The ballots have been tabulated and the strike by the actors’ unions against the advertising industry has formally ended. Members of SAG and AFTRA overwhelmingly approved the new three-year contract covering commercials by a nearly 40,000 vote margin. In total, 42,000-plus votes were cast, representing only a 34 percent return of the nearly 125,000 ballots mailed to SAG and AFTRA members. The rank-and-file thumbs up was considered a virtual fait accompli since late October when actors returned to work after SAG’s and AFTRA’s boards of directors authorized the agreement between the unions and the Joint Policy Committee of the 4A’s and ANA. Word is that director Lara Shapiro is headed for Santa Monica-based Fuel. Editors Peter Odiorne and Matt Chesse have joined Crew Cuts‘ New York and Santa Monica shops, respectively.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More