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Tag: Screen Actors Guild

  • Video Game Actors Go On Strike For AI Protections

    Video Game Actors Go On Strike For AI Protections

    Video game actors are going on strike for the first time since 2017 after months of negotiations with Activision, Epic Games, and other big publishers and studios over higher pay, better safety measures, and protections from new generative AI technologies. They’ll be hitting the picket line a year after Hollywood actors and writers wrapped up their own historic strikes in an escalation that could have big consequences for the development and marketing of some of the industry’s biggest games.

    Kotaku’s Hopes For Spyro The Dragon’s (Reported) Comeback

    Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted last fall to authorize a strike citing an unwillingness of big game companies to budge on guaranteeing performers rights over how their work is used in training AI or creating AI-generated copies. Roughly 2,600 voice actors and motion capture artists, including talents like Troy Baker from The Last of Us, Jennifer Hale from Mass Effect, and Matt Mercer from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, have been working without an Interactive Media Agreement since November 2022. The strike starts on July 26 at 12:01 a.m.

    “The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually. The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games,” chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. “That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the A.I. use of their faces, voices, and bodies. Frankly, it’s stunning that these video game studios haven’t learned anything from the lessons of last year – that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to A.I., and the public supports us in that.”

    Read More: Video Game Voice Actors Are Ready To Strike Over AI. Here’s Why

    “We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations, spokesperson Audrey Cooling for the companies involved in the Interactive Media Agreement said in an emailed statement. “We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions. Our offer is directly responsive to SAG-AFTRA’s concerns and extends meaningful AI protections that include requiring consent and fair compensation to all performers working under the IMA. These terms are among the strongest in the entertainment industry.”

    While games set to come out this fall like Dragon Age: The Veilguard, who’s recently revealed voice cast includes several guild members, likely already have their voice and motion-capture work completed, the strike means SAG-AFTRA members would be unavailable for projects that are years out, and wouldn’t be around to record for any potential last-minute re-writes for things that are closer to coming out. Games relied much less on actor performances in the past, but most popular franchises are now fully voice-acted, with the biggest-budget productions using motion capture to transfer actors’ real-life performances, frame by frame, into the game.

    The last time video game actors went on strike in 2016, it was primarily over pay rates and lasted a entire year. It’s unclear if the strike this time around will be over any sooner. Unlike with the issue of higher pay, people involved in the current negotiations say that the lack of AI protections poses an existential threat to actors and their creative output. Just this week, Wired reported that companies like Activision Blizzard and Riot Games were moving ahead with using generative AI tools to help create concept art and even potentially assets that would make it into finished games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

    “Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable A.I. protections, but rather flagrant exploitation,” said negotiating committee chair Sarah Elmaleh said in a statement. “We refuse this paradigm—we will not leave any of our members behind, nor will we wait for sufficient protection any longer. We look forward to collaborating with teams on our Interim and Independent contracts, which provide A.I. transparency, consent and compensation to all performers, and to continuing to negotiate in good faith with this bargaining group when they are ready to join us in the world we all deserve.”

    SAG-AFTRA video game voice actors are set to hold a panel featuring Ashly Burch (Horizon Forbidden West), Noshir Dala (Red Dead Redemption II), and others at San Diego Comicon later this week on July 26.

    Update 7/25/2024 3:42 p.m. ET: Added a statement from the game companies.

            

    Ethan Gach

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  • Studios, SAG-AFTRA reach deal to end Hollywood actors’ strike

    Studios, SAG-AFTRA reach deal to end Hollywood actors’ strike

    Studios, SAG-AFTRA reach deal to end Hollywood actors’ strike – CBS News


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    Thousands of actors in film and television were finally able to return to work Thursday after their union, SAG-AFTRA, reached a deal with studios and streaming companies to end a strike that had lasted nearly four months. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said the three-year contract is worth over $1 billion and includes significant wage increases and protections against artificial intelligence. Carter Evans reports.

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  • Hollywood actors’ union reaches tentative deal with studios, ending strike – National | Globalnews.ca

    Hollywood actors’ union reaches tentative deal with studios, ending strike – National | Globalnews.ca

    Hollywood’s actors union reached a tentative deal with studios Wednesday to end its strike, bringing a close to months of labor strife that ground the entertainment industry to a historic halt.

    The three-year contract agreement must be approved by votes from the union’s board and its members in the coming days, but the leadership declared that the strike will end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

    At nearly four months, it was by far the longest strike ever for film and television actors.

    More than 60,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Performers went on strike July 14, joining screenwriters who had walked off the job more than two months earlier. It was the first time the two unions had been on strike together since 1960. Studios chose to negotiate with the writers first, striking a deal that their leadership marked as a major win and bringing their strike to an end on Sept. 26.

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    The terms of the agreement were not immediately released. SAG-AFTRA said details would be made public after a meeting on Friday where board members review the contract. Issues on the table included both short-term compensation and future royalty payments for film and TV performances, along with control over actors’ images and likenesses regenerated with artificial intelligence.

     


    Click to play video: 'Hollywood writers, studios reach tentative deal to end strike'


    Hollywood writers, studios reach tentative deal to end strike


    Executives from top entertainment companies including Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal had a direct hand in negotiations, which like all Hollywood union talks were led by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

    The end of the strike announcement came hours after Disney CEO Robert Iger and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reported their latest earning statements. Both executives said they hoped the strike would be resolved soon.

    Disney’s shares rose based on its report, which said its net income jumped 63% to $264 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, up from $162 million a year earlier. Zaslav said on an earnings call that the studios’ last offer “ met virtually all of the union’s goals and includes the highest wage increase in 40 years.”

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    Warner Bros. Discovery reported losses and saw its shares fall 19% Wednesday.

    Although the writers strike had immediate, visible effects for viewers, including the months-long suspension of late-night talk shows and “ Saturday Night Live,” the impact of the actors’ absence was not as immediately apparent. But its ripple effects — delayed release dates and waits for new show seasons — could be felt for months or even years.

    Actors should quickly return to movie sets where productions were paused, including “Deadpool 3,” “Gladiator 2” and “Wicked.” Other movies and shows will restart shooting once returning writers finish scripts.

    And beyond scripted productions, the end of the strike allows actors to return to red carpets, talk shows and podcasts, as Hollywood’s awards season approaches.

