Will Smith Speaks Out In Support of SAG-AFTRA Strike: ‘It’s A Pivotal Moment’

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Deauville American Film Festival will forge ahead with its honorary tributes to stars such as Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Peter Dinklage and Joseph Gordon-Levitt despite the fact that they won’t be in attendance due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. The festival’s artistic director, Bruno Barde, told Variety ahead of the event’s press conference on Thursday that he empathized with actors and writers who are on strike to “protect themselves against the dangers of artificial intelligence.” “AI has always existed in cinema and it’s now posing a threat to screenwriters, set designers, dubbers and, of course, to actors whom we’re using the image of.

Lady Gaga's dad — residents' quality of life has been going downhill. Joe — who's lived in the affluent area, along with wife Cynthia, for 35 years and also owns and runs Joanne Trattoria eatery there — spoke to the New York Post to explain his stance.As he tells it in a story published on Aug. 9, the problems started six weeks earlier when NYC turned the Stratford Arms Hotel — which had been a residence hall for the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and is just down the block from Joe's home — into a shelter for 500 migrants.

Chris Noth is speaking out in his first interview since multiple women accused him of sexual assault in 2021. During a conversation with USA Today, the 68-year-old actor maintains his innocence and that the only thing he did wrong was cheat on his wife, Tara Wilson.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Photographer and author Maxwell Poth’s gallery exhibit, “Young Queer America,” now at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, serves as a companion to his book of the same name, which features a collection of portraits and essays from young people across the United States. “I want every single queer person, especially every single queer kid to know this book exists,” the Los Angeles-based Poth said at the exhibit’s opening on July 29.

SAG-AFTRA responded to Sarah Silverman’s criticism over the union allowing certain projects to film amid its strike with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over labor disputes.

Viola Davis is backing away from G20 in a move that may put pressure on other A-listers.The EGOT winner says she’s stepping away from the project even after the film got the SAG-AFTRA interim agreement necessary to start production. “I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike,” said the 57-year-old in a statement obtained by ET.

Viola Davis is making a difficult decision.

The dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes resulted in almost every production pressing pause — not including the movies that have received approval to keep filming.

Following another round of waivers granted by SAG-AFTRA, we have the first one granted that will allow to promote a film rather then shooting a film. Sources confirmed to Deadline that The Unknown Country, which stars Lily Gladstone and Quantum Leap‘s Raymond Lee and opens this Friday, was granted a waiver by the guild allowing for guild members to do publicity for the upcoming film.

Dwayne «The Rock» Johnson is showing up for his fellow actors. The star has issued a historic seven-figure donation to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation in an effort to lend a hand to union members who are financially struggling amid the current strike. SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B.

Jason Aldean is speaking out about the backlash over the music video for his song «Try That in a Small Town.»Addressing concertgoers during the Cincinnati leg of his  Friday, Aldean maintained that despite the dialogue surrounding the song and the labels affixed to him amid the controversy, what he is, is a proud American.«It's been a long week and I've seen a lot of stuff suggesting I'm this, suggesting I'm that,» The country crooner said in the fan-captured video. «Here's one thing I feel. I feel like everybody's entitled to their opinion.

Jason Aldean is speaking out about the backlash over the music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town.”

Willie Nelson is “On The Road Again.”The legendary country singer — who celebrated his 90th birthday in April — has 26 ‘Outlaw Music Festival’ concerts lined up from July through October this year.These aren’t your typical shows though.What makes these ‘Outlaw’ gigs so special is that Nelson enlists special guests for each like Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends like Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty and Grateful Dead member Bobby Weir as well as contemporary icons like Avett Brothers and Govt Mule.Best of all, the ‘Outlaws’ will be dipping their toes into the Northeast all summer long.Up first, Nelson and co. are slated to perform at Bethel, NY’s Bethel Woods Center For The Arts on July 29.After that, they’ll hit Darien Center, NY’s Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on July 30, Holmdel, NJ’s PNC Bank Arts Center on Aug.

Challengers,” starring Zendaya, which had been set as the Venice Film Festival opener, has been pulled from the festival due to promotional complications prompted by the SAG-AFTRA strike. Venice has announced that the sexy sports comedy — in which Zendaya plays a former tennis prodigy turned coach entangled in a love triangle with two pro tennis players, played by Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist — has changed its distribution strategy. The film’s promotion has been disrupted by the current actors strike, which prohibits SAG-AFTRA union members from doing any type of promotional activity. This means Zendaya, O’Connor and Faist would not have been able to launch the film on Aug. 30 on the Venice red carpet.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The double SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes are worrying exhibitors in France, where the box office is driven by Hollywood blockbusters. In an interview with French news channel BFM Business, Richard Patry, who presides over the National Federation of Cinemas, predicts “the strike might go on for a long time” because it’s aimed at streaming services. “Many U.S. films have already started to be delayed, and it worries us a lot for 2024,” Patry said. The dearth of U.S. releases during the pandemic hurt the French box office, which was down by about 30% in 2022. Even if French movies have a large market share domestically, U.S. blockbusters typically drive an upward trend. Case in point: the French B.O. finally recovered this year and has been up 33%, bolstered by a spike in anticipated American movies, which skyrocketed from 29 in 2022 to 51 in the first five months of 2023, according to Comscore France. 

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International “Succession” star Brian Cox and “Catastrophe’s” Rob Delaney are among the confirmed speakers at a London rally in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike. U.K. actors union Equity revealed plans earlier this week for two major demonstrations on Friday in solidarity with the actors strike. Twin rallies will take place at noon local time in London’s Leicester Square and in Manchester’s Media City. Speakers so far scheduled for the London rally include Cox and Delaney as well as “The Pact” and “Alex Rider” star Rakie Ayola, Equity general secretaries Paul W. Fleming and Lynda Rooke, and Bectu boss Philippa Childs. Member of Parliament John McDonnell is also set to speak.

EXCLUSIVE: Andor will be forced to temporarily pause its Season 2 shoot as it becomes the latest major victim of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

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.”

Tom Cruise attempted a real-life mission impossible ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike going into effect.

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.