SAG-AFTRA & Advertising Industry Extend Covid Safety Protocols Through March

The on-air talent at Telemundo’s Spanish-language TV station KVEA 52 in Los Angeles have voted overwhelmingly to unionize with SAG-AFTRA, which called the vote “another major organizing victory in Spanish-language media.”

SAG-AFTRA on Thursday came to the defense of Alec Baldwin, who is facing involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. The guild said that the charges against him are “wrong and uninformed,” and that it is the responsibility of producers, not performers, to ensure safety on the set.

Jean Smart tonight won her second straight Critics Choice Award for her starring role in HBO Max’s Hacks. She was not on hand to accept the trophy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series because the five-time Emmy winner had tested positive for Covid, a rep for Smart confirmed to Deadline.

There will be several stars missing from the 28th annual Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday, January 15, after testing positive for coronavirus.

SAG-AFTRA has told its members that they can’t work on hitman thriller Fast Charlie because the film’s producers are “in default of the SAG-AFTRA agreement for independent producers of theatrical motion pictures.” Directed by Phillip Noyce, the film stars Pierce Brosnan and James Caan in his final film role. Caan died in July.

SAG-AFTRA’s Corporate/Educational and Non-Broadcast Contract has been ratified by the guild’s national executive committee. According to the guild, it was negotiated with “the industry bargaining group that traditionally negotiates this agreement.” A ratification vote of the members was not required for this contract.

The bomb squad has rushed to Edinburgh Central Mosque after a "suspicious item" was found.

SAG-AFTRA has condemned the arrest by the Iranian government of Taraneh Alidoosti, the internationally acclaimed actress who starred in the Oscar-winning film The Salesman.

SAG-AFTRA has implemented new protections for the self-taping of auditions for low-budget productions.  The move was made, the guild said, “to address members’ concerns about this common yet frequently challenging practice.” The new guidelines limit all low-budget projects to the reading of five script pages for a first self-taped audition, although additional pages can be requested for a callback or on zoom.