    “The SAG strike is over!! I can finally say it: watch my documentary Saturday night at 8 on HBO/MAX!” actor-director Albert Brooks said on social media moments after the strike ended. “Couldn’t say a word until now!!”

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    Click to play video: 'Lingering impact of the Hollywood writers’ strike'


    Lingering impact of the Hollywood writers’ strike


    The only major awards show directly effected by the strike was the Emmys, which was moved from September to January. Now, the usual fall Oscar campaigns will mobilize.

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    But any feeling of industry normalcy could prove temporary. The circumstances that brought on the strikes — the shift from traditional theatrical and broadcast media to streaming, and emerging tech like AI — have not been slowed. And the gains made by the strikes may embolden other Hollywood unions, or these same guilds in negotiations that will come up again in just a few years.

    Union leaders treated the strike like a watershed moment from the start, coming as it did amid wider labor fights in other industries.

    “I think it’s a conversation now about the culture of big business, and how it treats everybody up and down the ladder in the name of profit,” SAG-AFTRA President and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher told The Associated Press in an August interview.

    Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the executive director and chief negotiator who led the team that struck the deal for the guild, told the AP in August that he was “honored to be part of making sure that our members get a fair contract that’s going to protect them going into the future and make sure that the 14-year-olds I talked to on the Disney picket line still have the ability to be an actor when they turn 18.”

    The agreement also means a return to sets for thousands of film crew members who have left with nothing to work on during the strikes. SAG-AFTRA sought to offset their hardship by allowing sometimes controversial interim agreements for some smaller productions to proceed, and by making their strike relief fund available to all workers in the industry.

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    Associated Press Writer Krysta Fauria contributed to this report.

    &copy 2023 The Canadian Press

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  • Drew Barrymore says she will pause the return of her talk show

    Drew Barrymore says she will pause the return of her talk show

    Drew Barrymore announced on Sunday her decision to halt the upcoming season premiere of her namesake daytime talk series, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” a reversal that answered to mounting backlash over Barrymore’s initial plans to return to the show despite the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

    “I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore said in an Instagram post shared on Sunday morning. 

    “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today,” she continued. “We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”

    Barrymore drew criticism from members of the writers and actors guilds last week, when she initially announced her decision to move ahead with the talk show’s scheduled fourth season premiere date on Sept. 18. She said at the time that her talk show would comply with the rules of the strike.

    2023 Time100 Gala
    NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 26: Drew Barrymore attends the 2023 Time100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 26, 2023 in New York City.

    Getty Images


    “I own this choice,” Barrymore wrote on Instagram on Sunday, Sept. 10. “We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind.” That post has now been removed from the social media site.

    In the wake of Barrymore at first announcing she would return to the series as planned, members of WGA and SAG-AFTRA picketed outside of the studio where filming takes place for “The Drew Barrymore Show,” at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. Meanwhile, the National Book Foundation rescinded Barrymore’s invitation to host the 74th annual National Book Awards ceremony. 

    The writer’s guild tweeted Sunday that “any writing” on Barrymore’s show “violates WGA strike rules.”

    “The Drew Barrymore Show is a WGA-covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers,” the tweet read. “The Guild has and will continue to, picket-struck shows that are in production during the strike.”

    A spokesperson for CBS Media Ventures said in a statement, “The Drew Barrymore Show will not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike.”

    Members of the Writer’s Guild of America went on strike in May amid ongoing negotiations for a new contract that meets their demands for better compensation, increased residuals for streaming content and regulations regarding the use of artificial intelligence. SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, joined the strike in July.

    Paramount+ and CBS News and Stations are part of Paramount Global, one of the companies affected by the strike. Some CBS News staff are WGA and SAG-AFTRA members but work under different contracts than the writers and actors who are on strike.

    —Gina Martinez and S. Dev contributed reporting.

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  • Hollywood strikes taking a toll on California’s economy

    Hollywood strikes taking a toll on California’s economy

    Los Angeles — Hollywood scribes met with studio executives Friday for the first time since the Writer’s Guild of America went on strike just over three months ago.

    The more than 11,000 film and television writers that make up the WGA have been on strike since early May. In mid-July, they were joined on the picket lines by the approximately 65,000 actors in the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, SAG-AFTRA, a move that has shuttered nearly all scripted Hollywood production.

    It marks the first time since 1960 that both guilds have been on strike simultaneously. The economic impact has been especially heightened in California, where film and television production accounts for more than 700,000 jobs and nearly $70 billion a year in wages, according to the California Film Commission.

    “We are really fighting for the rights of the people who are working and living in the city,” Burbank Mayor Konstantine Anthony told CBS News. “And that’s really who I represent. I didn’t get voted in by studios.”

    Anthony is also an actor along with being mayor of Burbank, which is home to several studios, including Disney and Warner Bros.

    “If people aren’t coming to work, if people are on strike, they’re not spending money at their local grocery store,” Anthony said. “All of those secondary industries are greatly affected by the loss of that income.” 

    That includes Alex Uceda’s catering company, which feeds Hollywood production crews.  

    “At the end of last year, we were working like 10, 11 jobs every day,” Uceda said. “It drops to maybe one or two jobs now.”

    Uceda, who estimates he has lost about 70% of his business in that time, has had to lay off nearly half his employees since the WGA strike began.

    Several big stars — including the likes of Oprah, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson — have each made donations of $1 million or more to the SAG-AFTRA’s financial assistance program.

    “I beg all the people from the studio, please, please make it happen, you know, for the good of everyone,” Uceda said. 

    Both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are negotiating separately with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents all the major Hollywood studios. Among the most hotly-contested issues for both groups are residuals from streaming services and the use of artificial intelligence.

    Earlier this week, the WGA informed its members that Carol Lombardini, AMPTP president, had reached out and “requested” Friday’s meeting “to discuss negotiations.”

    “I think it’s hopeful, because it’s been crickets, it’s been silent for a long time,” SAG-AFTRA member Chad Coe told CBS News of Friday’s meeting. 

    Paramount Pictures, one of the studios involved in the negotiations, and CBS News are both part of Paramount Global. Some CBS News staff are SAG-AFTRA or Writers Guild members, but their contracts are not affected by the strikes.

