Hollywood Actors Agree To Federal Mediation, But Refuse To Move Deadline As Strike Appears Unavoidable

Full House Rewind, the rewatch podcast hosted by Dave Coulier, is pushing the pause button on the release of new episodes until the SAG-AFTRA strike is over.

Billy Ray is back for the 13th installment of Deadline Strike Talk, the weekly podcast that began at the start of the Writers Guild strike against AMPTP. With writers and actors petrified at the job cutting and ecosystem-destroying potential of AI, Ray re-engages the technology in conversation, as he did in his week seven podcast. But this time, with a new twist.

Snoop Dogg is disappointing fans but delighting striking actors and writers by cancelling his upcoming shows at the Hollywood Bowl.

joined the WGA in taking strike action on July 13, after negotiations broke down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), who represent major studios like Netflix, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Warner Bros. and others.Both unions are seeking better pay, streaming residuals and safeguards against the use of AI technology amid the rise of streaming services.The strikes look set to have a major impact on the release calendar of upcoming TV shows and films, with many shutting down production in solidarity.Screen Actors Guild national executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, recently said the strike could last until the early months of 2024.“I wouldn’t rule out January or February,” Crabtree-Ireland told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson made an “historic” donation to contribute financial support to the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strike this month.Earlier this month, negotiations broke down between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), with talks relating to base pay, residuals and the use of artificial intelligence in the industry.On July 13 – the day that the strike was declared – SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance and executive director Cyd Wilson wrote a letter to 2,700 of the union’s highest-paid actors to highlight the financial hardship that industry professionals were going to face as they stopped work (via Variety).After sending the letter, Johnson’s team reached out to offer help.

Fran Drescher became the "it girl" in Hollywood from the beginning of her career. From dancing with John Travolta in her first film, to creating and starring in her own, award-winning television sitcom, and then pivoting into becoming one of the most powerful people in the industry – Drescher kept her eye on the prize: success.  The New York-native had big dreams as a kid, and wanted to be a writer, hairdresser, actor or politician.

The Walking Dead producer Gale Anne Hurd has called for U.S. and European countries to strike formal co-production agreements to support indie films and TV shows.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent In March, several months before SAG-AFTRA actors went on the warpath in Hollywood, Italy’s dubbing industry workers staged a protracted strike demanding higher wages, less frenzied work conditions and protection against artificial intelligence. The Italian dubbing industry workers – many of whom are voice actors – returned to work after three weeks as local unions entered a phase of negotiations that seemed promising enough, even though their issues are not yet resolved. Cut to the present day. Italian unions representing the country’s film and TV industry workers are at “a very critical, almost historic juncture” in a broader labor dispute with the country’s motion picture association ANICA and other industry trade orgs, according to Sabina Di Marco, leader of SLC CGIL, the biggest union at the bargaining table.

Naman Ramachandran Ariel Kavoussi, whose acting credits include Netflix’s “Maniac,” Prime Video’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and film “Catfight,” has wrapped her feature directorial debut “The Next Big One: A Comedy with Three Potential Problems.” In this dystopian sci-fi black comedy, a high-ranking employee at an omnipotent tech firm must help her depressed, activist brother move into their aunt’s house while a hurricane threatens New York city. Principal photography wrapped in Brooklyn, New York. Kavoussi previously directed shorts and some TV. The lead cast includes Molly Bernard (“Younger”), David H. Holmes (“The Penguin”), Deborah Rush (“Strangers with Candy”) and Kevin Corrigan (“The Get Down”).

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday stepped up her rhetoric on the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, calling for “a fair and equitable solution” in contract negotiations for both sides.“Los Angeles is experiencing a summer of struggle to make ends meet,” Bass said in a statement. “Whether you’re a writer who has been on strike for more than 72 days or an actor who has been on strike for 72 hours, wages and health benefits to afford housing, food and the basic necessities to survive should be a minimum requirement in discussions.”She added that “a strong business sector is essential for our city to become affordable for working families once again,” noting that the Los Angeles is facing “a historic inflection point” as the entertainment industry experiences economic pressure and business uncertainty.“A fair and equitable solution must be reached,” Bass said, adding that “in all industries — education, hospitality, goods delivery or entertainment — Angelenos deserve fair contracts.”Meanwhile, California Gov.

