville" was a blessing in many ways. One of my dear friends, Judith Hoag, was cast as Connie Britton's sister Tandy, so it was a special event in my life on a  personal level.

 

The show itself, however, faced challenges. Nashville was a town unrigged for the immediacy of needs by a television series. Lionsgate had never done a network series. It had a star who worried, and a creator who cared so much it broke his heart, a community that was filled with pride, a small cafe with bluebirds that became famous overnight, and in the midst of it all, a life on the crew was almost lost; It happened during a string of endless and exhausting shoot days. This is not new to production, but a string of delayed scripts and tripping storylines kept everyone on edge. Then one of our crew lost his footing while rigging for a huge arena shoot at The Bridgestone Arena. He fell twenty feet and could have died. So he could make a living.  

 

I met Don when he was an accountant on a small, untested pilot called "Arrested Development."  He had a vision for his future, to work his way up the ladder. Don doesn't say much that doesn't happen.  Like the night we sat at Puckett's in Franklin and he shared his concern for this show we loved, that could lose its way if it wasn't careful, if certain people would only care more. Livelihoods were compromised by the shuffling of decisions back in Los Angeles. Decisions made by men and women in suits behind desks who didn't know the right questions to ask. 

 

Don has already been offered other shows, some closer to home, so I can fold into his arms more often. I am writing because something needs to change in an industry we have loved as a family. Television is a fascinating medium when studios and production teams are on the same page. But what about when they aren't, which is now so often the norm? It becomes a cliche. Bringing good stories to life was and is a dream for so many young people who reach for the stars, only to realize the Heavens were moved to another location. And the humanity in the process has been lost.

 

Why aren't shooting hours regulated, so men don't fall from the sky? Why is it that so may suits who are home by dinnertime to see their children, seem incapable of caring about people as much as their numbers? We need to look at this, because in the end, we are all just trying to experience something real. Even if it's only make believe.

 

The studios will argue they must shoot long hours because of their budget, the deadlines, the people that call them at midnight. The reality is, nothing is important when the humanity in the process is lost. When the writers' hands are tied. And when the very people who broke their backs to create something special were never even told they were being replaced. Like my husband and Loucas George. Not a phone call or a thank you for all they had done.I am so tired of seeing the emotional toll the industry takes on so many in production and on the crew who work so hard all for a paycheck and a wrap party they are too exhausted to attend.

 

I do not begrudge the studio for its decision to make changes, I am just saddened in how they did it and even more-so by the fact that this is the norm. Everyone moves on, but it's how we are let go that makes the experience that was, worthwhile.

 

This letter is for the men and women of "Nashville" who now may not know where their next job will be and for the ones we left behind. You are appreciated more than you will ever know. You made this show possible through excruciating days that turned into nights that turned into days. When lunch was at midnight. And you still smiled. You made it happen. And you made something good. So good, it is getting a second chance for the world to see what you made possible.

 

Most of all, thank you to Callie Khouri. Upon hearing of the news, and how things were handled, she called Don. She made Don smile because she told him he mattered. She shared in the loss and that he will be missed. And she reminded me, a production wife, that there are good people in this industry who truly do wish that they could make it different.

 

This is a love letter to "Nashville" and the city we have grown to love with all of our heart. Tootsies, The Loveless, The Bluebird Cafe. We will miss you for now, but will return to love you more than we ever could before - all the way to the top of the Batman Building.

 

Micaela Bensko

Blog: http://www.moanavida.com

Micaela Bensko is vice president of Rebuilding America's Warriors, providing free reconstructive surgery to our troops returning from war.

 

[chriskellett]

Thanks for posting this Richard.

[Michael Miramontes]

So, what's the solution? Do we all band together and refuse working the crazy hours? Since I live 1 hour away from L.A. (that's with no traffic at all) I'm usually having to leave 2 hours early to get to work on time (with traffic of course) and by the time we wrap I'm in the car for another 2 hours before I get home. So, in essence my days are around 4 hours longer then the usual 12 hour shift. I've drifted asleep one too many times on the ride home. 

 

What can I do to help with this cause?

[old school]

The show is my one mainstream guilty TV pleasure. Mostly I love the ensemble cast and nod to the original Nashville by Robert Altman, but the music is the hook that keeps me coming back. I read this letter the other day and understood it to be the true story of the production worker bees. The ironic twist is a good friend is now the leader of the new team stepping in to replace the original team. It's a tough business all around. I hope for my kids sake and others entering the game that it gets better for them. 

CrewC

[MatthewFreedAudio]

Simply hoping it gets better doesn't make it better. Saying no to crazy working hours, low pay, and unrealistic expectations is how improvements and change happen.

Production Sound Mixing for Television, Film, and Commercials.

www.matthewfreed.com

[RPSharman]

Simply hoping it gets better doesn't make it better. Saying no to crazy working hours, low pay, and unrealistic expectations is how improvements and change happen.

Production Sound Mixing for Television, Film, and Commercials.

www.matthewfreed.com

Isn't that what our union is for? Yet they continue to allow longer hours with lower pay, encouraging productions to plan poorly and get away with it because labor is cheap.

The only way to prevent long hours is to make them cost too much, and to have a maximum. A 19 hour day costs more than two twelve hour days, but they only have to pay for the gear and facilities for one day. Unless a mandatory maximum exists, this practice will continue.

