Actors Union SAG-AFTRA and Industry Postpone Commercials Negotiations

SAG-AFTRA and the advertising industry have agreed to postpone their previously-scheduled early negotiations of the union’s commercials agreement, the union announced Saturday. The existing agreement remains in place through March 31, 2013. The parties need more time, said the union, to address “data challenges” regarding a study that may result in a revamp of the commercials residuals system, referred to as Gross Ratings Points (GRP).

No date has been set for commercials negotiations, but the calendar makes it unlikely these will occur before mid-January, raising the possibility of a nail-biter. Big issues are likely to be GRP, pension and health contribution levels, and the increase in non-union work.

Details: The Hollywood Reporter.



Check out “Hollywood on Strike!,” available on Amazon in pb and Kindle. Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment labor. You can also follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook. If you work in tech, take a look at my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets. 

Movie Academy Journeys to Mars and (Far) Beyond at Sold-Out Event

“What’s anything without a trip to Mars?,” asked NASA’s Eric De Jong Tuesday night on stage at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. No one in the audience seemed inclined to disagree, but many no doubt felt “Why stop at Mars?”

The panelists were happy to oblige, taking the audience to the limits of the observable Universe. Hosted by producer Frank Marshall, the event showcased the relationship between NASA animation and Hollywood in such films as Transformers: Dark of the Moon (complete with a clip of Shia LaBeouf) and Hubble 3D.

On stage were NASA personnel and consultants and such Hollywood veterans as producer Tom Jacobson and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar, while the audience included Buzz Aldrin, the second person to set foot on the moon, and June Lockhart, the co-star of Lost in Space.

Details: The Hollywood Reporter.


Check out “Hollywood on Strike!,” available on Amazon in pb and Kindle. Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment labor. You can also follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook. If you work in tech, take a look at my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.