Hollywood Week: SAG/AFTRA, WGA/AMPTP Continue Talks, Box Office, MJ Estate Action Revived
- Details
- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Saturday, 19 August 2023 13:05
- Written by Janet Walker
Hollywood's striking creatives are gaining some momentum from the Trustees of the New York City Pension Fund who have urged studios executives to bring the strike to an end of possibly risk losing investor confidence.NYC Comptroller Brad Lander,
"The letters, signed by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on behalf of the trustees of the city's five pension funds, urged the companies "to end the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes promptly" in order to "ensure the long-term stability" of their businesses and their shareholders' investments," reported Deadline.com. Copies of the letters to each of the executives can be found here.
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Executives who received letters from Lander included Walt Disney CEO, and much criticized exec, Bob Iger, whose "let them eat cake" statements turned him into the striker's number one target, who have compared the former Mouse house Chairman of the board of being out of touch, and negotiating from an elitist point of view, stopping short of burning him in effigy.
Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts and Paramount Global President Robert Bakish each received similar letters which summarized the investments the five New York City Pension funds, Lander guards as the city's comptroller.
Officials from the WGA negotiating team have announced the AMPTP returned proposals to them on Friday and negotiations will continue next week.
"The group, co-chaired by Chris Keyser and David Goodman, also thanked its members for "messages of support and solidarity" and warned them of "rumors from third parties," adding that "the Guild will communicate when we think there is something of significance to report,"' reported The Hollywood Reporter.
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Summer Box Office Continues to Surprise
Blue Beetle, the newest DC Comics Superhero from Warner Bros., has burst into the box office dethroning the pink champion, Barbie, also from Warner Bros., but not before the Greta Gerwig helmed fantasy comedy, moved ahead of The Dark Knight, released in 2008, as Warner Bros., all time highest grossing picture.
The summer box office has continued to outperform expectations, as post-pandemic audiences continue to make the determination of what is big screen worthy and what can wait for streaming.
Rounding out the top ten Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer continues to draw audiences both domestically and internationally, and new releases, Strays and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles round out the top five.
With the inspirational baseball film, The Hill, the Liam Neeson thriller Retribution, and professional racing gaming flick Gran Turismo scheduled for wide release August 25, the top five may see a bit of reshuffling as the contender's jockey into the starting line-up.
Also continuing to surprise is Sound of Freedom, led by Jim Caviezel and includes Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino, Bill Camp, Kurt Fuller, and Manny Perez, in its cast. After 46 days, the Angel Studios production, Anti-Child Trafficking film, has earned more than $175 million, all domestically, and has become one of the top ten domestic grossing films of 2023 and continues to draw audiences everywhere.
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Michal Jackson Estate Action Revived
Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, has again become the center of sexual molestation charges after the California Second District Court of Appeals found that the lower court erred in allowing the case brought by two men, to be dismissed.
The three-judge panel, "found that the lawsuits of Wade Robson and James Safechuck should not have been dismissed by a lower court, and that the men can validly claim that the two Jackson-owned corporations that were named as defendants in the cases had a responsibility to protect them. A new California law that temporarily broadened the scope of sexual abuse cases enabled the appeals court to restore them," NBCnews.com reported.
The lawsuits have been brought against MJJ Productions Inc., and MJJ Ventures Inc., by both men, who explained in detailed the sexual abuse in the HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland." The men have continued to confront legal hurdles and challenges throughout their pursuit of monetary damages. As justice is impossible due to Jackson's death, the only remedy the law can provide are punitive and civil damages and the acknowledgement the crimes occurred.
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Jonathan Steinsapir, attorney for the Michael Jackson Estate explain that while they were "disappointed with the decision. We trust that the truth will ultimately prevail with Michael's vindication yet again. Michael Jackson himself said, 'lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons,'" People Magazine reported.
It is expected that the Estate will seek to exhaust all legal remedies before a trial will move forward, which could possibly be two to four years. He explained that "there is no settlement on the table."
