Media Bits and Bytes – December 26, 2023
Portside
Another year of what we call news
Another year of what we call news
Another year of what we call news
tv
Let Bradley Cooper’s Maestro Be the Death of the Biopic
Jacobin
In Maestro, Bradley Cooper plays famed conductor Leonard Bernstein but leaves out the complicating — and fascinating — real-life details for a more streamlined, tearjerking product. It’ll doubtlessly do well at the Oscars.
labor
IATSE Members Launch Reform Caucus As Hollywood Strikes Wrap
Labor Notes
After supporting screenwriters and actors through their monthslong strikes, film and TV crew workers with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) are launching a reform caucus.
Striking Actors and Hollywood Studios Agree to a Deal
The New York Times
The agreements with actors and writers represent a capitulation by Hollywood’s biggest companies, which started the bargaining process with an expectation that the unions, especially SAG-AFTRA, would be relatively compliant.
labor
U.S. Labor Movement Faces Big Obstacles Despite Surge in Strikes and Union Wins
The Guardian
Recent union contract gains against a backdrop of decades of union decline, worsening wealth inequality and broken labor laws.
Friday Nite Videos | October 20, 2023
Portside
How Palestinians Were Expelled From Their Homes. Jordan Klepper's Eye-Opening Return to the Trump Trail. How Israel Helped Hamas To Weaken Palestinian Hopes. What Disney Doesn't Want You To Know About VFX Workers. Another Top Trump Ally Flips.
What Disney Doesn't Want You To Know About VFX Workers
Lucas created Star Wars using non-union workers. But decades later, visual effects workers are still non-union. That’s about to change.
To Live and Strike in Hollywood
The Stansbury Forum
Writer Gary Phillips traces the history of the Writers Guild, the militancy of Hollywood unions, beginning with the writers, the difference between the writers and actors, and why the actors remain on strike.
Writers’ Reps Tell the Story | Negotiating With Hollywood
TheWrap
Top negotiators for the writers guild believe the studios’ interests “are no longer sufficiently aligned to allow them to easily negotiate together”
Taylor Swift Gave the Union Everything It Wants
Gizmodo
The singer-songwriter met the demands of striking SAG-AFTRA, including streaming residuals, to release The Eras Tour documentary.
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