As Hollywood waits to see what may come out of Friday’s meeting between the WGA and the AMPTP, filmmakers and producers at all levels have been engaged in a complex dialogue on the lightning-rod topic that has emerged during the concurrent actors strike: the SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement.
As of Tuesday, a total of 123 interim agreements have been handed out in both film and TV since the guild’s strike began, to projects from “truly independent producers” that have agreed to abide by the terms of the new contract SAG-AFTRA is pushing for with the studios and streamers.
The topic of the interim agreements, which are being handed out by a group within the actors union, are being discussed, dissected and debated on the picket lines and social media. Actors such as Sarah Silverman have voiced concerns that the proliferation of the agreements could wind up prolonging the strike.
Proponents of the interim agreements argue that they offer a lifeline to industry workers, including crew and others whose livelihoods are at stake, at a time when many face devastating financial insecurity. Two producers with films shooting under such deals say that, in their experience, SAG-AFTRA has been effective as far as the administration of these agreements, getting them out to filmmakers in need with a sense of urgency.
Many have questioned SAG-AFTRA’s selection process, however, and wonder why projects from Amazon, such as the Viola Davis-fronted G20, Apple TV+ series Tehran and The Watchers, which has a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery’s New Line, have been awarded the pacts. >>>“There’s Clearly Some Gray Area" |
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'Days' Of Reckoning - The Days of Our Lives cast are taking things into their own hands, with a petition that calls for a new leader on the show, after an investigation into misconduct allegations against co-executive producer/director Albert Alarr and a toxic work environment he allegedly fostered. With Alarr still in charge at the venerable daytime drama, the petition has been signed by more than 25 cast members. Meanwhile, Deadline has learned of new allegations about Alarr's conduct. >>> Read The Petition
Barbie Vs. Michaelangelo - Looking to pull boys in, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is getting a midweek Stateside start, with Tuesday previews grossing $3.85M. Showtimes started at 2 p.m. for the Jeff Rowe-directed feature, and the outlook is $30M over five days for the net $70M production. >>>Barbenheimer Discount
From 'Vanderpump' To True Crime - Alex Baskin, executive producer of hit reality series such as Vanderpump Rules and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, is expanding into new genres of television, including true-crime and scripted, after leaving MGM-owned Evolution Media. >>>32 Flavors
Pan-American Horror Story - Crónicas Obscuras is one of the most successful horror podcasts to come out of Latin America and it’s now being developed for the screen. Elefantec Global Partners, run by former Televisa chief Jose ‘Pepe’ Bastón, has teamed up with Sonoro, which produced the audio series, to adapt it for TV and film. The series is inspired by some of the region’s most popular myths and legends. >>> Targeting English & Spanish-Language Markets
Appalachian Tale - Small Town Strong, a feature documentary about the comeback of a small Ohio town facing a growing opioid crisis, has been acquired by Nacelle for distribution. The doc is produced by Pono Productions and Nacelle. >>>Fighting Fentanyl With Fitness |
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“Some kids have more baggage than others,” Teenie (Tamara Podemski) tells her niece Elora Postoak (Devery Jacobs) on the road home to Oklahoma from California in the opener of the third and final season of Reservation Dogs. “We are going to see the show take some really big risks to go into places that we may not have gone before, and especially there’s an episode that I was a part of that deals with collective historical trauma,” says returning director Danis Goulet who helmed the season premiere and the haunting "Deer Lady" episode that debuts on August 9. Speaking from northern Saskatchewan, Goulet reflected on the turns the final season takes, where it could all end up and the horrors the show delves in to. The Toronto International Film Festival board member also offered a glimpse on how the Cameron Bailey-led fest hopes to thrive in this summer of Hollywood strikes. >>> Read The Interview |
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More News
🧸 Confirming Deadline's earlier report, Lionsgate announced its acquisition of film and TV outfit eOne from Hasbro for $500 million. Hasbro held onto eOne kids and family properties like Peppa Pig, but still didn't fare well with its $4 billion purchase of eOne in 2019. The toymaker, which had long pursued an aggressive film and TV strategy with Transformers and other properties, said after the sale it is pivoting to an "asset-lite" approach to developing original content.
