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🎬 SAG Rallies Troops 🪧

🎬 SAG Rallies Troops 🪧

Ryan Murphy's Legal Threat Shakes Up WGA, and MORE... 🚨

The Dailies
July 10, 2023

👋 Good morning! If you're new here, we'd like to welcome you to the Dailies. Here, we simplify and deliver the latest Hollywood news in straightforward language directly to your inbox every Monday and Thursday. Let's dive in...

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

SAG and WGA Strike Updates
Ryan Murphy’s Legal Threat
LA Aid Requests Skyrocket
Jonnie Davis Leaves ABC
Artificial Intelligence and IATSE
Development Notes: Bite-sized scoops on developing stories/projects

But first, as usual, let’s take at what people went to see this weekend…

LAST WEEKEND’S
BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN 🎟️

Insidious: The Red Door: 🚪👻 Sony's latest horror flick shocks with a $32.6M debut, snatching the top spot and outrunning Disney's Indiana Jones sequel. It outperforms most recent horrors but falls behind some big-name sequels like Scream VI and Halloween Ends. Globally, it's ahead by 27% of 2018’s Insidious: The Last Key.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: 🎬📉 Starting off underwhelmingly at $60.3M, the action sequel suffers a drop to $26.5M in its second week, and is currently 40% behind the Crystal Skull at the same point. It may not even reach half of the Crystal Skull's total on a global scale.
Sound of Freedom: 🇺🇸🙏 The faith-based drama makes a triumphant debut with $18.2M opening weekend and $40.2M within six days, blowing past the final total of Angel Studios' prior film, His Only Son.
Elemental: 🌊🔥 Despite a rocky start, Disney/Pixar's original animation holds its own with a minor 20% decline to $9.6M in its fourth week.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: 🕸️💥 Sony’s superhero sequel proves its mettle in its sixth week, bringing in $8.0M and pushing its domestic total to a whopping $357.6M—88% more than its predecessor.
Joy Ride: 🚗😕 Lionsgate’s comedy flick starts off slow with $5.8M, lagging behind similar female-led comedies. The audience primarily comprised women over 25.

💡SPOTLIGHT💡

SAG Prepping for Possible Strike
The Latest on Possible Dual SAG and WGA Strike

If you’ve been with us for the last couple weeks, you know that SAG-AFTRA, the big performers’ union, might be heading for a strike. The actors' union isn't taking things lightly. In fact, they're already making picket signs for their members. The message is clear, "If a strike is necessary, we're prepared!"

If a strike becomes necessary, we're ready.
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra)
12:24 AM • Jul 8, 2023

They’ve sent out a survey (below👇🏻) to their 160,000 members to see who’s up for picketing and maybe even leading the charge if it all goes down. It's like they're doing a headcount before the big dance. Negotiations are in progress, and they have until Wednesday to strike a deal with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. If things don’t work out, it’s gonna be their first film and TV strike in 40 years. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that!

Survey sent to all SAG members a couple days ago… time to rally the troops.

Remember back in June when guild members voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike if a fair agreement couldn't be reached? Since then, over 1,700 members signed a letter to SAG-AFTRA leaders, urging them to maintain a strong stance at the bargaining table, even if that means joining the Writers Guild on the picket lines, a strike now in its 68th day.

Quick refresher — here are some of the things SAG is calling for:

Economic Fairness: The guild is looking for a bigger piece of the pie for its members, especially since the studios are making a killing. 🎬💸
Residuals: They're pushing for residual payments that truly match the global value of SAG-AFTRA content. They're saying it's time to cash in on the worldwide distribution. 🌍💰
AI Regulations: The guild is a bit freaked out about AI, as it could mess with their members' work. They want clear rules about AI use. 🤖⚖️
Self-taping: When it comes to self-taping auditions, the guild is calling for reasonable rules and limitations to prevent potential exploitation of performers. 🎥✋

The heat is on in Hollywood, and it looks like SAG is ready to advocate for its members' rights.

What do you think will happen?

