"-MIKE-" wrote in message


Scale for the television/screen actors' guild.

They are not actors, they are not usually on the "set" aside for a few.
Paying them scale would put the project out of reach.



The same people who are doing it now. It's a television production, they
already have people keeping track of all that for everyone else involved
in the production... who are getting paid for their services.

I don't know the actual number, but the volunteers are about 10X in numbers.
More added burden. Ty mentioned tonight they have given 50,000 T shirts to
date. Tha tis a lot of people to track and pay. Could easily at $10,000,000
total cost, maybe more.



All the materials are donated as is the labor, the builder's time etc.

The material is hardly "donated." No, there isn't an invoice marked
"paid," but they wouldn't give any of it anonymously.

Actually it is. I happen to be doing some business with one of the builders
that did a house last season. The builde ris not paid, they donate. As the
builder, he had to solicit materials from the suppliers or pay out of his
pocket. He told me that he went to people like Pella and asked for a
donation and the only info he could give at that time was the project was in
thier sales territory. The actual location was not yet disclosed. I also
know the company that did the paving in last weeks house in CT and Vinnie
donated everything. My workman's comp insurance carrier is the same as used
on the job sites also. They donate their time at the job site.



The show is a mini infomercial with all the product placement and
company logos and the mentioning of those companies having donated their
stuff.

For the most part, yes. There is a lot of stuff donated and not given
credit. See the above about the paving at the CT house. Vinnie's company
was not mentioned at all, nor did they show his trucks, crew, or equiipment.
I did not stop the final credits to see if there was a mention in the fine
print, but the viewer did not see it just watching the show.





If not for ABC/Disney, it would not be possible at all to do this in the
first place.

That's another debate, but not why I'm taking issue.

Sure it may be "possible" but have you seen it done? Neither have I.



Sears and CVS seem to be two of the biggest donors and I commend them for
it.

The fact that you know this and are mentioning it, shows that they
have been paid in full. NO corporation does anything charitable without
showing their shareholders it will be profitable to do so.
And I don't have a problem with that.

The fact that I mention it means nothing. It is obvious to anyone watching
hte show two times that they are heavily involved. That does not mean they
are paid. Yes, there may be some promotional consideration, but I'm not
privy to that, nor do I care.


What is wrong with giving some time anyway?

Ask ABC/Disney that question. They're not exactly a 501c.

I have no idea what they give or do not give. Do you have evidence of
payment?



Like Sears and CVS...
they're not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, they are doing
it for profit. I'm not against profit... quite the opposite. I'm not
against helping the downtrodden... quite the opposite.

The ONLY problem I have with all this is the hypocrisy of asking all
these people to volunteer so they can milk it for ratings = big bucks.

I bet if they said "here comes the well paid workers" the ratings would
actually go down. Volunteering makes people feel good and people like to
watch it.