Tag: Hollywood

Posted on in News

SAG-AFTRA & AMPTP Reach Tentative Deal To End Strike

At midnight, it was announced by the official Twitter account of SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, that they’ve finally reached a tentative deal worth “over one billion dollars” with the AMPTP (the major Hollywood studios/streamers). Ending the actors’ strike that had been ongoing for 118 days. This deal comes when further negotiations occurred after the AMPTP gave their “last and final offer,” although, it wasn’t.

Here is the union’s official statement that was posted on a thread on Twitter:

We are thrilled and proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. As of 12:01 a.m. PT on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended, and all picket locations are closed.

In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes “above-pattern” minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension and Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much-needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.

We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.

The new tentative deal means that pre-production for movies/shows shooting in 2024 can resume alongside productions that had paused earlier in the year. Membership will still have a chance to vote to ratify the deal like what previously happened with the WGA (writers’ union) deal with the studios.

However, how quickly things get back to filming isn’t entirely known as it could be weeks or months depending on the project. Yet, this is great news for the industry and both unions should be proud that they’ve got historical deals for their membership by sticking to their guns.

SOURCE: SAG-AFTRA

Posted on in Film News, News, Television News

Judge Rules A.I. Art Can’t Be Copyrighted Landing Huge Blow To Hollywood Studios Itching To Phase-Out Humans

With the WGA strike recently crossing the 100-day mark and the possibility that the SAG-AFTRA strike might follow suit, it’s starting to feel like it’s only a matter of time before the AMPTP (Hollywood studios/streamers) end up coming to their senses by returning to the bargaining table. However, one of those sticking points, both writers and actors have been decrying the use of new artificial intelligence bots/programs in the industry. Writers could see themselves either replaced entirely or forced to rewrite haphazard scripts created by sketchy programs that are already getting dinged for plagiarism. Actors on the other hand are directly seeing what bleak future they’re up against, as some background/extras have been subjected to digital scans that would allow studios to use their likeness/image without future consent or even payment impacting a majority of the union’s membership.

It looks like a federal judge (U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell) yesterday (via The Hollywood Reporter) has ruled that AI-created art isn’t able to be copyrighted, upholding a finding from the U.S. Copyright Office. This essentially means that art/image, writing, music, and potentially even footage cannot be protected under the same laws that studios have long used for their film/shows. Likely making any dominating involvement with AI potentially a risk to their copyright.

This comes after challenges were made when the government refused to issue copyrights for AI-generated material. Judge Howell’s opinion from the ruling stressed that “Human authorship is a bedrock requirement” and that copyright “protects only works of human creation.” Howell added, “Human involvement in, and ultimate creative control over, the work at issue was key to the conclusion that the new type of work fell within the bounds of copyright.”

Making it clear that Hollywood executives/CEOs won’t have that blanket financial incentive to replace humans working behind and in front of the camera. Without copyright protections anyone can steal, reproduce, and sell that work without fear of legal ramifications from those actions (think public domain media). However, what will likely be up for debate next is the human involvement threshold needed for work to be copyrighted, if there indeed are major A.I. contributions to that material. It simply might be safer to avoid that altogether and continue to work in a traditional manner to keep the copyright strong from the jump.

In a previous case, it was found that neither work produced by animals was subject to being granted copyrights either.

SOURCE: THR

Posted on in News

IATSE To Strike On October 18 If Deal Isn’t Reached Causing Massive Halt In Film & Television Production

Some folks might be aware of the writers’ strikes in the past, however, something just as impactful to the production of film and television is looming.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Hollywood’s major below the line union is on the cusp of a strike that could take place on Oct. 18 at 12:01 a.m. and lead to major stoppage on multiple film and television projects if they can’t reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The unions are seeking a 10-hour turnaround between shifts for all workers, as well as a 54-hour turnaround on weekends. They are also seeking increased meal penalties, as a way to force productions to stop for lunch, and an end to discounted rates for streaming services.

IATSE has a membership that consists 60,000 and the strike authorization vote passed with 98.7% support back on October 4 (thanks to a huge online campaign to vote yes on strike authorization).

The two sides returned to the bargaining table on Oct. 5, a day after IATSE announced the results of a strike authorization vote. The vote passed overwhelmingly with 98.7% support and 90% turnout.

This situation could be resolved before a strike is triggered, however, if not, this could be devastating to the entertainment industry if a strike goes past weeks/months.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

Damien Chazelle’s R-Rated 1920s Hollywood Drama ‘Babylon’ Bumped To Christmas 2022 By Paramount

Deadline has revealed that Paramount Pictures is bumping the release date of Damien Chazelle‘s latest movie titled Babylon an entire year to December 25, 2022 . The film will be a period drama set in Hollywood’s transition to talkies in the 1920s with Brad Pitt attached to star and Margot Robbie reportedly in talks for a role after Emma Stone exited.

The film is a period, R-rated drama, set in the shifting moment in Hollywood when the industry turned from silent film to talkies. 

This new release date would place Babylon in direct competition with upcoming blockbusters Avatar 2 and Aquaman 2 as both will drop earlier in the month.

The pair of actors starred in Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood leading to Pitt’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor, however, they never shared the screen together. It’ll also be interesting to see if the project will skew more in the realm of something similar to David Fincher‘s latest project Mank, a dramatic biopic about the Citizen Kane screenwriter that takes place well after that talkies have dominated the film industry.

Brad Pitt is currently shooting the Sony Pictures assassin action flick Bullet Train in Los Angeles for director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, John Wick, Atomic Blonde).

Margot Robbie‘s next theatrical release will be The Suicide Squad on August 6th and is said to have a role in David O. Russell‘s next project.

It’s certainly notable that movies focused on Hollywood and the film industry tend to do extremely well during awards season nominations suggesting that Babylon could be gearing-up to become a contender even before cameras roll.

SOURCE: DEADLINE