[Laurence]

Robert, if everybody is ready to go on strike for it, you can demand those things.  Otherwise, you need to find another way.  If you've seen Haskell Wexler's documentary film "Who Needs Sleep?", you've seen some union leaders declare that long hours are not even a problem.  Local 695 isn't one of them... in fact, Osburn invited Wexler to come talk to our members about this issue... but Local 600 (the camera local) has been one of the loudest voices AGAINST the effort to deal with long hours.  Their motivation?  I presume it's overtime.  Money trumps life.  Go figure.  But the movement to reduce long hours isn't dead yet.  Local 695 and Local 80 both maintain web pages intended for members to submit documentation and collect a record of long hours worked.  There's an ad banner at the top of this page for the "12 On 12 Off" website... and "Brent's Rule" is still a goal for many.  And to my surprise, there were definite hints at the last IA negotiations that the IA president may be ready to begin to take on this problem next time around.  Don't just complain about it.  Demand that something be done and ask how you can help.

[RPSharman]

Laurence and Richard,

You are sadly both correct.

I offered to help a grip friend/neighbor get on my show. Short days, close to home, easy show. He declined, saying he was waiting for "Mad Men" to come back. 70+ hours per week. No kids. No wife. Just wants the money.

Sadly, long days and short schedules also puts less money into the p&h system, as well as holiday and vacation pay, which are paid based on days worked, not hours or dollars.

[Christopher Mills]

As someone who has read quite a few film budgets over the years, I think the problem is that crew hourly labor is a relatively cheap element, when compared to cast labor, location fees, and studio overhead.

Equipment in most departments has become quite cheap, in relation to the labor in those departments.

I value my time with my family, and include that in my considerations on jobs.

It was a hard lesson.. the first 6 years I worked in the business I lost several serious relationships.

[studiomprd]

" Do we all band together and refuse working the crazy hours? "

NEVER GONNA' HAPPEN

in spite of all the B+C-ing, the OT $$$ win...

 

"the wife" has two issues; I get the feeling she was tolerating the hours for the $$$, they got, but is bummed that her husband (and his crew) who was working so long and hard, and on a successful hit show, got,  er... what ?  thrown under a bus ?? sacrificed, or maybe just plain screwed..?  (not unusual, this crap happens all the time in Hollywood)

 

" No kids. No wife. Just wants the money. "

IOW: greed

Edited May 22, 2013 by studiomprd

[Eric Toline]

As someone who has read quite a few film budgets over the years, I think the problem is that crew hourly labor is a relatively cheap element, when compared to cast labor, location fees, and studio overhead.

Equipment in most departments has become quite cheap, in relation to the labor in those departments.

I value my time with my family, and include that in my considerations on jobs.

 

It was a hard lesson.. the first 6 years I worked in the business I lost several serious relationships.

As serious as they were, If you lost them then they weren't meant to be.

 

Eric

[John Coffey]

It's the same old tired answers from union officials day after day, year after year, decade after decade, while it never gets any better for their members. They have got their nice cushy jobs and like most politicians, don't want to rock the boat after getting them.

 

Bravo to Micaela for stating some eloquent points about a business that routinely abuses it's crew employees in ways that would appall the general public if they actually understood what happens in this industry....

 

John Coffey CAS

[old school]

Simply hoping it gets better doesn't make it better. Saying no to crazy working hours, low pay, and unrealistic expectations is how improvements and change happen.

Production Sound Mixing for Television, Film, and Commercials.

www.matthewfreed.com

Sadly they will hire the next hungry guy in line.

CrewC

[John Coffey]

There have always been available scabs to take union jobs whenever they went out on strike throughout all of union history. It's a very real risk that union employees will be replaced. It doesn't matter if its a grocery store employee or an NFL football player. The higher the skill level, the harder it is to replace them. It's a risk not to be taken by unions without much forethought. However, it is also the the only very real weapon we have when all else fails.

 

Our unions have been and still are being butchered piece by piece for the last twenty five years. We all know that. As this keeps up, at some point, a line in the sand will have to drawn because there will be little to lose as more and more members have had enough of their bullshit. I have always been told about the balance of unions and employers as a pendulum that swings back and forth to a point of fairness. If that's the case, the pendulum is long overdue to swing towards our union members again. That won't happen out of the kindness of the producers hearts. It will only take place when their assembly line of high quality content products is threatened by a shut down.

 

John Coffey CAS

[Henchman]

. That won't happen out of the kindness of the producers hearts.

 

John Coffey CAS

I think the writers strike was proof of that.

[Glen Trew]

First of all, I didn't realize that Richard Lightstone had already posted this letter before I posted a link to the same letter. I looked for it, but missed it.

 

But also, the letter was not about unions or standards, but just about they way the industry is, specifically with episodic television. Don was the production supervisor, not subject to the craft unions, but he was still subject to the same hardships and rewards, and subject to job instability like the rest of us.

 

The "Nashville" show was particularly hard. Long hours, harsh environments, lots of pressure due to extraordinarily complex production. I don't know the details of the position changes, but I worked with Don on that show, and liked him very much. He was always polite and from my perspective, very professional. I'll miss him until next time, and there always seems to be a next time.

 

Other than describing our industry, the letter emphasized what is often the disregard for respectful personal treatment, which, ironically, is not the "Nashville way".

 

GT