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  • Impact of Hollywood strikes being felt across the pond

    Impact of Hollywood strikes being felt across the pond

    London — In the heart of the English countryside, a multimillion-dollar set of the mythical land of Oz — complete with the thatched roof houses of Munchkinland, and a yellow brick road to boot — lies empty.

    Production on the set of “Wicked” — a film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, and starring Ariana Grande — has shut down in the U.K. for the foreseeable future, as the effects of the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes are being felt far beyond Hollywood.

    London is the third largest center for movie production in the world. Major productions being shot in England’s capital, like “Wicked” and the Walt Disney-produced “Deadpool 3,” have paused all production until further notice.

    While U.K. labor laws prevent Equity — the British performing arts and entertainment trade union — from striking with Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of America, actors and writers in the U.K. have been marching in solidarity with their U.S. colleagues.

    Comedian Rob Delaney, a SAG-AFTRA member and one of the stars of “Deadpool 3,” told CBS News at a solidarity march in Leicester Square last week that the strikes are necessary to make large Hollywood studios care about “quality and quantity.”

    “They’re like toddlers,” Delaney said of the studios. “They say ‘look at all the money’ and then we ask for a nickel…and they’re like, ‘No we don’t have it.’”

    A member of the Equity speaks during a demonstration solidarity SAG WGA strikes
    A member of the Equity,  the British performing arts and entertainment trade union, speaks during a rally in London’s Leicester Square to show their solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in the U.S. Along with the Labour MP John McDonnell, many famous British actresses and actors attended the demonstration, including Rob Delaney, Andy Serkis, David Oyelowo, Hayley Atwell, Brian Cox, Simon Pegg, Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter.

    Krisztian Elek/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images


    “I’d rather be on set today, but today’s job is to be here making sure that people less fortunate than me get paid properly,” he added.

    “Succession” star Brian Cox, also in attendance at the London rally, told CBS News that writers are the lifeblood of the industry.

    “You couldn’t have a show like ‘Succession,’ with as many Emmy nominations as we’ve had, without great writing,” he said. “It’s nonsense to think that you can circumvent writers, you can’t. They’re the basis of what we do.”

    Many film and television workers in Britain say that the best outcome for the industry globally is for SAG- AFTRA and the WGA to get the terms that they want.

    “The idea of being like the Hollywood film industry, or a Hollywood stunt person, is kind of almost like an outdated kind of myth now,” British stuntman James Cox told CBS News earlier this week. “Because now, such a large chunk of the work is here in the U.K.”

    Cox warned that the economic impact in the short term will be severe for peers in his profession.

    “It’s the unknown element, which is probably the most distressing for most of the performers,” he said. “To say, ‘Now you guys are unemployed, we don’t know how long for,’ there’s going to be kind of stresses and strains across the whole hierarchy of the film industry.”

    Among the sticking points for writers and actors in the U.S. is the decline in residuals from film and television work due to the growing market dominance of streaming platforms such as Netflix. Another major issue has been the use of artificial intelligence, which British performers say also poses a threat to the livelihoods of film crews globally. 

    “AI as a creative tool, is worrying because…it can’t really create anything,” actor Simon Pegg told CBS News at Equity’s SAG-AFTRA solidarity rally last week.

    “Only we can do that,” he added. “So to rely on it is to rely on mediocrity, and we can’t do that.”

    For James Cox, AI threatens the fundamental value of movie making. He says audiences could lose the magic of cinema.

    “That’s ultimately, probably, the question at the crux of the AI issue,” Cox said. “What do the people want to see? Do they want to see something human, or something distinctly unhuman?”

    The approximately 11,000 members of the WGA have been on strike since early May, while SAG-AFTRA joined them on the picket lines in mid-July. Of SAG-AFTRA’s 160,000 total members, about 65,000 film and television actors are on strike.

    The two unions are negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents all major Hollywood studios, including Paramount Pictures, which along with CBS News is part of Paramount Global. 

    Haley Ott


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    Haley Ott is an international reporter for CBS News based in London.

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  • Hollywood expects earnings bumps amid strikes

    Hollywood expects earnings bumps amid strikes

    Hollywood expects earnings bumps amid strikes – CBS News


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    U.S. entertainment companies are widely expected to see a quarterly earnings bump driven by the ongoing strikes. The Writers Guild has been on strike for more than three months and the Screen Actors Guild voted to join them in July. Alex Weprin, media and business writer for the Hollywood Reporter, joined CBS News to discuss where the money is going.

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  • Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson makes 7-figure donation to SAG-AFTRA relief fund amid actors’ strike

    Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson makes 7-figure donation to SAG-AFTRA relief fund amid actors’ strike

    How 1960, 2023 Hollywood strikes compare


    How the Hollywood strikes of 1960 and 2023 compare

    01:58

    Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made a “milestone” seven-figure donation to a relief fund for actors amid their ongoing strike against major Hollywood studios. 

    Following the announcement that thousands of film and television actors in SAG-AFTRA were going on strike beginning July 13, leaders of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation — a nonprofit group associated with the union which provides emergency assistance to members — sent a letter to 2,700 of the union’s highest-earning actors, explaining the financial strains the strike would cause, Variety reported Monday. 

    Shortly after, Johnson’s team made an undisclosed seven-figure donation to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Emergency Financial Assistance and Disaster Relief Fund, the union confirmed to CBS News Tuesday. 

    “While the Foundation does not disclose amounts from its donors, we can reconfirm Dwayne Johnson contributed a 7-figure to its charitable Emergency Financial Assistance Program,” a SAG-AFTRA representative said in a statement, calling it the “single largest donation” since the foundation was created in 1985.  

    For the first time since 1960, both Hollywood actors and writers are on strike simultaneously, a move which has effectively shut down scripted production across the industry. The Screen Actors Guild has more than 160,000 members, although the strike only affects the union’s roughly 65,000 actors. 

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  • “Barbie” has biggest opening day of 2023, “Oppenheimer” not far behind

    “Barbie” has biggest opening day of 2023, “Oppenheimer” not far behind

    Director Greta Gerwig’s all-pink “Barbie” had a glamorous estimated opening day at the box office Friday, bringing in $70.5 million — the biggest opening for any film in 2023 so far.

