[mabbo]

One of the Star Trek films included a moment where they asked a bunch of extras some question. She wasn't supposed to answer, but nobody told her that, so she replied totally normally. I mean, they were back in time in the "present day" (for when it was filmed) so her answer made sense for the scene.

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.

[ShakataGaNai]

Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home. That I can tell you off the top of my head because I remember the scene you are talking about.

But the rest of the story requires reading: https://legendsrevealed.com/entertainment/2016/02/25/did-a-w...

[cmroanirgo]

>So they had her sign up for the Screen Actors Guild (everyone who has a line in a film has to be a member)

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.

[vkou]

> 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?

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.

[Dylan16807]

Note that in general it's obnoxiously hard to get in, and that screws people over all the time. It'd be nice if the general case was being able to join when it makes sense...

[jedberg]

Maybe it's just my family because my dad worked in Alameda for a while, but at least for us that's the most quoted line in the movie!