The News Script Blogger (2024)

21/08/2022

Compton-based filmmaker Victor Gabriel is among a select group of filmmakers to punch their ticket for the Oscar race, after scoring wins at the HollyShorts Film Festival.

Gabriel’s 13-minute film Hallelujah won the Grand Prix for Best Short at the festival’s awards ceremony on Saturday afternoon. HollyShorts is an Oscar-qualifying festival, so the win for Hallelujah makes it immediately eligible for Oscar consideration. Producer Duran Jones won the festival’s Best Producer prize.

Two other winners qualified for Oscar consideration: Mulaqat/Sandstrom, directed by Seemab Gul, won Best Live Action short, and Scale, directed by Joseph Pierce, won the award for Best Animation (scroll for full list of winners).

Actor Stephen Laroy Thomas in ‘Hallelujah’ BLK MGC Content

Hallelujah touches on the loss of someone to gun violence, a tragedy with ripple effects on several members of a family.

“After an inexplicable event, two brothers have to take on the guardianship of their nephew and niece,” Gabriel told Deadline regarding the plot of his film. “Their nephew’s like a weird bookworm kid. This is in Compton, California. And then they have to figure out what does it mean for them to be men and adults and take on the responsibility of something that they don’t want to do.”

The director shot his film close to home. Very close.

L-R ‘Hallelujah’ producer Duran Jones, actor Stephen Laroy Thomas, director Victor Gabriel Courtesy of Matthew Carey

“I just did it in my back yard, like literally my back yard,” Gabriel explained. “Shout out to Miss Luis. She let us see her front yard, my neighbor. It was super just us. I just stuck everyone in our backyard and made a movie and tried to tell a good story. Tried to tell an impactful story.”

Gabriel wears several hats besides filmmaker, working in addition as a marriage and family therapist and at a residential treatment center for teenagers, he told Deadline. “I [also] facilitate a Black male trauma group once a month in South Central.”

He said the road to winning the Grand Prix at HollyShorts hasn’t been an easy one. On top of other things, his car broke down last week.

“I’ve been commuting to work, been struggling with a lot of losses this year,” Gabriel said. “So, just to have like a little celebration and people honoring my work, our work, is just amazing. I’m just grateful, man.”

Among other top prizes at HollyShorts, director (The Queen of Basketball) followed up his victory at the Academy Awards in March with a win for his latest documentary short, MINK! The film tells the story of Patsy Takemoto Mink, a Hawaii Democrat who became the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. While in Congress, Mink co-authored Title IX legislation that prohibited discrimination on the basis of s*x in schools that received federal funding. Title IX became law in 1972.

Director Ben Proudfoot, winner of the HollyShorts documentary prize for ‘MINK!’ Courtesy of Matthew Carey

Proudfoot described the HollyShorts award as “very meaningful because this is the 50th year of Title IX. And when I was making The Queen of Basketball, that’s how I learned about Patsy Mink, who was really the driving force behind the legislation that created the world for [The Queen of Basketball subject] Lucy Harris to play basketball and for so many millions of others to engage in athletics. Our film… chronicles Patsy’s story and where she came from, what she faced, the obstacles she overcame, and ultimately the legislation that she wrote and defended, Title IX. It’s very meaningful, and I think this is just another example of Patsy’s legacy living on.”

Proudfoot will be taking his film overseas in the coming months, and likely back to D.C.

“We are going to Japan for a screening at the U.S. embassy there in October, which is really exciting,” he said. “And we’re hoping to get some more screenings on the Hill in Washington and just bring people together to celebrate Patsy and what she stood for and also to celebrate a story of someone who showed us that change is possible.”

He added, “We live in a time when it just feels impossible, like we’re regressing, that we’re going backwards. And Patsy’s life is a testament, and her story is a testament – and our film tells the story of a specific moment when she persisted and she pushed through. And so much of the rights that we celebrate today are because of people like Patsy, who really pushed hard for progress. And that’s the onus that comes to us to continue in Patsy’s tradition.”