Twitter on Saturday (July 15) in response to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strike which began last week. The union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers, are seeking an increase in base pay and residuals in the age of streaming, along with safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.In a post in support of the strike, Ruffalo wrote: “How about we all jump into indies now? Content creators create a film & TV-making system alongside the studio & streaming networks? So there is actual competition.Then we just do what we always do—create great content & they can buy it, or we take it out ourselves & WE share in those sales.

Fran Drescher, president of the actors trade union SAG-AFTRA, defended a photo she took with Kim Kardashian in Italy around the same time negotiations between actors and production companies began to break down. Drescher was in Italy to attend Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Moda despite the union facing the strike deadline. She defended the outing as "absolute work" during Thursday's press conference announcing SAG-AFTRA would be going on strike.

be joining Hollywood writers on the picket line beginning Friday, July 14.Negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), which represent the majority of actors in film and television, and major Hollywood studios, who are being represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), fell through after the Wednesday, July 12 deadline of 11:59 p.m. Pacific time passed without resolution.Actors will join writers on the picket line starting Friday morning. This will mark the first time the actors and writers will be striking at the same time since 1960.Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director/chief negotiator, made the strike announcement at a Thursday press conference following a national board meeting to approve the work stoppage. Crabtree-Ireland said talks with the AMPTP left the union «with no choice» but to move forward with a strike.«It came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads.

Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt left the London premiere of Oppenheimer today (July 13) as a Hollywood actors’ strike was called.According to director Christopher Nolan, the actors left the premiere as the strike began (via BBC), after the event was brought forward by an hour so the cast could walk the red carpet.The national board of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) – Hollywood’s largest union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers – voted unanimously today to strike, according to The Los Angeles Times.SAG-AFTRA was seeking better pay and working conditions in the age of streaming, while other negotiations related to safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.Following a breakdown in negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), SAG-AFTRA members were told to be prepared to strike as they awaited the outcome of today’s vote.The Hollywood shutdown is first time in 63 years that actors and writers have gone on strike simultaneously. Actors will reportedly be on the picket line from Friday (July 14).“What’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher.

Leaders of a Hollywood’s actors union voted Thursday to join screenwriters in the first joint strike in more than six decades, shutting down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down.Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, executive director of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said at a news conference that the union leadership voted for the work stoppage hours after their contract expired and talks broke off with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers representing employers including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others.“A strike is an instrument of last resort,” he said. Union leaders said at a news conference that they voted unanimously for a strike to begin at midnight.

The cast of Oppenheimer staged a walk-out from its London premiere as a Hollywood actors' strike was confirmed. Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon were among those who left the star-studded event to “write their picket signs”.

performers to join film and television writers on picket lines as early as Thursday.The SAG-AFTRA actors union, which represents 160,000 members, said its national board would vote on a strike order on Thursday morning. If approved, Hollywood studios would face their first dual work stoppage in 63 years and be forced to shut down production across the United States.Both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are demanding increases in base pay and residuals in the streaming TV era plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).Fran Drescher, former star of “The Nanny” and the president of SAG-AFTRA, said studios’ responses to the actors’ concerns had been “insulting and disrespectful.”“The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us,” she said in a statement.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A federal mediator will be present on Wednesday for negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the major studios, as the performers’ contract is set to expire at midnight. The two sides agreed Tuesday to seek mediation in a last-ditch effort to avert a strike, which has come to seem all but inevitable in recent days. If no deal is reached, the SAG-AFTRA national board is expected to hold a meeting on Thursday to approve a walkout. The union represents 160,000 performers, who would join the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines outside the major studios.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA has agreed to a last-minute call for federal mediation of its contract, but indicated it will not extend its deadline for deciding whether to go on strike beyond Wednesday at midnight. That would appear to leave relatively little time for a mediator to avert a strike, which could begin as soon as Thursday morning. In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, the union emphasized that “time is running out” and made clear that relations between the two sides have become extremely strained. “The AMPTP has abused our trust and damaged the respect we have for them in this process,” the union said. “We will not be manipulated by this cynical ploy to engineer an extension when the companies have had more than enough time to make a fair deal.”

SAG-AFTRA has agreed to federal mediation in order the break the bargaining deadlock with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but said that “we are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement.” The deadline for reaching an agreement is still Wednesday at midnight PT.