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☆ Actors' strike stalks Venice film festival from start to end
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Actors went on strike in July, joining writers who had walked off the job in May, to demand that streaming sites and film studios improve their contracts and impose curbs on the use of artificial intelligence. SOLIDARITYVenice's artistic director Alberto Barbera had predicted that the actors of just three of the 23 films in competition would not be able to come to the festival because of the strike. No official reason was given, but one festival insider said she believed it was out of solidarity. Without their actors, the directors did most of the talking and were regularly quizzed about the dispute. Some of the actors who did make it to the festival wore T-shirts promoting the strike, as did the president of the main jury, Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle.

Persons: Oscar, Jessica Chastain, Chastain, AFTRA, " Chastain, Alberto Barbera, Emma Stone, Michael Fassbender, Bradley Cooper, Maestro, Lea Seydoux, Penelope Cruz, Liam Neeson, Ava DuVernay's, I'm, Sofia Coppola, Priscilla, Wes Anderson, Henry Sugar, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Damien Chazelle, it's, Hanna Rantala, Alison Williams Organizations: Hollywood, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television, Radio Artists, Thomson Locations: Venice, VENICE, Hollywood

☆ Roku is laying off 10% of its workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Roku stock soared higher on Wednesday after the streaming service announced it would lay off 10% of its workforce – about 300 people – in an effort to cut costs. Shares of Roku (ROKU) surged more than 10% on the news. But even as it eliminates the positions of hundreds of workers, Roku said it would bring in more money than it previously expected. The company’s new third quarter forecast anticipates revenues between $835 million and $875 million (excluding the restructuring charge), up from previous estimates of $815 million. SAG-AFTRA, which represents about 160,000 actors, joined the writers on strike on July 14.

Persons: Roku Organizations: New, New York CNN, Securities and Exchange Commission, Guild of America, SAG Locations: New York

Discovery boss David Zaslav called for Hollywood to work together to end the writers and actors strikes, which have crippled Hollywood and which WBD this week said could cost the company as much as $500 million this year. “We really have to focus as an industry, and we are, on trying to get this resolved in a way that’s really fair,” Zaslav told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on Wednesday. As soon as the strikes are resolved, he said, “everybody is ready to get back to work, us in particular.”Warner Bros. SAG-AFTRA, which represents about 160,000 actors, joined the writers on strike on July 14. We need to do everything we can to get people back to work,” Zaslav said.

Persons: David Zaslav, “, ” Zaslav, Goldman Sachs, Warner, Mario Anzuoni, Reuters “, Shawn Fain, doesn’t Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Hollywood, Technology, The, Guild of America, SAG, Writers Guild of America, Netflix, Reuters, “, ” Unions, Teamsters, UPS, United Auto Workers, GM, Ford, UAW Locations: Hollywood, Los Angeles , California, U.S

☆ Brands pouring money into film and TV content are the latest to demand more data sharing from streamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They're pouring more money into Hollywood-style entertainment but want streamers to share more data. An industry effort is underway to standardize measurement of brand films. Brands are joining the chorus of content producers and creators demanding more audience data from Hollywood entertainment giants. Without transparency from the streamers, brands and their agencies rely on other measurements, some quantitative, some qualitative — typically a mix of things like critical reviews, social chatter, earned media, and sentiment. Most streamers don't show viewership data, so "you never really know how many people saw it," said Marc Gilbar, who leads Imagine's brands division.

Persons: Saint Laurent, who've, Gamble —, Brian Newman, REI, Hulu doesn't, Kyra Sedgwick, Paolo Mottola, Mottola, Megan Wells, who's, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Marc Gilbar, Kimberly Doebereiner, Doebereiner Organizations: Hollywood, Brands, Pepsi, Companies, Procter, HBO, Unilever, Netflix, Hulu, Sundance Film, Brand Storytelling, G Studios Locations: Hollywood

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery cuts profit outlook due to writers and actors strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Discovery trimmed its full-year earnings guidance for 2023 on Tuesday by $300 million to $500 million because of the continued strike by actors and writers, which has stopped production of most shows and movies. The corporate parent of CNN had previously told investors that it expected the strike to be over by early September. SAG-AFTRA, which represents about 160,000 actors, joined the writers on strike on July 14. There has been little signs of progress between the two sides since the strikes started. Other companies that are being struck include Apple, Amazon, CBS, Disney, NBC Universal, Netflix, Paramount Global and Sony.