This is the full list of winners from the 18th HollyShorts Film Festival:

Grand Prix Best Short: Hallelujah, Victor Gabriel

Best Live Action: Mulaqat/Sandstorm, Seemab Gul

Best Animation: Scale, Joseph Pierce

Best Director: Carlos Segundo, Sideral

Best Action: Kickstart My Heart, Kelsey Bollig

Best Thriller: Wild Bitch, Rebekka Johnson and Kate Nash

Best Horror: Moshari, Nuhash Humayun

Best Comedy: All I Ever Wanted, Erin Lau

Best Drama: Like the Ones I Used to Know, Annie St. Pierre

Best Documentary: MINK! Ben Proudfoot

Best LGBTQIA+: North Star, P.J. Palmer

Best International: The Voice Actress, Anna J. Takayama

Best Sci-Fi: Waltz of the Angels, Braden Barton

SAG Indie Winner: My Jerome, Adjani Salmon

Hawk Films Screenplay Award: Mina Finders Her Edge! Robin Rose Singer

Script Compass Screenplay Award: In the Garden of Tulips, Ava Lalezarzadeh

Best Female Screenplay (Presented by BeCine): Last Ship East, Eris Qian

Best TV: A Question of Service, Erin Brown Thomas

Best TV Screenplay: Forsyth County, James Sasser

LatinX Award (presented by Viacom International Studios): Huella, Gabriela Ortega

Women in Film Award: Apart, Together, Olivia Hang Zhou

Best Midnight Madness: Homesick, Will Seefried

Best Music Video: Consensual, Jeff Hilliard and Joey Danger

Best Web Series: Kura, Vince McMillan

Best Producer: Hallelujah, Duran Jones

Best Editing: The Machine, Rowan McKay

Best VFX: Black Dragon, Rồng đen

Best Costume Design: Sauerdogs, Carmen Granell

Social Impact Award: Stranger at the Gate, Joshua Seftel

Best Student Film: The Visit, Ebele Tate

Kodak Shot on Film: North Pole, Marija Apcevska

Kodak Shot on Film Super 8MM: Deerwoods Deathtrap, James P. Gannon

Kodak Shot on Film Honorable Mention: Not the 80s, Marleen Valien

Zeiss Presents: HollyShorts Achievement in Filmmaking and Cinematography: Censor of Dreams, Khalib Mohtaseb

Zeiss Presents: HollyShorts Career Achievement in Filmmaking and Cinematography: Nancy Schreiber

Compton-based filmmaker Victor Gabriel is among a select group of filmmakers to punch their ticket for the Oscar race, after scoring wins at the HollyShorts Film Festival. Gabriel’s 13-minute film …

21/08/2022

Dr. Dre is opening up about how severe his health was when he was hospitalized for a brain aneurysm. The rapper and music producer made an appearance on the Workout the Doubt podcast where he made revelations about what happened and how close to death he was.

“I’m at Cedars-Sinai hospital and they weren’t allowing anybody to come up, meaning visitors or family or anything like that, because of COVID, but they allowed my family to come in,” he said. “I found out later, they called them up so they could say their last goodbyes because they thought I was outta here.”

Dre said that he didn’t his visit to the hospital back in January 2021 “was that serious” as he had visits from his mother, sister, and family.

“Because of what was going on in my brain, they had to wake me up every hour on the hour for two weeks to do these tests… basically sobriety tests, like touch your nose, rub your heel on your calf and all that….,” he added.

Following the two weeks in the hospital, Dre was left hungry and exhausted as he “didn’t eat for two weeks.”

The artist never felt he was in “trouble” and said, “I felt like OK, I’m just going through the procedure and I’m ready to go home. Some might say I came out a bit stronger than ever before.”

After his hospitalization, the mogul posted on Instagram giving an update to his fans.

“Thanks to my family, friends and fans for their interest and well wishes,” he wrote in 2021. “I’m doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team. I will be out of the hospital and back home soon. Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!”

Dr. Dre is opening up about how severe his health was when he was hospitalized for a brain aneurysm. The rapper and music producer made an appearance on the Workout the Doubt podcast where he made …

21/08/2022

Actor Gary Busey is facing s*x offence charges that allegedly occurred during the annual Monster Mania Convention held at the Doubletree Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey last weekend, according to police.

