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SAG-AFTRA And Studios Fail To ReaCH dEAL oN nEW Contract; Union To Meet This Morning TO Formally Launch Strike
Actors will join Writers on the Picket Lines Beginning Friday; Film & Scripted TV Productions With Union Members Will Shut Down Globally |
Contract negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke off late Wednesday, and the guild’s national board will meet Thursday morning to formally approve the launch of a strike. It will be the first actors strike against the film and television industry since 1980, and the first time actors and writers have been on strike at the same time since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild. Picketing is set to begin Friday morning.
The strike will shut down films and scripted TV shows that employ SAG-AFTRA members not just in the U.S. but around the world. Soap operas, which fall under a separate contract, are exempted.
Under the guild’s Global Rule One: “No member shall render any services or make an agreement to perform services for any employer who has not executed a basic minimum agreement with the union, which is in full force and effect, in any jurisdiction in which there is a SAG-AFTRA national collective bargaining agreement in place. This provision applies worldwide.” That means the impact of a strike will be felt not just across projects in production but potentially at award shows, premieres, events and film festivals around the world. The guild’s contract had originally been set to expire June 30 but was extended until Wednesday to allow bargaining to continue. On Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA agreed to the companies’ proposal to bring in a federal mediator in a last-ditch effort to avert a walkout but prospects for a deal dimmed when the guild issued a harshly worded statement saying that it was “not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement.” >>>Read SAG-AFTRA And AMPTP Statements |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Bob Iger Staying On The Ride - Disney CEO Bob Iger will not be handing Disney over to a successor next year after all. Iger, who returned to the post in November 2022 with a two-year contract to right the company's ship, will now stay through the end of 2026. Fresh off the extension, Iger sat for a lengthy and wide-ranging CNBC interview (see below). >>> "Intensely Focused On A Successful Transition”
'Mission: Impossible' Day 1 - The opening day for Paramount/Skydance's Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One starring Tom Cruise is looking like $16 million, which includes $7M in Tuesday previews. That total is behind the starts of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Mission: Impossible – Fallout, though those bowed on a Friday. This is about the long play of the movie -- with a current great Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 94%, it's expected to get to $90M, a franchise record opening, by Sunday. >>>Cruise Control John Ridley On Diversity In Hollywood - The Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave writer has been working in the business long enough to witness the the ebbs and flows of diversity initiatives and fears the inclusion momentum that came after the death of George Floyd and opened opportunities to new filmmakers could turn into a forgotten fad as the urgency fades. "History doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes," he writes. "Mistakes made in the past arrive again in the present, slightly re-dressed but always familiar." >>>Guest Column
BBC Boss Addresses Staff - Director General Tim Davie warned that it will be "complex" for the corporation to get to the bottom of allegations against its most high-profile presenter, Huw Edwards, while also being mindful of its duty of care to him. The memo came hours after Edwards was named as the presenter who allegedly paid an underage youth for sexual images, a story that has taken over the UK media since it broke. Edwards, whose wife said he is currently in hospital receiving treatment for mental health issues, will not face a police inquiry. >>>BBC Investigation Next
Lionsgate's Separation Plan - The company has furnished more details to investors ahead of its planned split into two publicly traded entities — one centered on film and TV production and the other on media networks, principally Starz — via a 500-plus-page SEC filing. Once the regulatory agency has signed off on the details in the form, a special shareholder meeting will be scheduled for the final vote to be taken. The filing refers to the two new companies as “New Lionsgate” and “New Starz.” >>> Taking Stock
New Fox News Suit - Fox News is facing a defamation lawsuit from Ray Epps, who claims that former host Tucker Carlson falsely identified him as an undercover FBI agent who triggered the January 6th attack on the Capitol. The move comes the same day three former Fox executives — Preston Padden, Ken Solomon and Bill Reyner — published a statement expressing their “deep disappointment” for “helping to give birth to Fox Broadcasting Company and Fox Television that came to include Fox News Channel — the channel that prominently includes news that, in the words of Sidney Powell’s counsel, ‘no reasonable person would believe.'” >>> Latest Lawsuit Big (Screen) Deal - Imax Corp. is planning to acquire full control of its China subsidiary, Imax China, with a proposal filed to acquire the outstanding 96.3 million shares. The company is paying roughly HK$10 per share in cash, or $124 million, about a 49% premium to the the 30-trading day average closing price of Imax China, which went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2015. >>>770 Imax Locations In China |
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Nicole Kidman Reveals The Secret Of Her Role In Taylor Sheridan's 'Special Ops: Lioness' |
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The Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress originally planned to be just a producer on Paramount+'s upcoming eight-episode spy series that stars Zoe Saldaña. But after many conversations with Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan, she eventually came aboard to play Kaitlyn Meade, a senior CIA operative who runs what’s known as the Lioness program that sends female operatives on undercover war-on-terror missions. "I'd never done this -- it was espionage and action," she says about getting hooked. >>> UK Launch Party |
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Anthony Carrigan, who was nominated for his third Emmy on Wednesday for playing NoHo Hank on HBO's Barry, has been cast in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy. He will play Metamorpho, whose alter ego is the archaeologist Rex Mason, in the DC movie that has David Corenswet playing Clark Kent aka Superman, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. "I’m thrilled to be a part of it," Carrigan told Deadline. "I’m honored to be playing this part, and I’m playing a hero. So, on top of everything, that’s pretty rad.”