📉 Warner Bros. Discovery reported spotty second-quarter results due to poor box office for The Flash and ongoing challenges in linear TV. CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company saved more than $100 million in the quarter due to the actors and writers strikes. CEO David Zaslav expressed his wish for a settlement to the labor impasse and also said news and sports programming would "soon" be added to the streaming lineup on Max, though he declined to offer a more exact timeline.
📽️ The Toronto International Film Festival announced the 2023 selections for the Discovery and Midnight Madness program this morning. The Midnight Madness lineup features 10 titles, seven of which are world premieres. The Discovery lineup, which primarily boasts world and international Premieres, includes 26 titles. Notably, 13 female filmmakers representing 50% of the total are featured in this year’s Discovery program.
📖 A new stage musical adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel The Notebook will arrive on Broadway this spring, with music and lyrics by multi-platinum singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and a book by playwright and This Is Us writer/producer Bekah Brunstetter, producers Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch have announced. Previews will begin at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, ahead of a Thursday, March 14 opening night.
⚖️ The trial of actor Jonathan Majors on domestic violence charges has been pushed to September 6 by a New York judge.
🥊 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that he would agree to debate California Governor Gavin Newsom, an event that would bring the two rivals face-to-face with Fox News’s Sean Hannity as the moderator. “Absolutely. I’m game. Let’s get it done,” DeSantis said in an interview with Hannity.
🤝 Legendary Entertainment has a new President of Television. The studio has hired Sony Pictures Television Studios Co‐President Jason Clodfelter in the role. Clodfelter, who is leaving Sony after 17 years, will develop new scripted series and limited series at Legendary.
🔍 Skydance has acquired rights to Mickey Spillane’s and Max Allan Collins’ Mike Hammer franchise with plans to develop and produce the bestselling book series as a feature film based on the iconic character. No writers, directors or actors are attached at this time. Hammer is the protagonist of a series of hardboiled detective novels, starting with I, the Jury published in 1947, becoming one of the most popular figures of the genre.
😱 The next installment in the Scream series looks to have landed a director, with Happy Death Day helmer Christopher Landon coming on to direct the sequel. Spyglass Media Group is producing the pic again and Landon will take over for Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the team known as Radio Silence that helped relaunch the franchise, directing the past two installments. They along with their partner Chad Villella will remain on as exec producers for the seventh installment. |
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Trending  There’s no stopping Warner Bros.' Barbie, as sources tell Deadline the Greta Gerwig movie has a shot at hitting the billion mark this Sunday worldwide, if not Monday. She’s eyeing a third domestic weekend around $55M, and she’ll cross the $400M mark Stateside by Thursday, her 15th day of release.
🔻 Media stocks and broader markets sank yesterday after ratings agency Fitch lowered its rating on government debt from AAA to AA+, citing fiscal and political uncertainty. |
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OBITUARIES
🕯 Nitin Chandrakant Desai, the prominent Bollywood production designer of the Oscar-nominated music sports drama Lagaan, has died. He was 57. Desai was known for his colorful work on the 2001 blockbuster and also Devdas, the BAFTA-nominated Indian drama from a year later. During his long career he also worked on another Oscar-nominated feature, 1988’s Salaam Bombay! 🕯 CNN electronic graphics operator Melissa Elkas died on Wednesday after a medical emergency at the network’s New York headquarters. Anderson Cooper paid tribute to Elkas at the end of his primetime show, telling viewers, “To say that she was a vital part of CNN would be an understatement. Melissa could do it all. She was an electronic graphics operator, was part of a lot of different show teams. She helped with CNN Heroes and with our election coverage.” Elkas worked at the network for 26 years, starting in Atlanta and eventually relocating to New York. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Thu - Apple and Amazon earnings; Taylor Swift kicks off SoFi run
Fri - Danny Masterson pre-sentencing hearing
Sun - Winning Time S2 debuts; U.S. Women meet Sweden in World Cup
Mon - Paramount Global earnings
Tue - Fox Corp. earnings; Only Murders In The Building S3 debuts
Wed - Disney earnings |
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Comic Relief - Comedy heavyweights Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller joined the rank and file on the picket line in New York on Wednesday. This week has seen a growing wave of A-list SAG-AFTRA members bolstering the union's efforts with their time and money. |
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