Beginning the Blog August 13, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Heyyy, as we know – our country, none of us are in an easy time…. it’s a very testing time, indeed, ….There has to be some Cleaning… and when the rug is shaken, the dust that’s hiding underneath flies up into the air and everyone breathes it!.. I believe that, sooner or later, every piece of pie gets paid for! What is it they say, when the “Going get’s tough, the tough get going!?” So while we’re all trying to get going…. let’s take time to say “Thank you” to each other. It means a lot.
Changes: POLITICS – the Good guys are being judged with the bad guys and what a square dance is going on… It’s hard beneath the rhetoric to sort out the real truth…… MEDICINE - my friend, Dr. Gladys McGarey, a magnificent doctor and human being, ninety years of age, spends every day of breath into saving the world. She just started an organization, “THE EAGLES,” – 500 medical doctors trying to take back their profession from the pharmeceutical companies and HMOs! ……. SHOW BUSINESS - I know most people think actors light cigars with hundred dollar bills….T’aint true McGee. FACTS; There’s about a hundred and twenty thousand actors in the Screen Actors Guild. Only approximately 3000 of those earn a hundred thou a year or better! And when an actor earns, for example, a hundred thou, he has to pay approximately 50% to five entities helping him get and manage the work; A Manager, Agent, Lawyer, Press Agent, and Business Manager (this doesn’t include an assistant or secretary’s salary if needed.) Out of those actors, approximately 87 thou last year earned only $10,000 (less than a poverty wage) and about 37 thou of those earned NOTHING - not one single dime! Yet,… my actors through their appearances and talent (for which they don’t get paid, or even gas money, etc, bring in almost 10 billion dollars a year to Charities in America! It seems that my actors can help everyone but themselves!
Not too happy that more great pics like the oldies, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” (People love them) aren’t being made…and sometimes on T.V, it’s really hard to find a good show to watch! There’s so much killing and anger in most of the shows – it makes me worry about what all our teen-agers are watching! And it would help if some of these shows shared more entertaining humane and inspiring stories for those same searching generations of tomorrow. We do get the History channel and Discovery … and I have to admit I do watch “Criminal Minds” – I particularly like the famous Quote, at the end of the show, stated as the plane is flying away. Yep. And I like “Law and Order – Special …” and sometimes “CSI.” But, I sure would like more comedies (laughter relieves Gas! And helps us forget our problems.) and personally, I’d like less reaity shows — unless it’s about Dancing and Talent!
One of the problems is…we don’t have Tax Incentives for our film Makers! Like Canada (have worked there seven times because the American companies were given the tax incentives to film there…. Canada has made a fortune and put millions of people to work at our own expense. The same with most other countries; From 1990 ’til 2000 – 150 BILLION DOLLARS WALKIED OUT OF OUR COUNTRY INTO OTHER COUNTRIES POCKETS!….AT a low tax rate of 20% – That’s 40 BILLION DOLLARS OF YOUR TAX MONEY THAT FLEW THE COOP!? WHY? WE NEED THAT MONEY…AND IT’S STILL CONTINUING…WHY? WE ONLY HAVE ONE FEDERAL FILM TAX INCENTIVE: My husband, Robert C. Hunter and myself spent three years traveling to Washington D.C. and our own money, quite a bit of it, fighting for this tax incentive which says that an investor – investing in an Independent Film (has to be 2 and 1/2 million minimum to prevent porno; and a max of 15 mil budget (except if filmed in an impoverished area and then the budget can go up to 20 mil – nearly every area is presently impoverished. Many promised but finally, ONE person, former Congresswoman Karen McCarthy really listened, who together with a lawyer, Robert and myself spent a year drawing up this bill and then, we brough on 11 other Comgress Representatives who helped us drop the bill section 181, on the floor, picked up and which in the final analysis was used and signed by Bush in Dec. 2004 and then, section 181 (in the form section 744) was renewed, thank God, by Obama on December 17, 2010)! An investor can depreciate his investment in the same year in which he makes it. We finally got a carrot… But we need more to compete with Canada and those other foreign countries that are, indeed taking our work and dollars! OUR COUNTRY NEEDS THOSE JOBS – MILLIONS – AND DOLLARS – BILLIONS…WHY ISN’T ANYONE LISTENING!?
Well, before I sign off, let me thank God that I am part of a new HBO series (ten weeks) that I’m pretty proud to be a part of - “ENLIGHTENED“ starring my daughter, Laura Dern as Amy (we did Rambling Rose - which garnered both Laura and myself an Oscar nomination; directed by Martha Coolidge – Princess Diana chose as one of her favorite movies of all time and had a Royal premiere and party in London in our honor. And we also did David Lynch’s Wild at Heart together for which yours truly received a third nomination!) Luke Wilson co-stars as Levy, Amy’s ex and I co-star as Helen, her Mother (with my Helen Mirren wig on!) We air on HBO 10.10.2011 -(right after Ted Danson’s “Bored to Death.) That’s this coming October 10th, Monday Night at 9:30 and I sure hope you enjoy it.
Light and Love, Diane L.