SAG-AFTRA & Video Game Biz To Resume Contract Talks In Effort To Avoid New Strike

Davide Abbatescianni Comicbook writer Garth Ennis, best known for series such as “Preacher” and “The Boys,” and his nine-year stint at Marvel, is a guest of this week’s Lucca Comics & Games. Ennis, whose current work includes comedy Barbarian strip “Babs,” and the latest instalments of the “Battle Action” and “Punisher” series, spoke about his new book “Partisan,” as well as diverse topics including religion and war. “[In ‘Partisan’], Steve [Epting] and I explored a similar territory to that of ‘Sara.’ It’s about a woman who finds herself caught in the fighting between Russian partisans and the German invaders in Ukraine from 1942 onwards,” Ennis said.

EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA has granted an interim agreement to Sometimes I Think About Dying, an indie gem produced by and starring Daisy Ridley that made a big impression in its world premiere on the opening night of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

The cast of the upcoming The Hunger Games prequel movie hasn’t been able to promote the film all summer long due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, but now they can thanks to an interim agreement!

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s major studios had a second consecutive day of constructive steps toward a settlement to what will go down as a TV and film strike of record duration for the union. Nobody’s talking officially, but it’s understood that the sides made progress in closing some of the gap on key issues that the union publicly described on Tuesday evening as being “very far apart.” Nobody’s talking for the record at SAG-AFTRA or the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but signals from both management and union sources are that the conversations are headed in the right direction.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Progress has been made toward ending the SAG-AFTRA strike in recent days, but “a lot” of issues are still on the table, the union’s chief negotiator said Monday morning. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator and executive director of the guild, made an appearance at the Disney picket lines. In an interview outside the studio gates, he would not hazard a guess as to when the strike will be over.

EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP continued to communicate intermittently Sunday as they close in on possibly reaching a new deal that could end the 108-day strike.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher took to Instagram to express her condolences over the passing of Friends star Matthew Perry.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA delivered its response Thursday to the latest proposal from the major studios, as the two sides appeared to be making progress toward ending the actors strike. The sides are expected to pick up negotiations again on Friday. Both sides are trying to avoid another breakdown in talks, and each one has a strong incentive to get to a deal.

EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said it on the picket lines earlier today, and now it seems that “cautious optimism,” as an insider also stated, has become the takeaway term Thursday for the state of talks between the guild and the studios.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Four CEOs are set to return to SAG-AFTRA headquarters on Tuesday with a new offer that they hope will break the stalemate in the 102-day actors strike. Among them will be Disney’s Bob Iger, who called SAG-AFTRA’s top negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, on Saturday to invite the actors back to the bargaining table. The CEOs — who also include David Zaslav of Warner Bros.

SAG-AFTRA kicked off its National Convention 2023 under the banner “Future Forward Union Power.”

SAG-AFTRA’s first industry-wide strike in more than 40 years hit the 100-day mark. “SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP will meet for bargaining on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at SAG-AFTRA Plaza.

After over a week of silence, the actors union and the AMPTP are set to return to negotiations on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer On the first day of the SAG-AFTRA strike in July, union president Fran Drescher was asked how long she expected it to last. “We’re set up to go six months if we have to,” Drescher said. It hasn’t been that long yet.

SAG-AFTRA has rules around Halloween!

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A group of A-list actors is adding pressure on SAG-AFTRA leadership to find a way to resolve the actors strike, which has now lasted 97 days. George Clooney, Tyler Perry, Scarlett Johansson, and others held a Zoom meeting on Tuesday afternoon with Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s executive director. Though the tone has been described as “supportive,” the actors did not call the meeting merely to express support.

Last month, Blumhouse shifted “The Exorcist: Believer” from its coveted Friday, October 13 release date to a week earlier due to “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” And now that Beyoncé has her concert film “Renaissance” ready for theaters on December 1, New Regency will also move one of its premiere awards season releases from that date.   READ MORE: ‘The Bikeriders’ Trailer: Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon & Tom Hardy Star In Jeff Nichols’ Latest On December 1 THR reports that the indie distributor has lifted Jeff Nichols‘ “The Bikeriders” from its early December theatrical release for another undisclosed date.

This is Day 96 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Talks broke down last week between the major studios and SAG-AFTRA, with the studios saying that the gap between the two sides is “too great” to continue productive negotiations. Until they can bridge the gap, SAG-AFTRA will remain on strike and the entertainment industry will remain shut down. So how big is that gap? About $480 million a year.

SAG-AFTRA Chief Negotiator and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is very happy with Taylor Swift and not so happy with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.