SAG-AFTRA Health Plan to Reimburse Abortion Travel Costs

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA members have voted overwhelmingly to approve a new contract with Netflix that allows actors more freedom to work on shows on other platforms. The union announced that 89.03% voted in favor of the agreement, which is expected to cover the next four years. The union had been focused on addressing “exclusivity,” under which TV actors have generally been blocked from working on other shows during hiatus periods. Under the new agreement, Netflix will have to designate a three-month period after each season — “a conflict-free window” — during which actors will be allowed to work on any show they want.

Lily Moayeri About six weeks ago, locals and visitors to the famed intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street saw one of the bare walls in the area begin to show some shapes and colors. Over on Instagram, posing at the same spot, Los Angeles urban pop artist Tristan Eaton wrote on July 17, “My dream wall is finally happening!” On Aug. 25, the six-story mural, which adorns the south-facing side of the Aster club and hotel, had its official reveal in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The mural was created with spray paint and executed in Eaton’s signature collage style, which mixes pop art and traditional techniques. It’s a salute to Hollywood groundbreakers such as Judy Garland and Sidney Poitier, whose likenesses are the largest figurative elements of the work. Garland’s daughter, Lorna Luft, and granddaughter, Vanessa Richards, were among the guests who attended the ribbon-cutting.

Kate Garraway is devastated at the idea of not spending her wedding anniversary with husband Derek Draper, according to reports.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Talks between the Motion Picture Association and the Hollywood labor unions have failed to produce an agreement on a new law that would address firearm safety on movie sets. The two sides backed competing proposals earlier this year in Sacramento in response to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in New Mexico last October. Both bills would have established a training standard for film armorers — a job that is currently almost entirely unregulated. The union proposal would have been more sweeping, however, establishing the role of a “set safety supervisor” who would have the power to shut down productions. Both bills stalled in the legislature in May, but the two sides continued to talk in hopes of reaching an agreement before the Aug. 31 legislative deadline.

Vogue Williams has hit out at trolls who have sent her vile messages about her baby son Otto and shared a screenshot of comments she's recently received online. The 36 year old took to her Instagram Stories to provide an example of the trolling she's been receiving in her inbox, with one vile social media user targeting baby Otto.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A bill to extend California’s film and TV tax incentive program through 2030 has been placed on hold, as lawmakers continue to work on elements of the bill, including a new diversity mandate. The state’s $330 million tax credit for Hollywood is currently set to expire in 2025. Sen. Anthony Portantino has worked on a bill, SB 485, that would add another five years to the program. Last week, a new provision was added requiring that productions that receive a tax credit adopt hiring goals that are “broadly reflective” of the state’s demographics. Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, D-Los Angeles, led the effort to include that provision, which also adds an extra 4% subsidy for projects that meet their diversity targets.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Anthony Pellicano, the former private eye to the stars, is working for the billionaire owner of the Edmonton Oilers as he seeks to fight off a sexual misconduct lawsuit. Pellicano confirmed to Variety that he has been retained by Daryl Katz, who made his fortune in Canadian pharmacies before venturing into sports and entertainment, to help combat allegations that Katz engaged in sex with a teenage dancer. Pellicano spent 16 years in federal prison for wiretapping, racketeering, fraud and conspiracy. He is no longer licensed to work as a private investigator. Since his release in 2019, he has advertised his services in “crisis management,” “trouble resolution” and “due diligence.”

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A woman who is suing former “SNL” star Horatio Sanz for sexual assault asked the court’s permission on Tuesday to add Jimmy Fallon, Lorne Michaels, and Tracy Morgan as defendants, arguing that they enabled Sanz’ misconduct. The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, alleges that Sanz “groomed” her when she was a teen fan of the show. She also alleges that Sanz kissed her, groped her, and attempted to digitally penetrate her at a party in May 2002, when she was 17 years old. She filed suit in August 2021 under a state law that opened a two-year “lookback window” allowing victims of child sex abuse to bring claims that otherwise would have been barred by the statute of limitations. More recently, New York City amended its own law to create a one-year lookback window, allowing accusers to sue anyone who enabled such conduct.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterYou might start seeing a lot more of your favorite TV actors, as their union approved a deal on Saturday allowing them to appear in multiple shows at the same time.SAG-AFTRA has been lobbying for a decade to curtail so-called “exclusivity” agreements, which block TV series regulars from taking other jobs while they are on hiatus.In the agreement approved by the union’s national board on Saturday, producers will be required to give TV actors a three-month window after each season in which they can take any job they want. That means that stars of shows may start appearing more often as guest stars — or even as regulars — on shows on other platforms and networks.

other children’s programs.” The limitations do not apply to adult programs and cease when the minor reaches 18.“This negotiation reflects a healthier collaboration between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP in the interdependent relationship we share. The AMPTP was motivated to come to the table and improve a contract that has hindered our members for years.

SAG-AFTRA‘s national board voted overwhelmingly today to approve a new agreement with the AMPTP that will sharply limit exclusivity terms in actors’ personal service agreements that hold series regulars off the market and unable to work for unreasonably long periods of time. The vote was 95.5% in favor, 4.5% opposed, and does not require membership ratification as this was a mid-term modification of the guild’s existing film and TV contract.

A confluence of hard bargaining and legislative lobbying helped secure significant gains in two new agreements SAG-AFTRA reached earlier this month covering exclusivity, which are standard provisions in TV contracts that can hold TV series regulars off the market and unable to work for unreasonably long periods of time, guild leaders said in a podcast released on Thursday.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterCalifornia is poised to add a diversity requirement to its $330 million tax incentive for film and TV production, as lawmakers seek to use their leverage to make the industry better reflect the state’s demographics.Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign a bill, SB 485, that will extend the tax credit through 2030.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterSAG-AFTRA announced on Monday evening that it has reached a tentative agreement with the major studios on actor exclusivity periods, an issue that has become a top priority for the union in recent years.The issue affects actors on TV series, who can find themselves barred from working on other projects for many months or even years between TV seasons. The union has said that the issue has grown acute in the streaming era, with seasons getting shorter and with longer delays between seasons.The union backed a bill, AB 437, in the California legislature, which aims to eliminate exclusivity periods from actors’ contracts.

Fifteen digital and streaming producers and assignment desk editors at Minnesota’s WCCO-TV have been officially recognized as a bargaining unit of SAG-AFTRA after a unanimous vote sanctioned by the National Labor Relations Board. The employees at the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis, who produce digital content and source info for the newsroom, WCCO.com and the CBS News Minnesota streaming service, began organizational discussions with the union in January 2019. On-air WCCO-TV employees and newsroom producers were already members of the union.

Trustees of the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan have unanimously approved a reimbursement benefit to cover travel and lodging expenses related to abortion care for participants who live or work in states that prohibit abortions. “In taking this decisive action,” the trustees said in a press release Friday, “SAG-AFTRA and management Plan trustees are seeking to ensure participants will continue to have access to safe abortion services regardless of where they live or work.”