Hollywood Week: A-Lister’s Question SAG/AFTRA Strategy, Alec Baldwin, Box Office

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Category: Entertainment News
Published on Saturday, 21 October 2023 13:03
Written by Janet Walker

Hollywood's A-List talents including George Clooney, Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, and Tyler Perry attended a zoom call with SAG/AFTRA's top negotiating team to seek further understanding as to why the AMPTP suspended the October 11 talks.

 

Unfortunately, while both sides confirmed the meeting, the details are being withheld.

"We have made big, meaningful counters on our end, including completely transforming our revenue-share proposal, which would cost the companies less than 57¢ per subscriber each year," said the guild in an email sent on October 12. "They have rejected our proposals and refused to counter." The email went on to accuse AMPTP of using "bully tactics" and "the same failed strategy they tried to inflict on the WGA," Vanity Fair reported. 

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The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers have not released any additional press releases or other information since the October 11 release that detailed the successes and setbacks of the negotiations.

What appears to be the heart of the suspension is what AMPTP is stated as untenable demands, "SAG-AFTRA's current offer included what it characterized as a viewership bonus that, by itself, would cost more than $800 million per year – which would create an untenable economic burden. SAG-AFTRA presented few, if any, moves on the numerous remaining open items," according the October 11, 2023 AMPTP press release.

The SAG/AFTRA strike has reached 100 days the longest in its history.

Alec Baldwin Rust Involuntary Manslaughter Charges Revived

Alec Baldwin, star of stage and screen, is expected to be retried for involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, in 2021 while working on the film Rust, Special Prosecutor Kari Morrisey announced.

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"After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr. Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of Joel Souza," Morrissey and Jason Lewis said in a statement," Reuters reported.

Baldwin's case will head to the grand jury in November. The actor has repeatedly stated he was not responsible for the Hutchins death, as the gun used in the film had the ability to be fired without the physical action of pulling the trigger, a modification used in the film industry.

The shooting occurred two years ago, on October 21, 2021, in New Mexico. The film, a western, required the use of props that corresponded to the time. Baldwin was using a revolver that allegedly had dummy rounds in the chamber. He fired the weapon in the direction of Hutchins and director Joel Souza, who was also injured. The armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. During the investigation prosecutors found five live rounds mixed in with the dummy rounds.

Investigators also questions others on the set and have found that Gutierrez-Reed participated in behaviors the night before which could alter her judgment including heavy drinking and smoking pot causing her to be "hung-over" and suffering from the effects of heavy partying.

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Prosecutors, meanwhile, have been escalating their case against Gutierrez-Reed. She was charged in June with evidence tampering for allegedly offering narcotics to escape prosecution. A filing alleges she "did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself,"' reported The Hollywood Reporter.

The trial for Gutierrez-Reed is expected to begin in February.

Box Office

Martin Scorsese's cinematic masterpiece Children of the Flower Moon, the western crime thriller starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo Di Caprio and Lily Gladstone took second place at the box office on its first day of release. The more than three-hour thriller is expected to perform beyond expectations.

Children of the Flower Moon Review – A Cinematic Masterpiece, Tour De Force Performances

Taylor Swift, however, reigns supreme at the box office as her ERAS tour film continues to dominate the with a ten-day total of $122 million delivering a much-needed boost to struggling theaters owners.

Rounding out the top five films at the box office Halloween favorites The Exorcist; Believer at number 3; Tim Burton's re-released The Nightmare Before Christmas resurrected from the Disney vault at number 4, the animated kids' film, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie at number 5.