Persons: WBD, “ WBD, ”, Barbie Organizations: New, New York CNN, Warner Bros, CNN, Securities and Exchange Commission, Guild of America, SAG, Apple, CBS, Disney, NBC Universal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Locations: New York

☆ 13 brands, from Coca-Cola to REI, that are pouring money into movies and TV to reach consumers with Hollywood-style storytelling
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mattel's Barbie is just one of many big brands getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Brands are also getting more systematic about tracking the projects' outcome so they can justify the cost. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. Showtime/PepsiPepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: Barbie, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, It's, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mottola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, Showtime, Pepsi PepsiCo, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ ‘We are casualties of this’: A film influencer with 470,000 TikTok followers on scrambling to take second jobs, making up for lost income, and facing online hate as Hollywood’s strikes drag on
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Jasmine Paige Moore, a TikTok creator, tells Insider about giving up content creation and returning to bartending during the strike. This first-person as-told-to story is based on an August interview with Jasmine Paige Moore, a content creator with nearly 470,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 23,000 on Instagram. Within the first few days of the Hollywood actors' strike, a friend of mine — a fellow content creator with a large following on TikTok — faced backlash from users online. "We as content creators should be helping to educate each other, not tearing each other down," I wrote. And what this whole experience has done more than anything is show me that the content creator community has really not had a voice during this strike.

Persons: Jasmine Paige Moore, TikTok —, he'd, I didn't, I've, AFTRA, they'll, We've, Con, Barbie, what's, we're, influencers, There's, haven't, they've, —, Reed Alexander Organizations: SAG, bartending, Hollywood, San Diego Comic, Warner Bros, Guild of America Locations: influencers, I'm, bartending

☆ Actor Adam Driver takes on Netflix, Amazon over strike inaction
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VENICE, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. actor Adam Driver, in Venice to promote his new film "Ferrari", criticised streaming services Netflix (NFLX.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) on Thursday for not giving into demands by actors' and writers' unions in a strike that has hobbled the entertainment industry. Representatives for Netflix and Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Driver has been closely associated with Netflix in the past, representing two of their films in previous Venice festivals - "White Noise" in 2022 and "Marriage Story" in 2019. Writers have been on strike since May while actors walked off the job in July. "People who worked on 'Ferrari' made it by forgoing large percentages of their salaries, in the case of Adam and myself.

Persons: Adam Driver, Ferrari, Michael Mann, Adam, Mann, Małgorzata Wojtunik, Mary Milliken, Bill Berkrot Organizations: VENICE, Netflix, SAG, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Venice, Hollywood, Los Angeles

☆ IBM to launch Meta's Llama 2 on watsonx AI platform for businesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) logo is displayed, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho DoceAug 9 (Reuters) - International Business Machines (IBM.N) said on Wednesday it would host Meta Platforms' (META.O) artificial intelligence language program on its own enterprise AI platform, watsonx. IBM's watsonx, which helps businesses integrate AI into their workflow, provides early access to the Facebook-parent's Llama 2 to some clients. The enterprise software provider said that the release of Meta's open source AI model will be followed by additional software such as AI tuning studios, fact sheets and other generative AI models. Llama 2 is a commercial version of Meta's open source AI language model launched in July, distributed by Microsoft's (MSFT.O) cloud Azure services to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's (GOOGL.O) Bard in the nascent generative AI market.

Persons: Nacho Doce, IBM's, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Bard, Zaheer Kachwala, Maju Samuel Organizations: Business Machines Corporation, IBM, Congress, REUTERS, Business Machines, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Bengaluru

☆ 'Survival jobs,' ex-careers and side hustles: How Hollywood writers are making ends meet 100 days into the strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike for 100 days, and writers are getting creative to keep striking even longer. The last WGA strike, which started in 2007, lasted for 100 days and led to 37,700 lost jobs and a $2.1 billion blow to the California economy, according to the Milken Institute, an economic think tank. Many writers, including Kyra Jones, a TV writer in Los Angeles, saw the piece as an intimidation tactic. 'Survival jobs' and new pathsEarning a living during the strike isn't as easy as applying to any job. Brandi Nicole is a TV writer in LA and Memphis.

