SAG-AFTRA

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'We're Screwed': Hollywood Not Happy About AI Actress

Actors union and stars challenge rise of digital performers

(Newser) - Hollywood is bristling at the arrival of Tilly Norwood, a so-called "AI actor" designed to look and sound like the proverbial girl next door, the BBC reports. Created by Dutch actor and comedian Eline Van der Velden, Norwood has been making the rounds on social media , where she...

Lost Creator Says He'll Shun Disney Over Kimmel

Damon Lindelof 'shocked, saddened, and infuriated' by suspension

(Newser) - Damon Lindelof, the acclaimed creator behind Lost and Watchmen, says he won't work with Disney as long as Jimmy Kimmel's show remains suspended. Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled by ABC on Wednesday after Nexstar, a major TV-station owner, objected to Kimmel's remarks about the MAGA movement'...

Sean Astin to Follow Mother as Union President
Actors Union Elects Sean Astin
Sep 13, 2025 1:30 PM CDT

Actors Union Elects Sean Astin

SAG-AFTRA faces contract negotiations next year

(Newser) - Sean Astin, best known for his role in The Lord of the Rings, has been elected president of SAG-AFTRA, assuming the office once held by his mother, Patty Duke. Astin won with close to 80% of the vote, defeating Chuck Slavin, while his running mate, Michelle Hurd, was elected...

Video Game Performers Win Pay Raises, AI Protections

They were on strike for 11 months

(Newser) - Unionized video game performers have overwhelmingly voted to approve a new contract with their employers. The vote, whose results were announced Wednesday night by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, ends a nearly three-year-long effort from union negotiators to obtain a new contract for the performers....

SAG-AFTRA Welcomes New Group: Intimacy Coordinators

Staffers who help manage sex scenes on film unanimously vote to enter labor union

(Newser) - SAG-AFTRA, the labor union for 160,000 actors, recording and voice-over artists, stunt performers, and other media pros, are welcoming a new group of workers: intimacy coordinators, who work to make things as smooth as possible for actors during the filming of sex scenes. Citing a Tuesday announcement from SAG-AFTRA,...

Oppenheimer Continues Its Roll
Oppenheimer Continues Its Roll
Feb 25, 2024 6:42 AM CST

Oppenheimer Continues Its Roll

Christopher Nolan's biopic wins big at SAG Awards, heads into Oscars with more steam

(Newser) - Oppenheimer continued to steamroll through Hollywood's awards season on Saturday, winning the top prize, for outstanding cast, along with awards for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards. As the Academy Awards draw closer, Christopher Nolan's blockbuster biopic—already a winner at...

Women: Vincent Gallo Was Disturbing in Auditions

It 'was looking to me like a recipe for sexual misconduct on set,' one woman says

(Newser) - The SAG-AFTRA union is investigating allegations that Vincent Gallo made explicit and disturbing remarks to women auditioning to play victims of the Golden State Killer. Gallo, who plays serial killer and rapist ex-cop Joseph DeAngelo in The Policeman, allegedly told the women he wanted them to feel completely dominated by...

Actors Call Off Strike After Winning AI Protections, Raise
Actors Ratify Contract
That Ended Strike
UPDATED
Dec 5, 2023 10:29 PM CST

Actors Ratify Contract That Ended Strike

78% of SAG-AFTRA members vote to ratify the deal

(Newser) - The Hollywood actors strike is now officially officially behind us after the actors union voted Tuesday to ratify the contract that ended the strike nearly a month ago. Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) overwhelmingly backed the deal, with 78% voting to approve...

Drescher: It's 'a New Dawn' for Actors

SAG-AFTRA president talks pay increases, AI protections in new, tentative deal

(Newser) - The longest ever actor's strike against studios ended when those studios finally understood "that this is a new dawn," says union leader Fran Drescher. It "got to a place where not only did they really fully grasp the idea that this is a new dawn, that...

