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NAMES ON NO STRIKE PETITION SOAR
Friday, November 28 2008
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Wednesday's announcement by the leaders of the Screen Actors Guild that they will conduct a strike authorization vote next month -- raising the possibility of a strike as early as January -- has had the unintended effect of swelling the signature count on the "No SAG Strike" petition being circulated online. Six days after the petition was posted at http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?DealNow, it contained 14,790 signatures as of 10:00 this morning. (It could not be determined how many of those signing the petition were actually SAG members.) Meanwhile, the British trade publication Screen Daily, has published an editorial in which it observes that a strike would affect the movie business internationally. "It is not unreasonable for Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg to point out that 'You can't use hard economic times as an excuse to sell out the future,'" the editorial says. "Well no. But the studios are also right to point out the foundations for that future have not yet been built and this is the wrong time to fight over the spoils." The editorial concludes, "It is interesting that any strike will be timed to disrupt the annual awards ceremonies. They seem like a high-profile but easy target. But it says a lot that anyone takes as the soft option the opportunity to obstruct a showcase of the brilliance of cinema across the whole planet."
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HOLLYWOOD JOURNALISTS IN VERBAL DUEL
Thursday, November 27 2008
A
full-blown
Hollywood
blog
war
has
broken
out
between
journalists
Nikki
Finke,
an
apparent
supporter
of
the
Screen
Actors
Guild's
bargaining
strategy
with
the
Alliance
of
Motion
Picture
and
Television
Producers,
and
Sharon
Waxman,
who
has
criticized
it.
At
issue
is
Waxman's
recent
report
that
SAG
officials
recently
held
secret
meetings
with
high-profile
actors
in
a
successful
effort
to
persuade
them
to
support
a
planned
strike-authorization
vote.
On
Wednesday,
Finke
reported
that
SAG
had
denied
(more)
HOW MUCH IS NEW MEDIA WORTH?
Wednesday, November 26 2008
Legendary
producer
David
L.
Wolper
(Roots,
The
Thorn
Birds)
has
disclosed
that
prior
to
its
negotiations
with
the
Alliance
of
Motion
Picture
and
Television
Producers,
the
Directors
Guild
of
America
spent
$1
million
on
a
research
report
"to
develop
forecasts
and
analyze
future
models
regarding
new
media
use."
He
implies
that
the
Screen
Actors
Guild's
leaders
have
done
no
such
research
and
are
not
prepared
to
inform
its
members
how
much
they
are
likely
to
(more)
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