    The massive figure, reported by Variety, beat out June’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” which made $51.8 million on its opening. The number combines the $22.2 million “Barbie” earned in previews on Thursday, and $42.8 million on Friday, playing in 4,243 theaters.

    “Barbie,” a Warner Bros. Discovery movie — and Mattel’s first foray into the film industry — had an intense marketing campaign leading up to its release — from a real life Barbie Dreamhouse in Malibu, to licensing deals with fast food chains. And based on its box office success, it paid off. 

    The Grove’s theater marquee announcing the opening of “Barbie” movie in Los Angeles California, on July 20, 2023. 

    VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images


    If the film hits its estimated three-day opening weekend total of at least $155 million, per Variety, it would pass “Super Mario Bros.” for the biggest debut of 2023. It also has a chance for the biggest-ever opening weekend for a female director.  

    The all-pink fantasy, which caters to audiences of all ages, stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu — among other big names — and tells the story of Barbie and Ken, who decide they want to see what the real world is like. 

    The other blockbuster of the summer, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which released the same day as “Barbie,” also reeled in big numbers, opening at $33 million. According to Variety, “Oppenheimer” is on track to have one of the highest grossing opening weekends for an R rated film.

    “Oppenheimer” — a darker three-hour historical drama about the development of the atomic bomb — stars Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt. Though its story is a stark contrast to “Barbie’s” cotton candy comedy, it has one thing in common — getting audiences back into theaters for a “summer movie spectacle.”

    Fans — 200,000 of whom bought advanced tickets to see both movies on the same day according to the National Association of Theater owners — have coined the name “Barbenheimer” to refer to the shared opening day of both.

    Since the pandemic began, movie theaters have seen a decline in attendance, and ticket sales haven’t quite bounced back — down 20% since 2019, according to data from Comscore. 

    The summer releases of fan favorite franchises “Indiana Jones” and “Mission Impossible” underperformed, indicating that blockbuster movies may no longer be attracting audiences the way they used to.

    Added to the mix — two major Hollywood strikes by writers and actors which has halted scripted production — are set to slow theater traffic even more as studios struggle to create new content.

    “Movies don’t write themselves. You have to have actors in front of the camera,” media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told CBS News. “So this is going to be very important that this gets resolved — the sooner, the better.”

    And while “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have seemed to breathe new life and excitement into Hollywood and movie theaters, with the strikes looming above the industry’s head, the big question is, “What’s next?”

    — Michael George contributed to this report. 

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  • Los Angeles investigating after trees used for shade by SAG-AFTRA strikers were trimmed by NBCUniversal

    Los Angeles investigating after trees used for shade by SAG-AFTRA strikers were trimmed by NBCUniversal

    The Los Angeles City Controller’s office is investigating after several trees near Universal Studios property were trimmed — trees that were providing shade and relief from the blistering heat for striking members of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA.

    The city controller, Kenneth Mejia, announced the office’s investigation Tuesday on Twitter, sharing before and after photos of the trees — the before showing fuller trees with leaves and the after showing the trees’ barren limbs.

    “Our Office is investigating the tree trimming that occurred outside Universal Studios where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket,” Mejia wrote. “The trimmed trees are LA City managed street trees.”

    Members of both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents thousands of Hollywood actors, are on strike after the unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents television studios and streaming services — including Paramount Pictures, which, along with CBS News is a part of Paramount Global — could not agree on new contracts. 

    Residual pay and the use of artificial intelligence were key issues for the unions.

    In a statement to CBS News, NBC Universal said it did not prune the trees to harm or create obstacles for picketers, and said that it cuts the trees near its property annually. Mejia said the trees should only be trimmed once every five years.

    “We understand that the safety tree trimming of the ficus trees we did on Barham Blvd has created unintended challenges for demonstrators, that was not our intention,” NBCUniversal said. “In partnership with licensed arborists, we have pruned these trees annually at this time of year…We support the WGA and SAG’s right to demonstrate, and are working to provide some shade coverage.”

    The trees in question fall under the jurisdiction of the city and are maintained by StreetsLA, which can issue trimming permits to businesses. 

    Mejia tweeted Wednesday that no trimming permits had been issued for the last three years, including the most recent trimming this week. 

    Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman said the Urban Forestry Division and StreetsLA were “investigating whether a citation can be issued.”

    The trees have been crucial for keeping Angelenos cool during the extreme heat the region has been facing, according to Mejia. This week, temperatures in Los Angeles have hit the mid-90s.

    Simrin Singh

    Simrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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  • Striking actors and studios fight over control of performers’ digital replicas

    Striking actors and studios fight over control of performers’ digital replicas

    The 65,000 Hollywood actors now on strike in the U.S. have much in common with the 11,000 script writers who remain off the job because of a labor dispute with the motion picture studios. Among those shared grievances: concerns that studio executives want to replace them with artificial intelligence.

    For the many background actors whose names and faces aren’t instantly recognizable, the advent of ever more powerful types of AI threatens their ability to make ends meet in what is already a highly stratified industry, according to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which is representing the actors. 

    That has put the issue of how studios want to use AI in TV and movies at the center of the fight, along with the impact of streaming services on performers’ pay.

    “Actors now face an existential threat to their livelihoods from the use of AI and generative technology,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s national executive director, said Thursday in a news conference in Los Angeles declaring the strike action. “They proposed that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and the company should be able to own that scan, that likeness, for the rest of eternity, on any project they want, with no consent and no compensation.”

    “The computer can do it cheaper”

    Film productions have long used computer-generated imagery and other technologies to create scenes that require thousands of extras. They can also use digital scans of lead actors to insert them in scenes they weren’t present in after a production wraps. Indeed, creating digital scans of movie actors is now as routine a part of the filmmaking process as doing actors’ hair and makeup. 

    “If there’s a stunt that’s too dangerous to put them into, I can put them into it, or maybe I can add them to a shot they’re not in,” Hollywood director Doug Liman, known for The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Edge of Tomorrow, among other titles, told CBS MoneyWatch. 

    Before this kind of advanced technology became widely available and affordable, it was less costly for productions to pay background actors a nominal day rate, versus using a computer to generate an extra. But that has changed as technology has steadily advanced.

    “The main thing is the economics have shifted,” Liman said. “It used to be so expensive to create a computer-generated character that that was automatically a limiter and a job protector. But now the computer can do it cheaper and, in some cases, better than a human can.”

