Saying that “we’re fighting for the survival of our profession,” SAG-AFTRA leaders on Monday night released the details of just how far they and the companies were when contract talks broke off and the performers launched their first strike against the film and scripted TV industry since 1980. “We moved on some things, but from Day 1 they wouldn’t meaningfully engage on the most critical issues,” SAG-AFTRA brass said in an email to members.
The studios soon responded, saying in part that SAG-AFTRA "continues to mischaracterize the negotiations with AMPTP.”
The actors countered, “Here’s the simple truth: We’re up against a system where those in charge of multibillion-dollar media conglomerates are rewarded for exploiting workers,” the negotiating committee wrote. “The companies are committed to prioritizing shareholders and Wall Street. Detailed below are some of the key issues of the negotiation and where things stand.”
In response, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said, “SAG-AFTRA continues to mischaracterize the negotiations with AMPTP. Not only does its press release deliberately distort the offers made by AMPTP, it also fails to include the proposals offered verbally to SAG-AFTRA leadership on July 12.” >>>Read Both Statements |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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eOne's No. 1 Suitor - Lionsgate has established pole position to acquire the Hasbro-owned Entertainment One, sources tell Deadline. Since Hasbro declared it was shedding all but its core business, Lionsgate has often been mentioned as a suitor, as has Legendary. The two indie studios have been more recently bidding for the eOne film and TV assets alongside distributor GoDigital Media Group, with former eOne CEO Darren Throop launching another effort to raise financing. >>> Changes Afoot
Attack Of The Zombie Snails - Blumhouse and natural history producer Plimsoll Productions have teamed up on a new factual series. The two companies are developing Nightmares of Nature, a series that follows animal heroes battling to survive the true-life horrors only real nature can provide. The idea is to execute natural history filmmaking through a horror lens. >>>No Network Attached
Podcast Push - Tenderfoot TV, the podcast company behind series such as To Live and Die in LA and Up and Vanished, is expanding its slate. The company has unveiled a raft of new series, including Dear Alana, a dual-narrative series created by Simon Kent Fung about the life and tragic death of devout youth Alana Chen, whose aspiration to become a nun led her to conversion therapy, and a number of weekly series. >>> Spinoffs, Too
'Filme' Talk - The UK has a new South Asian-focused film talk show. UK-based film company ReelN, founded by Aman Dhillon, has teamed up with online entertainment website Filme Shilmy to launch The Filme Shilmy Show. The project will feature South Asian talent who will appear to promote projects and discuss their journeys as storytellers. >>>Aims To Bridge Gap With UK Audiences |
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More News
📺 Paramount+ has cracked Nielsen's list of individual streaming services it tracks in its monthly Gauge report, accounting for 1% of total TV viewing in June. It is the 11th individual service to be broken out by the measurement firm, as opposed to just lumped into the "Other" category. Meanwhile, linear broadcast and cable viewing continued to slide in June, buoyed only by the NBA Finals.
👀 Yellowstone is set to make its broadcast debut as part of CBS’ fall schedule, which now includes a slew of reality series as well as a number of Paramount+ series such as SEAL Team and the original UK incarnation of Ghosts. It’s not entirely clear how CBS managed to find a way for the Montana-set series, which streams on Peacock, to air on its network, but insiders said that given it comes from sister company MTV Entertainment Studios, which produces with 101 Studios, the deal was worked out.
🎄 Christmas Actually is coming to London. Richard Curtis stressed that the variety show, which is running from the 7 to 11 December at London’s Royal Festival Hall, is not a sequel to his hit rom-com Christmas pic Love Actually. Christmas Actually will feature live music, performance, poetry and comedy, and will be in aid of Comic Relief.
📺 Some minor changes ahead for ABC’s summer primetime unscripted schedule. The Bachelorette, starring Charity Lawson, which currently airs Mondays at 9 pm, will move to 8 pm beginning Monday, July 24. It will be followed at 10:01 pm by Claim to Fame.
🎶 The producers of Here We Are have announced the cast for the first production of Stephen Sondheim’s final musical. Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O’Hare, Steven Pasquale, David Hyde Pierce, and Jeremy Shamos are set for the show, which opens September 28 for a limited Off Broadway engagement at The Shed. |
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Trending  John Harris, the co-founder of Politico, is returning to media outlet’s newsroom leadership as global editor in chief. He’ll succeed Matt Kaminski, who is stepping down as U.S. editor in chief on Aug. 31.
🔻 Peacock subscribers will see the first price hike in the service's three-year history, which will increase the rate for the Premium tier by $1 a month and that of Premium Plus by $2 a month. |
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OBITUARIES
🕯 Judith James, a film, TV and Broadway producer who was Richard Dreyfuss’ producing partner for many years and worked on such projects as Quiz Show, Mr. Holland’s Opus and Eleanor: In Her Own Words, has died July 14 of cancer in Santa Barbara, CA. She was 86. 🕯 CBS New York is mourning the loss of meteorologist Elise Finch who died suddenly over the weekend, the station announced Sunday. A cause of death has not been determined for Finch, who died in a hospital, according to a statement from WCBS. She was 51. 🕯 Robert Lieberman, who directed the sci-fi cult classic Fire in the Sky and won the inaugural DGA Award for Commercials, has died in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer. He was 75. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Wed - Netflix earnings
Thu - TelevisaUnivision earnings; Comic-Con begins
Fri - U.S. Women's first World Cup match; Barbie & Oppenheimer open
Sun - The Open golf champion is crowned in England |
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X Marks The Spot - David Duchovny was among the big-name SAG-AFTRA members who took to the picket lines outside major studios yesterday after joining forces last week with WGA strikers who walked out on May 2. Others included Rosario Dawson, Bob Odenkirk and Kiernan Shipka. |
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