# Non-Union Commerical American Movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-union-commerical-american-movie/526606 "2010-01-27T01:58:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-union-commerical-american-movie/526606/1 "2010-01-27T01:58:26Z")
I was trying to look this up but I can’t seem to Google it right, so I’ll ask for some help. I was thinking about unions and I know in Hollywood everyone belongs to unions. So they have union standards and extras that have to join a union to say a line etc. But then I got to thinking, there have to have been some movies made that had no union members involved in making them. Obviously this would mean that it’d have to be a low budget type of deal, that was made for a small sum and then took off commercially. So I was looking for a movie shot in America, that was all non-union and made a lot of money or at least was famous. And I was looking for a commerical film intended to produce a profit, rather than a film shot as a documentary or as a school type project. As you can see I wouldn’t know how to begin searching for such a film. Perhaps there are none? Or maybe you’d have to go back 50 years or something on a B-Film ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-union-commerical-american-movie/526606/2 "2010-01-27T02:16:04Z")
Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It? I thought it was made with his money and his friends but looking at IMDB, I see that S. Epatha Merkerson is in it and I’m sure that she’s in SAG. It would be real hard to find a movie without any SAG members in it. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Baldy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Gary\_Baldy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Baldy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-union-commerical-american-movie/526606/3 "2010-01-27T02:26:34Z")
These are just guesses so don’t take it to the bank. I think there’s a good chance **The Blair Witch Project** might have been non-union. That’s the only successful post-1977 movie that might be non-union. I think some of Roger Corman’s movies might have been non-union. Possibly Tom Laughlin’s Billy Jack movies were non-union. I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-union-commerical-american-movie/526606/4 "2010-01-27T02:28:31Z")
I’m not sure how one would check these. I’d be surprised if Kevin Smith’s **Clerks** had been union. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-union-commerical-american-movie/526606/5 "2010-01-27T02:47:45Z")
Just another guess, but what about **Paranormal Activity**? According to Box Office Mojo, $15,000 production budget, $100,000,000 domestic gross. Not earthshaking by Hollywood standards, but a solid return on investment. To complicate the question, producers of very low budget films often get waivers that allow them to use both union and non-union actors at little or no pay. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-union-commerical-american-movie/526606/6 "2010-01-27T03:00:17Z")
Was **Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog** non-union, or just non-writers-union? I dunno if the directors’ guild, SAG, or any other unions had rules concerning internet content or not. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-union-commerical-american-movie/526606/7 "2010-01-27T03:25:12Z")
Well, Dr. Horrible certainly involved union actors, so it doesn’t meet all the OP’s criteria whether or not it was produced under a union contract. SAG and AFTRA both claim jurisdiction over “new media,” although the rules are different than those governing film and TV.