Producers Call Abigail Breslin's Allegations 'Hysterical'

Actress had reportedly complained co-star Aaron Eckhart was 'demeaning' on set

(Newser) - Producers of the upcoming movie Classified are suing after one star accused another of bad behavior on set. Abigail Breslin, who plays Aaron Eckhart's daughter in the film, reportedly wrote a letter privately to the Screen Actors Guild complaining about Eckhart's behavior, and now Dream Team Studios and...

Striking Actors Have Strict Rules on Halloween Costumes

SAG-AFTRA issues its 'dos and don'ts' for thespians on the picket line

(Newser) - If you had your Halloween costume picked out months ago, kudos to you for preplanning. If you had your Halloween costume picked out months ago, and you're an actor currently on the picket line, you might want to double-check if you're actually allowed to wear it. SAG-AFTRA has...

Drescher Says Clooney's Plan to End Strike Won't Work

A-list actors suggested they pay more dues to bridge gap between union, studios

(Newser) - SAG-AFTRA union president Fran Drescher says a proposal from George Clooney and a group of other A-listers to help end the actors' strike is "extremely generous"—but it's not going to work. In a Zoom meeting earlier this week between union leaders and actors including Clooney, Scarlett...

After Studios Halt Talks, Drescher Assesses Standoff
Drescher: Actors
Won't Back Down
Oct 14, 2023 12:10 PM CDT

Drescher: Actors Won't Back Down

Hollywood studios say the two sides are too far apart to talk

(Newser) - Fran Drescher has steered the actors guild through its monthslong strike. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced Wednesday that it had suspended contract negotiations, saying the gap between the two sides was too great to make continuing worth it and calling their proposal as good as the...

Drew Barrymore Dropped by Hosting Gig Amid Brouhaha

National Book Awards drops her as host

(Newser) - Drew Barrymore was already getting a lot of online flak for resuming her talk show amid the Hollywood strikes , followed by show staffers kicking out two audience members who were wearing WGA pins at the first taping, but now there's some tangible fallout: The National Book Awards has rescinded...

Wearing WGA Pins, 2 Get Kicked Out of Barrymore Taping

Rep says Barrymore herself didn't know anything about it

(Newser) - Two would-be audience members at Monday's controversial taping of The Drew Barrymore Show were kicked out because they were wearing WGA pins. Dominic Turiczek and Cassidy Carter, students in New York City, didn't realize the Hollywood strike was going on when they scored free tickets to the show,...

Drew Barrymore Makes a Dicey Decision Amid Hollywood Strikes

Her talk show will return, sans writers

(Newser) - Drew Barrymore was one of the first actors to make headlines when the Writers Guild of America went on strike, dropping out as host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards in solidarity with the striking screenwriters. But now she's explaining a controversial decision: Despite the fact that not...

Breaking Bad Actors, Writers Team Up 'in Solidarity'

'Better Call Saul' team members also join picket line as Hollywood strikes continue

(Newser) - A familiar group of faces popped up on the picket line Tuesday outside of Sony Pictures Studios: cast members from the AMC hits Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, per the Hollywood Reporter . Bryan "Walter White" Cranston was there, as were Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman), Jesse Plemons (Todd Alquist),...

Big Meeting Has Been Set in Hollywood Writers' Strike

Writers Guild finally set to meet with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers

(Newser) - For the first time since announcing a strike three months ago, the Writers Guild of America is set to enter talks with studios and streamers. The guild will meet Friday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which requested the meeting "to discuss negotiations," according to...

Striking Actors Share Images of Tiny Residual Checks

'I'm only netting $2.77. The math ain't mathing'

(Newser) - Under deals secured decades ago when Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild, actors, writers, and others involved in film and TV production get residual payments when shows and movies are rerun. But while the payments are intended to help people make ends meet between film and TV...

For Studios, Real Pain Will Arrive Around Labor Day

Actors walkout takes work stoppage to another level

(Newser) - The numbers vary, but many Americans say they'd be in trouble quickly if they lost their income. Not half could cover expenses for three months, Bankrate reports; many would tap out sooner. The scale is much different, but the Hollywood studios are feeling a little of that during the...

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