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There’s an old joke used in show business when events and gatherings lack major celebrity attendance: “Somebody punch me in the face so I can see some stars.” But it’s no joke when it comes to the picket lines of the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes, according to some of the protesters on the ground and select industry players who spoke to Variety. There’s been a “palpable” lack of headliners, said one prominent SAG-AFTRA member, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “If our stars were all out there in force advocating for us, we’d know it,” they added....

Actors aren't working right now, so studios will turn to you for content in their place. Don't fall for it.If you're a content creator, the SAG/WGA strike will likely affect you in some way. It might change the way you view Hollywood, affect what opportunities are available to you, or keep your loved ones from finding work. Here's a quick run down of why you should support the strike and how you can show solidarity. What is this strike about? What are SAG and WGA striking over? We've put together a helpful summary at this link but basically, amidst an...

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA expressed optimism Saturday that they will achieve a “seminal deal” with studios, networks and streamers to avert an action like the writers’ strike that has nearly shut down scripted production. “We are having an extremely productive negotiations that are laser-focused on all of the crucial issues you told us are most important to you,” SAG-AFTRA National President Fran Drescher said in a video message to members. “We’re standing strong and we’re going to achieve a seminal deal.” Drescher told members she could not release details because “Frankly, it’s very confidential what’s going on in there.” She and...

EXCLUSIVE: President Trump is resigning from the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists after they threatened to expel his membership from the union after the Capitol riot -- to which he said, "Who cares!" The former president's letter of resignation Wednesday comes after the SAG-AFTRA board voted "overwhelmingly" that Trump violated the union's membership guidelines in the wake of the Capitol riot. Fox News exclusively obtained the letter sent to SAG President Gabrielle Carteris, slamming the union, the media and news organizations. "I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at...

Donald Trump is facing possible expulsion from SAG-AFTRA. Deadline has learned that the union’s national board of directors will meet Tuesday morning in a special session regarding disciplinary action against him, which could lead to his expulsion. The former star of The Apprentice – and soon-to-be former president – has been a member of the union and its forerunners, SAG and AFTRA, since 1989. The two unions merged in 2012. Article XIV of the SAG-AFTRA Constitution states that members may be suspended or expelled for “engaging in actions antagonistic to the interests or integrity of the union.” Expulsion requires a...

The Screen Actors Guild, which puts on the SAG Awards, has rejected a call from Billions star Asia Kate Dillon to abolish gender specific awards categories. The actor claimed that the categories needed to be changed because referring to performers as male or female will “erase non-binary identities” and “serve as an endorsement of the gender binary at large.” The SAG Awards Committee says that the categories will remain the same for this year’s awards because a “larger conversation” needs to happen before making such a change, according to a report by Variety, which obtained SAG’s response letter to Dillon....

The full reopening of the film and TV industry probably won’t be possible until a vaccine is developed to combat the coronavirus and testing and tracing of the virus’ spread are in place, according to David White, national executive director of SAG-AFTRA. White shared that view during a media conference call today with the top leaders of the industry’s unions and guilds, including representatives of the DGA, IATSE, Actors’ Equity and the WGA East. “As a general matter, it’s worth noting that a vaccine is right now maybe not a consensus but overwhelmingly viewed as the time when everything can...

Robert De Niro will be honored with a SAG life achievement award. The legendary actor, who currently stars in Netflix’s “The Irishman” and Warner Bros.’ “Joker,” will receive the performers’ union’s top accolade at the 26th annual SAG Awards on Jan. 19 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The award is given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession.” “Robert De Niro is an actor of extraordinary depth and ability,” said SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris. “The characters he creates captivate our imaginations. From the smoldering inferno of young Vito Corleone to the raging...

For 2018, the minimum earnings requirement for Plan I eligibility is $33,660 in covered earnings in your base earnings period. For 2019, the minimum earnings requirement will be $34,330. Download a copy of the 2018 Benefits Summary, effective January 1, 2018 and the 2019 Benefits Summary, effective January 1, 2019. Calendar Year Deductible: In-Network Provider: Hospital: The Industry Health Network ‐ $150/person; $300/family BlueCard PPO/Beacon Health Options ‐ $250/person; $500/family Inpatient (Room and Board and Ancillary Services): 90% after $100 copay Outpatient Surgery: 90% after $100 copay Emergency Room: 90% after $100 copay; emergency room copay is waived if immediately...

