I wouldn't get too excited about this 11th hour "Last Best Offer" by the Big Media cartel before SAG's contract expires at 12:01 AM on July 1st. Because WGA exec director Dave Young had already informed his SAG counterpart Doug Allen that the AMPTP offered the writers "at least 10 last best offers" before a contract settlement was finally reached. SAG has said it will keep bargaining and has no plans for a strike. It said the AMPTP offer looks like the AFTRA contract but the screen actors agreed to examine it before the next negotiating session on Wednesday. So there will be no last-minute theatrics tonight by either side, which means Hollywood can get a good's night sleep. (Although the British press headlines for Tuesday are blaring "actors strike" as if a labor action is as imminent as, say, tomorrow. Get a clue, people.)
SAG statement:
Los Angeles, June 30, 2008 – The Screen Actors Guild national negotiating committee has bargained with the AMPTP for the last 42 days and remains committed to negotiating a fair deal for actors as soon as possible.
The AMPTP today delivered a last-minute, 43-page offer that upon initial examination appears to be generally consistent with the AFTRA deal, particularly in its provisions relating to new media. The union is reviewing the complex package and will prepare a response to management once that analysis is complete.
The parties are scheduled to meet Wednesday, July 2, at 2:00 p.m.
“This offer does not appear to address some key issues important to actors. For example, the impact of foregoing residuals for all made-for-new-media productions is incalculable and would mean the beginning of the end of residuals,” said Screen Actors Guild National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator.
The Screen Actors Guild Codified Basic and Television Agreements covering television programs and motion pictures expire tonight at midnight. Work will continue and all SAG members should report to work and to audition for new work past the expiration date until further notice from the Guild.
AMPTP statement:
Our industry is now in a de facto strike, with film production virtually shut down and television production now seriously threatened. In an effort to put everyone back to work, the AMPTP today presented SAG our final offer - a comprehensive proposal worth more than $250 million in additional compensation to SAG members, with significant economic gains and groundbreaking new media rights for all performers.
Our $250 million
... Read More »
Part I: SAG/AFTRA/AMPTP Overview: Calm Down. There Will Be No Strike Sequel.
PART II: The Details That The Moguls Don't Want You To Know
Every time I think of the way that Hollywood handles its guild negotiations, I'm reminded of that Jurassic Park 2 scene where Jeff Goldblum warns everybody: "Oooh, ahhh -- that's how it always starts. Then later there's running and screaming." That happened even before the writers went out on strike for 100 days. And it's happening now to the actors.
As soon as the striking Writers Guild went back to work, the Hollywood moguls and Screen Actors Guild secretly held their first confabs. In late February, SAG national president Alan Rosenberg and national executive director Doug Allen had a meet-and-greet with Disney CEO Bob Iger. Then, the guild duo agreed to confer again with Iger plus News Corp No. 2 Peter Chernin (the pair credited with back-channelling their way to a WGA strike settlement). This was exactly what SAG leadership had told members they would do: hold informal get-togethers with the moguls to lay groundwork for formal bargaining.
But the March 3rd sitdown didn't go well. As a source told me, "When the SAG guys said they're not going to accept the DGA or WGA deal and want to renegotiate DVDs and New Media, Peter said, 'Then I guess we have nothing to talk about.'" Rumors immediately spread that the "two Allens" had blown it by being hotheads. SAG tried to set the record straight. "The tone and tenor is completely false. There was no hyperbolic rhetoric. Conversations were cordial and constructive."