Cherry Hill Police responded to the hotel for the report of a s*x offence. As a result of the investigation, the police department charged Gary Busey, 78, of Malibu, California, with two counts of fourth-degree criminal s*xual contact, one count of criminal attempt/criminal s*xual contact and one count of harassment.

CNN has reached out to representatives of Busey for comment. It was not immediately known if Busey had an attorney representing him in this matter.

Cherry Hill Police Chief Robert Kempf confirmed to CNN on Saturday evening that the incident involved Busey, who was one of the attendees at the event.

Busey is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in the 1978 movie "The Buddy Holly Story," for which he was nominated for an Oscar for best actor.

A law firm representing Monster Mania told CNN in a statement on Saturday evening, "Our client, Monster-Mania LLC, is assisting authorities in their investigation into an alleged incident involving attendees and a celebrity guest at its convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey last weekend. Immediately upon receiving a complaint from the attendee, the celebrity guest was removed from the convention and instructed not to return. Monster-Mania also encouraged the attendees to contact the police to file a report."

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said, and anyone with additional information is urged to contact the Cherry Hill Police Department at 856-432-8834.

Actor Gary Busey is facing s*x offence charges that allegedly occurred during the annual Monster Mania Convention held at the Doubletree Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey last weekend, according to police.

21/08/2022

Millie Bobby Brown is back on Netflix with Enola Holmes 2 as the streamer confirmed the film sequel will make its debut on the platform on Friday, November 4. The Stranger Things star will not be up against demogorgons but will be on the hunt to crack a mystery.

Returning to the film series is Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes, Louis Partridge as Tewkesbury, Susan Wokoma as Edith, Adeel Akhtar as Lestrade, and Helena Bonham-Carter as Enola’s mother Eudoria. Joining the cast of the follow-up movie are David Thewlis and Sharon Duncan-Brewster.

“Fresh off the triumph of solving her first case, Enola Holmes (Brown) follows in the footsteps of her famous brother, Sherlock (Cavill), and opens her own agency — only to find that life as a female detective-for-hire isn’t as easy as it seems,” reads the logline for the movie. “Resigned to accepting the cold realities of adulthood, she is about to close shop when a penniless matchstick girl offers Enola her first official job: to find her missing sister.”

The logline continues, “But this case proves to be far more puzzling than expected, as Enola is thrown into a dangerous new world — from London’s sinister factories and colorful music halls to the highest echelons of society and 221B Baker Street itself. As the sparks of a deadly conspiracy ignite, Enola must call upon the help of friends — and Sherlock himself — to unravel her mystery. The game, it seems, has found its feet again!”

Enola Holmes 2 is based on The Enola Holmes Mysteries book series by Nancy Springer. The film is directed by Harry Bradbeer, with a screenplay by Jack Thorne and story by Harry Bradbeer and Jack Thorne.

See the photos for Enola Holmes 2 below:

Henry Cavill, Millie Bobby Brown and Louis Partridge Alex Bailey/Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown and Helena Bonham-Carter Alex Bailey/Netflix

Henry Cavill is Sherlock Holmes Alex Bailey/Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown is Enola Holmes Alex Bailey/Netflix

Sharon Duncan-Brewster Alex Bailey/Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown stars in Enola Holmes 2 Alex Bailey/Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown is back on Netflix with Enola Holmes 2 as the streamer confirmed the film sequel will make its debut on the platform on Friday, November 4. The Stranger Things star will not be u…

21/08/2022

An Australian study has found that a bit of exercise each day may be better for building stronger muscles than a few longer sessions every week.

The research, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, suggests that frequency, not volume, is what produces the best results when exercising.

"People think they have to do a lengthy session of resistance training in the gym, but that's not the case," Ken Nosaka, exercise and sports science professor at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, which was involved in the study, said in a press release.

"Just lowering a heavy dumbbell slowly once or six times a day is enough."

The study, done in collaboration with Niigata University and Nishi Kyushu University in Japan, looked at changes in muscle strength and thickness — the latter used as an indicator of muscle size — in three groups of participants over four weeks.

The participants performed an eccentric bicep contraction on a machine that measures muscle strength. The exercise is similar to lowering a heavy dumbbell in a bicep curl, the researchers said.

Two groups did 30 contractions per week, with one performing six contractions a day for five days and the other doing all 30 in one day once a week. A third group did six contractions one day a week.

