AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Patriot Brief

• Eric Swalwell is prioritizing Hollywood ambitions over congressional duties.

• A gun-control film he co-produced is already mired in labor controversy.

• Swalwell’s past movie effort suggests this one is unlikely to succeed.

Eric Swalwell’s priorities are becoming increasingly obvious, and they have very little to do with the job he was elected to do. While voters might reasonably expect a member of Congress to show up for roll call votes, Swalwell has been busy chasing celebrity approval and Hollywood clout as he eyes a run for California governor. Missing votes to appear on late-night television isn’t exactly a great look for someone who wants to be taken seriously as an executive leader.

That Hollywood obsession now appears to be creating problems of its own. A gun-control film Swalwell helped produce is facing a crew walkout after allegations of low pay, poor benefits, and improper worker classification. The irony here is almost too neat: a politician who constantly lectures about fairness, worker protections, and economic justice now finds his own project accused of cutting corners at the expense of labor.

History suggests this won’t end well. Swalwell’s previous foray into filmmaking barely registered at the box office, and the plot, casting, and messaging of this new project don’t exactly scream breakout success. Even if the movie flops financially, it will still hand Swalwell what he likely wants most — attention.

From Bearing Arms:

California congressman Eric Swalwell is a busy man these days. So busy, in fact, that he’s managed to skip more roll call votes on Capitol Hill this year that Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, who died back in March. The anti-gunner has been spending a lot of time chumming around Hollywood and courting celebrities in his bid to succeed Gavin Newsom as California governor, according to the New York Post, which noted he missed two votes so he could make an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show a couple of weeks ago.

Swalwell isn’t just courting Hollywood in his gubernatorial campaign, though. As we noted a couple of weeks ago, Swalwell is getting personally involved in the entertainment industry by co-executive producing a movie along with his fellow gun control fan Sean Penn.

The Gun on Second Street is being billed as an “allegory of the gun crisis in the United States,” and stars noted thespians Tom Arnold and Rumer Willis. It’s currently filming in Wheeling, West Virginia… or at least it was before some crew members staged a walkout on Thursday after producers reportedly refused to recognize their union.

The crew formed a chapter of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees after what Deadline Hollywood describes as a “series of labor issues.”

Crew members have reported below-industry-standard wages and health/retirement benefits and also say they’ve been misclassified as independent contractors.

… Per IATSE, crew members gave a deadline of 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday for production leadership to engage in talks before going on strike. The international union has also ordered all of its members not to cross the picket line or accept work from the production, should they try to replace striking crew.

“Every production, regardless of budget or political connections, must respect the rights of the people who make film and television possible. The Alliance is prepared to support this crew as they take collective action to secure safe working conditions, fair compensation, proper classification and a voice on the job,” IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb said in a statement Thursday. “These workers deserve the same rights and protections film and tv workers have across the country. I’m proud of this crew for standing together in this moment and fighting for what’s right in the face of tremendous pressure. It is now the producers’ responsibility to meet them at the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.”

Supposedly Swalwell is one of the least wealthy members of Congress, so you’d think he’d be more sympathetic to the salary concerns of crew members of the independently produced film (though his alleged lack of financial resources raises questions about, exactly his executive producer position actually entails).

The good news for these crew members is that, with Swalwell actively wooing Hollywood celebrities to back the goober’s gubernatorial campaign, the last thing he needs is to get crosswise with a union that has sizable clout in the entertainment industry. It’s in Swalwell’s best interest to resolve this dispute quickly, even if he’s not the only person on the production team.

The bad news for everyone else is that this stinker is probably going to get released at some point, and even if it doesn’t make Swalwel any money it will almost certainly generate some free media for the anti-gun politician.

This isn’t Swalwell’s first foray into movie-making. It’s actually the second flick he’s co-produced with Sean Penn, though almost every one in the United States missed their first effort. Words of War, a biopic about Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was released in May of this year and earned a whopping total of $574 (no, I didn’t forget any zeros) worldwide according to Box Office Mojo.

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