Hollywood’s studio heads, stuck in a standoff with the Screen Actors Guild, are making their plea to the rest of the industry in a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times as the threat of a strike looms.
The “open letter” that appears in Monday’s paper says the actors are jeopardizing the work of other unions that have already made deals with producers.
It says “SAG is demanding that the entire industry literally throw out all its hard work because it believes it deserves more than the 230,000 other people working in the industry.”
The letter was signed by the chief executives of eight major Hollywood studios including The Walt Disney Co. and Paramount Pictures.
The guild responded by accusing the executives of “stonewalling” and said it should not be forced to accept deals made by other unions.
“No other guild or union can negotiate a pattern deal that fits the industry and SAG members, any more than ABC can negotiate license fees for NBC,” it said. “Our issues are different — not better, but different.”
SAG wants union coverage for all Internet-only productions regardless of budget and residual payments for Internet productions replayed online, as well as continued actor protections during work stoppages.
Directors, writers, stagehands and another actors union settled for lesser terms and the studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said it was untenable for SAG to demand a better deal, especially now that the economy has worsened.
The union is holding a strike authorization vote this month.
Director Angie Bird Joins Scheme Engine For U.S. Representation
Scheme Engine has added director/photographer Angie Bird to its roster for U.S. representation spanning commercials and original content.
Bird crafts deeply human and charismatic portrayals of community, empowerment and the rituals of celebration across commercials, elevated documentary and short film. A former agency creative, Bird has a body of brand work consisting of cinematic lifestyle campaigns for Nike, Dove, Allstate, Procter & Gamble and the YMCA, among others. Prior to joining Scheme Engine, Bird was most recently represented in the U.S. for commercials by production house Curfew.
Two years into her career, Bird back in 2016 won a Cannes Young Director Award for “Mean Tweets,” a provocative campaign for Raising the Roof, that challenged stereotypes of unhoused individuals with striking humanizing portraits. The project earned honors at the Clios, and Webbys and was shortlisted at Cannes.
Her Gillette campaign, “First Shave”--a heartfelt examination of masculinity in the trans community--earned three Cannes prizes and won honors at the Clios and The One Show.
As a director invested in films that ignite conversation, and inspire action, Bird embraces challenging, overlooked stories, bringing to light complex, authentically heroic characters faced with cultural stigmatization and gender-based discrimination. She co-wrote and directed "Short Life Stories" for White Ribbon and Canadian agency Bensimon Byrne--a shattering call to dismantle transphobia, following the journey of a transgender woman as she steps into her authentic life. The campaign won six awards at One SCREEN 2024, including Best in Region: North America and Best in Show
“I’m inspired,” affirmed Bird, “to create stories that champion the... Read More