After four weeks, the researchers said the group doing six contractions five days a week saw a "significant" increase in muscle strength of more than 10 per cent, as well as an increase in muscle thickness.

The group that performed 30 contractions in a single day showed no increase in muscle strength, but the researchers say muscle thickness rose 5.8 per cent, which was similar to the first group.

The third group doing six contractions once a week, meanwhile, showed no changes in muscle strength or thickness.

"We only used the bicep curl exercise in this study, but we believe this would be the case for other muscles also, at least to some extent," Nosaka said.

He said the results may be due to how often the brain is being asked to make a muscle perform in a particular way.

At the same time, he stressed the importance of rest in an exercise regimen.

"Muscles need rest to improve their strength and their muscle mass, but muscles appear to like to be stimulated more frequently," Nosaka said.

He concluded by saying going to the gym once a week is not as effective as doing a bit of exercise every day at home.

"We need to know that every muscle contraction counts, and it's how regularly you perform them that counts," Nosaka said.

An Australian study has found that a bit of exercise each day may be better for building stronger muscles than a few longer sessions every week.

21/08/2022

Idris Elba is sharing the tense environment he lived through after his daughter Isan didn’t land a role in his latest movie Beast for lack of chemistry on camera.

“Interestingly enough, my daughter auditioned for this role,” Elba said during an appearance on The Breakfast Club. “She wants to be an actress and she auditioned and it came down to chemistry in the end. The relationship in the film and the relationship between my daughter was, the chemistry wasn’t right for film, weirdly enough.”

‘Beast’ Review: Idris Elba Battles Rogue Lion Out For Revenge In Exciting But Familiar Man-Vs.-Animal Thriller

After not getting the part, Elba said his daughter didn’t talk to him “for about three weeks.”

It was producer Will Packer who had to give Isan the news she wouldn’t be acting with her father as he sees her as his “little niece.” Packer gave props to Elba for not going the route of nepotism and asking producers to put his daughter “through the ropes” in the audition process.

“He auditioned with her [and] he was very tough on her,” Packer added. “[Elba] said, ‘Listen, at the end of the day we’re going to make the best decision for the movie. I trust you, Will, trust the director,’ and she was very good, very close.”

Packer noted that “some of the nuances of that real-life relationship sometimes doesn’t translate on screen.”

Elba also gave props to his daughter for being “very gracious” about the process and for accompanying him to the film’s premiere. Packer is hopeful that everyone will “definitely be seeing” Isan on a film soon.

Watch the interview down below.

Idris Elba is sharing the tense environment he lived through after his daughter Isan didn’t land a role in his latest movie Beast for lack of chemistry on camera. “Interestingly enough,…

21/08/2022

EDMONTON -

Tickets for Edmonton's world junior men's hockey championship haven't been a hot commodity this summer and International Ice Hockey Federation officials say the high price of admission, the tournament's odd timing and a spectre of scandal are to blame for low attendance.

The 2022 tournament wrapped Saturday with Canada battling Finland for the gold medal.

While the final was expected to draw the biggest crowd of the tournament so far to Rogers Place, average attendance before Saturday's medal games was just 1,525 per game. Canada averaged 4,400 fans across its first six games.

Holding the world junior tournament during the hot summer instead of the usual winter holidays created a number of challenges, said IIHF president Luc Tardif.

“We knew August was not the best time and we did not expect the attendance that we do usually,” he told reporters in a wide-ranging press conference before Saturday's final.

The 2022 tournament originally opened Dec. 26, 2021, in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta. Rising COVID-19 cases among players and officials caused the forfeiture of games and the event was halted after just four days.

Tickets prices are set by the host country and the cost for a seat at the August version of the tournament remained steep, starting at more than $100 for many games.

Seats in the lower level ranged from $160 to $476 for Saturday's final, with a tickets in the highest reaches of the arena available for $60.

“(The IIHF) does not set the prices,” tournament chair Henrik Bach Nielsen said. “I do not know if the prices were set as normal world juniors and there was no reaction to this.

“Personally, coming from Denmark, $50, $60, $100 for one of these games? Yeah, that's a high price.”

