The SAG-WGA Double Strike of 1960: How Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Ronald Reagan, Desi Arnaz and More Guided Hollywood Back to Work

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor About six years ago, Imagine Entertainment went on a diversification push to add top-shelf documentary and nonfiction content to the company’s roster, as well as kids and family entertainment and branded creative marketing, among other content-related businesses. The timing was spot-on. Imagine has been able to grow along with the boom in demand for original content from platforms, not just in the U.S.

Red Rooms won a leading three awards including Best Feature at the 27th annual Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, with the thriller Femme taking Best Director for Sam H. Freeman & Ng Choon Ping and Outstanding Performance for Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. See the full list of winners below.

Nothing Compares 2 U” — the unparalleled breakup ballad that turned Sinéad O’Connor’s tears into a chart-topping triumph — in an even more heartbreaking way today.Indeed — after the Irish icon’s shocking passing on Wednesday at just 56 — nothing can take away these blues right now.But while all those flowers planted in the backyard may have died, “Nothing Compares 2 U” signaled the bloom of a new era in rock after it went to No. 1 in the spring of 1990.Following the ’80s domination of pop superstars including Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston and Prince — who wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” for the Family, his side project that originally released the song in 1985 — rising alt-rock star O’Connor represented a game change when her definitive version dropped in the first days of January 1990.After becoming a darling of the MTV “120 Minutes” crowd with her 1987 debut “The Lion and the Cobra,” O’Connor traded the more rocking, dance-driven attack of “Mandinka” and “I Want Your (Hands on Me)” for something totally different and surprising: an emotionally bare ballad, dripping in strings and sorrow, that revealed a striking vulnerability.No doubt — it cut even closer to the bone than her shaved head.And then there was that iconic video with O’Connor in crushing close-up, shedding that single tear.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer There’s an old joke used in show business when events and gatherings lack major celebrity attendance: “Somebody punch me in the face so I can see some stars.” But it’s no joke when it comes to the picket lines of the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes, according to some of the protesters on the ground and select industry players who spoke to Variety. There’s been a “palpable” lack of headliners, said one prominent SAG-AFTRA member, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “If our stars were all out there in force advocating for us, we’d know it,” they added. Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Rami Malek all signed a June letter telling union leadership they were prepared to strike, but none of them have surfaced holding signs or chanting at studio gates. Leonardo DiCaprio posted an Instagram story saying he stood “in solidarity with my guild,” but has yet to stand for any in-person protest. On day one of the actor’s strike in mid-July, one protester straddled a median at the drive-on gate at Netflix headquarters holding a sign that read, “Where the fuck is Ben Affleck?” So far, no one’s seen him on the front lines.

Actors and writers of Us‘ favorite shows and movies have been reuniting on the picket lines amid the historic WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike.

EXCLUSIVE: Tobias Menzies was hiding in plain sight at a rally held by UK actors union Equity in support of its sister union SAG-AFTRA.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga certainly appeared like the oddest of couples.That was most definitely the case when the “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” crooner paired up with the shock diva — who sang “He ate my heart” on 2009’s “Monster” — for their first collaborative album, 2014’s “Cheek to Cheek.”The two had previously worked together, on his 2011 “Duets II” LP, playfully partnering on “The Lady Is a Tramp,” the same year that Mother Monster had gone full-on zombie in her “Born This Way” video.That was about as far as you could get from Bennett’s classy, debonair style.

Tony Bennett died at age 96.Bennett's publicist, Sylvia Weiner, confirmed the news of his death in a statement to ET. The legendary singer died in his hometown of New York City, just two weeks shy of his 97th birthday. While no specific cause of death has been announced, Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016, sharing the news with the public in 2021.In a post shared on Bennett's official Instagram account, a heartwarming detail about his final days at home was revealed. «Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, 'Because of You,' his first #1 hit,» the caption reads, alongside a beautiful black-and-white image of the singer in his younger years.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Elton John, David Letterman and more stars paid tribute to Tony Bennett after his death on Friday morning, with John saying “he’s irreplaceable.” Bennett, whose professional career spanned eight decades and who achieved a No. 1 album at age 85, died Friday morning in New York City. He was 96. John, who performed “Rags to Riches” with Bennett, shared his tribute via Instagram. He wrote, “So sad to hear of Tony’s passing. Without doubt the classiest singer, man, and performer you will ever see. He’s irreplaceable. I loved and adored him. Condolences to Susan, Danny and the family.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French film guilds representing authors, directors and producers have released a joint letter pledging their “full solidarity” with the SAG-AFTRA and WGA double strike. “This battle that’s shaping tomorrow’s industry crosses borders. It’s also ours,” reads the letter, which was signed by the ARP (authors, directors, producers) and SRF (society of French directors), the governing body of Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. The letter says the double strike “signals a turning point where the questions of sharing of wealth and integration of new models and AI are central.”

Anne Hathaway, Jenna Ortega, Matthew McConaughey and others, are still shooting in the U.S. and overseas.

Stephen Rodrick Fran Drescher is on a hero’s journey.  I know because she told me.   We talked on Monday for about an hour as the actors’ strike moved into a second week. So far, it’s been very dramatic. Last Thursday, Drescher gave her version of Shakespeare’s Henry V’s St. Crispins Day speech with “we happy few” replaced by all American workers via “I think that the whole world is looking at us right now, because human beings in all different walks of life are being replaced by robots.” The speech launched a thousand labor-supporting memes and left reporters wondering if “The Nanny” was the new Norma Rae. Drescher carried the mojo into the first day of picketing on Friday when she called Disney CEO Bob Iger a medieval land baron for discourse launched from his Sun Valley Summer Camp. 

SAG-AFTRA has granted approval to 39 independent productions to shoot during the actors strike, after confirming that they are not linked to AMPTP companies. The list includes two A24 projects, and Deadline first reported on Monday that faith-based series The Chosen was likely to get one, which now is confirmed.

Writers Guild of America West members paid more dues than ever before on record earnings in the year before the ongoing strike, although a good part of that may be due to a speed-up in pre-strike production.

On the edge of what is bound to be the domestic box office’s third $200M+ weekend thanks to Barbie and Oppenheimer, the motion picture industry’s fret is whether the great post-pandemic moviegoing rebound is about to screech to a halt due to the SAG-AFTRA strike and actors prohibited from promoting.

The biggest names in Hollywood are showing their support for the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike by joining their fellow union members on the picket lines.

SAG-AFTRA strike marches on, networks are firming up their plans amid a dramatic downtick in active Hollywood productions with actors on the picket line. While the actors' strike has halted movies and scripted TV shows for the foreseeable future, it doesn't mean everything will be affected. Reality television, for the most part, will largely be unaffected, which will take center stage as the actors (and writers) continue to fight for better compensation, residuals and protective measures against the use of artificial intelligence.In response to the actors' strike, CBS on Monday shored up its fall schedule, relying heavily on supersized episodes of and to take it through the start of fall.

After AMPTP called their AI proposal to SAG-AFTRA yesterday “groundbreaking”, the actors’ union National Executive Director and chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, still begs to differ.

William Earl The SAG-AFTRA strike has shut down scores of film and TV productions as actors picket. While many sets had already shut down as a result of the WGA writers strike, this will effectively slow Hollywood down to a crawl as negotiations continue. Read Variety‘s list of newly-halted productions below, which will be updated throughout the strike. Beetlejuice 2 The Tim Burton production, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as the crude ghost, is almost done with shooting in London, but was still expected to film one more sequence in Vermont when the strike took place.