SAG-AFTRA and Studios Agree to Media Blackout as Talks Begin

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA’s master contract with Hollywood’s largest employers is due to expire in two weeks, and negotiators who have been in bargaining talks since June 7 have a lot of proposals to work through before that deadline. The time crunch has raised the possibility that the union’s talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers could go past the June 30 deadline, according to multiple sources who asked not to be identified. The SAG-AFTRA board has the power to call a strike starting on July 1 if no agreement is reached. That would immediately shut down all film and TV production that has not already been halted by the writers strike.

The moment the WGA strike started at 12:01 a.m. on May 2, all late-night shows went dark. Many presume that the same is bound to happen with daytime dramas if SAG-AFTRA goes on strike July 1, as those series, similarly, are in continuous, year-round production.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer New Mexico prosecutors say they will file new charges against Alec Baldwin if further testing shows that his gun was working at the time of the “Rust” shooting. The special prosecutors in the case, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, dropped manslaughter charges against Baldwin in April. Baldwin had been accused of negligently pulling the trigger, causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. But Baldwin’s lawyers provided analysis that raised doubt that the gun was working properly at the time. The FBI analyzed the gun last year, and broke it during a test firing. In a recent court filing, Morrissey and Lewis said that the gun has been sent to an independent expert for further testing.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Fremantle-owned Lux Vide production powerhouse is expanding its in-house studio capacity, unveiling a large new soundstage on Monday at its facilities in Formello outside Rome which will become a major new European physical production hub. Plans are underway for a total of seven state-of-the-art stages, plus a new post-production facility to be in place at Formello by year’s end creating a sprawling Lux Video studio area on more than 6,500 square meters of space (2,5 square miles) including the backlot. Lux Vide’s new Teatro 5 measuring more than 1150 square meters (more than 12,000 square feet) was inaugurated with Italy’s deputy culture minister Lucia Bergonzoni and other local authorities on hand alongside Lux CEO Luca Bernabei, Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s group COO and CEO continental Europe, and Lux’s honorary president Matilde Bernabei.

Billy Ray and Todd Garner are back for Week 6 of the Writers Guild standoff on Deadline’s Strike Talk podcast. Click below to listen.

The Television Critics Association has officially cancelled its upcoming summer press tour as the WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA are at different points of negotiating new contracts with the AMPTP.

Gaumont Animation and Studio 100 Media announced on Thursday a first-look pact to co-produce and distribute animated, kids and family TV series and films around the globe.Gaumont Animation is the producer of award-winning series including Apple TV+’s “Stillwater” and “Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles” on Amazon, while Studio 100 Media, is home to series and films such as “Maya The Bee,” “Vic the Viking,” “Heidi “and “Mia and Me.”“We are thrilled to embark on this global partnership with Studio 100 Media,” said Terry Kalagian, president of Global Animation, Kids & Family in a statement shared with TheWrap. “By combining our strengths and leveraging our collective experience, we are poised to deliver compelling and high-quality animated content that resonates with audiences across the globe.”“Our collective experience and strengths will garner exceptional opportunities to create powerful diverse series and films that will inspire and captivate viewers worldwide.

SAG-AFTRA and the studios have begun negotiations for a new film and TV contract. The talks, which got underway Wednesday morning at the Sherman Oaks offices of the studios’ reps the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, come two days after the guild’s members voted 97.9% in favor of authorizing a strike if an acceptable deal isn’t reached by the end of the month.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The membership of SAG-AFTRA has voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike authorization, maximizing the guild’s leverage ahead of negotiations that begin on Wednesday. The guild announced Monday night that 97.91% of the voting members supported the authorization. Turnout was 47.69%. The vote comes as the Writers Guild of America strike enters its sixth week. Many SAG-AFTRA members have already joined WGA members walking the picket lines. The leaders of both guilds have expressed solidarity with each other several times this year. The writers strike has caused a sharp downturn in production, especially in television. If SAG-AFTRA goes on strike, any remaining film and TV production would halt immediately. The union represents 160,000 performers.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer With a tentative Directors Guild of America deal in hand and the Writers Guild of America on strike, SAG-AFTRA has been thrust into a bigger role than the performer’s union has played in years in the industry’s triennial labor contract negotiations. SAG-AFTRA gets its turn at the bargaining table this week, with an agenda that seeks to address the many ways that technology is changing the profession of acting. Two of the union’s top concerns — streaming residuals and artificial intelligence — are also key issues for the WGA and DGA. The performers’ guild is also uniquely focused on putting limits on “self-taped” auditions, which have become ubiquitous since the beginning of the pandemic.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA congratulated the Directors Guild of America on reaching an agreement with the studios on Sunday, but both groups stressed that the deal does not change their own goals. Both guilds are intent on pushing back against “pattern bargaining,” in which the terms of the DGA deal are typically applied to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. The WGA has been on strike for a month, while SAG-AFTRA begins its negotiations on Wednesday. “Our bargaining strategy has never relied upon nor been dependent on the outcome or status of any other union’s negotiations, nor do we subscribe to the philosophy that the terms of deals made with other unions bind us,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the executive director of SAG-AFTRA, in a statement.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland Even if you don’t work in the film and television industry, odds are you know there’s trouble brewing in Hollywood. You’ve probably heard about the Writers Guild strike and maybe you also know that SAG-AFTRA members voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike authorization, and you might be wondering, “What’s this all about?” The short answer is that it’s about the viability of making a living and having a career in the entertainment industry. In the quest for ever-greater profits, multimillionaire executives are looking for anywhere they can cut costs. They have raised prices, they have cracked down on password sharing, and now they’re coming for the people who make the shows.

SAG-AFTRA, which begins negotiations for a new contract on Wednesday, said today that its bargaining strategy remains unchanged in the wake of the tentative deal made last night by the Directors Guild and the studios.

SAG-AFTRA members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if upcoming contract talks fail to produce a satisfactory agreement by June 30. The vote revealed Monday was 97.91% in favor, with nearly half of eligible members — 47.69% — casting ballots. According to the union, nearly 65% of eligible members voted.

released a memo to members of the actors guild congratulating the Directors Guild of America on reaching a tentative agreement on a new labor contract while noting that such a deal will have no impact on SAG-AFTRA’s own labor talks beginning this week. “Our bargaining strategy has never relied upon nor been dependent on the outcome or status of any other union’s negotiations, nor do we subscribe to the philosophy that the terms of deals made with other unions bind us,” the memo reads.

Amanda Seyfried shared her thoughts on Elizabeth Holmes reporting to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas this week to begin serving out her 11-year sentence.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Obama-appointed judge who was overseeing Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recused himself on Thursday over a relative’s ownership of 30 shares of Disney stock. The case was transferred to Judge Allen C. Winsor, an appointee of President Trump who previously upheld the state’s Parental Rights in Education law. That law, known to its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, is at the center of the Disney-DeSantis controversy. Disney sued DeSantis in April, alleging that the state had engaged in a campaign of retaliation against the company over its opposition to the bill. The state rescinded Disney’s special governing district in Orlando, and then reconstituted it under the control of five DeSantis appointees.

Voting yes is NOT a vote to strike.

Voting yes is NOT a vote to strike. It gives the board the POWER to strike if the AMPTP doesn’t agree to the essential contract improvements our members need.We’re a union, and a union stands together! pic.twitter.com/aSdTvb23WNThe guild is set to begin talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on June 7.

A group of SAG-AFTRA members, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jean Smart and Bob Balaban, has released a video urging their fellow performers to approve the strike authorization that’s currently out for a vote of the guild’s eligible members.