Public Enemy #1: Alan Rosenberg

Who is Alan Rosenberg? And what has he done to warrant "Public Enemy #1" status?

Accoriding to Wikipedia "Alan Rosenberg is an American actor of both stage and screen, and current president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture industry on-screen performers' union."

Okay, so Rosenberg is the SAG president. So what has he done to merit the "Public Enemy #1" status? Answer: nothing.

For the last 7 months, the members of the Screen Actors Guild have been working without a contract because Rosenberg and his sidekick, negotiator Doug Allen, felt it was better to do "nothing" rather than submit a contract offer from the motion picture studios that they felt was not worthy of the membership. Hmm.

So what was Rosenberg & Allen's solution to the bad contract offer? Answer: Call for a strike authorization vote during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Talk about thinking outside the box.

Luckily, cooler heads have prevailed on SAG executive board and Doug Allen's been sacked, albeit with a $500,00 golden parachute.

Here's what the New York Times take on it:

Mr. Allen’s dismissal will not do much to squelch the internal rancor at S.A.G. Left behind are staunch supporters, including Alan Rosenberg, the guild’s president. In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Rosenberg said he had no plans to resign or even back down, despite being weakened. (The S.A.G. board went so far on Monday as to strip Mr. Rosenberg of his authority to speak to the press on behalf of the guild.)

“Doug Allen is one of the best things that ever happened to this guild, and he was beloved by staff and became a personal friend to me,” Mr. Rosenberg said, making it clear he was speaking for himself only. “This despicable, underhanded action to remove him will result in us throwing ourselves at the mercy of studios. I am angry.”

So what has been the effect of 7 months of SAG doing nothing? Answer: A whole lot fewer television and feature film productions in Los Angeles and around the country. Why?

"Seems like studios, networks don't want to gamble on an expensive production on new projects for TV or film with the prospect of an actor's strike looming," according to one former Paramount Studio development executive who recently saw her own position made redundant after a round of budget cuts.

Meanwhile, the impact of the actors lack of a contract, is already being felt by tens of thousand of Hollywood film crews who are finding work scarce or nonexistent. "It reminds me of the writer's strike last year, no work, except in this case the actors aren't holding picket signs but they might as well be," said an out of work Teamster driver. "Hollywood is dead right now. Nothing really is happening with production. The actors need to get their act together. If they don't, the Hollywood workforce is screwed."

Rosenberg term as SAG president expires in another 7 months. Can Hollywood and its families afford another 7 months of "nothing?"