The union that represents film actors told its members Thursday not to work on the upcoming pandemic thriller "Songbird," saying the filmmakers have not been up-front about safety measures and had not signed the proper agreements for the movie that is among the first in production after coronavirus closures.
Actors had reportedly been rehearsing remotely for the film produced by Michael Bay and directed by Adam Mason.
The film's pre-production listing on IMDbPro.com says its stars include Demi Moore, Peter Stormare and Craig Robinson, and gives the description, "In a post-pandemic world, an even more serious virus continues to mutate."
But the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Actors issued a do-not-work order to its members, saying the production company "has failed to complete the signatory process," and working on the film could result in disciplinary action.
"The producers have not been transparent about their safety protocols and that is something we obviously take very seriously," a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said in a statement. "Also, as noted in the Do Not Work order, the producers have not yet become signatory to our agreement. We have no further comment."
The small film was among the first to attempt to resume production after the long closure. California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave film and television productions the green light to resume shooting in the state starting June 12, so long as strict coronavirus restrictions were in place.
Messages seeking comment from the film's production companies and representatives for Bay and Mason were not immediately returned.
One of the companies, Invisible Narrative, told Deadline, "We are actively working to resolve this paperwork issue with the guild."
Netflix’s subscriber growth is slowing, but its profit and stock price are still surging
Netflix on Thursday reported that its subscriber growth slowed dramatically during the summer, a sign the huge gains from the video-streaming service's crackdown on freeloading viewers is tapering off.
The 5.1 million subscribers that Netflix added during the July-September period represented a 42% decline from the total gained during the same time last year.
Even so, the company's revenue and profit rose at a faster pace than analysts had projected, according to FactSet Research.
Netflix ended September with 282.7 million worldwide subscribers – far more than any other streaming service.
The Los Gatos, California, company earned $2.36 billion, or $5.40 per share, a 41% increase from the same time last year. Revenue climbed 15% from a year ago to $9.82 billion. Netflix management predicted the company's revenue will rise at the same 15% year-over-year pace during the October-December period, slightly than better than analysts have been expecting.
The strong financial performance in the past quarter coupled with the upbeat forecast eclipsed any worries about slowing subscriber growth. Netflix's stock price surged nearly 4% in extended trading after the numbers came out, building upon a more than 40% increase in the company's shares so far this year.
"We had a plan to reaccelerate growth and we delivered on that plan," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during a video call discussing the results.
The past quarter's subscriber gains were the lowest posted in any three-month period since the beginning of last year. That drop-off indicates Netflix is shifting to a new phase after reaping the benefits from a ban on the once-rampant practice of sharing account passwords that enabled an estimated 100 million people watch... Read More