Federal Mediator Will Be at SAG-AFTRA Talks as Midnight Deadline Approaches

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Film workers who have been unemployed during the strike will get some help in maintaining their health insurance, the industry plan announced Monday. The Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans will extend eligibility to certain participants who otherwise would not have enough hours to qualify for benefits. The MPIPHP also announced that members will be able to take a one-time “hardship withdrawal” from their defined-contributed retirement plans.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA has found itself defending its decision to give the green light to more than 100 independent productions to film during the strike. Many members, including Sarah Silverman and Viola Davis, have publicly suggested that working under an interim agreement would undermine the strike. Silverman went so far as to call it “scabbing,” though she walked back her criticism after speaking to union leadership.

Will Smith is speaking out in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike. The 54-year-old actor took to Instagram on Friday to call the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes «a pivotal moment for our profession.»«I wanna talk for a second about ACTING.

Will Smith put a high-profile spotlight today on his fellow actors and scribes out on strike.

Prince William and his younger brother Prince Harry are not communicating with each other in any way, according to a Royal source. The once-close brothers have become estranged in recent years, following reports of an explosive rift between the pair. There have been claims of Harry, 38, calling a truce with his brother William, 41, but rumours of peace talks between the two are seemingly wide of the mark.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Two unions are on strike and there are no plans to restart negotiations with either of them, leaving Hollywood in limbo for the foreseeable future. The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have both said they are open to talking, but that the studios refuse to engage on their core issues. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, meanwhile, has said that the unions have been unwilling to drop items that are non-starters, like a demand for a share of streaming revenue and a minimum staffing level for TV writers.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Prince Royal, an actor in Los Angeles, was working as an extra on “The Flash” when he was directed to a tractor trailer to “take pictures.” Inside were hundreds of cameras. He stood with his arms up as the operators took a 3-D scan, which he was told would be used for continuity and special effects. “We were told if we didn’t do it, we’d be sent home without pay,” he said.

The Venice Film Festival confirmed to us today it is hopeful that movies with SAG-AFTRA ‘interim agreements’ will bring their casts to the Lido.

SAG-AFTRA will hold a mass rally in Times Square on Tuesday morning. It’s expected to be the biggest rally in NYC since the strike began on July 14. Celebs scheduled to attend the “Rock the City for a Fair Contract” rally include Bryan Cranston, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater, Lauren Ambrose, Christine Baranski, Matt Bomer, Tituss Burgess, Liza Colón-Zayas, Gregory Diaz, Jennifer Ehle, Nancy Giles, Danai Gurrira, Jill Hennessy, Marin Hinkle, Stephen Lang, Arian Moayed, Wendell Pierce, Corey Stoll and Merritt Wever.

SAG-AFTRA has granted more waivers in recent days that give permission to indie projects to shoot during the current strike, including the independent film The Summer Book starring Glenn Close. Other recent projects that will be allowed to shoot include the TV series Underdeveloped and Sight Unseen.

EXCLUSIVE: For those awards strategists wondering whether stars from indie U.S. films can promote at the fall film festival troika, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says “We’re looking at that issue.”

Following SAG-AFTRA’s clearance of AppleTV+’s Israeli spy series Tehran and New Line’s horror movie Watchers –prolific projects from AMPTP studios that the guild remains in talks with– in their interim agreement process, some producers and filmmakers in town have been miffed.

Editor’s note: Almost a week into the first joint strike by the actors union and the writers guild since 1960, there are picket lines all over LA and NYC. Yet there are no new negotiations planned between SAG-AFTRA or the WGA and the studios and streamers. Despite the silence and divisions between the parties, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland insists that a pathway to a new contract and a better future for all is possible.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA has granted approval to 39 independent productions to shoot during the strike, after confirming that they are not tied to AMPTP companies. The list includes two projects from A24, the independent production company: “Mother Mary,” starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, and “Death of a Unicorn,” starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, which is set to begin shooting soon in Hungary. A24 is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said a spokesperson for the company. The projects also include “The Rivals of Amziah King,” starring Matthew McConaughey and “The Chosen,” a TV series about the life of Jesus.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The SAG-AFTRA strike has sparked a great deal of discussion and confusion about what is forbidden and what is still OK. SAG-AFTRA has put out a detailed FAQ for members, non-members, indie producers, and other groups. But people still have questions. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. I’m a film critic. Can I review movies? Absolutely. Critics are not on strike and are not obligated to stop reviewing movies or TV shows. I’m an entertainment journalist. Can I cover movies and TV?

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA and the major studios remain at odds on a dizzying array of issues, as film and TV actors hit the picket lines Friday for the first time since 1980. According to sources on both sides, the biggest sticking point is the union’s demand for 2% of the revenue generated by streaming shows. The two sides also remain far apart on basic increases in minimum rates, with the studios offering 5%, 4% and 3.5% across the three years of the contract, while the union is demanding 11%, 4% and 4%. But that only scratches the surface. The parties are at odds on dozens of issues, only a handful of which have been publicly reported.

Addie Morfoot Contributor As the SAG-AFTRA strike gets underway, documentary filmmakers are still at work. But despite the fact that the dual strike by actors and their writer counterparts in the WGA could lead to gaps in narrative content for broadcast networks and streaming companies, the doc industry isn’t holding out much hope that studios will start flooding money into documentaries. “There’s a feeling of solidarity and support for SAG and for the WGA,” says Bryn Mooser, founder of nonfiction film and television studio XTR. “The struggle they are facing is a struggle that doc filmmakers have also faced since the beginning of the industry on the documentary side, which is fair pay and making sure we are represented in the right way, et cetera. But if anybody thought that this would mean that (studios) will just shift resources to a different part of the industry like docs while this gets figured out, that’s not happening.”

Fran Drescher is speaking out in response to the controversy surrounding her recent trip to Italy and meetup with Kim Kardashian.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA announced Thursday that it is on strike against the film and TV companies, marking only the second time in Hollywood history that actors have joined writers on the picket lines. The SAG-AFTRA national board held its meeting on Thursday morning and voted unanimously to approve a strike recommendation forwarded by the negotiating committee, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, said during a press conference. “Union members should withhold their labor until a fair contract can be achieved,” he told the room. “They have left us with no alternative.”

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A SAG-AFTRA strike appears to be imminent, as talks with the studios have concluded without a deal or an extension. The union’s contract officially expired at midnight. In a statement, the union said that the negotiating committee had voted unanimously to recommend a strike. The union’s national board is expected to meet Thursday morning to call a strike, which would immediately halt scripted film and TV production by the companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, said in a statement that the AMPTP’s responses to its key issues were “insulting and disrespectful.”