SAG-AFTRA: Most Productions Will Stay on Haitus Until at Least Mid-January Due to LA COVID Surge

Someone’s back to paying rent…

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is reminding County residents that “the most important action for everyone to take to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives is to stay home and not mingle with others not in your household.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorFilm permit applications in the city and county of Los Angeles declined steeply in December, dropping 24.9 percent from November levels to 613 permits. FilmLA reported Tuesday.This is the second straight month that FilmLA has seen permit requests drop, as production levels that picked up after the pandemic shutdown began to drop again.

SAG-AFTRA has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the executive poaching battle between Netflix and Disney-owned Fox. The union isn’t taking sides but says “the case raises important questions about the right of workers to pursue employment opportunities, and the strong protections in California law against employers holding their workers off the market, especially when they are not being compensated for that time.”

With production stalled in Los Angeles amid the city's latest COVID-19 surge, the industry is wrestling with when it'll be able to return to work safely in one of its most popular filming regions. The major studios and streamers have paused production on the bulk of their L.A.-based projects, most of which were already on a hiatus over the holidays, marking the town's biggest shutdown since March when the virus first began to spread in the U.S.

The Directors Guild of America told its members Tuesday that the industry’s Covid-19 protocols “have been largely effective in catching infected individuals before they are contagious, and limiting the potential spread on set.” Still, the DGA said it is working with employers who wish to extend their year-end holiday hiatus while the pandemic peaks in Southern California and across the country.

SAG-AFTRA, the Joint Policy Committee and the Producers Guild of America on Sunday recommended a "temporary hold on in-person production" amid the pandemic.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterAmid surging COVID-19 cases in Southern California following the holidays, SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild of America and the Joint Policy Committee are together recommending a “temporary hold on in-person production in Southern California.” Together, the organizations represent thousands of actors, producers, commercial advertisers and ad agencies.“Southern California hospitals are facing a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before,” said SAG-AFTRA president

On-set commercial production has been shuttered temporarily in Southern California because of surging coronavirus outbreaks in the region, effective immediately. The major studios and streamers, meanwhile, are already on production hiatus in Southern California until mid-January.

Samuel Little, whom the FBI  says was the most prolific serial killer in US history, died in prison Wednesday at age 80.

Tom Hanks is one of the most popular stars in Hollywood, and has enjoyed an incredible career as both an actor and director.MORE: Take a glimpse inside Tom Hanks' home in LAThe father-of-four showed an interest in performing from a young age, and although he was shy, he would star in productions during his time at school.

Samuel Little, the country's most prolific serial killer who confessed to more than 90 slayings, has died. He was 80.

SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris and national executive director David White on Tuesday posted a message to the labor union website with an update to COVID-19 filming protocols amid the current surge in cases.

A Delaware Chancery Court Wednesday rejected Shari Redstone’s motion to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit claiming she breached her fiduciary duty by pushing allies to ram through the Viacom-CBS merger at stockholder expense in a quest to attain the status of “media magnate” like her father, the late Sumner Redstone.

the stay-at-home order for Southern California will remain in effect indefinitely, SAG-AFTRA told members Tuesday night that “most” film and TV productions will stay on hiatus through at least the middle of January.Across the Los Angeles area, hospitals are at zero capacity with ICUs full, with some reporting that they’ve had to turn gift shops into makeshift rooms and even turn patients away.

Ellise Shafer administratorIn a message to members on Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris and national executive director David White said that many productions will remain on hiatus for the next few weeks as Los Angeles County experiences a continued surge in COVID-19 cases.“We are writing to let you know that we are closely monitoring the recent surge in COVID-19 infections along with the reported lack of intensive care unit (ICU) beds throughout the state of California and

Chris Harrison taking his final bow in Bachelor Nation? Some fans think so.Rumors swirled around the longtime reality TV host, 49, on Tuesday, December 29, after The New York Post’s Page Six reported that he’s moving to Austin, Texas.

CBS Studios has pushed several return-to-production dates coming off the current holiday hiatus. The news comes a day after Deadline reported that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health had urged the film and TV industry to consider pausing production for a few weeks during the ongoing surge in coronavirus cases throughout the county and hours after the stay-at-home order for Southern California was extended to Jan. 16.