Fran Under Fire for Fashion Show Trip as SAG-Studios Resume Talks
SAG-AFTRA pres Fran Drescher is negotiating from Italy, I'm told
Talks are back in session: After a three-day hiatus, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP returned to the virtual negotiating table on Sunday and were back in the room again today. Recall that the new deadline for the three-year TV/theatrical contract is near midnight July 12, after being extended from its initial June 30 deadline.
According to multiple sources, the performers union and the negotiating arm of the major Hollywood studios did not meet from Thursday through Saturday, though they had conferred at AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks for several days earlier in the July 4th week. (It should be noted that negotiating parties often use time out of the room to caucus or side-bar or what-have-you, so it doesn’t necessarily mean they were completely off the clock.)
With the clock ticking down on the extended contract deadline, the frantic churn of the rumor mill has signs pointing to a strike as of today — but the week is young and with more than 48 hours left on the clock, who’s to say what will happen? A source familiar with the negotiations told me Friday that the performers and studios were still miles apart on several issues, including pension caps, AI and streaming residuals, but that “anything could happen.”
Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian posted a photo to Instagram Stories on Sunday of SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, dressed to the nines at the Dolce & Gabbana runway show in Puglia, Italy, which took place on Saturday. The picture was a criticism magnet for the sitting union pres, given that 160,000-plus actors, dancers and other performers are waiting with bated breath for news of a possible strike.
But as a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson tells me:
President Drescher is working as a brand ambassador for Dolce and Gabbana on location in Italy. This was a commitment fully known to the negotiating committee. She has been in negotiations every day either in person or via videoconference. President Drescher is managing a physically demanding schedule across three time zones, overseeing negotiations and working on location daily as well as managing her parents' needs in FL. She is returning to the states and will be on the ground in LA tomorrow, and will continue to chair our negotiations.
The Writers Guild of America strike is now on Day 69 and shows no signs of stopping, as the union waits for the AMPTP to reopen discussions following the conclusion of the SAG talks.
The WGA is working with SAG-AFTRA members to train strike captains tomorrow on the picket lines, a separate source tells me.
Today in Strike News
David Zaslav might hold the belt for WGA public enemy number one, but to many guild members, Ryan Murphy is giving him a run for his money after continuing to work on his shows like American Horror Story despite his membership in the WGA. “He’s a member and it just feels like keeping these things up and running is counterproductive to our overall mission,” said strike captain T Cooper. (New York Times)
At the Barbie premiere last night, director and co-writer Greta Gerwig praised her husband and fellow co-writer Noah Baumbach, and in doing so, paid tribute to all writers. “My co-writer and co-creator, my partner in love and art, Noah Baumbach is not here. He is passionately supporting the fight of the Writers Guild of America,” said Gerwig. “From the first line to the last cut, this movie is his as much as anyone’s. He is a Barbie girl. Nothing in Barbie happened without him, and nothing in Hollywood happens without writers.” (Deadline)
For anyone eagerly awaiting the planned sequels to I Am Legend and Constantine — both to be penned by Akiva Goldsman — they’ll have to wait until the strike finally culminates. “My pens are down, so there’s nothing to do. But, yeah, those are the next things I’m writing when I’m allowed to write again,” said Goldsman. “And I had already begun [I Am] Legend 2 when we [started striking], and Frances [Lawrence], Keanu [Reeves], and I have broken Constantine 2. I just haven’t started typing yet.” (The Playlist)
Another planned sequel delayed by the strike: the follow-up to 2003’s Freaky Friday, which star Jamie Lee Curtis confirmed was on hold for the time being. “... Stories require writers, and right now there are no writers because they’re all fighting for their lives, for their creative lives, for their emotional lives, and for their financial lives,” said Curtis. “We’re in the middle of a contract dispute. And so, until those writers get paid correctly and protected by the producers that make billions off of them, we will not be able to tell you any more about the Freaky Friday sequel, except that it is happening.” (Entertainment Weekly)
Though many sequel projects are postponed because of the strike, one might’ve just gotten the kickstart it needed because of the strike. At the Bones reunion picket on Friday, series creator Hart Hanson alluded to the idea that the event might be what will “bump-start” the revival into action. “It’s complicated now because Fox broadcast ‘Bones,’ but Disney now bought 20th, so they own [the show]. It would take a million agents and lawyers to figure out who owns what and what platform it would show on,” said Hanson. “But we do keep talking. And every once in a while, we are all nostalgic enough to think, ‘Maybe we should do it again.’ Who knows? Maybe this will bump-start us.” (Variety)
To some, the absence of writers from the Emmys FYC scene, leaving the promoted shows without their creators, has exposed the hollow, marketing-centric nature of the campaign cycle. (Paste)
Picket Sign of the Day
The Wilds and Based on a True Story writer Melissa Blake outside the Barbie premiere.
Additional reporting by Matthew Frank.