March 24, 2023
When we last greeted you in this columnar space, we looked back on the year that was and opined that all in all, 2022 wasn’t that bad after all — considering what could have been. A much easier conclusion to come to, of course, for those of us who are housed during storms, fed on a regular basis, and so far, not in active war zones. But what will this […]
Originally, this was going to be a “lite” summer column, before a wee break for Independence Day, which now commemorates – what, exactly? A time when the female half of the population had independent autonomy over their bodies? We even had a book review planned – well, we still do, you’ll just have to read a bit first. But as you all-too-well know, things in an already explosive time erupted […]
The results are in, and well, it seems the people have spoken — those people making up the rank and file of IATSE — and evidently, their wishes were ignored by the electoral-college style voting system the union has instituted for contract ratification. The approval announcement was made on Monday, after a weekend of electronic voting by IA members, which saw only a 72% participation. That number may be high […]
On Monday, November 15, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) announced the results of the weekend vote to ratify the Basic Agreement and Area Standards Agreement contracts negotiated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which will affect over 60,000 members of the labor union. As far as the 13 West Coast locals that were voting on the Basic Agreement that covers film and television shoots in L.A., eight […]
In a letter sent to members and posted on the Basic Agreement website and the corresponding Area Standards Agreement site, IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb made a second appeal to the union’s 60,000 members to vote “yes” to ratify the new three-year contracts as negotiated with AMPTP. The two agreements go to members for a vote, beginning tomorrow, Friday, November 12, with the results to be announced on Monday, November 15. You can read Loeb’s full […]
Most readers of this space will have already seen the open letter from the cinematography community, signed by a veritable who’s who of ASC and BSC members, Oscar and Emmy nominees, all the way up to ASC President Stephen Lighthill. It calls for a ban on all functional firearms on sets, along with a “vow to no longer knowingly work on projects using FUNCTIONAL FIREARMS (caps theirs) for filming purposes.” The […]
On Thursday, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) released a 49-page Memorandum of Agreement, covering the Basic Agreement (BA) for the 13 West Coast local unions, and another for the Theatrical and Television Motion Picture Area Standards Agreement (ASA). These agreements — you can read the Basic Agreement here — were negotiated by IATSE with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) for a new three-year contract to cover roughly 60,000 television and film […]
“It’s a miracle I’ve made it this far,” reflects Tim Blake Nelson’s titular character in the evocative indie Western, Old Henry, currently wracking up critical praise during its multi-platform release. In Henry’s case, the reflection comes after his son makes a startling realization about his widower dad’s earlier life, and Nelson’s comments are about the ultimate inescapability of one’s past. And while such a reflection makes sense for Henry, it […]
So a crew member was killed on a set since last time we posted. You know this already, of course, and — if you’re the type of person who reads Below the Line in general, and its labor column in particular — you have probably been reading up on, and trying to ferret out more details about, the negligence that lead to the manslaughter-like killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, a […]
While we await Mark London Williams‘ next Strike Alert on Tuesday, there have been scattered updates on the IATSE contract ratification vote over the last few days, including some statements about what the various union leaders are doing to keep their members informed in the meantime. ADG Local 800 will be having its annual ADG Fall General Membership meeting on Saturday, Oct 23, so if you’re in that union, you should […]