Bob Iger, with pressure mounting on multiple fronts, has turned to former top Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, hiring them as consultants to the media giant as it defines its strategy.
13.07.2023 - 13:33 / variety.com
Ellise Shafer During an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday morning, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the writers and actors unions going on strike in Hollywood are not being “realistic” with their expectations. Speaking to CNBC’s David Faber from the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, Iger commented on the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike and imminent decision for SAG-AFTRA to join them. “It’s very disturbing to me. We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Iger said. “I understand any labor organization’s desire to work on behalf of its members to get the most compensation and be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver. We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business. We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors. There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.”
It is expected that SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, will go on strike Thursday morning after contract talks concluded late Wednesday night without a resolution. This will effectively halt all scripted film and TV production, much of which had already been delayed due to the ongoing writers strike, which is in its third month. SAG-AFTRA has not gone on strike in over four decades, and the last time both unions were striking concurrently was in
Bob Iger, with pressure mounting on multiple fronts, has turned to former top Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, hiring them as consultants to the media giant as it defines its strategy.
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Snoop Dogg has cancelled his upcoming Hollywood Bowl shows in Los Angeles due to the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes.The two shows planned at the prestigious amphitheatre were to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Long Beach rapper’s debut 1993 album ‘Doggystyle’. The pioneering record was his first Number One album and the fastest-selling hip-hop album ever at the time.Now, Snoop Dogg – real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr – has posted a statement on Instagram telling fans: “We regret to inform you that due to the ongoing strike and the uncertainty of when this will be over, we need to cancel the Hollywood Bowl show.A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg)“We continue to stand in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters in the WGA and SAG/AFTRA during this difficult time and remain hopeful that the AMPTP will come back to the negotiating table with a REAL proposal and we can all get back to work.”As confirmed on the Hollywood Bowl website, customers who purchased tickets will automatically receive refunds credited to their original payment method.The concerts, produced by Dr Dre, were supposed to happen in late June but were postponed to late October to “stand in solidarity with the writers”.A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg)The WGA and SAG/AFTRA unions are fighting for better wages, increased streaming residuals and safeguards against the use of AI technology in the streaming era.
Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Here’s an example of just how chaotic things are in Hollywood these days: Disney CEO Bob Iger’s recent remarks that the company’s linear TV assets “may not be core” to its business were buried under the lede of his comments that SAG-AFTRA and the WGA are not being “realistic” in their contract negotiations last week. But now that a small bit of the initial dual strike dust has settled, sources inside and outside of Disney are asking what reaction Iger was looking to provoke by announcing Disney’s intention to “open-minded and objective about the future of those businesses,” which include broadcast network ABC as well as cablers FX, Disney Channel, Nat Geo and Freeform, among others. (Not ESPN, which is run by Jimmy Pitaro under a separate segment of Disney’s business from its other TV and streaming assets.)
Scheana Shay and Lala Kent are defending themselves. After a photo surfaced on Instagram of some of the cast posing with Tom Sandoval following his cheating scandal, the friends took to Instagram to speak out about the situation.A fan snapped the picture with the cast during their trip to Lake Tahoe, which is being filmed and will be featured on season 11 of the show.The shot — which also includes Tom Schwartz, James Kennedy, Ally Lewber and Brock Davies — features Shay standing next to Sandoval with her arm around him.That fact irked fans who are still reeling from the news that Sandoval cheated on his longtime girlfriend, Ariana Madix, with Raquel Leviss, who has started going by her birth name, Rachel, in the wake of the scandal.«I don't know why I feel the need to defend taking a photo with my hand [in a fist] in the back of someone,» Shay began, before Kent chimed in, saying, «People are so stupid.»«It still blows that people don't realize we're filming a show,» Kent said. «And it was that girl's birthday.
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Scheana Shay and Lala Kent are sending a message to Vanderpump Rules fans who don’t understand why they are spending time with Tom Sandoval following his affair with Raquel Leviss.
Netflix stands to benefit from the dual strikes underway in Hollywood while competitors like Disney and Apple will get “weaker,” in part because of the streamer’s vast international production pipeline, a top media-stocks analyst said Wednesday on the brink of earnings season.“The strike plays to their advantage,” Michael Nathanson, founding partner of SVB MoffettNathanson, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I’ve not been a Netflix bull, but their setup for this quarter and the next 12 months is incredibly strong.”Co-host Andrew Ross-Sorkin seized on that notion, seeking to clarify whether Nathanson meant Netflix would get stronger merely relative to its competition – or if it could help the streamer overall. The answer seemed to be: a bit of both.“I think relative, clearly, right?” Nathanson said.
Fran Drescher, the sitcom star turned actors union leader, preferred to evoke the French Revolution, likening SAG-AFTRA’s struggle to the proletariat’s rebellion against an out-of-touch monarchy. “Eventually the people break down the gates of Versailles,” the “Nanny” star said during a press conference officially announcing the strike.
Ariana Madix has been taking inspiration from Taylor Swift’s “Vigilante S—t” following her breakup from Tom Sandoval — and is dressing for revenge.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" star Sean Gunn blasted Disney CEO Bob Iger over comments that the executive made about the Writer's Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Shortly before SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA on strike Thursday, Iger, 72, made an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" during which he said that the pending actors union strike would have a "very, very damaging effect on the whole business." "It will affect the economy of different regions, even, because of the sheer size of the business.
Disney CEO Bob Iger recently sat down with CNBC for an interview during which he shared his views on the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Fran Drescher is opening up about the SAG-AFTRA strike and how long it might go on.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has said the company will be pulling back on creating new Star Wars and Marvel content.The announcement comes on the back of the company’s attempts to cut costs, having seen a number of their recent films, from Marvel to animation, underwhelm at the box office.“You pull back not just to focus, but also as part of our cost containment initiative. Spending less on what we make, and making less,” Iger told CNBC on Thursday (July 13).Iger said that many of the decisions were made to prop up the company’s flagship streaming service, Disney+, and attract more customers.The Disney CEO went on to note that an influx of new Marvel content, both on the big and small screens, had “diluted focus and attention”.“It had not been in the television business at any significant level, and not only did they increase their movie output, but they ended up making a number of TV series,” said Iger.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher railed against Disney CEO Bob Iger during an interview with Variety on the strike picket lines outside of the Paramount Pictures studio lot. In a July 13 interview with CNBC’s David Faber out of the Sun Valley Conference, Iger said WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikers were not being “realistic” with their demands. “I found them terribly repugnant and out of touch. Positively tone deaf,” Drescher said when asked about Iger’s comments. “I don’t think it served him well. If I were that company, I would lock him behind doors and never let him talk to anybody about this, because it’s so obvious that he has no clue as to what is really happening on the ground with hard working people that don’t make anywhere near the salary he is making. High seven figures, eight figures, this is crazy money that they make and they don’t care if they’re land barons of a medieval time.”
Well, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav already put his foot in his mouth responding to the WGA writers’ strike, so now it’s Bob Iger‘s turn.
he said that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA’s conditions were “just not realistic” and that the prospect of a writers and actors strike was “very disturbing.”Iger’s comments come on a historic day, when SAG-AFTRA is expected to announce they are joining WGA on the picket lines after their Wednesday contract negotiations deadline passed without a deal. It would be the first Hollywood double strike in sixty years.Also notable for context, Iger’s comments arrive the day after his Disney contract was extended for an additional two years.
Striking writers now have a new punching bag: Bob Iger.