Moments like that make me wonder what would have happened if you’d just answered “yes”.
They loved it and kept the shot, but then realized- whoever this was, she now had a spoken part in the film! They had to find her, get her to join the actors guild, and then pay her some minimum amount for having a line in the film.
I'm sure someone will reply now with the correct version of this story, the woman's name, which Star Trek film it was, and a link to proof of this all.
But the rest of the story requires reading: https://legendsrevealed.com/entertainment/2016/02/25/did-a-w...
Anyone know why this is? Why a person uttering a line must be part of a guild? Is this a U.S. thing, or international?
Also, why aren't the talks of unions here on HN using the world guild? Union? Meh. Guild? Yeah! Developers would flock to be part of a Developers Guild.
Edit: Answer to first questions:
https://www.quora.com/Are-all-actors-and-actresses-part-of-t...
>SAG-AFTRA is a USA union. There are many many hundreds of thousands of actors in other countries around the world. Other countries have unions too. Some, like SAG-AFTRA are strong and look out for actors’ interests very well. They may also act as gatekeepers and insist that their members have a certain standard and professionalism. There are plenty of countries where unions have little strength and actors are bullied and have next to no bargaining power. American actors have a lot to be thankful for.
Because the guild has an agreement with the studio that only guild members can have speaking roles.
Joining the guild is pretty straight-forward. It's a lot less work than the typical whiteboard interview.