Oscars Season Gets Back on Track With SAG-AFTRA Deal Allowing Actors to Campaign: ‘Thank F—ing God’

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Oscar season begins this week in the Big Apple. The New York Film Critics Circle will be the first major group of film journalists to unveil its winners on Nov. 30.

Chinese streamer and producer iQiyi is joining forces with Malaysia’s GSC Movies and Singapore-based Clover Films to handle theatrical distribution of its Chinese-language films in their respective territories. 

Justine Bateman has spent the better part of this year warning Hollywood about the potential consequences of artificial intelligence in film and TV, even before the topic became a major part of contract negotiations for both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

The release of Dune: Part Two has been changed yet again.

Producers must give actors at least 48 hours to prepare a self-tape — longer if it’s before a weekend – and not assign more than eight pages to read for the first audition, according to a summary of SAG-AFTRA’s potential three-year contract.

Fran Drescher may have injected some Buddhism into SAG-AFTRA’s online meeting today on the new tentative agreement with the studios, but there was almost nothing monastic about the guild president’s opinion of critics of the November 8 deal.  

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher on Monday scolded “naysayers” and “contrarians” who have criticized the union’s new contract. Drescher defended the agreement during a Zoom meeting for SAG-AFTRA members on Monday morning. “Sadly there have been some naysayers who have exploited this momentum of ours,” Drescher said, appearing in a bathrobe from her home.

Less than 48 hours before SAG-AFTRA members begin voting on ratifying their new deal with the studios, the actors guild has released an extensive summary of the potential three-year contract.

Valerie Wu Intern Barack Obama celebrated the end of Hollywood’s historic strikes during a surprise appearance alongside former First Lady Michelle Obama at a special screening of Netflix’s “Rustin.” “It’s great to see even more of you since the strikes are over,” the former president told the audience on Friday night in Washington, D.C. He added, “As somebody who cares a lot about the power of workers in this country and as the father of somebody who writes in film, I am glad that both the actors and the writers came to an agreement that recognizes their worth and their work.” The screening for the Netflix biopic was held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C, and was one of the opening night events for the inaugural HBCU First Look Film Festival from Nov. 10 to Nov.

When I heard Rob Reiner was planning to direct a documentary on a true comic icon and genius named Albert Brooks I thought ‘now this will be good!’. Reiner (When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, Stand By Me, This Is Spinal Tap etc etc) is not only a smart and highly talented filmmaker in his own right, but also a longtime friend of Brooks with whom he went to high school and even co-starred with him in drama dept productions. I am happy to report this HBO Original documentary, Albert Brooks: Defending My Life premiering Saturday night and then streaming on Max, not only more than met my high expectations, but exceeds them.

Fran Drescher, the union’s president, has not only secured tentatively a historic three-year deal with studios but also garnered praise from some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Among them, George Clooney who expressed sheer astonishment at the deal.

ended on Wednesday, Nov. 8. SAG-AFTRA won protections on a range of issues from pay to health benefits – but the most controversial issue was zombies.

EXCLUSIVE: “We know that generations from now they’ll be talking about this seminal contract and reaping the benefits of it in the way that we have been for the last 65 years with a contract that was negotiated when Ronald Reagan was in my position,” says SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher of the new contract the actors guild made with the studios on Wednesday after 118 days on strike.

President Joe Biden weighed in on the tentative agreement to resolve the SAG-AFTRA strike, pointing to it as an example of how “collective bargaining works.”

EXCLUSIVE: Bob Iger finally had his wish come true today

actors’ strike that first began in July.SAG-AFTRA took to social media to announce the end of the strike, writing: “Our TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers]. As of 12:01 a.m.

Selome Hailu Hollywood may soon be back in business. SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). If ratified, the new contract would end the actors union’s historic 118-day strike.

There’s no deal yet between the studios and SAG-AFTRA, but Bob Iger is hopeful an agreement is coming soon.

EXCLUSIVE: Three former Automatik execs are launching a new production company.

Sunday did not see a lot of action between SAG-AFTRA and the studios as the actors guild strike hit its 115th day.