24 The below topics are what those in the know in Hollywood were talking about during the weeks leading to the MIPCOM CANNES market. - People affected by the Hollywood strikes, but who aren’t in any of the unions and are never mentioned: cleaners, caterers, musicians, composers, drivers, etc. - This new COVID variant is a cause for concern. Vaccines given are no good against it and the one that allegedly will be effective will only be available in two-to-three weeks. Meanwhile hospital admissions are going up around the globe. Could this affect upcoming markets? - Golden Globes have announced Tim Grey of Variety (who has spent 42 years at the paper) as a new board member. There are talks about the new members of the Globes’ Hollywood Foreign Press joining as well. How can there be HFP members if they disbanded the organization? - The requirements about union members not being allowed to promote their projects is being circumvented courtesy of some interesting loopholes. Adam Driver was at the Venice Film Fest, for instance. - Major traditional linear channels are not only losing viewers to streaming, but to FAST channels which are airing old content. And now, after the roundup, here are the details: As of September 1 we were 123 days into an entertainment industry strike, which began with writers, and has led to an acrossthe-board walkout. There had been an agreement (by the Directors’ Guild) on issues but no one else has come near to a fully complete deal that would bring everyone back to work. While there have been talks, they appeared to be taking place on “a day here” and “a day there” basis, as opposed to “sit down until we reach a conclusion” talks. Yes, everyone wanted a deal that betters the existing one but at what cost? Wages have been lost and health plans are disappearing for strikers — in some instances totally gone by now — and pension funds are being hit hard. There are other hardships, financially, including mortgage and rent problems. There are also other industry personnel who have been hit but are never mentioned, like those who work on clearances for productions, caterers, transportation services, drivers, musicians, composers, etc. The list goes on and on. Those that are not part of the industry — stores, hotels, and across-the-board services (locally and nationally) — that were heavily used by industry personnel are not getting the usual business, and are suffering badly. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its just released report, noted that some 17,000 jobs in the entertainment industry were lost in August. Not so fun facts: The longest strike in the entertainment industry thus far has been the 843-day musicians’ union strike in the 1940s. Other, not so long but still notable strikes include a 231-day strike by set decorators in 1945; a 183-day commercial actors’ strike in 2000, and a 154-day writers’ strike in 1998. The shortest industry strike was in 1987, when directors struck for three hours and five minutes. While on the subject of strikes, the requirement about union members not being allowed to promote their projects was being circumvented, courtesy of some interesting loopholes. Several directors and actors have been appearing at events. Adam Driver and Michael Mann, pictured above, were seen promoting their film Ferrari at the Venice Film Festival, for instance. The duo received waivers (interim agreements) allowing them to attend not only Venice but also the Telluride and Toronto festivals. If contracts don’t get resolved, with the small screen audiences getting used to foreign content, unscripted shows, and sports, it may be difficult to turn them around when the industry gets back to work. But there is another by-product of the strikes: A force majeure clause in contracts allowed studios to cancel long-term deals with creatives when the strike passed the 90day milestone. Warner Bros. has used the FM card and said goodbye (at least temporarily) to J.J. Abrams, Greg Berlanti, Mindy Kaling, and Bill Lawrence. They are not the only ones to suffer; Chuck Lorre, Justin Simien, and John Wells have also had their deals suspended. And Amazon, CBS Studios, Disney, HBO, NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros. TV have suspended several other similar deals. Deals for high-profile writers and producers are expected to pick back up once the strikes are over (on September 25 a tentative deal was reached), but it remains to be seen whether they will have to renegotiate details of the deals or return on the original terms. In early September, the Disney family of channels went dark on Charter Communications’ Spectrum cable systems. According to Charter CEO Chris Winfrey, “This is not a typical carriage dispute. It’s significant for Charter, and we think it’s even more significant for programmers and the broader video ecosystem.” Additionally, Winfrey pointed out that Disney was increasing prices for sports A Month of News in The Entertainment Capital of the World October 2023 Hollywood Talks Isn’t it interesting that traditional linear U.S. TV networks are not only losing viewers to streaming but to FAST channels that are airing old content? (Continued on Page 26)
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