It was then that the Hollywood CEOs came to a collective decision about how to proceed with the SAG negotiations. Had the Big Media managers been interested in a quick settlement, they would have agreed that Chernin and Iger go back to backchannel bargaining. Instead, the moguls decided to change up the way they would conduct the contract talks for Hollywood's biggest union: they decided to hand the negotiations back over to their AMPTP. In other words, back to Nick Counter for his last hurrah as the cartel's negotiator, and back to the studios' and networks' labor lawyers who had grown increasingly restless for more control over the process. In fact, several moguls have admitted to me that, since then, they haven't even bothered to read the memos that their labor lawyers file each week. "I told my people, 'Don't bother me unless there's a breakthrough,' " one studio bigwig informed ... Read More »
EXCLUSIVE: I'm told that Warner Bros will now aggressively push Diane English's remake of The Women skedded for release September 12th with wider distribution and bigger marketing in the wake of the success of Sex And The City. This is an about-face from the studio's earlier decision to leave plans intact for about-to-shutter Picturehouse to debut the chick flick in limited release and with a small P&A. But after weeks of hemming and hawing, Warner Bros now believes that the low budget $16.5M remake could make money. 
I'm told that as a result The Women's marketing budget has moved north from a planned $7M-$8M to $25M-$30M. Back on June 2nd, I criticized Warner Bros for sitting on a pic written, directed and produced by one of the biz's best women comedy writers (of seminal Murphy Brown fame), and starring a quality cast of Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Bette Midler, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Debi Mazur, Joanna Gleason, Carrie Fisher, Lynn Whitfield and Cloris Leachman. Forget about the merits of the movie: there's potential for box office moolah stirred up by some savvy Sex-exploiting, Even if the movie is no good, it could reach SATC's two-quadrant audience with ad slogans like: "If you loved Sex And The City, then you need to see The Women who started it all." After I posted, a top Warner Bros exec phoned me and said, "We should give it another look." And the studio did. I bet women eager for another pic about female friendships and upscale lifestyles and urban sex will open The Women for a $20+M weekend. If not, well, I don't own Time Warner stock.
Why Won't Warner Embrace 'The Women'? Or Will It?
Los Angeles, June 29, 2008 – Screen Actors Guild released the following statement from SAG National President Alan Rosenberg: “We have taken no steps to initiate a strike authorization vote by the members of Screen Actors Guild. Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction. The Screen Actors Guild national negotiating committee is coming to the bargaining table every day in good faith to negotiate a fair contract for actors.”
This is the Part I: SAG/AFTRA/AMPTP Overview which I posted Friday: COUNTDOWN TO JUNE 30TH: Calm Down. There Will Be No Strike Sequel. But When Will Hollywood Ever Get Back To Work? Parts II and III coming today.
SUNDAY AM: North American box office numbers show that No. 1 Disney / Pixar's futuristic Wall-E blasted off with a $23.1 million Friday and $22 million Saturday from 3,992 theaters for what was a $62.5 million opening weekend. This means arty Wall-E is big and transcended from a kids movie into a four-quadrant hit. But it wasn't quite the $70+M record breaker everyone thought it would be. Still, it was the 3rd biggest Pixar opening (behind The Incredibles at $70.5M and Finding Nemo at $70.2M, but equal to Monsters Inc. at $62.5M) and the 7th all-time animated opening. And its opening day gross was the biggest of all nine Pixar titles ($23.1M, which passed The Incredibles' $20.5 million of 2004) and its opening weekend the 2nd best overall for June (behind Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban's $93.7M). Disney is looking for a Best Picture Oscar nomination for the computer-generated G-rated toon, very possible with 97% great reviews from top critics and even rival studio bigwigs gushing: "It's just adorable and smart and interesting. It has more character development and emotion than any movie I've seen this year." One wrinkle in Wall-E's marketing was that the 1 hour, 37 minute pic has no dialogue for the first 40 or so minutes. And it can be hard to find something funny to say from a character who doesn't talk.