Persons: Kyra Jones, we're, " Jones, Jones, they're, she's, Chisa Hutchinson, she'll, Gili, I've, Brandi Nicole, Nicole, Brown, She's Organizations: Writers Guild of America, WGA, Alliance, Television Producers, Milken Institute, CNBC, Hulu, ABC, Northwestern University, University of Delaware, Showtime, Humanitas Locations: California, Los Angeles, Northwestern, New York City, LA, Memphis

☆ 'Barbenheimer' can boost Cinemark shares more than 35% from here, Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Despite the overhang of the Hollywood labor strikes, "a significant bull case remains" for Cinemark , according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Benjamin Swinburne raised his price target on shares to $24 to $22, suggesting 36.9% upside from Friday's close. This is based on further box office growth in '24, but '24 attendance at just ~70% of '19 levels which we see as potentially conservative. "Strikes-aside, studios continue to build back production and we expect increased film supply from both traditional and streaming studios over the next few years. The analyst added that Cinemark is "uniquely positioned" to benefit from the North American box office recovery owing to a combination of factors, including its conservative balance sheet pre-Covid.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Benjamin Swinburne, Swinburne, Universal, —, Michael Bloom Organizations: Hollywood, Media, Entertainment, Warner Bros, American, US, Universal Studios, CNBC

☆ 10 ways artificial intelligence is changing the workplace, from writing performance reviews to making the 4-day workweek possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Here are 10 ways AI tools such as ChatGPT have entered the workplace — and what may come out of it. Nick Patrick, the owner of the music-production company Primal Sounds Productions, told Insider he used ChatGPT to fine-tune legal contracts for clients. "You really got to find time to, like, learn this skill," Nigam previously told Insider. Companies are using AI to write their performance reviewsManagers may find writing performance reviews for their employees a tough task. He told Insider: "Any technology that increases productivity, ChatGPT included, makes a shorter workweek more feasible."

Persons: OpenAI, Nick Patrick, Shannon Ahern, hadn't, Jensen Huang, Huang, Akash Nigam, Nigam, Neil Taylor, ChatGPT, Taylor, Insider's Beatrice Nolan, Nolan, would've, Jasmine Cheng, Cheng, WorkLife, Carl Benedikt Frey, Michael Chu, iHeartMedia, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Suumit Shah, chatbot, Anu Madgavkar, Richard Baldwin, Fran Drescher, Jezebel — Organizations: Morning, IBM, Workers, Primal Sounds Productions, Google, Twitter, Companies, Employers, Nvidia, ChatGPT, Sky News, Hulu, Spotify, Mobile, Oracle, Columbia Business School, McKinsey Global Institute, Apple, JPMorgan, Northrop Grumman, AIs, Writers Guild of America, SAG, Journalists, GMG Union of, Media Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Oxford

☆ U.S. food bank gives groceries to striking Hollywood actors, writers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Jorge Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People take groceries as World Harvest Food Bank founder, Glen Curado (not pictured) extends free groceries to Hollywood strikers, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 26, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge GarciaLOS ANGELES, July 27 (Reuters) - A Los Angeles food bank created to support low-income families is now coming to the aid of striking and struggling Hollywood actors and writers, some of whom show up for free groceries with tears in their eyes. We’re barely middle class as it is," SAG member Kristina Wong told Reuters at the food bank. Wong wanted to find ways to help her fellow union members, and that meant reaching out to the founder of the food bank, Glen Curado. This is particularly true for SAG members like Niketa Calame-Harris, who appreciates the "peace of mind" going to the food bank creates for her and her daughter.

Persons: Glen Curado, Jorge Garcia, Kristina Wong, they’re, Wong, Curado, they're, he's, they've, It's, Niketa, Harris, Danielle Broadway, Mary Milliken, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Harvest Food Bank, REUTERS, Jorge Garcia LOS ANGELES, Hollywood, Screen Actors Guild, Writer's Guild of America, Reuters, SAG, WGA, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, Los Angeles, Venice, United States, Glen

☆ Where Steve Cohen's Point72 Ventures sees opportunities in fintech, from generative AI to solving gamers' payments woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tripp Shriner is a managing partner at Point72 Ventures, the VC arm of Steve Cohen's hedge fund. Point72 Ventures is now actively looking for new fintech investments after what it said was "a quieter period"— it last invested in payment startup Pagos' $34 million Series A in February. "We're still early, getting toward the check-writing side of things," Tripp Shriner, managing partner and fintech investor at Point72 Ventures, told Insider. The investment themes lay the groundwork for where Point72 Ventures will spend its time and money in the coming months and years. Point72 Ventures' approach to AI is largely guided by how financial firms want to use the tech.

