Recent Articles

KCRW Interview re SAG

Jonathan Handel
March 03, 2009 02:47

I was interviewed on KCRW's "The Business" show today regarding SAG. The interview covers a range of topics and is available for download or streaming at http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tb/tb090302oscar_assumptions_sa. The SAG segment begins at about 3 and a half minutes in, and is 11 minutes...

Hollywood Labor Roundup

Jonathan Handel
March 01, 2009 02:44

Keeping you up to date on miscellaneous goings-on in the world of Hollywood labor, here’s what’s happened in the last week or so: SAG Commercials Negotiations. These continue in NY under a press blackout. No news to report.SAG TV/Theatrical Contract. Rumors abound that a top CAA exe...

Leno’s All Charged Up

Jonathan Handel
February 26, 2009 15:32

The wheels of Writers Guild justice grind slowly, it seems. Flashback to January 2007—almost 14 months ago—when Hollywood was in the middle of a long writers strike, rather than an even longer screen actors stalemate. Comedian Jay Leno, after having been off the air for weeks, came back on, this tim...

Video of public panel discussion re Hollywood Labor

Jonathan Handel
February 24, 2009 16:49

Last night, there was a panel in LA entitled How Will Labor Discord Change Hollywood? A story about the panel and video of the event are available here.The panel focused on Hollywood labor issues related to new media. Sponsored by Zocalo and moderated by LA Times Editorial Board Member Jon Healey,...

AMPTP Offer

Jonathan Handel
February 23, 2009 07:38

People have asked where to find the AMPTP's recent Last, Best and Final Offer to SAG. Here's the link, plus a link to the AMPTP's highlights document and the SAG and AMPTP statements regarding the offer:* AMPTP's Last, Best and Final Offer to SAG* Highlights document* SAG statement* AMPTP...

Public panel discussion re Hollywood Labor

Jonathan Handel
February 23, 2009 00:04

Tomorrow, Monday, Feb. 23, there will be a panel in LA entitled How Will Labor Discord Change Hollywood? The panel will focus on Hollywood labor issues related to new media.Sponsored by Zocalo and moderated by LA Times Editorial Board Member Jon Healey, panelists include AFTRA National Executive...

What Does the Internet Mean for the Movie Business?

Jonathan Handel
February 22, 2009 23:45

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the relationship between the Internet and television. The talk focuses on such sites as Hulu and such issues as whether and/or when the Internet will overshadow television, or whether all television will be Internet based. The debates have been e...

SAG Rejects Studio Offer; Back to Stalemate

Jonathan Handel
February 22, 2009 10:58

By a vote of 73% to 27%, the Screen Actors Guild board of directors voted Saturday to reject the studios’ most recent offer, which the studio alliance, the AMPTP, had delivered two days earlier. Thus, the offer will not be sent out to the membership for a ratification vote. Nor, however, does the r...

What Can SAG Do Next?

Jonathan Handel
February 20, 2009 16:05

Talks between the Screen Actors Guild and the studio alliance (AMPTP) have collapsed, and the studios have offered SAG a take it or leave it offer. SAG probably has insufficient internal support for a strike, the offer is a bitter pill, and the Guild is in disarray, riven by internal political...

Is SAG Becoming Irrelevant?

Jonathan Handel
February 20, 2009 11:08

The Screen Actors Guild is besieged by bad news, and thanks to the misguided strategies of the previously-dominant hard-line faction, the union may be slipping towards irrelevance. Start with the latest: Talks between SAG and the AMPTP (studio alliance) collapsed Thursday night, with the AMPTP...