Reality Show Contestants Win Overtime Case; SAG Signs Contract
A French court recently awarded 11,000 euros (about $15,000) in damages to three contestants in a reality television show, finding that the contestants were entitled to overtime and other benefits. The three plaintiffs appeared in L'Ile de la Tentation (Temptation Island), a show that follows couples separated on a tropical island, where single people attempted to seduce them. (Click here for the full story from the BBC.)
Why the overtime? The French court ruled that the contestants were actually working 24 hours a day while being seduced: "Temptation Island constitutes a job and therefore justifies an employment contract," the court said. "Tempting a person of the opposite sex requires concentration and attention." Concentration, indeed. Don't be surprised if American reality show contestants try the same thing (especially those that get voted off in the first few rounds).
Back stateside, the Screen Actors Guild voted overwhelmingly to approve a new two-year contract with the Hollywood Studios by a vote of 78 percent to 22 percent. Not only does the vote end a year-long impasse, it should also ease our collective fears of an actors' strike, which, like last year's writer's strike, would have resulted in another wave of dreadful reality shows like Temptation Island. Thank you actors!
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