More and more, films with different ratings and different genres can happily coexist at the box office -- Alvin And The Chipmunks and I Am Legend, American Gangster and Bee Movie. So Wanted, Universal's Angelina Jolie/James McAvoy starrer, debuted to $19.1M Friday and $17.5M Saturday from 3,175 venues for a $51.1M weekend. It marks a new franchise for the studio which expected only $35+M from this stylish summer actioner fueled by the Matrix-like high octane provided by hot Russian director Timur Bekmambetov. It turned out to be the best June opening ever for an R-rated movie, beating Knocked Up's $30.6M, and the 6th highest R-rated opening of all time (behind The Matrix Reloaded, The Passion Of The Christ, 300, Hannibal, and Sex And The City) as well as the 3rd biggest R-rated action film (behind The Matrix Reloaded's $91.7M, and 300's $70.9M). It's also the biggest opening ever for a live-action Angelina movie and she proved a big draw: the studio said the main reasons given for choosing to see Wanted were the action (67%) and Jolie (61%). Exit polling showed the audience breakdown was 52%/48% male to female, 51%/49% under age 30 to over age 30.
Warner Bros comedy Get Smart took No. 3 with $6.5M Friday and $7.8M ... Read More »
Here is my COUNTDOWN TO JUNE 30TH package:
Part I: SAG/AFTRA/AMPTP Overview: Calm Down. There Will Be No Strike Sequel
Part II: The Details That The Moguls Don't Want You To Know
PART I: SAG/AFTRA/AMPTP Overview
The sense of panic among actors, writers, directors and below-the-liners is palpable in Hollywood right now. Matched only by the angst of agents whose phones aren't ringing, and out-of-town journalists struggling to write "strike sequel" scare stories for Monday. Strange, isn't it, that the only Hollywood types without any visible flop sweat from the de facto shutdown of production are the network and studio moguls. Because they are the puppeteers pulling everybody else's strings. From behind the scenes, they order Hollywood to jump, and the town asks how high. And never more so than during all these guild negotiations. If only the entire industry could stay focused on the actions of Big Media and start pressuring the Hollywood CEOs to put people back to work. Instead, everyone's attention has strayed to the carnival sideshow of SAG vs AFTRA, and AFTRA vs SAG, and Big Star vs Big Star, and all the other diversions in an already confused situation.
Now take a deep breath and calm down. To understand what's going on right now, I first need to ask you to do the following: reflect on everything you knew surrounding the writers strike, and then throw it all out the window. What's going on with SAG and AFTRA and the AMPTP is the complete opposite of what happened a few month back. The writers were, for the most part, united. 
The actors are divided to the point of distraction. The writers went after the AMPTP and the Big Media behemoths. The actors are going after each other. The agents and moguls back-channelled negotiations with the WGA. Hardly any back-channelling is going on right now between the moguls and SAG, while the agents are sitting on their hands. All the moguls kept close tabs on pre- and post-strike talks with the writers. Now some CEOs are so disengaged they're not reading their own labor lawyers' memos, much less demanding updates. The writers strike crippled television while movies went virtually unscathed. But the de facto strike or de facto lockout, depending on your POV, has seemingly halted moviemaking while television production continues mostly uninterrupted.
The result is that Hollywood has to rewire, reboot and rethink everything. In this case, past doesn't have to be prologue. There doesn't have to be a strike. ... Read More »
(Culver City, June 27, 2008) -- Sony Pictures Entertainment has promoted Valerie Van Galder and Marc Weinstock to co-presidents of Worldwide Theatrical Marketing, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, chairman of worldwide marketing and distribution for the studio, to whom the two will report.
Van Galder and Weinstock will collectively develop and oversee worldwide marketing campaigns for all films released by Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Animation.
The two have worked together for more than a decade, first joining forces while working at Fox Searchlight. Van Galder originally brought Weinstock to join her at Screen Gems in 2000, when she oversaw marketing and publicity for the genre label. When Van Galder moved from her role as president of TriStar Pictures in January 2006 to take over the reins of the domestic marketing division at Columbia Pictures, Weinstock made a seamless transition to lead motion picture marketing for Screen Gems and has since launched eight #1 films.
Van Galder and Weinstock have been the marketing architects for a total of 28 #1 films.
