FAIR Act Proponents Are Sabotaging California’s Music Community Behind Closed Doors (Guest Column)

A union seeking to represent more than 200 workers employed at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is accusing management of “anti-union actions.” The union, the Academy Museum Workers United, will hold a virtual press conference Wednesday morning to air its grievances.

Continuing the war of words between Florida and California – and potentially previewing the presidential campaign for 2024 – California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a new ad attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Residents of the vast majority of California’s 58 counties should be wearing masks, according to the CDC. That’s because 40 of those counties are now designated communities with “High” Covid levels. Less than one month ago, the number was 13.

There’s a new bombshell entering the villa.

Gloria Allred It is perfectly natural for me to write this. After all, I am one of many who is affected by the decision of four men and one woman in black robes.Before I share my view with you, however, I would like to tell you a little bit about my life.I first came into existence in the body of an American female. I didn’t ask to be born female.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a big win for major record labels, the Free Artists From Industry Restrictions (FAIR) Act failed to pass out of the California State Senate’s Judiciary committee late on Tuesday night.According to a report in Billboard, the act, also called AB Bill 983, received four votes, two short of the six needed to reach a majority from the 11-member committee.The bill was the latest in a long campaign to repeal a 1987 amendment to the state’s “Seven-Year Statute” that allows record labels to sue artists if they leave after seven years after their contract was signed before delivering the full number of albums required under the contract. Labels can also sue artists for damages.Artists’ rights groups — including the Black Music Action Coalition, Music Artists Coalition and Songwriters of North America — decried the decision but promised to continue the fight.

Editor’s Note: French filmmaker and screenwriter Audrey Diwan is the director of Venice Golden Lion-winning abortion drama Happening (L’Evénément). Adapted from celebrated French writer Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel of the same name, it follows the emotionally harrowing and physically perilous battle of a brilliant literature student to obtain an abortion in 1963, some 12 years before it was made legal in France. The film’s unexpectedly timely U.S. release by IFC Films in May coincided with news via a leaked document that the Supreme Court was on the verge of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion in the US. This came to pass on Friday (June 24). As abortion clinics begin closing in some U.S. states, Diwan has penned a column for us on a decision that has sent shockwaves across the world. 

Bolton Wanderers will take on Championship side Watford as the club announced its latest pre-season friendly.

Ben Foster Boots stormed into the living room, dust falling though the floorboards onto the Tzigel family. Jews were being exterminated, and my family was hiding in the basement of a sympathetic neighbor. They couldn’t stay long.

MTV's "Teen Mom" star, Farrah Abraham, was charged with battery stemming from a nightclub fight in Hollywood earlier this year when she reportedly assaulted a security guard during an altercation outside Grandmaster Records in Los Angeles, California. The 31-year-old reality television personality was officially charged on June 2 and will be in court for an arraignment hearing on Thursday, June 23. Abraham faces up to one year in jail in addition to a $2,000 fine.

Jenna Ortega is one of our most exciting young actors. The 19-year-old of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent talked about her experience growing up Latina, and how she spent her formative years surrounded by the Hispanic community.

Andrew Barker Senior Features WriterThe Palm Springs International ShortFest will mark an in-person return to the California desert oasis from June 21-27, showcasing 300 short films in 51 different curated programs. If that seems like a markedly high number of films considering all of the disruptions in both the film production and festival space over the past two years, interim festival director Sudeep Sharma has an explanation.“One thing I’ve been saying a lot is that the pandemic has seemingly affected everything except for the production of short films,” says Sharma, a ShortFest veteran currently manning the festival helm while director Lili Rodriguez is on maternity leave.

Tiffany Red Tiffany Red is a Grammy-winning songwriter and songwriter advocate who has written hits for Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Jason Derulo and Zendaya, among others. She is founder and executive director of the 100 Percenters, a 501 c3 organization with the stated goal of advocating “for all music creatives with a focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and marginalized creatives.” She has spoken at length about the challenges faced by songwriters; this is her second Juneteenth essay for Variety.I think we can all agree that black culture drives pop culture.

Editor’s Note: On June 22, 2020, veteran editor and Sunwise Media co-founder Ri-Karlo Handy penned a guest column for Deadline on the wide ranging response to his social media call for Black union editors just days beforehand. As Americans took to the streets after the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd to demand an end to institutional violence and racism in numbers unprecedented for decades, Handy turned part of the spotlight on Hollywood. The reaction to his outcry was almost immediate. It was also encouraging from unions, to schools, to studios and every other crevice of Tinseltown. Today, Handy examines what a difference the past two years have made, and what more there is to do as political and cultural sands appear to be shifting again.

Everett Peck, whose comic-book creation Duckman was adapted into a late-1990s animated series with Jason Alexander voicing the lewd private-eye title character, died Tuesday, June 14, of cancer in California. He was 71.

More than meets the eye. Kim Kardashian may have hinted at how tumultuous her relationship with Kanye West was — but the reality star isn’t ready to share all the details just yet.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorVictoria Alonso is getting ready to share her story.The top Marvel Studios executive is going to publish her first book, “Possibility Is Your Superpower,” a memoir about her Hollywood career after growing up in La Plata, Argentina.“You don’t need a cape, you don’t need a hammer, you don’t need a shield. Your superpower is your voice, and your voice will create change for yourself, for society and for those who you love,” Alonso says. “If you use your voice, you will create the kind of energy that will bring change to us.

Father of the Bride, on HBO Max, when he calls. For most actors, the premiere of a film or TV series is just part of the job—but in this case, it's more like a family reunion. “I've never spent so much time with a cast while shooting," Boneta tells Glamour.