r/technology • u/chrisdh79 • Feb 03 '23

Netflix says strict new password sharing rules were posted in error Business

https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/02/03/netflix-says-strict-new-password-sharing-rules-were-posted-in-error
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u/motorblonkwakawaka Feb 03 '23

I went to film school. By the time I graduated I turned heel and never looked back. Never mind the fact that the film industry in my country (NZ) somehow is the only place where normal labour rights and laws don't apply, making pay totally optional and giving film workers essentially no rights or protections. Pretty much the only way people make it through the first few years is by having a second job and never sleeping, or being lucky enough to have rich parents. But yeah on top of all that, it was the most toxic workplace I've ever encountered. Seemed like everyone out for themselves, no qualms stepping over anyone to get ahead, no such thing as honour or good will.

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u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23

You nailed it. I spent 35 years in it and finally just walked away before I died in some sleazy hotel far from home

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u/motorblonkwakawaka Feb 03 '23

Ouch 35 years. Well, hope you've found something a little more fulfilling! I've moved on to writing fiction. Don't need to hire expensive equipment, underpay or exploit people, or get up at fucking 4 in the morning just to hear the 1st AD tell us someone fucked up and filming won't start till after lunch. Just me, Microsoft Word, and a hot coffee, spilling stories :)

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u/idontsmokeheroin Feb 04 '23

I’ve worked as a background actor in Hollywood for about 20 years off and on when I can. Honestly agree with everything you guys have said. It was hell during COVID. I’m barely 40 and I’m thinking about hanging up my hat. I already work at a bar as well and I started just taking more shifts at the bar rather than trying to get to 6AM call times to be on set for 14 hours. The film industry is so goddamn exhausting.

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u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23 edited Feb 03 '23

Well I got a good pension, everythings paid for so I guess it was worth it. Don’t miss the 80 hour weeks at all. There are some really good people in the biz, but some real dicks as well. Life on the road just got to be too much in my 50’s

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u/DILGE Feb 05 '23

Congrats on getting out, man! Same thing for me, the road and the hours were wearing me down so so much. After 25 years as a live sound engineer, I finally was able to make the switch to IT. Now I'm 100% remote and it's glorious. No more 16+ hour days, I will never have to touch a fucking truck again, unless its moving day. To top it all off, I make almost twice as much. :)

You are totally right about there being a lot of assholes in show business. For some reason our industry attracts a higher percentage of scam artists, grifters, narcissists and sociopaths than other industries. Glad we both got out. Enjoy your new quieter life!

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u/Quizzelbuck Feb 04 '23

Yeah! No ones going to stop my dream of dying in some sleazy hotel near my home!

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u/Science_Matters_100 Feb 04 '23

I would read these books

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '23

There is a good one named “Below the Line”. A good and funny read that accurately describes the clown show. I know most of the people he talks about

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u/Science_Matters_100 Feb 04 '23

Is the Author Steven Levine? Michael HeDera? Meredith Jordan. Hmm, help me please, seems to be a popular title

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u/Successful-Shower747 Feb 04 '23

It’s crazy film industry doesn’t pay well. Watching the latest avatar I was scratching my head wondering where $2billion went. I’m in construction and you can build a lot of stuff for that much money. I came to the conclusion they must pay everyone really well

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u/jockheroic Feb 04 '23

It does pay well. At the top. Just about everyone starts out as a PA. They make pretty lousy money for the hours. Then, once you pick the dept you want to work in, the salary just about doubles every time you step up into the next role higher than your position in that department. However, you're a freelancer, so, no matching retirement contribution and healthcare comes out of your own pocket (unless you're in the union and their benefits aren't a whole lot better) and most of all, no job security. Always chasing the next job. The hours are pretty brutal, plus a lot of us spend a lot of time away from home. Damn, now that last poster is making me wonder if I can write a book.

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u/motorblonkwakawaka Feb 04 '23

Hi, last poster here :) writing the book is the easy part! Getting published and making money though... I'm not published except one self-published one on Amazon, but its just a nice creative outlet for me. Maybe one-day!

