Time is drawing short for settlement between SAG, AFTRA and AMPTP as the June 30 contract expiration date comes closer. IF SAG and AFTRA strike, the fallout will be severe. If SAG strikes and AFTRA doesn’t, it could spell a radical shift in the traditional power base of these two guilds. At a time when [...]

It’s interesting to see the search strings that viewers of the blog use to reach my little place here on the web. It has occurred to me, correctly I hope, that from time to time I should use some of those queries and offer a brief explanation. Here are a few facts about SAG and [...]

What was thought to be a quick round of negotiations which would lead to a just as quick settlement between AFTRA and AMPTP has hit a ‘clip’ in the road. Seems as though AFTRA has figured out that SAG negotiators had something to haggle about with respect to clip usage: From The Hollywood Reporter: …AFTRA’s [...]

May 19, 2008 Dear AFTRA Member: As you know, AFTRA has been in negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on our contract covering primetime network dramatic programs—also known as Exhibit A—since May 7. Because a press blackout is in effect for these talks, I felt it was important to contact [...]

Nothing like taking a few days of R&R in New Orleans and staying in a hotel with no internet access to put your blog behind schedule. A friend called to tell me I should read Chris Garcia’s article In less than 3 years, Shreveport has passed Austin as a film hotbed, and a great article [...]

Due to a news blackout of the AFTRA negotiations, there isn’t much to report except that the negotiations are continuing. From a letter to AFTRA members: May 14, 2008 Dear AFTRA Member: The news blackout limits what I can tell you about the progress of our Primetime TV negotiations currently underway in Los Angeles. But [...]

While waiting for AFTRA to finalize a deal with AMPTP and SAG to decide if they’re going to accept the offer to resume negotiations on May 28th, it seems a good time for some humor and a good story from another segment of ‘the business’: From The Wall Street Journal Some of the most provocative [...]

The following has been pulled from the latest release inDaily Variety: AFTRA and the majors have kept their primetime contract negotiations under the radar while the Screen Actors Guild still waits in the wings. The American Federation of Television & Radio Artists is expected to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture & [...]

Following up on my earlier post about the blurring of the lines between cable and network television programming as well as the rapid development of ‘new media’, I submit portions of this article by John Dempsey in Daily Variety: Turner Broadcasting’s upfront presentation to advertisers today will be heavy on star power — and symbolism. [...]

The big sticking point in the now on-hold negotiations between SAG and AMPTP apparently centered around actor’s compensation from DVD, Cable, Internet Original Programming, Video Streaming and other so called ‘New Media’ distribution channels. Diane Holloway’s column in today’s Austin American Statesman touches on this issue, though she isn’t discussing the negotiations or a possible [...]