WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike 2023: Today's Best Links - Thursday, August 10th

Post by: Rick Ellis 10 August, 2023

Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Thursday, August 10th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* SAG-AFTRA Takes Up Bethenny Frankel’s Fight To Unionize Reality Show Contestants & End “Exploitative Practices” (Deadline)
SAG-AFTRA, which covers the hosts but not the contestants on reality TV competition shows, said today that it's working "toward the protection of the reality performers" in an effort to end "the exploitative practices that have developed in this area" and "to engage in a new path to union coverage."

* Writers Guild To Resume Negotiations With AMPTP On Friday (Indiewire)
The Writers Guild of America told members on Thursday that AMPTP lead negotiator Carol Lombardini has asked the WGA negotiating committee to meet on Friday and that "we expect the AMPTP to provide responses to WGA proposals."

* California Economy Lost $3 Billion in First 100 Days Of WGA Strike, Economist Says (The Wrap)
Todd Holmes, a professor of entertainment industry management at the San Fernando Valley school, further warned that if the strikes last until October, which would be a record for the industry, the economic cost could reach $5 billion, CNBC reported.

* The Hollywood Strikes Are A Wake-Up Call For Japan's Film Industry (Japan Times)
Specifically, without unions in the activist mold of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Japanese writers and actors are in a weaker position vis-a-vis their employers than their Hollywood counterparts. Many are making a precarious living as essentially independent contractors instead of uniting to fight for better pay and conditions from powerful media companies. Hollywood-style contracts, backed by strong union protections, are only a dream in Japan.

* CAA To Undergo Round Of Layoffs (The Hollywood Reporter)
Multiple departments had been evaluating staffing levels even prior to when the Writers Guild of America strike began on May 2. When performer’s union SAG-AFTRA joined the strike on July 13, Hollywood settled in to a long summer as the dealmaking ecosystem ground to a halt.

* Motion Picture Sound Editors Waives Membership Dues Amid Hollywood Strikes (Deadline)
Motion Picture Sound Editors is waiving dues payments for its members for the current year "in consideration of the ongoing strikes" by SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild. The waiver was approved unanimously by the organization’s board.

* Michael Mann's 'Ferrari' Secures SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement (Deadline)
SAG-AFTRA on Thursday named Neon’s Michael Mann-directed Ferrari as one of its latest recipients of an interim agreement for publicity. The waiver allows the movie’s cast, which includes Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz, to publicize the feature at its Venice Film Festival world premiere, closing night at the New York Film Festival and other events at which the pic may screen.