    But the rapid advance of AI, along with the emergence of technologies such as “deep fake” tools, is heightening actors’ concerns that studios could soon push to realistically simulate performers. Owning actors’ digital likeness could undermine both their pay and ability to control their careers and exposure, including the type of production their replicas appear in.

    Although Hollywood A-listers are handsomely compensated, life for most actors is financially precarious. Half of SAG-AFTRA’s members make less than $26,000 a year from acting jobs and barely qualify for guild-sponsored health insurance, actor Mehdi Barakchian told CBS News this week. (Some CBS News staff are SAG-AFTRA members. But they work under a different contract than the actors and are not affected by the strike.)


    “Middle-class actor” says he and others “can no longer make a living”

    06:18

    Among other things, SAG-AFTRA wants to institute restrictions in how the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade group representing the studios in the labor talks, can use AI to do work once exclusively reserved for human actors. 

    An AMPTP spokesperson denied claims that producers want to use digital replicas of background actors “in perpetuity with no consent or compensation,” as SAG-AFTRA claims the group has proposed.

    “In fact, the current AMPTP proposal only permits a company to use the digital replica of a background actor in the motion picture for which the background actor is employed. Any other use requires the background actor’s consent and bargaining for the use, subject to a minimum payment,” the spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch.

    Visual effects supervisor Mark Russell explained that some productions will create a digital scan of an actor, but only use it once in a particular scene or for a specific film. “It’s one day of work and in my experience it’s all been within the scene you capture them for,” Russell told CBS MoneyWatch. 

    By contrast, SAG-AFTRA members want control over how studios use their digital likeness in other projects, including productions a background actor might object to. This could become an issue if a bit actor becomes a recognizable star later in their career and a studio owns their likeness, captured from an earlier movie.


    SAG actress on strike: It’s painful, but “we’re in it for the long haul”

    06:30

    “They could conceivably use it to their advantage,” Russell said. “Given where the technology has been going, I think it’s a legitimate concern to know where your likeness is allowed to be used. In my opinion, only the individual should have control over that.” 

    Character actor Carrie Gibson is passionate about about protecting her own and other actors’ “right to do what we’re meant to do,” she told CBS News. “The threat right now, is that purpose could be taken away from us through AI.”

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  • Hollywood Actors Threaten To Disfigure Their Gorgeous Faces If Contract Not Reached

    Hollywood Actors Threaten To Disfigure Their Gorgeous Faces If Contract Not Reached

    LOS ANGELES—Putting down their picket signs and picking up knives, striking SAG-AFTRA members announced Friday that they would disfigure their gorgeous faces if a contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers was not reached by midnight tonight. “Good luck finding your next heartthrob when every last one of us has carved horrific scars into their beautiful symmetrical features!” said Ryan Gosling, one among thousands of Hollywood’s most attractive actors who had agreed to permanently alter their good looks if the studios did not meet them at the bargaining table in good faith. “You think I won’t do it? I’ll fucking do it. Margot Robbie is standing on a diving board above a vat of acid as we speak, and Michael B. Jordan has already sworn he’ll never do another squat. You think anyone’s going to watch season two of The Last Of Us if Pedro Pascal cuts his nose off?” At press time, the trade union’s character actors were reportedly threatening to become gorgeous through cosmetic surgery if a fair contract was not reached.

    This Week’s Most Viral News: July 14, 2023

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  • Stars of “Oppenheimer” walk out of premiere due to actors’ strike

    Stars of “Oppenheimer” walk out of premiere due to actors’ strike

    The star-studded cast of “Oppenheimer” left the film’s London premiere early as the Hollywood actors’ union on Thursday called its first major strike in more than 40 years.

    Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh walked the red carpet outside the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square cinema Thursday, but then exited before the movie’s showing, director Christopher Nolan told the audience inside the theater.

    “We have to acknowledge, you’ve seen them earlier on the red carpet,” Nolan said of the actors. “Unfortunately, they’re off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by SAG (Screen Actors Guild), joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of their union.”

    Oppenheimer Premiere in London
    Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh attend the London premiere of “Oppenheimer” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 13, 2023.

    Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images


    After months of negotiations with Hollywood studios failed to achieve a new film and television contract, SAG-AFTRA, which has approximately 160,000 members, announced Thursday that it would go on strike beginning at midnight Thursday, joining about 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America who have already been on the picket lines since early May.

    This will mark the first time since 1960 that both Hollywood’s actors and writers have been on strike simultaneously.

    The Screen Actors Guild last held a strike in 2000 over its commercials contract, but this is the first time it has struck over its film and television deal since 1980.

    According to the union’s strike rules released Thursday, actors are not allowed to promote their work through premieres, interviews, personal appearances, conventions, fan expos or festivals. 

    Speaking to Deadline on the red carpet prior to leaving the premiere, Damon said he supported the decision to strike, but acknowledged that it would also be “brutal for our sister unions,” including the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, IATSE, which represents tens of thousands of below-the-line film and TV workers, such as editors, camera operators, set designers and grips.

    “Nobody wants a work stoppage,” Damon said. “But if our leadership is saying that the deal isn’t fair, then we gotta hold strong until we get a deal that’s fair for working actors. It’s the difference between having healthcare or not for a lot of actors. And we’ve got to do what’s right by them.”

    Among the sticking points for both actors and writers are residuals from streaming services and the use of artificial intelligence.

    The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group which represents all the major Hollywood studios — including CBS News’ parent company Paramount — said in a statement that the strike was “the union’s choice, not ours.”

    In a news conference Thursday, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher criticized the studios, saying they “plead poverty, that they are losing money left and right, while they give millions to their CEOs. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment.” 

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  • Hollywood actors union set to vote on strike as no deal reached – National | Globalnews.ca

    Hollywood actors union set to vote on strike as no deal reached – National | Globalnews.ca

    The union representing film and television actors says no deal has been reached with studios and streaming services and its leadership will vote on whether to strike later Thursday.

    The Screen Actors Guild -American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said early Thursday that its decision on whether to join already striking screenwriters will be considered by leadership at a meeting later Thursday.

    If the actors go on strike, it will be the first time since 1960 that actors and writers picket film and television productions.

