| | | | What's news: SAG-AFTRA negotiator Anthony Rapp claims the studios stonewalled talks. Peacock is set for its first price hike. Wall Street analysts are bullish ahead of Netflix's second-quarter earnings report. Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello are divorcing. — Ryan Gajewski
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Tom Cruise Lobbied Studios on SAG-AFTRA's Stunt and AI Positions ►Cruise had words on the post-pandemic state of movie theaters. How important is the AI issue to members of SAG-AFTRA? THR's Kim Masters and Katie Kilkenny report it's important enough that Tom Cruise Zoomed into a June negotiating session to urge the AMPTP to hear out the guild's concerns on the issue. That wasn't the Mission: Impossible star's sole concern, as he also wanted to urge the AMPTP to support the guild's position on stunt performers. The story.
—Some progress had been made on certain issues. Disagreements over a wide array of issues — from wage increases to a revenue-sharing plan for streaming platforms to meal break penalty increases — split Hollywood companies and performers' union SAG-AFTRA in their negotiations that collapsed on July 12. Meanwhile, some progress was made during the five weeks of negotiations on issues including schedule breaks, compensation for the translation of scripts and some self-taped audition restrictions, SAG-AFTRA claimed in a message to members on Monday that included an extensive chart of their proposals and the companies' alleged responses. The story.
—"This standstill could be a relatively long strike." With Hollywood's writers and now actors on a "double strike" for the first time since 1960, Wall Street and other analysts have started assessing the fallout for entertainment industry conglomerates — with one expert estimating the cost of the contracts to studios. Moody's debt analyst Neil Begley reports that new three-year contracts for the DGA, WGA and SAG-AFTRA could cost studios an additional $450 million to $600 million a year. The story.
—Peacock's first price increase since its 2020 launch. Peacock is the latest streaming platform to get a price hike. The studio said existing Peacock subscribers will see the price for the Premium service rise by $1 a month to $5.99, starting next month. And the price of the Premium Plus tier will increase as well. The price hike, which will also impact new customers, follows Peacock subscriber figures hitting nearly 22 million in the first three months of 2023, up 60 percent year-over-year. The story.
—"We don't want to act as scabs." Canadian film and TV productions with American actors attached in key lead roles may not have to grind to a halt on soundstages in Toronto and Vancouver after SAG-AFTRA called for a history-making strike stateside. Days ahead of the strike action, leading SAG-AFTRA officials met with agents representing top-tier Hollywood actors and said union members would be allowed to work on ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) projects in Canada as a double strike featuring American writers and actors gets underway. The story. |
SAG-AFTRA Negotiator Anthony Rapp Claims Studios Stonewalled Talks ►"They kept canceling our meetings." Anthony Rapp claims the AMPTP repeatedly canceled meetings during the final days of the extended contract negotiations with SAG-AFTRA, and wanted "free rein" on several issues, including AI and self-taping. Rapp tells THR's Abbey White that as a first-time negotiating committee member, he found the studios' approach to working on a new theatrical and TV basic contract — talks for which began on June 7 — mystifying and disappointing. A spokesperson for the AMPTP denied that the studios had canceled meetings ahead of the July 12 negotiation deadline. The story.
—Commercials are among the gigs that are still allowed. The SAG-AFTRA strike will shut down dozens, perhaps hundreds, of productions as the actors union fights for a better contract. The union’s strike rules also bar members from doing publicity, stunt work and voice acting for struck companies. The strike against TV, streaming and theatrical work does not, however, keep actors from doing other jobs covered by separate SAG-AFTRA agreements — including some shows that form key parts of broadcast networks’ fall schedules. THR's Rick Porter runs down what actors can still do during the strike. The story.
—1960 vs. 2023. For THR, Thomas Doherty examines the crisis in 1960 that marks the last time that Hollywood's actors and writers went on strike, and pinpoints a sad difference between that situation and the one today. Like 2023, a key issue for both the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild then was residuals — artists wanted a bigger cut of the feature films that had been sold to TV, along with health benefits and better working conditions. The story. | 'Yellowstone,' U.K. 'Ghosts' Heading to CBS in Fall Schedule Redo ►Tearing up its fall schedule. CBS has set a new lineup for fall that acknowledges the actors and writers strikes and relies on a mix of unscripted shows, acquired scripted series — including Yellowstone and the British version of Ghosts — and news programming. CBS had previously announced a business-as-usual fall slate ahead of May's upfronts, despite the fact that writers had already gone on strike against studios and streamers in seeking a new contract. The story.