Persons: Tripp Shriner, Steve Cohen's, Fintechs, We're, Shriner, it's Organizations: Point72 Ventures, Point72, Mastercard Locations: fintech, KYC

☆ Carl Sagan’s personal master recording of Voyager’s iconic Golden Record goes up for auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The master recordings of the Voyager Golden Record still have their original boxes. Courtesy Sotheby'sNow, a copy of the master recording for NASA’s Voyager Golden Record — the one kept by the late astronomer Carl Sagan and his wife, producer Ann Druyan — will be for sale at Sotheby’s New York on Thursday. Both Voyager spacecraft carry a copy of the Golden Record. Each record cover was etched with symbols depicting how to locate the sun and instructions on how to play the record. Engineers can be seen securing the cover over the Voyager 1 Golden Record in 1977.

Persons: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan —, Chuck Berry’s, Johnny B, Goode, Sagan, Frank Drake, Linda Salzman, “, ”, Suzanne Dodd, Dodd, ” Dodd, they’ve Organizations: CNN, NASA’s, Sotheby’s, Columbia Recording, United Nations, Cornell University, NASA, Voyager, JPL, Caltech, Engineers, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Neptune, Hulton, “ Locations: York, Senegalese, Peruvian, Indian, Pasadena , California

☆ Point72 Ventures fintech investor breaks down what's next for Steve Cohen's firm, from generative AI to solving gamers' payments woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tripp Shriner is a partner at Point72 Ventures, the VC arm of Steve Cohen's hedge fund. "We're still early, getting toward the check-writing side of things," Tripp Shriner, partner and fintech investor at Point72 Ventures, told Insider. The investment themes lay the groundwork for where Point72 Ventures will spend its time and money in the coming months and years. Point72 Ventures' approach to AI is largely guided by how financial firms want to use the tech. However, success would depend on financial firms' willingness to adopt such a fundamental change.

Persons: Tripp Shriner, Steve Cohen's, Fintechs, We're, Shriner, it's Organizations: Point72 Ventures, Point72, Mastercard Locations: fintech, KYC

☆ This top Procter & Gamble exec is showing Hollywood how brands can make prestige films and be 'power-up' partners for studios and streamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

P&G Studios head Kimberly Doebereiner argues that great entertainment can come from brands. Procter & Gamble is at the forefront of the growing brand film space — with its own in-house shingle, P&G Studios, actively pursuing entertainment projects that look nothing like ads. "The first thing I'd love is for the distributors to see that great content can come from anybody, and even if it's from a brand, that doesn't mean it's brand content," she told Insider in an interview. "We have great marketing, we have great brands, we can help bring in viewers, right? "We'd love to have our content be able to show up in the retailer with our brands and create better awareness for that content," Doebereiner said.

Persons: Kimberly Doebereiner, Doebereiner, Gamble, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Michael Sugar's Sugar23, Reese Witherspoon's, Barbie, we've, Brand, Queen Latifah Organizations: G Studios, Procter, Gamble, HBO, Hulu, Brands, Hollywood, Advertising, Tide, Gillette, Tribeca Studios, Walmart, Blue Fox Entertainment Locations: Hollywood

☆ Brands are pouring money into film and TV — meet 13 marketers making the biggest moves as Hollywood's new financiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It's not just Barbie — lots of big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Insider identified 13 new and established players making the biggest moves in the space. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. PepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: It's, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Barbie, Ken, Jaap Buitendijk, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mattola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Companies, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Showtime, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ It's not just 'Barbie' — as Hollywood goes through upheaval, brands from Nike to John Deere are becoming the new financiers of film and TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As studios cut spending and strikes shut down production, Hollywood can take some solace — brands are coming to the rescue. Brand Storytelling is an organization that's held a festival for brand content alongside the Sundance Film Festival for the past seven years. Brand film submissions have almost tripled to 160 in the past three years, according to Rick Parkhill, director and co-founder of Brand Storytelling. "Film directors need the work," said Marcus Peterzell, who left ad giant Omnicom to found Passion Point Collective, a brand film studio, in 2019. He's since made some 36 film projects for brands.