Organizers needed to account for the unique challenges of redoing the 10-team tournament in the summer, he added.

“Why not, then, try to find an August price for the tickets?” Bach Nielsen said.

Hockey Canada has previously acknowledged multiple reasons for lack of interest in the tournament, including the microscope the organization is under for its handling of alleged s*xual assault by some members of previous junior men's teams.

“First, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed this tournament to August,” the organization said in a statement. “And second, there is understandable scrutiny from Canadians of Hockey Canada and the culture of hockey.”

Hockey Canada executives were called on the carpet in federal government committee hearings in June and July.

Sports minister Pascale St-Onge froze federal funding to the organization until Hockey Canada met certain conditions, and corporate sponsors also pulled their dollars from the tournament.

“We do not have to hide from ourselves the atmosphere around the world juniors,” Tardif said. “And that's a bad thing because I think the kids (playing in this tournament), the organizing committee doesn't deserve that because they are not guilty on that.”

The scandal currently engulfing Hockey Canada is a “national affair,” and once investigations into what happened are complete, the IIHF will determine whether the organization will be sanctioned, he added.

“At the moment, we're following, and our reaction will come at the end of the investigation, when the facts will be confirmed on that, when we know exactly the responsibility of everybody,” Tardif said..

“(The allegations) are not good for ice hockey, for sure. That's not good for Canadian ice hockey but that's not good for the international ice hockey.”

Also, the absence of perennial contender Russia, which was barred by the IIHF for that country's invasion of Ukraine, deleted some of the usual marquee matchups from the event.

Tardif said Russia's entry in the tournament in the future will be evaluated year by year.

Canada will also host the 2023 world junior championship in Moncton and Halifax in December. Tickets are selling well for that tournament, Tardif said.

Despite an odd 2022 tournament, the world juniors remain a strong brand and the tournament has been a success for many years, Bach Nielsen said.

“We should not make any revolutions out of this year,” he said when asked what lessons the IIHF could take from this year's event.

“This is one-time, here in Edmonton with this situation in August. So I don't think we have any plans to change the world juniors. We just need to come back to normal.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2022.

Tickets for Edmonton's world junior men's hockey championship haven't been a hot commodity this summer and International Ice Hockey Federation officials say the high price of admission, the tournament's odd timing and a spectre of scandal are to blame for low attendance.

21/08/2022

SAG-AFTRA‘s national board voted overwhelmingly today to approve a new agreement with the AMPTP that will sharply limit exclusivity terms in actors’ personal service agreements that hold series regulars off the market and unable to work for unreasonably long periods of time. The vote was 95.5% in favor, 4.5% opposed, and does not require membership ratification as this was a mid-term modification of the guild’s existing film and TV contract.

It’s a major victory for the guild, which has been trying to curtail the practice for more than a decade. SAG-AFTRA officials say the breakthrough was made possible by the guild’s lobbying efforts on behalf of a bill they sponsored in the California legislature that would curtail exclusivity provisions. That bill, AB 437 – dubbed the Let Actors Work (LAW) Act – was moving close to passage by the full legislature but is now expected to be withdrawn in light of the agreement the guild has reached with the companies.

Concurrently, SAG-AFTRA members are in the process of ratifying a separate new contract with Netflix that includes similar changes to its options and exclusivity provisions that will give the streaming giant’s series regulars the right to work on other programs when they’re not working on their Netflix shows.

SAG-AFTRA’s Lobbying Efforts Helped Seal Exclusivity Deals With Netflix & AMPTP

“The companies would not have entertained reopening this issue during the term of the contract were it not for this legislation,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the guild’s national executive director, told Deadline. “We’ve been working on this for over 10 years, and we hadn’t been able to get them to budge meaningfully on exclusivity. So, I really think that the legislation had a huge impact, not only on the timing but also on the leverage that we had to get something done here. I think our members, especially our members who work as series regulars, are going to feel in a very real way the impact of these changes.”

“This negotiation reflects a healthier collaboration between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP in the interdependent relationship we share,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said in a statement. “The AMPTP was motivated to come to the table and improve a contract that has hindered our members for years. I want to thank the negotiating committee and our members for their participation and activism on this issue, especially the series regulars who came and testified, wrote op-eds and stood with us in the room during the negotiation. I particularly want to applaud Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and Ray Rodriguez for leading these negotiations.

