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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Will Moguls Step In On Talks Between SAG, Studios?

The contract between the Screen Actors Guild and the major Hollywood studios expires at the end of the month and it remains unknown if the two sides will knock out a new one in the coming weeks. The union representing performers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, based in Sherman Oaks, resumed talks on May 28 after previous sit-downs made no progress. Like the negotiations between the Alliance and the Writers Guild of America earlier this year that settled the three-month writers strike the sticking points holding up a deal between the actors and the studios center on new media payment, member consent to use clips online, and the guild wanting jurisdiction over projects made specifically for new media distribution. Whereas the writers and the studios had to hammer out new language when it came to new media compensation and distribution, the actors guild has not one but three contracts in place to use as a base. After talks broke down in early May, the Alliance criticized SAG for not accepting that the deals with the directors, writers and AFTRA reflect the “realities” of the industry when it comes to new media distribution. What set those earlier contracts apart has been what is absent in the AFTRA deal and the talks so far with SAG no involvement by the studio heads. Much credit was given to News Corp. President Peter Chernin and Disney Co. CEO and President Robert Iger for sitting down with both the directors and writers unions to lay the groundwork for new contracts. Prior to that negotiators for the writers hit a brick wall in meeting with lawyers from the Alliance. It is no coincidence that in labor talks over new media that the two most tech savvy studio moguls it was Iger who early in his tenure made ABC shows available through iTunes got involved. Had the studio heads stepped in earlier it stands to say the strike would have ended earlier. So, if the current talks go nowhere, do Chernin and Iger repeat their actions of February? The circumstances are different this time around. For one, there is no strike shutting down production and cutting into the television season. It’s summer, after all, and there are no new shows anyway (at least on the broadcast networks). For another, SAG leadership has not asked its members to authorize a strike. Even after the contract expires June 30 negotiations are likely to continue without the worry of actors picketing. Lastly, award season has passed. There is less external pressure for a new contract unlike when the writers strike led to the cancellation of the Golden Globe and fear ran rampant in Hollywood over the fate of the Oscars broadcast over Iger’s ABC Network. Cannes Man Noticeably fewer people attended the Cannes Film Festival in May, the result of the weakening dollar overseas, reports back film producer Emilio Ferrari. The decreased attendance might also reflect the fewer number of distributors looking to buy independent films. “The consolidation is so dramatic,” said Ferrari. Formerly independent movie companies were bought out by larger companies MGM going to Sony; Artisan Entertainment and Trimark Pictures bought out by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Last month, Warner Bros. shut down its specialty independent arms Warner Independent and Picturehouse. The future of distributor ThinkFilm remains shaky. Major festivals in Cannes and Toronto and Sundance turn into a buyers market because as the number of distributors drop the number of films increase, spurred on by private backing. Ferrari brought to Cannes a 20-minute segment of the comedy “Baby on Board” and came away with deals to get the film into 20 foreign countries. Talks continue for U.S. distribution. He makes films under the A Plus Productions banner and distributes them through Entertainment 7. Ferrari has offices in Sherman Oaks, Hollywood, Chicago and London. While he works with major studios on some distribution his preference is to make and release them through his companies. That way Ferrari controls the money and is better able to protect the investment made by his backers. It also gives him more credibility when he pre-sells to overseas markets than he would get if he were just a producer. “There are a million producers in Hollywood. It doesn’t mean anything,” Ferrari said. “What it comes down to is, do you have the credibility and do you have the know-how?” Next up for A Plus Productions is “Waco,” based on the events surrounding the 1993 botched federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The film comes with a $30 million budget and starts shooting in the fall although no actors have been cast. Co-writer Rupert Wainwright (“Stigmata”) is set to direct, and co-producer Mike McNulty was nominated for an Academy Award for a documentary on the Waco incident. Imagine No Lawsuit A federal judge in New York ruled in favor of a Sherman Oaks-based production company in a lawsuit filed by Yoko Ono challenging the use of the song “Imagine” in a film defending intelligent design. Rampant Films was one of three companies sued by the widow and two sons of ex-Beatle John Lennon contending that use of his song in “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” infringed on their copyright. In a decision from June 2, U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein found that the 15-second clip of “Imagine” used in the film was protected under fair use because it was used as criticism or commentary. “Expelled” was released in U.S. theaters in April and is expected to go to DVD in October. The film is promoted by Motive Marketing in Westlake Village. Staff Reporter Mark Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or by e-mail at [email protected] .

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