Alexa Capeloto
Advertisers and actors participating in a Glendale commercial shoot
Thursday might like to know that Screen Actors Guild strikers were
keeping tabs on them.
Since commercial actors in the union went on strike May 1, they have
refused to participate in commercial shoots. They also try to disrupt
shoots that use non-union actors any way possible.
So when the pharmaceutical corporation Merck & Co. filmed a spot for a
new drug called Fosamax at The Alex Theater Thursday, guild members were
there -- undercover -- to note the participants, said strike coordinator
Gordon Drake.
"We want to find out if anyone is crossing picket lines," said Drake.
The production company that organized the shoot, called
@radical.media, offered a stern "no comment" on the situation. New
Jersey-based Merck & Co. could not be reached.
Drake said the union will file away the names of those on the shoot
for future reference, either to detect scabs or for when actors who
participated apply to join the union.