    The actors’ guild released a statement early Thursday announcing that its deadline for negotiations to conclude had ended without a contract. The statement came hours after this year’s Emmy nominations, recognizing the best work on television, were announced.


    Click to play video: '‘We are the victims here’: SAG-AFTRA president says as Hollywood actors go on strike'


    ‘We are the victims here’: SAG-AFTRA president says as Hollywood actors go on strike


    “The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us. Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal,” said Fran Drescher, the star of “The Nanny” who is now the actors’ guild president.

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    The group representing the studios, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said it was disappointed by the failure to reach a deal.

    “This is the Union’s choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more,” the AMPTP said in a statement.

    It added that instead of continuing to negotiate, “SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods.”

    If the actors strike, they will formally join screenwriters on the picket lines outside studios and filming locations in a bid to get better terms from studios and streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon. The actors’ guild has previously authorized a strike by a nearly 98% margin.

    Mem


    Click to play video: 'Writer shares experience picketing at Paramount Studios during strike'


    Writer shares experience picketing at Paramount Studios during strike


    bers of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since early May, slowing the production of film and television series on both coasts and in production centers like Atlanta.

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    Issues in negotiations include the unregulated use of artificial intelligence and the effects on residual pay brought on by the streaming ecosystem that has emerged in recent years.

    Trending Now

    Actors have joined writers on picket lines for weeks in solidarity. An actors’ strike would prevent performers from working on sets or promoting their projects.

    Whether the cast of Christopher Nolan’s film “Oppenheimer” attends Thursday’s London premiere hangs in the balance of whether the actors strike.

    Attending a photo event on Wednesday, star Matt Damon said that while everyone was hoping a strike could be averted, many actors need a fair contract to survive.


    Click to play video: 'Writers strike could affect B.C. productions'


    Writers strike could affect B.C. productions


    “We ought to protect the people who are kind of on the margins,” Damon told The Associated Press. “And 26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance. And there are a lot of people whose residual payments are what carry them across that threshold. And if those residual payments dry up, so does their health care. And that’s absolutely unacceptable. We can’t have that. So, we got to figure out something that is fair.”

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    The looming strike has cast a shadow over the upcoming 75th Emmys. Nominations were announced Wednesday, and the strike was on the mind of many nominees.

    “People are standing up and saying, `This doesn’t really work, and people need to be paid fairly,”’ Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain, who was nominated for her first Emmy Award on Wednesday for playing Tammy Wynette in “George & Tammy,” told the AP. “It is very clear that there are certain streamers that have really kind of changed the way we work and the way that we have worked, and the contracts really haven’t caught up to the innovation that’s happened.”

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  • Hollywood actors agree to federal mediation with strike threat looming

    Hollywood actors agree to federal mediation with strike threat looming

    Hollywood bracing for actors’ strike


    Hollywood bracing for actors’ strike

    01:55

    With contract talks stalled and the possibility of a strike inching closer, the union representing Hollywood actors announced late Tuesday that it had agreed to the studios’ request for federal mediation to try to bridge the divide.

    SAG-AFTRA, which represents thousands of actors in film and television, said that it had agreed to a “last-minute request for federal mediation” from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents all major Hollywood studios.

    “We are committed to the negotiating process and will explore and exhaust every possible opportunity to make a deal, however we are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement.

    Variety was first to report that the AMPTP had asked for help from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

    SAG-AFTRA’s current contract, which has already been extended once from its previous deadline of July 1, is set to expire at midnight Wednesday. Union members have already given leadership the authority to call a strike if no agreement is reached.

    The last-minute negotiation effort comes amid an ongoing strike by the approximately 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America. While the WGA’s strike, which began in May, has slowed Hollywood, an actors’ strike would likely bring the industry to its knees, shuttering nearly all production.

    It would mark the first Screen Actors Guild strike since 2000, and the first time both the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild would be on strike simultaneously since 1960. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists merged in 2012.

    Hollywood Strikes-Explainer
    Meredith Stiehm, left, president of Writers Guild of America West, and Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, take part in a rally by striking writers outside Paramount Pictures studio in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023. 

    Chris Pizzello / AP


    Some of the major contract issues for both actors and writers have included residuals from streaming and the use of artificial intelligence. 

    SAG-AFTRA has approximately 160,000 members, while the AMPTP represents Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Universal, Sony, Netflix, and CBS News’ parent company, Paramount.

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  • Hollywood actors’ union extends contract deadline, delaying potential strike as talks continue

    Hollywood actors’ union extends contract deadline, delaying potential strike as talks continue

    Los Angeles — Major Hollywood stars have been giving a big boost this week to writers on the picket lines.

    “Your fight is our fight,” acting legend Jane Fonda declared during a rally outside Netflix headquarters in Los Angeles Thursday.

    While the Writers Guild of America strike is about to enter its third month, Fonda and fellow members of SAG-AFTRA — the union which represents thousands of actors in film and television — could soon join them, a move which would likely lead to a shut down of nearly all Hollywood productions.

    SAG-AFTRA has about 160,000 members, while the WGA has approximately 11,000. 

    Jane Fonda picket line Hollywood
    Actress Jane Fonda speaks during a “Striking 9 to 5” picket line in front of Netflix headquarters in Los Angeles, California, on June 29, 2023. 

    Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images


    SAG-AFTRA’s current contract was set to expire at midnight Friday. However, on Friday night, SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group which represents the major studios, agreed to extend their contract through to midnight on July 12 in order to continue their talks. 

    “The parties will continue to negotiate under a mutually agreed upon media blackout,” the two sides said in a joint statement. 

    Earlier this month, SAG-AFTRA’s members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a potential strike in the event a deal isn’t reached with major studios.  

    “This is a huge deal right now for Hollywood, with again, far-reaching implications,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst for Comscore, told CBS News prior to the extension. 

    If it were to happen, it would mark the first Screen Actors Guild strike since 2000, and the first time that both the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild have been on strike simultaneously since 1960. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists merged in 2012. 

    Both unions are separately negotiating with the AMPTP, which represents Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Universal, Sony, Netflix, and CBS News’ parent company Paramount.

    A major sticking point in negotiations has been streaming. Hollywood unions allege that major platforms are raking in billions in revenue, while actors and writers are being paid a lower rate and have seen their residuals dry up.   

