The leadership of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have endorsed a plan to consolidate their unions—a move they contend will increase their negotiating power in the entertainment industry. Last weekend (4/12-13), the national boards of SAG and AFTRA voted overwhelmingly to send the plan out for a membership vote in June. In order to come to pass, the plan must gain approval from 60 percent of each union’s members. Per the plan, three affiliates dedicated to actors, broadcasters and recording artists, respectively, would operate under a single umbrella union, tentatively called the Alliance of International Media Artists. Whether there are enough membership votes for the plan to gain passage remains to be seen. SAG members in opposition to the proposal are organizing in an effort to defeat the formation of a consolidated union….Industry vet Jeff Devlin has formed Media Logic, a New York-based venture through which he will serve as an executive producer and head of New York sales operations for two production houses: the Los Angeles-headquartered Original Film, headed by exec producer Bruce Mellon; and bicoastal Aero Films, recently launched by executive producers Skip Short and Lance O’Connor and director Klaus Obermeyer, Jr. Devlin becomes a partner in Original….Bicoastal HKM Productions has signed director Eden Diebel, formerly of bicoastal Headquarters, and the directing duo Jacobs/Briere—Kim and Alain, respectively—who had been with HSI Productions, bicoastal….The Haus, New York, has signed still photographer Jonathan Miller for spot representation in the U.S. and Canada….Directors Michael Imperioli and Mark Perez have joined City Lights Productions, New York, for commercials. Both helmers come over from Perretti Productions, New York. Additionally, City Lights has entered into a partnership with Sal Del Guidice, founder of Tangerine Films, New York, whereby he serves as executive producer for City Lights Productions…. Bicoastal Cosmo Street Editorial has signed editor Lucas Spaulding, formerly with Mackenzie Cutler, New York. Additionally, Cosmo Street has entered into an agreement with London-based editorial house Peep Show to represent that company’s editors nationwide. The Peep Show talent now available to the U.S. market through Cosmo Street comprises Andrea MacArthur, Mark Edinoff, Jim Weedon and Amanda Perry. Coming over to Cosmo Street’s New York office fulltime is former Peep Show editor Jinx Godfrey. Joining Cosmo Street with Godfrey is her longtime producer, Lisa Greenleaf. Godfrey and Greenleaf will still be available for select jobs via Peep Show…..Editor Martha Kelley, formerly of Avenue, Chicago, has come aboard the roster of Phoenix Editorial, San Francisco….Judges have selected Krystyn Campbell and Jennifer Perry of Lowe, New York, as the creative team that will represent the U.S. in the Young Creative competition on June 14 in Cannes during the International Advertising Festival. The competition pits teams from some 30 countries against each other, with a panel of international judges determining which artisans create the best ad in a 24 hour turnaround time on behalf of a public service/nonprofit client…..
“Mickey 17” Tops Weekend Box Office, But Profitability Is A Long Way Off
"Parasite" filmmaker Bong Joon Ho's original science fiction film "Mickey 17" opened in first place on the North American box office charts. According to studio estimates Sunday, the Robert Pattinson-led film earned $19.1 million in its first weekend in theaters, which was enough to dethrone "Captain America: Brave New World" after a three-week reign.
Overseas, "Mickey 17" has already made $34.2 million, bringing its worldwide total to $53.3 million. But profitability for the film is a long way off: It cost a reported $118 million to produce, which does not account for millions spent on marketing and promotion.
A week following the Oscars, where "Anora" filmmaker Sean Baker made an impassioned speech about the importance of the theatrical experience – for filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screens, for distributors to focus on theatrical releases and for audiences to keep going – "Mickey 17" is perhaps the perfect representation of this moment in the business, or at least an interesting case study. It's an original film from an Oscar-winning director led by a big star that was afforded a blockbuster budget and given a robust theatrical release by Warner Bros., one of the few major studios remaining. But despite all of that, and reviews that were mostly positive (79% on RottenTomatoes), audiences did not treat it as an event movie, and it may ultimately struggle to break even.
Originally set for release in March 2024, Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to the Oscar-winning "Parasite" faced several delays, which he has attributed to extenuating circumstances around the Hollywood strikes. Based on the novel "Mickey7" by Edward Ashton, Pattinson plays an expendable employee who dies on missions and is re-printed time and time again. Steven... Read More