With Hollywood on edge at the prospect of an actors strike, SAG's negotiating committee has been accused of dragging its feet at the bargaining table in order to wage war against the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists.
AFTRA negotiating committee chairman Matt Kimbrough leveled the charge against Screen Actors Guild's leaders on Tuesday, a day after the guild staged a raucous rally urging SAG members who also belong to AFTRA to vote down the latter's primetime deal. A SAG spokeswoman denied the allegations.
More industry backlash to SAG's aggressive campaigning against AFTRA is brewing, according to biz insiders.
"Since returning to the table two weeks ago, word is that the SAG negotiating committee in caucus spends far more time talking about AFTRA than about the issues embedded in theirs and management's respective proposals," Kimbrough said in a widely distributed message. "Instead of using every day it has this month to aggressively and constructively negotiate for its members, the SAG committee spends days in internal meetings, planning the 'Vote No!' campaign, staging rallies, putting staff on the marching line and spending our dues money trying to defeat it."
Kimbrough also recited a long litany of AFTRA complaints about SAG that led to AFTRA's decision to discontinue the longstanding policy of joint negotiations with SAG, citing "a yearlong AFTRA disparagement campaign."
SAG national exec director Doug Allen and president Alan Rosenberg delivered fiery speeches at Monday morning's rally, with both blaming AFTRA for SAG's lack of progress at negotiations and asserting that AFTRA's deal falls far short of being acceptable. The rally was attended by many members of the negotiating committee, and bargaining with the majors didn't resume until the afternoon.
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Steven Spielberg is planning to make DreamWorks a separate, independent film company again -- and is trying to raise more than $1 billion in financing to do so, the Hollywood Reporter reported today (Tuesday), citing no sources.
Spielberg, who reportedly plans to terminate his personal contract with Paramount at the end of the year, has made no decision yet on who would distribute DreamWorks' movies.
But, according to the trade paper, he is leaning toward Universal, although he might use a potential distribution deal as leverage in his negotiations with Paramount, which acquired DreamWorks in 2006.
The Reporter also indicated that Disney and Fox may also propose deals to distribute DreamWorks' product.
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The Strangers
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Sex and the City
Redbelt
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
SPIELBERG WANTS DREAMWORKS BACK