Persons: Greta Gerwig, Kyra Sedgwick, John Deere, Kimberly Doebereiner, Chris Paul, Mattel's Robbie Brenner, There's, Jill Lubochinski, Holly Fraser, WePresent, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Reese Witherspoon's, Michael Sugar's Sugar23, we've, Marc Gilbar, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Gilbar, that's, Rick Parkhill, Riz Ahmed, WeTransfer, Vicky Grout, Parkill, Saint Laurent, Pedro Almodóvar, David Cronenberg, They're, Marcus Peterzell, Peterzell Organizations: Hollywood, Mattel, Nike, HBO, Procter & Gamble, Tide, Gillette, G Studios, Warner Bros, Discovery, PepsiCo, REI, Dallas Buyers, Sundance, Brand, Brands Locations: —, HBO's, Hollywood

It is an unexpected truce between Sony, which makes Playstation consoles, and its far larger U.S. rival. Details have yet to be disclosed, and it's not clear why Sony, which Microsoft earlier offered a 10-year contract, has had a change of heart. Sony's video-game division reported digital software and content sales of $11 billion in the fiscal year to March. Yoshida has been selectively snapping up smaller gaming studios to beef up Playstation content, including splashing out $3.6 billion for developer Bungie. Details were not disclosed, but a Microsoft spokesperson clarified with various media that the deal is for 10 years.

Persons: it's, Boss Kenchiro Yoshida, Yoshida, Phil Spencer, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Activision Blizzard, Sony, Activision, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nvidia, U.S, UK Competition, Markets Authority, Bungie, Nikkei, Federal Trade, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, U.S

July 15 (Reuters) - Rare twin strikes by Hollywood actors and film and television writers are casting a pall over British Columbia's creative industry, which has become a hub for American film and TV production. Film production in British Columbia is down to "a trickle," said Gemma Martini, Chair of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association and CEO of Martini Film Studios. TAKING A TOLLReverberations that started on May 2 with the writers' strike grew in British Columbia, where most productions have American components. First the business was hit by the writers' strike: "Because no scripts are being written, people aren't coming to scout our locations." The Hollywood strike could affect the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), set to open in early September.

Persons: Gemma Martini, Synnove Godeseth, Godeseth, Martini, Oscar, Anna Mehler Paperny, Divya, Denny Thomas, Grant McCool Organizations: Hollywood, Industry Association, Martini Film Studios, Creative, Vancouver Economic, Toronto, Film, Thomson Locations: Canadian, Vancouver, North America, British Columbia, Los Angeles, British

☆ Hollywood actors join writers on strike: ‘There's a lot of bitterness and mistrust’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Hollywood actors are joining TV and film writers on the picket lines. Later that day, the union officially issued a strike order for its actors. On a granular level, there are several sticking points on which actors and studios could not ultimately agree. As with writers, actors' wages account for taxes, team members such as managers (agents get their own commission on top of actor pay) and for the unpredictability of their industry. "There's a lot of bitterness and mistrust at this point," says Handel, "both in terms of the actors and the studio alliance and also the writers and the studio alliance."

Persons: Fran Drescher, Duncan Crabtree, AFTRA, Paul Hardart, we've, Jonathan Handel, Handel, who've, That's, Tallie Medel, who's, they're, They're, Oppenheimer, Hardart, they'll Organizations: Hollywood, Alliance, Television Producers, Warner Bros . Discovery, Universal Pictures, Hulu, American Federation of Television, Radio Artists, New York University's Entertainment, Media, Technology, SAG, Productions, Paramount, Netflix, Writers Guild, CNBC Locations: Los Angeles , California, Hollywood, Ireland

☆ Hollywood actors set the stage for strike action after contract negotiations fail
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Daniel Arkin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Scenes of the mountains in front of the hollywood sign On March 5th 2017 in Los Angeles, United States of America. The contract between the two sides expired just before midnight on Wednesday, capping days of high-stakes negotiations and suspense. (The group represents Comcast, the corporation that owns NBCUniversal; some employees of the NBCUniversal News Group are represented by the WGA.) The actors' strike will likely force other sets to go dark. SAG-AFTRA members authorized a strike on June 5 by an overwhelming margin: 97.91% of the nearly 65,000 members who cast votes.