Will SAG make a deal on the 12th?

SAG AFTRA members show their solidarity at the picket line on Friday. (Credit: @SAG-AFTRA on Twitter.)

Alright, let’s talk about a few more notable stories… 🍿

🗣ACTION!💬

😱⚖️ Ryan Murphy's Legal Threat Shakes Up WGA! Ryan Murphy, the big shot behind American Horror Story, has been accused by Warren Leight, a former strike captain, of threatening to blacklist crew members who support the Writers Guild strike. 😨 After Warren's tweet, Ryan's lawyer came out swinging, and Warren ended up stepping down from his positions. He also retracted his tweet, saying it was "completely false and inaccurate." 🔄 Talk about a plot twist! 🌀 WGA East officers are now trying to keep the peace, urging strike captains not to let the infighting distract from the real fight against the AMPTP. Meanwhile, Murphy's three shows are among the few still in production on the East Coast - and sources say he's been spotted crossing picket lines, although he's strictly in a non-writing role. 🎥🚧 Let's see how this script plays out, huh? 🍿

🚀🛟 Writers Strike Impact: LA Aid Requests Skyrocket! LA requests for help have tripled in the first month, according to the Entertainment Community Fund, our industry's trusty safety net. 🎭 Their phones are blowing up 📞💥 with around 629 calls for assistance compared to the usual 200. Nationally, calls have doubled too - that's 1,184 cries for help! 😱 The fund has been dishing out aid to over 675 of our buddies in film and TV, with most requests coming from California, followed by Atlanta and New York. The pressure is on, with lots of peeps needing help right off the bat, unlike in previous crisis situations. If things don’t start looking up and SAG-AFTRA goes on strike too, who knows what's next. Tough times, friends, but the show must go on, right?

🎥Jonnie Davis Leaves ABC Signature, Disney on the Hunt for a New President 🕵️‍♀️ Big news, people! Jonnie Davis, President of ABC Signature, is stepping down from his role. He's had a pretty good run there since 2019, working on major shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "Fleishman Trouble," and "Fool." 📺 And though there were rumors about a merger with 20th Television, it turns out they'll keep doing their own thing. 🤷 Now, the big question is, who's going to fill Davis's shoes? 🤔 Before taking the reins at ABC Signature, Davis made quite a name for himself at 20th Century Fox Television, where he was instrumental in developing shows like "Us" and "Modern Family," and made big moves in animation. And everyone's singing his praises, with Eric Schrier from Disney TV Studios saying his "unwavering support and positive energy will continue to inspire us." Sounds like big boots to fill for the next ABC Signature president! 👢

🤖AI & IATSE: Teaming Up for Workers' Rights IATSE, the entertainment industry professionals union, is rolling up its sleeves and getting ready to tackle artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the entertainment world. They've laid out their "Core Principles" and they're pulling out all the stops, from research to collective bargaining. They're even getting some help from allies like the AFL-CIO Technology Institute and Human Artistry Campaign. IATSE's main goal? Protecting their members' rights and jobs, making sure they're compensated for any work used to train AI systems, and ensuring future contracts cover AI-related issues. 🙌

🗒️ DEVELOPMENT NOTES 🗒️

David Nevins set as CEO of Peter Chernin’s North Road Company (more)
Luca Guadagnino's newest film 'Challengers' featuring Zendaya set to open the 80th Venice Film Festival (more)
Ben-Adir to Star in Bob Marley Biopic (see trailer below!)
Black Lady Sketch Show concludes; creator Robin Thede secures HBO deal for new comedy (more)
Dominic Fike opens up about his drug addiction while filming 'Euphoria' (more)
Xavier Dolan Retires: “Art Is Useless” (more)
Brad Pitt’s F1 racing film to film @ British Grand Prix in Silverstone this weekend (more)
Sony's adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel ‘It Ends With Us’ sets early 2024 release (more)
Empire Cinemas collapses into administration (more)
Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson thriller ‘The Kill Room’ lands at Shout Studios (more)
New Alien movie wraps production (more)