Cinematographers Guild Establishes Hardship Fund For Members Impacted By WGA Strike

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors, has officially joined the writers on strike against the film and TV companies, setting off the entertainment industry’s first industrywide shutdown in 63 years. Once the strike — which will start at midnight on Thursday, with picketing to begin on Friday morning — commences, the tens of thousands of film and television actors in SAG must cease all work covered by their union contract. Film and television productions will shut down, but the work stoppage has reverberations that extend beyond actors going to set. According to the guidelines, SAG-AFTRA members will not be able to attend premieres, do interviews for completed work, go to awards shows, attend film festivals or even promote projects on social media while the strike is in effect. They are also not allowed to attend conventions such as Comic-Con or 90s Con to promote any past or present work made under a SAG-AFTRA contract.

first time in 63 years that Hollywood's writers and actors have joined in a strike together. Though the specifics of each union's demands differ, both are in pursuit of broader protections for their members over contract minimums and the restriction of generative AI used for content creation. This is the WGA’s first strike since 2008, when the union picketed for 14 weeks. SAG last struck against the studios for three months in 1980.

Besides TV Academy Chairman and CEO Frank Scherma’s brief reference to “the ongoing guild negotiations” at the top of the nominations announcement, today has been mostly Emmy business as usual, with television industry types and fans celebrating the ones who landed nominations and lamenting those who were snubbed.

In Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things, Kathryn Hahn plays Clare, a reimagined version of Cheryl Strayed from Strayed’s memoir of the same name. Working on the story, which examines grief and family close-up, has left Hahn “forever changed” she said on Tuesday morning, shortly after receiving an Emmy nomination for her role.

Hollywood studios are playing serious hardball, and writers are furious.

Padma Lakshmi is having an “otherworldly and amazing” morning, after pulling her latest set of three Emmy nominations for the culinary competition show Top Chef, which she’s long hosted and exec produced, and her newer Hulu series Taste the Nation, examining cuisine from coast to coast.

Tickets can be purchased here. Members of IATSE and the Teamsters Union can attend the event free of charge.The Union Solidarity Coalition was founded by writer/directors who were moved to connect with crew affected by the 2023 WGA strike, with that early group comprised of Susanna Fogel, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Lena Dunham, Crystal Moselle, Tara Miele, Alex Winter, Frankie Shaw, Amy Seimetz, Josh Locy, Justine Bateman, Antonio Campos, Malik Vitthal, Paul Scheer, Zoe Lister-Jones, Andrea Savage, Tony Phelan, Julie Plec and Sarah Adina Smith.

EXCLUSIVE: Regardless of whether SAG-AFTRA goes on strike this week, the studios have no intention of sitting down with the Writers Guild for several more months.

In a departure from the first season of The Lincoln Lawyer, Netflix just dropped five episodes of the drama that’s based on the bestselling novels by Michael Connelly, with plans to stream the remaining five on Aug. 3.

Greta Gerwig gave a shoutout to the writers amid the WGA strike during the Barbie premiere in LA at the Shrine Auditorium. Ahead of the screening, the director of the film also noted that her co-writer Noah Baumbach was not present in support of the guild.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer In a display of pink visible from outer space, Greta Gerwig’s  “Barbie” held its lush world premiere on Sunday in Los Angeles. The Shrine Auditorum, located smack in the middle of the USC campus, was hosed down in colors of blush and bashful for the anticipated Warner Bros. release (as in, the security guards wore pink polo shirts), which drew the film’s stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.  One notable absence was Noah Baumbach, the film’s co-writer and Gerwig’s partner. “My co-writer and co-creator, my partner in love and art, Noah Baumbach is not here. He is passionately supporting the fight of the Writers Guild of America,” Gerwig said. “He is a Barbie girl. Nothing in ‘Barbie’ happened without him, and nothing in Hollywood happens without writers.”

With the news that SAG/AMPTP negotiations could push into next week, international acting unions are for the most part taking a cautious approach to supporting a potential actors strike.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre canceled a planned appearance on ABC’s The View on Wednesday because of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

While there are plenty of people who can debate the merits of Todd Phillips’ Oscar-winning film, “Joker,” there is really no denying the film looks great. And a large part of that look falls on the shoulders of cinematographer Lawrence Sher.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has approved a $2 million fund to support motion picture Teamsters impacted by the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, which is now in its 56th day. The aid package was approved unanimously by the IBT’s General Executive Board.

Muni Long took the stage at the 2023 BET Awards to acknowledge the writers strike and the members of the WGA.

The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) named Alex Tonisson as its new National Executive Director Saturday afternoon during a meeting of its Executive Board in Los Angeles.

Goldberg said, “So, you know how we’re always talking about how we’re very different than most other shows? Well, as you know, there is a writer’s strike on, and so we don’t have writers. So you’re gonna hear how it would be when it’s not, you know, slicked up.”Later in that episode, Goldberg added, “We hope you weren’t too freaked out about the fact that we have no writers,” Whoopi said.

shut down by WGA picketing earlier this month before being placed on an indefinite pause. Other series that have been halted on the East Coast include Disney+’s “Daredevil: Born Again” and Max’s “The Penguin.” In Montana, the “Yellowstone” prequel “1923” was also put on hold until the strike ends.

Editor’s note: Part 1 of two-part series about the writers strike crossing the 50-day mark.