“I also want to acknowledge California Assembly Member Ash Kalra, Senator Anthony Portantino, Senator Tom Umberg, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Senator Dave Cortese, Assembly Member Tasha Boerner Horvath, Senator Toni Atkins, and California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez for taking this on and pushing the needle. Their support for the LAW Act helped us move forward on issues we hadn’t been able to get movement on in many, many years. Everyone involved, members, legislators, and staff alike rallied together to achieve this fantastic result. I can’t wait to see what the future holds as we continue to move mountains together.”

The agreement with the AMPTP goes into effect on or after January 1, 2023, provided that Assembly Bill 437 has been withdrawn, and that the guild agrees that it will not pursue legislation on the subject of exclusivity prior to the expiration of the successor agreements to the current Codified Basic Agreement and Television Agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP.

One of the most significant changes in the new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers provides for a “conflict-free window” of at least three months following principal photography of each season during which a series regular can commit their time to another program without having to confirm availability or schedule with the company for which they’re working.

Going into the negotiations with the AMPTP, SAG-AFTRA maintained that Exclusivity contracts “are outdated and harmful to creative artists and their families. Since 2009, series seasons have been cut from 24 episodes down to an average of 12. The amount of downtime between seasons has increased from five months to 14 months. That’s a long time to be out of work and it has severe financial impacts on actors and their families.

“Producers have moved their production and exhibition models into the 21st Century and it’s time they allow their employees to join them. Forced unemployment is unethical and outrageous. Exclusivity provisions or unfair, outdated contract provisions that keep actors tied to employers and unable to work for months and years at a time. Actors must often forfeit other employment opportunities, even when there is no conflict with their original employer.”

Here’s a summary of the agreement:

Exclusivity Money Breaks

Under the current Television Agreement, series regulars making at least $15,000 per episode or per week on half-hour programs or $20,000 per episode or per week for one-hour or longer programs may “bargain freely” on the subject of exclusivity. That means that the minimum terms of the collective bargaining agreement, which prevent a series regular from granting exclusivity under which they do not retain the right to do certain other work in addition to working on the series on which they are a regular, do not apply to series regulars who make at or above that amount. Such series regulars may therefore agree to greater exclusivity and have lesser ability to do other work. Under this agreement, those figures would increase to $65,000 for a half-hour program and $70,000 for an hour or longer program, which means that many more series regulars will benefit from the exclusivity limitations in the Tentative Agreement.

Permitted Appearances

Subject to conditions referenced below, a series regular employed under the current Television Agreement who is paid less than the Exclusivity Money Breaks may not grant exclusivity under which they do not retain the right to do at least 3 guest star appearances in each 13-week period but may agree that none of these appearances can be in a “continuing role.” Under the Tentative Agreement, a series regular paid less than the new, higher exclusivity money breaks may not grant exclusivity under which they do not retain the right, subject to conditions, to do:

• Non-Dramatic Appearances: Unlimited second position radio guest appearances and unlimited second position guest appearances on talk shows, game shows, news, panel and award shows, but may agree that none of these appearances can be in a continuing role.

• Unlimited guest star appearances: Unlimited second-position guest star appearances on live-action and animated television and New Media programs. This includes an unlimited number of continuing roles provided that such continuing roles may not include more than 6 episodes on the same season of a series or miniseries.

• Second Position Series Regular or Miniseries Lead: In addition, a series regular must retain the ability to take either one second-position series regular role or one second-position leading role in a miniseries each calendar year.

Conditions on Permitted Appearances

• Series Producer in First Position: Except as provided under the “Conflict Free Window” provisions summarized below, the series producer remains in “first position,” which means that the “First Position Series Producer” must approve the Permitted Appearance and the series regular must confirm availability and scheduling before accepting it. The First Position Series Producer may only exercise its first-position rights, however, for legitimate, work-related reasons.

• No “Substantially Similar” Role: The First Position Series Producer may deny a Permitted Appearance if it is a “substantially similar” role. “Common, generic attributes without further distinction” are not sufficient to establish substantial similarity. The genre, setting, theme, plot, premise, and the “distinct, identifiable and detailed characteristics and storyline(s) of the performer’s character” must be considered in making that determination.

