Hollywood Week: Hollywood Strike News, SAG/AFTRA, WGA, Venice Film Festival, Box Office, Jimmy Buffett

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Saturday, 02 September 2023 16:56

Written by Janet Walker

The striking SAG/AFTRA union are moving toward a second-strike authorization as the Interactive Agreement negotiations have stalled, forcing the union to announce the national board has voted unanimously to send a strike vote to the membership.

SAG/AFTRA president Fran Drescher stated, "Here we go again! Now our Interactive (Video Game) Agreement is at a stalemate too. Once again, we are facing employer greed and disrespect. Once again artificial intelligence is putting our members in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work. And once again, SAG-AFTRA is standing up to tyranny on behalf of its members. . . The disease of greed is spreading like wildfire ready to burn workers out of their livelihoods and humans out of their usefulness. We at SAG-AFTRA say NO! Not on our watch!"

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The Hollywood unions are digging-in determined to negotiate the best possible deal for their rank-and-file members and the issues, at this time couldn't be more critical. With the SAG/AFTRA on strike for 50 days and WGA strikes nearing 123 days and counting, the determination of the unions has crystallized even as the usual star-packed global film festivals roll out the expectation for the upcoming Academy Awards.

Venice Film Festival

The Venice Film Festival has become the first casualty of the fall film season premieres, and while it is not without films, just without the traditional celebrity packed red carpets and attendance as the fall film season premieres.

"This year's festival lost a roster of huge stars — including Zendaya, Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, and Michael Fassbender — due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Even Penélope Cruz, who plays Laura Ferrari in Mann's film, decided to skip out on Venice due to the optics of looking like she crossed the picket line. (The cast of "Ferrari" is allowed to do press since it's an indie movie from distributor Neon, but Driver was the only big star in attendance,)" Variety reported.

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Even as most celebrities have stayed away from film promotion in solidarity, the films have continued to garner praise, applause and Oscar buzz.

Emma Stone's Poor Things, from Searchlight Pictures, received a ten-minute standing ovation, even without the talent attending; Michael Mann's Ferrari, starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, received a six-minute ovation; Bradley Cooper's Maestro, a film about composer Leonard Bernstein, seven minutes, Wes Anderson's The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, four minutes and Roman Polanski's Palace, three minutes.

With the Toronto Film Festival scheduled to begin September 7, 2023, the striking SAG/AFTRA and WGA members will be sitting this one out also.

Summer Box Office Continues to Surprise

Denzel Washington returns to the big screen with The Equalizer 3, the crime action drama, and took over the number 1 spot in early Thursday release and is expected to take the weekend. The gripping suspense thriller is expected to earn the best opening for the franchise.

Barbie, at 43 days in release has become the top grossing film of the year for Warner Bros. with domestic numbers still climbing, at over $600million and international also climbing past $746million, the Greta Gerwig helmed fantasy escape tale has made nearly $1.35billion worldwide.

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In third place for Warner Bros., Professional auto racing flick Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story, Blue Beetle, the newest DC Comics Superhero from Warner Bros., is at number 4, with Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, at number five, continuing to draw audiences both domestically and internationally, and nearing $750million worldwide.

The summer box office has continued to outperform expectations, as post-pandemic audiences continue to make the determination of what is big screen worthy and what can wait for streaming.

Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville Singer, Dies

Jimmy Buffett, the defacto leader of Beach Life, singer of tropical theme "Margaritaville" and businessman died this week. He was 76.

He had been hospitalized earlier in the year his family said. His steel drum sound evocated a tropical breeze, a memory of walking along the sand barefoot, of behavior that would often be called scandalous anywhere else, and a secret longing of ditching the rat races, leaving it all behind and finding that beach place.

What most didn't know about Mr. Buffett, is that his drop out lifestyle burgeoned into a $550million empire of feeding the beach life into those who secretly longed to drop out also and settled for a trip to one of his franchised restaurants or even a night out at his concerts.

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He talked about giving it all up after his failed attempts at Nashville, and moved as far south as possible, leaving a bad life, and settling into his new beginning.

"It was a scene," he told Playboy magazine. "Everyone went out and applauded the sunset every night. Bales of marijuana washed up on the shore. There were great cheap Cuban restaurants. … Key West seemed like the End: East Coast Division — a common reason people wind up there, especially writers, artists, musicians and other interesting derelicts, drawn by the idea that Key West is the final stroke of a great comma in the map of North America, suggesting more to come but maybe not," reported The Washington Post.

Buffett, who had been able to transition his tropical steel drum, flip flop, alter-ego, really did take out his "six-string" and pen his most famous song, "Margaritaville," in all of six minutes. It was infused with life, realism and his lifestyle that fit him just fine.

Buffett, although not related to financier Warren Buffett, befriended the money-making expert, and even called him "uncle," as a term of endearment. Buffett sought business and investment advice from the elder stateman and the rest, one can say was a tropical dream created in paradise.

Buffett leaves behind his wife, Jane, and generations of fans.