IATSE Aims to Wrap Up Bargaining by June 27

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Artificial intelligence can be used as a tool, with relatively few limitations, under the agreement struck last week between the major studios and the union representing film crews. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees released further details of its contract over the weekend. The deal provides that workers may ask their employers for a “consultation” about AI use, that a committee will be set up to offer AI skills training, and that AI use cannot be outsourced to non-union labor.

Naman Ramachandran The international documentary market Sunny Side of the Doc concluded its 35th edition in La Rochelle, France on June 27, drawing 2,100 participants from 68 countries. The four-day event, themed “Mapping the Future,” showcased 90 exhibitors and hosted 250 international decision-makers.

IATSE and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Thursday that they have reached a a tentative agreement on all issues for the Area Standards Agreement, the companion contract to the Basic Agreement that got its own tentative deal Tuesday night.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer IATSE has reached a tentative deal on the Area Standards Agreement, the contract that covers 20,000 film and TV workers around the country, including those in Louisiana, New Mexico and Georgia. The deal follows the Basic Agreement, which applies to 13 locals based in Los Angeles, and which was concluded on Tuesday. Both contracts must now be ratified by the membership.

Sunny Side of the Doc, the world’s biggest documentary-focused marketplace in the world, wrapped its 35th edition Thursday, after gathering 2,100 participants over four days in La Rochelle, France.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer On Tuesday night, IATSE posted the news on Facebook that it had reached a tentative deal on a new overarching contract with Hollywood’s major studios and streamers. In commenting on the welcome news that the threat of another Hollywood strike has receded, members seemed less focused on the specific terms of the pact and more on whether the deal will help jumpstart TV and film production. “Cool, so these mega coporate studio conglomerates will make stuff and hire everyone again, right?… right?” wrote Shawn Montgomery.

EXCLUSIVE: (Updated with joint statement) With over a month to go before IATSE‘s current contracts expires, the union and the studios have come to a tentative agreement on a new deal.

Carolyn Giardina The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have reached a tentative agreement on issues for the Hollywood Basic Agreement and Videotape Agreement. The tentative three-year agreement is now pending ratification by the unions’ membership.

The Hollywood Basic Crafts are putting the ball firmly in the studios’ court to strike new three-year deals with the below-the-line unions before the clock strikes midnight on July 31.

IATSE is continuing its push to unionize visual effects workers, this time setting its sights on Apple Studios.

The summer transfer window for Premier League clubs has been open for a week.

EXCLUSIVE: Members of the Hollywood guilds are throwing their weight behind IATSE and the Basic Crafts as the below-the-line unions continue to chip away at new three-year deals with the studios.

Paramount Global General Counsel Christa D’Alimonte has told colleagues she will be exiting the company at the end of the month.

Naman Ramachandran Iranian filmmaker Marjan Khosravi, winner of multiple awards for her shorts, is bowing her first feature-length film, “Requiem for a Tribe,” at the Shanghai International Film Festival. The film is in the documentary competition and eligible for a Golden Goblet. Khosravi has an awards-laden career.

Mama June Shannon‘s daughter Jessica “Chubbs” Shannon is in the market for a sperm donor! And she’s looking right at her brother-in-law to do the job!

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor How do you change a culture? Influence the storytellers. That’s the vision that drives the work of Rideback Rise, the nonprofit organization founded by producer Dan Lin to provide support to creators of color. On the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” Diana Mogollón, the newly appointed CEO of Rideback Rise, details the annual fellowship program run by Rideback Rise as well as the many mentoring and networking events held at its Rideback Ranch facility in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipintown neighborhood near Silver Lake.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jon Stewart continues to open up about his split from Apple after parting ways with the tech giant after hosting two seasons of “The Problem.” Stewart debuted the talk show in 2021 as part of a multi-year first-look deal with Apple. The first season of the show aired episodes every two weeks, while the second season switched to a weekly format. The streamer confirmed last October that Stewart’s program would not return.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed has claimed that the judge in her involuntary manslaughter trial made six errors, warranting reversal of her conviction in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Gutierrez Reed, 27, is serving an 18-month sentence at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, N.M. In a filing to the state’s Court of Appeals on Wednesday, defense attorney Jason Bowles cited issues with the jury instructions and the judge’s decision to allow “lay opinions” on Gutierrez Reed’s conduct as an armorer.

Mama June Shannon says she’s been shedding pounds thanks to drugs! Thankfully she means weight loss drugs.

The temperature is rising, but it’s not another Hot Labor Summer in Hollywood – yet.