• No Irreversible Changes to Appearance: Voluntary changes to the series regular’s appearance that are not readily reversible are prohibited, e.g., temporary hair dye is acceptable, but cutting hair is not.

• No Parody: The Permitted Appearance may not parody the First Position Series Producer, series, role or platform.

• Promotional Materials: The series regular may appear in promotional materials for their Permitted Appearance provided that their name and/or likeness does not appear either alone or more prominently than any other performer in any key art or in any photography or soundtrack reused in the promotional materials.

• Telecast Time Period: The First Position Series Producer may refuse a Permitted Appearance that is scheduled to be telecast, to the best of the performer’s knowledge, during the regularly-scheduled telecast time period of the first position series.

• Cooperation Requirement: The First Position Series Producer may not use any of the foregoing restrictions as a basis for automatically refusing a Permitted Appearance, must instead work cooperatively to give good faith consideration to the performer’s request and must maintain records of such requests and the First Position Series Producer’s responses that the Union may review.

“Conflict-Free Window”

The First Position Series Producer must provide series regulars a “Conflict-Free Window” after completion of principal photography of each season during which the series regular may accept a Permitted Appearance without first having to confirm availability or schedule. Otherwise, the conditions on Permitted Appearances will continue to apply. The “Conflict Free Window” need not be the same or the same length for each series regular.

• Three Month Minimum: The Conflict Free window must be not less than 3 consecutive months. The First Position Series Producer, however, will use reasonable good faith efforts to provide a Conflict Free Window of more than three months and to extend Conflict Free Windows beyond three months whenever possible.

• 30-Day Notice: The First Position Series Producer will provide notice at least 30 days in advance of the start of the Conflict-Free Window.

• “Best Efforts” Availability: During the Conflict Free Window, a series regular will use their best efforts to make themselves available for work on their first position series, e.g., recalls for added scenes and reshoots, ADR/looping, and promotional/publicity services.

• Short Hiatus Exception: A Conflict Free Window need not be provided where the hiatus between the completion of principal photography for one season and the commencement of principal photography for the following season is less than 4 months.

• “Permitted Appearance” Must Be Completed: The series regular must complete the services for their Permitted Appearance during the Conflict-Free Window. Services occurring after the conclusion of the Conflict-Free Window will be subject to first-position rights.

• Penalty: In the event that the First Position Series Producer does not provide a series regular with a Conflict Free Window as set forth above, it must pay the series regular a penalty equal to the series regular’s episodic fee for the prior season. The penalty is subject to the episodic cap for benefit plan contributions.

Children’s Programming

• Definition: A “children’s program” is a program created for an audience primarily consisting of viewers under the age of 16 and of the type traditionally produced for Disney Channel or Nickelodeon.

• Minor Series Regulars on Children’s Programming: The terms of the Tentative Agreement set forth above shall apply equally to adult and minor series regulars (i.e., series regulars younger than 18 years old) on children’s programming except that:

• A minor performer employed as a series regular on a children’s program that earns at least two times weekly minimum per episode, but less than $26,000 per week or per episode, may agree that the second-position series lead or second-position lead on a miniseries referred to in section III.C above may not be on another children’s program.

• A minor performer employed as a series regular on a children’s program that earns $26,000 per week or per episode or more may agree to the foregoing and further agree that the “unlimited guest star appearances” referred to in section III.B above may not be on another children’s program.

Application to Other Agreements

The Tentative Agreement modifications to exclusivity terms shall also apply to the following provisions and agreements:

• The CW Supplement (Section 83 of the Television Agreement).
• Sideletter G to the Television Agreement.
• Dramatic series made for television and all High Budget SVOD Series produced under the:
• Prodco, Inc. Agreement
• It’s a Laugh Productions, Inc. Agreement
• Uptown Productions Inc. Live Action Agreement
• Comedy Central Productions LLC Agreement
• King Street Productions Inc. Agreement

SAG-AFTRA’s national board voted overwhelmingly today to approve a new agreement with the AMPTP that will sharply limit exclusivity terms in actors’ personal service agreements that hol…

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