    “In the past, the monies that were earned by actors and writers were pretty direct and robust and was equitable,” Dergarabedian said. “But now with streaming, it’s a different model. And I think everyone’s scrambling to deal with these new financial and technological advancements.”

    The use of artificial intelligence is another major issue, with many in the entertainment industry viewing it as an existential threat to their livelihoods. 

    “I think because of the fact that its advanced so rapidly, because it seems to have such a potential to change how this industry works and what the roles of key creative people in the industry are,” Dergarabedian said.

    Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, echoed those concerns in an interview with CBS News last week.   

    “This potential to use that technology to create performances that never existed, or even to create performers that never existed, and that’s that’s something that that could be a real threat,” Crabtree-Ireland said. 

    Hundreds of actors, including the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Quinta Brunson and Rami Malek signed a letter earlier this week urging SAG-AFTRA leadership “to make clear our resolve” that “we are prepared to strike if it comes to that.”

    In a video message to members last week, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said that negotiations have been “extremely productive” and “we’re going to achieve a seminal deal.”

    “I think the whole industry is on pins and needles right now,” Dergarabedian said. “But we’ll just have to wait and see.”

    Jonathan Vigliotti


    Jonathan Vigliotti

    Jonathan Vigliotti is a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles. He previously served as a foreign correspondent for the network’s London bureau.

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  • With contract deadline looming, Hollywood actors could strike if no deal reached

    With contract deadline looming, Hollywood actors could strike if no deal reached

    With contract deadline looming, Hollywood actors could strike if no deal reached – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    With their current contract set to expire, thousands of SAG-AFTRA members could soon go on strike, leading to a potential Hollywood production shutdown. If it were to happen, it would also mark the first time since 1960 that both the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild have been on strike simultaneously. Jonathan Vigliotti has details.

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  • SAG-AFTRA members vote to authorize strike, joining picketing writers – National | Globalnews.ca

    SAG-AFTRA members vote to authorize strike, joining picketing writers – National | Globalnews.ca

    Actors represented by the Hollywood union SAG-AFTRA voted Monday evening to authorize a strike if they don’t agree on a new contract with major studios, streamers and production companies by June 30.

    The strike authorization was approved by an overwhelming margin — nearly 98% of the 65,000 members who cast votes.

    The guild, which represents over 160,000 screen actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts and stunt performers, begins its negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Wednesday, over a month after the Writers Guild of America began striking over its own dispute with AMPTP. If the actors union ultimately moves forward with the strike, it would be limited to television and film productions; news and broadcast work would not be directly affected.

    At stake is increased base compensation, which actors say has been undercut by inflation and the streaming ecosystem, the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence, benefit plans and the burden of “self-taped auditions” — the cost of which used to be the responsibility of casting and production.

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    “We are approaching these negotiations with the goal of achieving a new agreement that is beneficial to SAG-AFTRA members and the industry overall,” the AMPTP said in a statement Monday.


    Click to play video: 'U.S. Congress holds hearing on risks, regulation of AI: ‘Humanity has taken a back seat’'


    U.S. Congress holds hearing on risks, regulation of AI: ‘Humanity has taken a back seat’


    The strike authorization vote, a tool at the bargaining table, comes at a pivotal moment for the industry as 11,500 writers enter their sixth week of striking and the directors guild reviews a recently reached tentative agreement with studios on issues like wages, streaming residuals, and artificial intelligence. Should the actors strike, the industry already hobbled by the writers strike would come to a near-standstill, from production to promoting completed projects.

    The WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA have shown solidarity with one another since the writers began walking the picket lines on May 2. Many in Hollywood worried about the very real possibility that all three guilds would strike at the same time, as both the directors and the actors contracts were soon due to expire as well.

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    That scenario changed Sunday night when the directors guild, which represents 19,000 film, television and commercial directors, announced that they had reached a “truly historic” tentative agreement with studios. The terms, which have not been disclosed in detail to the press or the other guilds, will be presented to the DGA board on Tuesday for approval and then to the membership for ratification.

    Representatives for both the writers guild and the actors guild congratulated the directors group for reaching a tentative deal, though neither commented on specific points of the DGA terms. The WGA also said that its bargaining positions remain the same.

    The DGA deal did not sit well with some individual WGA members, some of whom remembered when the directors negotiated their own contract while the writers were striking in 2007-2008. That deal 15 years ago, some felt, set precedent that forced the writers to fall in line with the terms agreed to by the DGA and end the strike.

    “Zero surprise. The AMPTP continues to use their tired old playbook. And the DGA sadly continues to toe the line, knowing that they can draft off of the WGA’s resolve to strike for a truly historic deal. Disappointing, but not surprising,” veteran television writer Steven DeKnight, who also wrote and directed “Pacific Rim: Uprising,” tweeted.

    Trending Now


    Click to play video: 'Canadian TV exclusive with Jane Lynch'


    Canadian TV exclusive with Jane Lynch


    Seemingly anticipating a repeat, the WGA negotiating committee last week released a letter cautioning that the studios would once again pursue a “divide and conquer” strategy, pitting the guilds against one another.

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    “Our position is clear: to resolve the strike, the companies will have to negotiate with the WGA on our full agenda,” the WGA letter had said. “We will continue to march until the companies negotiate fairly with us.”

    While the unions have appeared more united this time, their aims are also different in many arenas. For the directors, securing international streaming residuals that account for subscriber growth was a key component, as were wages, safety (like banning live ammunition on set), diversity and inclusion and the addition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday.

    The WGA agenda includes increased pay, better residuals and minimum staffing requirements. One key area of overlap between all is artificial intelligence. The DGA said they’d reached a “groundbreaking agreement confirming that AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members.”

    Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, maintains the needs of the guild’s actor members are unique. Hollywood actors haven’t gone on strike against AMPTP since 1980, which saw a 95-day strike over terms for paid television and VHS tapes.

    “Our bargaining strategy has never relied upon nor been dependent on the outcome or status of any other union’s negotiations, nor do we subscribe to the philosophy that the terms of deals made with other unions bind us,” Crabtree-Ireland said Sunday.

    On Monday, he added that the vote was a “clear statement that it’s time for an evolution in this contract.”