In 1976, 16-year-old model Babi Christina Engelhardt embarked on a hidden eight-year affair with the 41–year-old filmmaker that mirrors one of his most famous movies. Now, amid the #MeToo reckoning and Allen’s personal scandals, she looks back with mixed emotions on their relationship and its unequal dynamic. Sixteen, emerald-eyed, blond, an aspiring model with a confident streak and a painful past: Babi Christina Engelhardt had just caught Woody Allen's gaze at legendary New York City power restaurant Elaine's. It was October 1976, and when Engelhardt returned from the ladies' room, she dropped a note on his table with her phone...

Hollywood’s unions are “steadfastly” opposing an amendment to a bill pending in Congress that would slash funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities by 15%. The coalition of 12 unions, representing half a million industry workers and artists, includes SAG-AFTRA, the DGA, IATSE, the American Federation of Musicians, Actors’ Equity and the WGA East. The opposition is being spearheaded by the Department of Professional Employees, AFL-CIO, through which many of the unions are affiliated. Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) offered the amendment to next year’s Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill. “The...

SAG-AFTRA has called for a ban on auditions in hotel rooms and residences, where many reported incidents of sexual harassment and assault have occurred. “We are committed to addressing the scenario that has allowed predators to exploit performers behind closed doors under the guise of a professional meeting,” SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris said in announcing the movie today. The ban on such meetings – called Guideline No. 1 – is the first expansion of the Code of Conduct the union released in February as part of its Four Pillars of Change initiative to confront sexual harassment in the workplace. The...

The 24th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be presented entirely by women. The organizers of the SAGs - one of Holloywood's biggest award shows and usually a strong pre-Oscars indicator - made the announcement on Wednesday. The tribute comes at a time when the entertainment industry has been roiled by a sexual misconduct scandal as well as the struggle for gender equality in front of and behind the camera. Women will present all 13 of the SAG awards at the January 21 dinner in Los Angeles honoring the best of film and television, in a first for the organization,...

Since his dramatic speech while accepting the award for best ensemble in a drama series at at his year's Screen Actors Guild Awards, Harbour has racked up several nominations for his role as Jim Hopper. The actor, who yelled that people should punch people in the face if they don't like their political views, went from zero nominations prior to several afterwards. Before the speech he snubbed by the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and the SAG. Since then he has been nominated for all three of those plus the Emmy. meanwhile the boys from the show have received no...

Actors strike threatened: SAG-AFTRA outraged at studios failure for fair agreement The leadership of the SAG-AFTRA actors union reported Monday that negotiations with producers so far have yielded no agreement on a new three-year contract, and it said it was asking for a strike authorization vote to strengthen its hand. It said in a statement on the union’s website that it had been hard at work bargaining with the major studios and networks represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers about a new three-year contract covering motion pictures, television and new media. “We had hoped to be...

Hollywood award shows teem with Trump Derangement Syndrome: It's the new normal. We saw it loud and proud at the Golden Globes earlier this month. We'll likely see it again, on steroids, next month when the Academy Awards are handed out.

Any doubts that Hollywood would take sharp aim at President Trump’s immigration order were swiftly vanquished at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night. Amid upsets, winner after winner lashed out at the policy, pleaded for acceptance of differences in a bitterly divided time and, in the case of the cast of “Stranger Things,” adopted the stance of political firebrands. “We will get past the lies, we will hunt monsters,” said David Harbour, a cast member of the Netflix series, which won for best television drama, as the audience roared its approval. “And when we are lost amid the...

Did anybody attempt to watch the Saggys? My husband and I made it about 10 minutes before the anti-Trump vitriol got to us!

Of absolutely no importance, but I wanted to say that the dress that I thought was the classiest, most beautiful at the SAG Awards, was Viola Davis' dress. Would love to see more glamour in what used to be a very glamorous industry.

Reflections on the days when a labor leader led our nation, on the great man's birthday... As the author writes this column, dozens of ships, each one laden with tens of thousands of truckloads of cargo, are sitting in the Pacific, parked for weeks at a time in a line, waiting for the longshoremen to stop their slowdown and get back to work. Modern containerships are measured in TEUs, a unit of measure specific to the transportation industry. The standard intermodal container (so-called because it can be transported by truck, rail, or ship, easily transferred from one to the next...