International Insider: SAG-AFTRA Strike Looms; Kevin Spacey Trial Begins; Taormina Tales

“History is littered with those who are benevolent to some and cruel to others,” the prosecutor in the Kevin Spacey trial concluded with today.

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. 

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.

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.

K.J. Yossman Elton John and David Furnish have taken the stand as part of Kevin Spacey’s defence in the actor’s trial for sexual assault in the U.K.

Leonardo DiCaprio is standing with his fellow actors. The  star took to his Instagram Stories to show his support not long after it was announced that SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) formally approved a strike upon negotiations falling apart between the actors' union and major Hollywood studios and streamers, who are represented by the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers).The actors will now join the writers on the picket line, marking the first time since 1960 that two major guilds will be striking at the same time.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Disney didn’t let the SAG-AFTRA strike get in the way of its “Haunted Mansion” world premiere. None of the stars of the movie were expected to be in attendance, including LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Daniel Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj, Marilu Henner and Lindsay Lamb all observing the SAG-AFTRA strike. The studio still rolled out the red carpet at Disneyland in Anaheim Saturday night. Director Justin Simien told Variety he was “sad” his cast couldn’t attend, but understands why and supports the actors walkout. Later in, he gave a shoutout to the cast while introducing the movie.

Kimiko Glenn is speaking out amid the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA and the major studios remain at odds on a dizzying array of issues, as film and TV actors hit the picket lines Friday for the first time since 1980. According to sources on both sides, the biggest sticking point is the union’s demand for 2% of the revenue generated by streaming shows. The two sides also remain far apart on basic increases in minimum rates, with the studios offering 5%, 4% and 3.5% across the three years of the contract, while the union is demanding 11%, 4% and 4%. But that only scratches the surface. The parties are at odds on dozens of issues, only a handful of which have been publicly reported.

San Diego Comic-Con had Hall H had been reserved two Saturdays from now for a presentation by Legendary, which I hear was to strut out Dune: Part Two and the studio’s next Monsterverse movie. However, that’s not happening now due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

officially went on strike after they were unable to reach an agreement with major Hollywood studios and streamers by the July 12 deadline. Because of this, nearly all productions in Hollywood have been forced to shut down, which have already had an immediate impact in the industry with canceled premieres, axed publicity tours, delayed projects and abandoned sets.Actors like Jason Sudeikis, Susan Sarandon, Olivia Wilde, Allison Janney, Josh Gad, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Mandy Moore, Ben Schwartz and Sharon Lawrence were among those joining the writers — who have been on strike since May 2 — on the picket line beginning July 14.

Oliver Stone said Friday he was shocked to hear that the stars of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer had walked out of its London premiere the day before as SAG-AFTRA officially declared strike action.

William Earl During a press conference Thursday, SAG-AFTRA leadership announced that the union was going on strike, and picketing started up Friday. In New York, the four locations were announced as HBO / Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery / Netflix HQ, Paramount and NBC Universal. In Los Angeles, 8 sites were announced, including Warner Bros., Amazon / Culver Studios, Fox, Paramount, Netflix, Sunset / Gower, Disney and Sony. Corporate greed was at the center of messaging on day one of joint picketing from SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. When the bus carrying SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and the rest negotiating committee arrived outside of Netflix offices, they were mobbed by media and fellow protesters as they inched their way down the sidewalk along Sunset Boulevard.

As the SAG-AFTRA strike begins, multiple blockbusters shut down production. THR reports that several Hollywood tentpoles for the 2024 release calendar have stopped shooting due to the guild’s strike commencing this morning.

Olive Stone has said he was shocked to hear that the stars of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer had walked out of its London premiere on Thursday as SAG-AFTRA officially declared strike action.

George Clooney is speaking out about the SAG-AFTRA strike.One day after the actors' union officially ratified their strike, with performers walking off sets and out of promotional events for their upcoming projects, Clooney issued a statement to ET, calling the strike a major turning point in the history of Hollywood.«This is an inflection point in our industry,» the actor and director said in his statement. «Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living.

Production has paused on Deadpool 3 following SAG-AFTRA’s decision to move forward with strike action last night.

With the much expected SAG-AFTRA strike announced Thursday, fall film festivals are in wait-and-see mode as to whether it’s a season sans stars.