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Chevalier) is set to star in 20th Century Studios' heist thriller Eenie Meanie, which Shawn Simmons is directing. Simmons also penned the script, with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick producing. Sources tell Deadline the project will likely premiere on Hulu. The film follows a former teenage getaway driver who is dragged back into her unsavory past when a former employer offers her a chance to save the life of her chronically unreliable ex-boyfriend.
Shameless alum Cameron Monaghan and Yellowjackets star Sarah Desjardinsare joining Jared Leto in Tron: Ares , the third film in the Disney sci-fi franchise. The story will follow Leto’s computer program Ares on a journey from the digital world to that of humans. Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith and Greta Lee are already set for the pic, penned by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne. Joachim Rønning is directing and eyeing an August start.
In Brief - Miles Brown (Black-ish) and Andrew Koji (Bullet Train, Warrior) are set to star in the comedic action-thriller Sixteen. Emmy-nominated stunt coordinator/action director Brett Chan (Netflix’s Wednesday, Max’s Warrior) will be making his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Jason Bourque (Insomnia), Phillip Mitchell and David Zanardi (A Wine Country Christmas). Production is set to begin in winter 2023 in Vancouver. ... Extraordinary Attorney Woo star Park Eun-bin will star in Castaway Diva, a Netflix drama about an aspiring singer who becomes stranded on a desert island for 15 years. Park’s character Set Mok-ha embarks on a journey to become a "diva" when she returns to civilization. |
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BY THE NUMBERS
27 - The number of Emmy nominations for HBO and Max's Succession, most of any series. The show also made history with three nominees in the Best Actor in a Drama Series category: Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong |
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Emmy Nominations 2023
👍 Pete Hammond's analysis: Too often the same people from the same shows turn up year after year. But this year my fellow Television Academy voters also proved they could cut through the clutter and the imposing mountain of content to make way for some newbies and deserving shows that might have been hard to find.
💪 HBO and its sister Max remain at the top of the noms pile this year led by the hauls for Succession, The Last of Us and The White Lotus among others. The Warner Bros Discovery network and streamer scored 127 nominations this year, beating rival Netflix, which secured 103.
❌ This year's snubs list includes 'Harry & Meghan', Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' and 'Yellowstone', among others, while surprises included noms for the upstart 'Jury Duty' and 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'. |
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More News
📺 Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company's linear TV business "may not be core" to the company given steady declines in viewers and profits. During a lengthy CNBC interview, Iger said the company has begun exploring strategic options for ABC, local stations and cable networks including ESPN. Iger also said striking SAG-AFTRA and WGA are not being "realistic" with their demands. In the political arena, the exec said claims by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that Disney is "sexualizing children" are "preposterous."
🎞️ Creditors of bankrupt Regal Cinemas parent Cineworld have agreed to appoint Cinépolis executive Eduardo Acuna as the CEO of the newly incorporated parent company of the major exhibitor. The news came as part of Cineworld’s proposed restructuring following Chapter 11 proceedings.
⚖️ Kevin Spacey took the stand in his UK trial, telling the jury his relationship with one of his alleged victims was “somewhat intimate." The Usual Suspects and House of Cards star found the man, who was the first of four to give evidence against him during the sex crimes trial, “charming and funny.” He is accused of “aggressively” grabbing the man’s crotch while being driven to a showbiz party in the early 2000s. |
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OBITUARIES 🕯 Daniel Goldberg, who produced all three The Hangover films, plus Space Jam, Old School and many others, and who co-wrote movies including the Bill Murray comedies Stripes and Meatballs directed by old friend Ivan Reitman, died in Los Angeles at 74. (Read Jason Reitman's appreciation here). 🕯 Dakota Fred Hurt, a key part of Discovery's Gold Rush franchise, died after a brief battle with brain cancer, according to his family. He was 80. 🕯 Mike Halac, the former wrestler known as “Mantaur” who during his 1990s heyday wore a huge bull head as he entered the ring, died at age 55. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Today - The Blacklist S10 finale; Outfest Los Angeles Film Festival opening night
Wed - Netflix earnings |
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Paul In A Day's Work - Paul Walter Hauser had a full Wednesday, scoring an Emmy nomination in the morning for playing serial killer Larry Hall on Apple TV+ limited series Black Bird, then hitting the red carpet for the ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Big ESPY winners included Patrick Mahomes and Lionel Messi. |
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