—"Should drive long-term revenue upside." Amid Hollywood's historic double strike, Netflix is on deck after the market close on July 19 with its second-quarter report that will kick off media earnings season and shed light on its subscriber momentum, the progress of its cheaper advertising tier and the impact of its password-sharing crackdown. A slew of analysts has in recent days and weeks raised their price targets on the company's stock. After all, one key theme across the Street is an expectation of positive updates on the progress of the firm's password-sharing crackdown and advertising tier rollout. The story.
—"We have made the difficult decision to divorce." Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello are getting a divorce. The actors, who tied the knot in 2015 in Florida, announced the split in a joint statement after seven years of marriage. The story. |
'Love Is Blind' Creator Shares Revelations as Reality's Biggest Hitmaker ►"Gimmicks might work for a season, but then you're done." Mikey O'Connell talks to Kinetic Content CEO Chris Coelen, who is THR's Unscripted Power Player of the Year and riding the continued success of Love Is Blind, The Ultimatum, Married at First Sight and more. Coelen discusses feeling solidarity with the writers strike and what it was like to have a live reunion special go off the rails: "I lost my mind." The interview.
—"Tom would be like, 'It's not going fast enough.'" THR's Brian Davids talks to actor Greg Tarzan Davis, who explains why he didn't tell his Top Gun: Maverick co-stars when he landed a role in the Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning films. The performer also chats about the terrifying moment he had in the middle of filming Dead Reckoning Part One's thrilling train sequence. The interview.
—"Meditation allows for that reset so you don’t stress yourself out." THR's Chris Gardner chats with Michael B. Jordan about a partnership with Propel that is designed to expand fitness and wellness goals for communities across the U.S. The star also shares which wellness practices are key in his routine right now, along with the strategy behind his shirtless scenes. The interview. |
Jake Johnson on Choosing a Regular Life Over Mega-Stardom ►"I've been in things that I thought were going to hit big, and nobody saw them." THR's Mikey O'Connell speaks with Jake Johnson about his directorial debut, Self Reliance, in which he also stars. The New Girl actor talks about rejecting the studio blockbuster route, dinner with Tom Cruise and Max's "fucking gross" Minx cancellation. The interview.
—"There is a path that includes some level of risk on both sides." THR's Alex Weprin reports that although regional sports networks — in L.A., think Spectrum SportsNet LA for the Dodgers — aren't dead yet, the ripple effect of their business model challenges is already being felt across the TV ecosystem. Insiders offer thoughts on what might be next amid a sea change driven by cord-cutting. The story.
In other news...
—Lindsay Lohan welcomes first baby with husband Bader Shammas
—Paul Rudd plays a bumbling mailman in a fan's music video after meeting them during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stop
—Robert Lieberman, director of Fire in the Sky and D3: The Mighty Ducks, dies at 75
What else we're reading...
—Sal Cataldi talks to the part-time musician who wrote that jazzy tune you always hear when you're on hold [NYT]
—Ahead of Oppenheimer, Greg Mitchell explores Hollywood's initial, Ayn Rand-led effort to make a movie about the atomic bomb [LitHub]
—Ann Lee writes that the latest Mission: Impossible film perpetuates the stereotype of the silent Asian [Guardian]
—Donovan X. Ramsey examines how Dr. Dre and hip-hop helped end the crack era [GQ]
—Adam Davidson talks to Zach Galifianakis about portraying the Beanie Babies creator, plus the dangers of "extreme capitalism" [L.A. Mag]
Today...
…in 2008, Warner Bros. unveiled Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Priyanka Chopra Jonas (41), Vin Diesel (56), Kristen Bell (43), Kelly Reilly (46), Margo Martindale (72), James Norton (38), Taylor Russell (29), James Brolin (83), Chace Crawford (38), Luciane Buchanan (30), Elizabeth McGovern (62), Hoon Lee (50), Wendy Williams (59), Fionn Whitehead (26), Richard Branson (73), Elsa Pataky (47) |
| | Elise Dione Finch Henriques, a meteorologist at CBS' New York affiliate WCBS for 16 years, has died at the age of 51, the station announced. A cause of death for the longtime local meteorologist, who went by Elise Finch professionally, has not yet been announced. The obituary. |
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