Blake has reunited the two longtime colleagues to work together in developing and implementing the global marketing blueprint and launch strategy for more than 20 motion pictures a year.
“Val and Marc are recognized as two of the most creative, imaginative and strategic motion picture marketers in the industry today,” said Blake. “They have worked magnificently well together as partners for more than a decade, and they have an incredible and enviable track record of success. By reuniting their talents, we will bring their experience and leadership to our offices overseas where we will deliver their consistent innovation and skill and make sure that our campaigns get the same strong care and treatment abroad. As we place our global marketing structure under one roof, Marc and Val each bring with them the trust and confidence of the studio’s top filmmakers, talent and executives, and we couldn’t be in better hands.”
Over the next several months, the two will begin working together to shape the marketing campaigns for upcoming titles such as Columbia Pictures’ Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond adventure; Angels & Demons, the feature film adaptation of Dan Brown’s bestselling novel; Roland Emmerich’s 2012; The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3; and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. They are also overseeing the campaigns for Screen Gems’ Lakeview Terrace; Quarantine; Underworld: Rise of the Lycans; and District 9, from producer Peter
... Read More »
I'm told this is the last day of employment for as many as 550 laid-off New Line employees. But Toby Emmerich has been driving around in a shiny new car and parking in the 116 North Robertson lot since June 10th. Like the jackass couldn't have waited until July to show it off to the world.
UPDATE: One of Toby's pals whom I normally respect is all in a lather and just emailed me this explanation: "The guy had a lease on a Mercedes that just ended. He just leased a less expensive Lexus hybrid. He's had the same exact parking place for 8 years, and he expressly declined to take Bob Shaye's better space. What's he flaunting? What has he done to deserve your implication that he's gleefully driving over the graves of ex-New Line employees in his new red Ferrari? You think New Line's absorption into Warner Bros is what he wanted?"
Where do I begin? Like a Lexus hybrid isn't a pricey car. And what an immense sacrifice for Toby to decline Shaye's parking space. For crissakes, Emmerich is as responsible as Shaye and Lynne for the debacle that New Line became. And worst of all, Toby is now funneling projects back to Bob and Michael. I still maintain that Emmerich should have been shown the exit door, not the car door.
I'm told that not only is Pixar/Disney internally hoping for a $70+ million dollar opening for Wall-E, but also a Best Picture Oscar nomination for the L'il Robot. 
It's possible with 100% great reviews from top critics and even rival studios bigwigs gushing about the pic: "I saw it on Wednesday and it's just adorable and smart and interesting. It has more character development and emotion than any movie I've seen this year." My box office gurus are projecting a $65M to $70M opening, and maybe more from 3,992 theaters. Clearly it'll be another giant box office since Universal's Angelina Jolie / James McAvoy starrer Wanted now looks like an all-round date movie instead of just a guyfest.
Universal is hoping for at least $35M and maybe even $40M from 3,175 venues for Wanted's Fri/Sat/Sun total. My box office gurus are projecting $40M to $42M. "In terms of comps, that would be an extraordinary result for an R-rated summer action movie," a source tells me. "So anything above $35M is absolutely a franchise." 
The appeal for well-reviewed Wanted is a surprise: women want to see it as almost as much as men, young and old are coming in nearly even, and relative newcomer McAvoy is almost as much of a draw for the film as veteran Jolie.
Wall-E and Wanted will compete for older females. But it won't matter. "All the Wall-E reviews have been extraordinary. And Pixar is a brand that has earned the complete and total trust of the public," a rival marketing czar gushed. "But we have seen over and over and over again that films with different ratings and different genres can happily coexist at the box office -- Alvin And The Chipmunks and I Am Legend, American Gangster and Bee Movie." One wrinkle in Wall-E's marketing was that the 1 hour, 37 minute pic has no dialogue for the first 40 or so minutes. "It's a bitch when the characters don't talk. Finding funny things for the TV ads is way hard."