Persons: Fran Drescher, AFTRA Organizations: SAG, Screen, American Federation of Television, Radio Artists, AFTRA's, Apple, Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Writers Guild of America, Comcast, NBCUniversal, WGA, Guild of America, DGA, CNBC, Alliance, Television Producers Locations: Los Angeles, United States of America, Hollywood, NBCUniversal

☆ Opinion: The Supreme Court rewrites American society once again
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Opinion Cnn Contributors | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +25 min

But learning the facts - that affirmative action is critical for fostering equal access and opportunity in our academic institutions -cemented my belief that affirmative action is necessary if we want to create an equitable nation. The court’s decision Thursday is consistent with its view that race-based preferences should and would have a limited shelf life. Jon Wang, who revealed himself as a plaintiff in this Supreme Court case, was rejected by Harvard but was accepted at and is now attending Georgia Tech. Affirmative action enabled my ability to experience different ways of thinking and to form the lasting friendships I have made. Affirmative action has been a tool used by many countries to ensure underrepresented communities are included in areas they normally are not.

Persons: who’d, Tan, ”, Ana Fernandez, Richard Kahlenberg, Peniel Joseph, Peniel Joseph Kelvin Ma, Kelvin Ma, retrenchment, Bakke, Shelby, Holder, John F, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Peniel, Joseph, Barbara Jordan, “, ” Lanhee Chen, Bollinger, Sandra Day O’Connor, Lanhee Chen Lanhee J . Chen, J, Chen, David, Diane Steffy, Romney, Ryan, Roxanne Jones, Andrew Johnson, Jones, WURD, Richard Sander, –, Richard Sander Fiona Harrison, Jeff Yang, Ed Blum’s, Jon Wang, Michael Wang, Williams, Jian Li, Bruce, Hudson Yang, Natasha Warikoo, Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” Natasha Warikoo Alonso Nichols, John Roberts, Brayden Rothe, Biden, can’t, Joe Biden, Brayden Rothe Patrick O'Leary, Pell Organizations: CNN, Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard, Harvard College, Cuban, American Council, Education, Wellesley College, Renaissance Studies, Black, Tufts University, Blacks, Ivy League, Federalist Society, John Birch Society, Trump, Democratic Party, GOP, Center, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Racial Justice, University of North, University of North Carolina Chapel, Public Policy, Hoover Institution, California State, Republican, Democratic, White, Fair, Supreme, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN, New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, The University of California, UCLA, University of California, UC, Georgia Tech, Department of Education, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Princeton University, Institute for, Digital Intelligence, Harvard University, College, Social Sciences, of Sociology, Equity, University of Minnesota Locations: today’s, Philippines, Taiwan, Los Angeles, Portland, White, American, United States, West Linn , Oregon, Cuban American, Miami, Havana, Cuba, Miami , Florida, America, Austin, University of North Carolina, California, lockstep, Berkeley, Asian America, Florida, Texas

☆ California is about to give Hollywood studios a lucrative tax deal during the writers’ strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The state of California is about to give movie and TV studios a new lucrative tax perk. The new, refundable tax credits come as competition for film and TV production from other states and countries is on the rise. In a 2020 SEC filing, Netflix said it had $250 million in California R&D tax credits — far more than it could use. In addition to refundable tax credits and stricter safety standards, the bill establishes specific diversity requirements. The bill also adds a new member to the state’s film commission with diversity, equity, and inclusion expertise.

Persons: Gavin Newsom’s, Newsom, Alec Baldwin’s, Wendy Carrillo, ‘ Rust, Dave Cortese, Baldwin, Halyna Hutchins, ” Cortese, Carrillo, ”, Chris Hoene, that’s, Hoene, ” Carrillo, “ Organizations: CNN, Netflix, SEC, Disney, Comcast’s Universal Studios, Democratic, Warner Bros, Warner Bros ., Hollywood, Guild of America, SAG, WGA, California Budget, Policy Center Locations: California, States, New York, Georgia, Angeles County, Los Angeles

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