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u/Naki-Taa Feb 03 '23

You've just described employment conditions in the USA

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u/Switchy_Goofball Feb 04 '23

I also went to film school and freelanced in the industry for a few years. It was the most exploitative, slimy, underhanded business I’ve ever seen. It’s just absolutely normal for people to expect you to work 16 hour days for free, even when you have a list of credits as long as your arm. It’s an absolute meat grinder of a career and I’m glad I got out of it.

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '23

I don’t know how many times I heard “If you do this one for less, we’ll make it up to you on the next one”. That NEVER happens.

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u/Switchy_Goofball Feb 04 '23

And there’s always some eager new kid willing to work for free because they’ve been convinced they need to “pay their dues” and get some experience. Such a horribly toxic environment.

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '23

Yes, but it will look good on your resume. If you play your cards right we may even give you a screen credit….that one kills me

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u/catsinspace Feb 06 '23

I work in unscripted tv and the vast majority of the people I've worked with have been amazing. People are always willing to mentor people and help them get to the next step, too.

Guess I am glad I don't work in scripted. It's so interesting how different they are from each other.

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u/Switchy_Goofball Feb 06 '23

I’m really glad to hear your experiences have been so good!

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u/catsinspace Feb 06 '23

I'm really sorry you had to go through all that. I hope everything is going well for you now!

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u/DNuttnutt Feb 03 '23

You just described almost every working experience in America that isn’t managerial.

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u/jamusnz Feb 04 '23

Peter Jackson sold out film workers rights in nz to please large media corporations....I fucken hated working film industry in New Zealand. I went back into radio and have had a lovely time for 20+years now.

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u/motorblonkwakawaka Feb 04 '23

Yep. I lost all respect for him that day.

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u/HitlersHysterectomy Feb 04 '23

Holy shitballs, right there with you. I started in film and one of the first things I learned was what a trust fund was. "Everybody's got a trust fund. You don't have a trust fund?"
What the hell is a trust fund?

But yeah. Overtime, work until you drop. I'd hit 40 hours by the middle of Wednesday. And overtime resets Sunday at midnight. Doesn't matter that you've worked 55 days straight. At that point it's easier to buy new underwear than wash the ones you have already.

And I did some time down under for a US studio. We had to be on call at 6 am for US meetings because the guys back home didn't want to interrupt their lunch. Cold stages, lousy food.

Tell ya what, though. 1st ADs are the platoon sergeants. Good ones get the job done and don't tolerate any bullshit. It's how it has to be.

A lot of people these days aren't directors - they're reactors. "I'll know what I want when I see it." Auteurs of the purest form.

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u/MonocledMonotremes Feb 04 '23

Is it cuz the NZ film industry probably has the most interaction with US companies and our shitty labor practices leech through? It would still be weird though, since our movie industry is, I think, one of the most unionized industries we have.

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u/motorblonkwakawaka Feb 04 '23

I think it's just because NZ is one of those countries where it is cheaper than the US to film precisely because the industry is so unionized there. We're a small country and our film industry got a colossal boost after Lord of the Rings, especially with Weta Workshop actually starting to get in ILMs level of competition. And one of the reasons it's so attractive for studios to film here is because they know people will be lining up to work 16 hour days for free in the hope that one day they'll "join the club".

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u/seriouslynope Feb 04 '23

Sounds like the entertainment industry in the US as well

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u/Pddyks Feb 03 '23

Got to love those hobbit laws

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u/whyreadthis2035 Feb 04 '23

Don’t tell me it isn’t the scenery that attracts movie makers to NZ!!!! This isn’t the wizard of Oz, it’s the internet! I just want my rolling hills!

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u/Playpolly Feb 04 '23

I wonder how Bollywood is

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u/blaghart Feb 04 '23

and of course when Peter Jackson was desperate to have The Hobbit filmed in NZ so Paramount bullied him into coming out against unions demanding some basic fucking worker rights.