    &copy 2023 The Canadian Press

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  • 2023 SAG Awards winners: Brendan Fraser, Ke Huy Quan earn more hardware – National | Globalnews.ca

    2023 SAG Awards winners: Brendan Fraser, Ke Huy Quan earn more hardware – National | Globalnews.ca

    The unlikely awards season juggernaut Everything Everywhere All at Once marched on at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, and even gathered steam with wins not just for best ensemble, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan but also for Jamie Lee Curtis.

    The SAG Awards, often an Oscar preview, threw some curve balls into the Oscars race in a ceremony streamed live on Netflix’s YouTube page from Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

    But the clearest result of the SAG Awards was the overwhelming success of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s madcap multiverse tale, which has now used its hotdog fingers to snag top honours from the acting, directing and producing guilds. Only one film (Apollo 13) had won all three and not gone on to win best picture at the Oscars.

    Read more:

    ‘Murdaugh Murders’: The harrowing true story of dead family and missing millions

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    After so much of the cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once had already been on the stage to accept awards, the night’s final moment belonged to 94-year-old James Hong, a supporting player in the film and a trailblazer for Asian American representation in Hollywood. He brought up the ignoble yellowface history of the 1937 film The Good Earth.

    “The leading role was played with these guys with their eyes taped up like this and they talked like this because the producers said the Asians were not good enough and they were not box office,” said Hong. “But look at us now!”

    Hong added that the cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once wasn’t all Chinese, though he granted Jamie Lee Curtis had a good Chinese name. Curtis’ win was one of the most surprising of the night, coming over the longtime favourite, Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), who had seemed to be on a clear path to becoming the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance in a Marvel movie.

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    A visibly moved Curtis said she was wearing the wedding ring her father, Tony Curtis, gave her mother, Janet Leigh.

    “I know you look at me and think ‘Nepo baby,’” said Curtis, who won in her first SAG nomination. “But the truth of the matter is that I’m 64 years old and this is just amazing.”

    The actors guild, though, lent some clarity to the lead categories. Though some have seen best actress as a toss-up between Yeoh and BAFTA winner Cate Blanchett (Tár), Yeoh again took home the award for best female lead performance.

    “This is not just for me,” said Yeoh, the first Asian actress to win the SAG Award for female lead. “It’s for every little girl that looks like me.”

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    Quan, the former child star, also won for best supporting male actor. The Everything Everywhere All at Once co-star had left acting for years after auditions dried up. He’s also the first Asian to win best male supporting actor at the SAG Awards.

    “When I stepped away from acting, it was because there were so few opportunities,” said Quan. “Now, tonight we are celebrating James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Hong Chau, Harry Shum Jr. The landscape looks so different now.”

    Trending Now

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    Some online commentators suggested there was irony in Mark Wahlberg, who presented best ensemble, handing out the night’s final award to a film with a predominantly Asian and Asian American cast. In 1988, a 16-year-old Wahlberg attacked two Vietnamese men while trying to steal beer near his home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Wahlberg, who said race wasn’t a factor in the assault, served 45 days of a two-year sentence. Wahlberg also announced the film Women Talking as “Women Are Talking.”

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    Best actor has been one of the hardest races to call. Austin Butler (Elvis), Brendan Fraser (The Whale) and Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) have all been seen as possible winners. But it was Fraser who went home with the SAG Award for his comeback performance as an obese shut-in in The Whale.

    “Believe me, if you just stay in there and put one foot in front of the other, you’ll get where you need to go,” said Fraser, who anxiously eyed the actor-shaped trophy and left the stage saying he was going to go look for some pants for him.

    The SAG Awards are considered one of the most reliable Oscar bellwethers. Actors make up the biggest percentage of the film academy, so their choices have the largest sway. Last year, CODA triumphed at SAG before winning best picture at the Oscars, while Ariana DeBose, Will Smith, Jessica Chastain and Troy Kotsur all won at a SAG Award before taking home an Academy Award.

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    After the SAG Awards, presented by the film and television acting guild SAG-AFTRA, lost their broadcast home at TNT/TBS, Netflix signed on to stream Sunday’s ceremony. Next year’s show will be on Netflix, proper.

    Sunday’s livestream meant a slightly scaled-down vibe. Without a broadcast time limit, winners weren’t played off. A regal and unbothered Sam Elliott, winner for male actor in a TV movie or limited series for 1883, spoke well past his allotted time. The show sped through early winners, including awards for Jean Smart (Hacks), Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) and Jason Bateman (Ozark).


    Click to play video: 'Movie making in Edmonton'


    Movie making in Edmonton




    Another streaming effect: No bleeping.

    Quinta Brunson and Janelle James of Abbott Elementary kicked off the ceremony with a few opening jokes, including one that suggested Viola Davis, a recent Grammy winner, is beyond EGOT status and has transcended into “ShEGOTallofthem.”

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    Brunson later returned to the stage with the cast of Abbott Elementary to accept the SAG award for best ensemble in a comedy series. Brunson, the sitcom’s creator and one of its producers, said of her castmates, “These people bring me back down to Earth.”

    Read more:

    Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to all charges in ‘Rust’ shooting

    The White Lotus also took a victory lap, winning best ensemble in a drama series and another win for Jennifer Coolidge, coming off her wins at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. A teary-eyed Coolidge traced her love of acting to a first-grade trip to see a Charlie Chaplin film. She then thanked her date, a longtime friend, the actor Tim Bagley.

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    “You’re a wonderful date tonight,” said Coolidge. “I can’t wait until we get home.”

    The ceremony’s first award went to a winner from last year: Jessica Chastain. A year after winning for her lead performance in the film The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Chastain won best female actor in a TV movie or limited series for Showtime’s country music power couple series George & Tammy. Chastain jetted in from previews on the upcoming Broadway revival of A Doll’s House.

    One award was announced ahead of the show from the red carpet: Top Gun: Maverick won for best stunt ensemble. Though some have cheered that blockbusters like Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water are best picture nominees at this year’s Oscars, the indie smash Everything Everywhere All at Once increasingly looks like the biggest blockbuster at this year’s Academy Awards.

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  • Screen Actors Guild defends Alec Baldwin after

    Screen Actors Guild defends Alec Baldwin after

    Screen Actors Guild defends Alec Baldwin after “Rust” charges announced – CBS News


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    The Screen Actors Guild defended Alec Baldwin following the announcement that the actor will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.” Kris Van Cleave has the latest from New Mexico.

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