Hollywood Publicist Hopes Strikes End Soon: ‘We Cannot Forget the People Outside of SAG-AFTRA and WGA Who Are Not Able to Work’ (Guest Column)

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Jamie Lee Curtis doesn’t pretend to know when she thinks the SAG-AFTRA strike will end. “I have no idea,” the Oscar winner told me Thursday morning at Project Angel Food’s groundbreaking ceremony for The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Campus in Los Angeles. However, Curtis says she remains “hopeful” that the actors union and AMPTP can find common ground.” “I’m hopeful that we can all see all sides.

The New York City Council’s Committee on Civil Service and Labor passed a resolution today in support of a fair contract for striking actors and writers.  

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler will join striking actors and writers on the picket line Thursday morning at Fox Studios in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, she joined picketers outside Netflix offices in New York City. “When we fight together, we win together. And we won’t stop fighting until workers have a fair contract!” she tweeted the other day.

A movie and yummy dinner at @RedRockCasino‘s 8 Noodle Bar – during the week! Perez never used to be so wild like this in Los Angeles! Las Vegas is bringing out THE BEST life in us here!!!

It’s still hot out there in much of the country, and SAG-AFTRA told its members today that picket lines in New York City have been canceled for the next two days.

The hand-drawn picket signs were, like several of the people carrying them, wrapped in waterproof plastic at a rain-soaked march in New York City on Tuesday afternoon. But a passer-by could still see the images: Bender, the cranky robot from Futurama; BoJack, the half-equine hero of BoJack Horseman; Courage, the pink-hued canine star of Courage the Cowardly Dog; and several more beloved cartoon and animation characters going back the original, Mickey Mouse. 

Snoop Dogg is choosing to take a stand for the writers and actors on strike in Hollywood by canceling some of his upcoming shows.

Following another round of waivers granted by SAG-AFTRA, we have the first one granted that will allow to promote a film rather then shooting a film. Sources confirmed to Deadline that The Unknown Country, which stars Lily Gladstone and Quantum Leap‘s Raymond Lee and opens this Friday, was granted a waiver by the guild allowing for guild members to do publicity for the upcoming film.

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.

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.

Daniel Radcliffe proudly carried his 3-month-old son while marching the picket line with girlfriend Erin Darke in New York City on Friday, July 21, in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Daniel Radcliffe is joining the fellow picketers.

If elections in Uganda were free and fair, pop star-turned politician Bobi Wine might be president of his country instead of the dictator Yoweri Museveni, who has clung to power for 36 years.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone will not be attending the closing night of this year’s Outfest LA, where they were set to receive the James Schamus Ally Award. The couple was expected to be on hand for the July 23 event at The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, but their rep tells Variety that will not make an appearance due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. “We understand that Melissa and Ben are unable to join us for our closing night due to the strike,” Outfest executive director Damien S. Navarro said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “We will miss them, as our closing night will be a wonderful celebration of our community.”

As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the American Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) fight for better wages and contracts, they’re also requesting better picketing conditions.

https://t.co/ZUOkfMbM0lFor those wondering, the City Controller is the paymaster, auditor and chief accounting officer for the city of Los Angeles, with a mandate to provide transparency on city policies, operations and data.Read more here.Our Office is investigating the tree trimming that occurred outside Universal Studios where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket.The trimmed trees are LA City managed street trees.(Before and after photos below) pic.twitter.com/xczw0bTdh9Trees can be trimmed by a StreetsLA Urban Forestry Division (UFD) crew as part of its trim cycle, or as part of a Council District’s trimming allotment.A business can also obtain a permit to trim a tree.

Ellise Shafer Both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA filed labor complaints against NBCUniversal on Tuesday, alleging that the company is disrupting their strike efforts. According to the Los Angeles Times, the complaints allege that NBCUniversal has “interfered with, coerced and restrained employees in the exercise of their rights” during the dual strike. Grievances include allegedly designating picket locations that were obstructed by construction fencing, resulting in marching in busy streets on which they say two picketers have been struck by cars, and not providing barriers to establish pedestrian walkways. In a statement to the L.A. Times, NBCUniversal said: “We strongly believe that the company has fulfilled our legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act and we will cooperate with respect to any inquiries by the National Labor Relations Board on this issue. While we understand the timing of our multi-year construction project has created challenges for demonstrators, we continue to work with public agencies to increase access.”

SAG-AFTRA is expanding its strike activities outside Los Angeles and New York this week, with picket lines and rallies in Orlando, Atlanta and Hawaii.

Christopher Nolan has confirmed that he will “absolutely” not be working on more films until after the Hollywood strikes end.This week (July 13), the cast of Nolan’s new film Oppenheimer walked out of the UK premiere at the moment an actors’ strike began.The national board of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) – Hollywood’s largest union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers – voted unanimously to strike, according to The Los Angeles Times.SAG-AFTRA was seeking better pay and working conditions in the age of streaming, while other negotiations related to safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.Thousands of Hollywood productions are therefore currently paused, and Nolan discussed the meaning of the strike in an interview with BBC News, saying: “It’s not about me.”Asked whether he would be working on new films during the strike, he responded: “No, absolutely. It’s very important that everybody understands it is a very key moment in the relationship between working people and Hollywood.“This is not about me, this is not about the stars of my film.”The AMPTP said in a statement that “a strike is certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life”.“The Union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry,” it added.The separate WGA (Writers Guild Of America) strike, which began on May 2, occurred following unsuccessful negotiations with AMPTP, who represent major Hollywood studios like Netflix, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Paramount, Warner Bros.

Kevin McKidd and Danielle Savre are supporting the fight for a fair contract at the SAG-AFTRA strike amid their budding romance.