Looking ahead to Fourth Of July weekend, my box office gurus think Sony's Hancock will be massive. They're predicting a floor of $100M all the way up to $115M over the 5-day holiday since Will Smith owns that holiday weekend.
I'm told that Disney and Pixar are going to push hard for a Best Picture Oscar nomination for Wall-E on the basis of its anti-toon moody darkness and rave reviews by critics who matter. Certainly many toons have tried for that high honor over the years, and then settled for "just" a recently added Best Animated Feature nod. Only one animated movie has made it into the most competitive Academy Award category -- Disney's Beauty And The Beast in 1991 -- but, alas, didn't win. But that may not be the obstacle in Wall-E's way. No, I'm hearing the problem may be Andrew Stanton's arrogance in that interview in last Sunday's New York Times:
"Stanton, who wrote and directed the film, doesn’t care if the kiddies want to hug Wall-E or not when the movie comes out on Friday. 'I never think about the audience,” he said. “If someone gives me a marketing report, I throw it away.'” Because them thar's fightin' words in the movie industry. "Half of Hollywood went, 'You've got to be kidding!' " a bigwig Hollywood marketer said, echoing sentiment heard within the Industry. "Nobody can say, 'I don't care what the audience thinks', especially when making a mainstream movie for families. Nobody can live outside the envelope like that. His disdain for the audience was really obvious."
Ah, I love the smell of nastiness at the start of Oscar season. Smells like... controversy!
While SAG has been fighting product integration in its ongoing negotiations with the AMPTP, Hollywood writers have been fighting it in Washington DC. For non-insiders, that's when Aiden on Sex And The City keeps talking about KFC, or when The Office refers to real corporations like Staples. (Though episodes of 30 Rock keep spoofing the practice, like when Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin spoke dialogue praising Verizon Wireless, and then Fey said directly to the camera, "Can we have our money now?") Specifically, the WGAW, which attempted to bargain this issue with the moguls and got nowhere, has asked FCC chairman Kevin Martin to help protect creative artists and audiences from product integration and its increase in use within the entertainment industry. The guild also called for a mandate on “real time” disclosure. In response to today’s decision by the Federal Communications Commission to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on product integration in TV programming, WGAW issued this statement:
“While the WGAW applauds the FCC decision to seek federal rules to address the increasingly pervasive use of product integration in today’s television programming, the Writers Guild urges the FCC to require on-screen ‘real-time’ disclosure when product integration occurs, in order to make viewers fully aware they are watching a paid advertisement. The WGAW believes the most fair and effective way to alert consumers that products have been integrated into programming is real-time disclosure whenever a product is being mentioned, referred to, and/or exhibited, to help viewers differentiate TV programming from paid advertising.”
Among other concrete actions, the WGAW has called for the FCC to establish guidelines requiring on-screen real-time” disclosure on TV programming whenever product integration occurs "to make viewers aware of the range of products they are overtly – and more often covertly – being sold". The WGAW has been active in the area of product integration fever since it published a white paper on the issue back in 2005. WGAW president Patric Verrone and TV writers such as Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal testified before both Congress and the FCC last year on product integration and its implications for creative artists and the viewing public. And Verrone wrote to Martin on June 24th:
"Should the FCC initiate a rule-making process concerning the growing use of product integration, as recent news reports have suggested, the WGAW hopes this process will address the concerns of consumers and content creators.
"The concept behind product integration is the embedding of commercial products within the storyline of a
... Read More »
All my box office gurus think Hancock will be massive. So they're predicting a floor of $100M all the way up to $115M over the 5-day holiday since the Sony pic is starring Mr Independence Day Weekend, Will Smith. Let the prognosticating begin... Meanwhile, Sony is rolling out its long awaited and much rumored new multi-platform video service this summer in the U.S. and will offer Hancock to owners of internet-connected Bravia TVs before the movie is available on DVD.
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