The UBS Evening Movie News 12.6.07
Posted by George H. Sirois on 12.06.2007
The “Douglas Adams” Edition…
Welcome to this week's edition of The UBS Evening Movie News. I'm George H. Sirois and, even though this column won't feature anything involving the late great Douglas Adams, I wanted to name this edition after him. Why? Because it's chapter 42. What better reason do I need? Anyway, on with the news…
TOP STORY
Exactly one month after the strike began, Writers Guild of America leaders are expected to deliver a counteroffer, with a focus on new-media issues, in response to the offer the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers presented last Thursday.
WGA West president Patric Verrone, speaking at a picket line Monday at Paramount, underscored the guild's displeasure with the AMPTP's proposal for a fixed $250 annual residual on streaming video for one-hour network dramas -- without any additional compensation for use -- compared with the current $20,000 figure for TV reruns.
"We have to get a better proposal on the table," he said.
Tuesday marked the first session since Thursday's talks adjourned amid a welter of accusations from both sides after the studios and nets offered a so-called New Economic Partnership that the WGA dismissed a few hours later as inadequate and insulting.
Company execs went on the warpath over the next few days, privately characterizing the guild's tactics as indicative that the union was not interested in making a deal.
But that anger is notably absent from the AMPTP letter went out Tuesday and ran as an ad in Daily Variety.
The AMPTP said its latest proposal isn't a "take-it-or-leave-it offer. It is designed to allow both sides to engage in the kind of substantive give-and-take negotiation that can lead to common ground. The WGA leadership asked for five days to respond. So with the ball in the WGA's court, we look forward to what they have to say when we meet."
The tone is markedly different from the hardnosed stance the org used in many of its prior public letters. Notably absent is the finger-pointing that marked company execs' reactions in previous missives. And the execs' private frustration at the writers is substituted with a benign, "We look forward to what they have to say."
Clearly, company execs are eager to present a reasonable image given that the public is sympathizing with the writers.
The missive also took a conciliatory tone and stressed that the companies aren't trying to destroy the WGA.
"This is not a zero-sum campaign where there is one winner and one loser," it said. "We need the writers and the writers need us. And we need to work together if we are to navigate the rapids of this increasingly complex, high-tech economy."
Verrone's appearance at Par was part of his effort to visit every WGA picket line in Los Angeles. The guild had promised that every line would include members of the WGA negotiating committee or members of the WGA West board.
The guild also sent out an email from WGA West board member Tom Schulman predicting that the companies will continue to present a confusing picture to members. He urged members to stay united in the face of what he sees as efforts by the companies to "divide and conquer" the membership.
"They are putting us on an emotional roller coaster by raising and lowering our expectations, attacking our leaders, trying to pit the town against us, refusing to move on the issues that matter to us, bragging about their generosity when the opposite is true, fear mongering and claiming we're going to ruin this industry -- hoping we'll splinter, lose faith in and attack each other, negotiate against ourselves and cave," Schulman wrote.
Monday's picketing also featured the usual presence of SAG members on the lines -- not a surprise since the Screen Actors Guild has become one of the WGA's biggest allies.
"I think our members totally get it -- that the WGA is fighting for these issues now so we won't have to go on strike next summer," said Todd Amorde, SAG's chief organizer. "They understand the importance of our getting fairly compensated for work on the Internet."
Amorde, who was a key member in organizing SAG's 2000 strike against the ad industry, was coordinating thesps picketing outside Par on Monday. He noted that more SAG members are showing up in the fifth week than in the first.
SAG reps have also attended most of the sessions at the WGA negotiations.
SAG's contract expires June 30. It's expected to begin the process of hammering out its demands early next year via member gatherings dubbed "W and W" for wages and working conditions.
In the meantime, the guild's been able to persuade high-profile members to get out to the picket lines and up to the podiums -- including Lisa Kudrow, Ray Romano, Sandra Oh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Edie Falco, Kristin Davis, Tim Robbins, Gilbert Gottfried, Tina Fey, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Heaton, Sarah Silverman, Brad Garrett, Kathy Griffin, Alicia Keys and Dana Delany.
That ensures heightened visibility of strike issues and also sends the message to studios and nets that SAG won't take a moderate stance at upcoming contract talks. SAG exec director Doug Allen's mantra to members has been that the guild isn't looking to strike, but if it's not willing to do so, it's engaged in collective begging.
Even before Allen arrived, SAG president Alan Rosenberg had promised to build stronger ties with the WGA and then did so over the issue of product integration.
Several SAG board members, such as Frances Fisher, have noted that the WGA's taking the heat for what should have been SAG's battle. They're still perturbed over the 2004 decision by SAG's national board, led by then-president Melissa Gilbert, to agree to a one-year extension of its deal -- which delinked SAG's expiration date from the WGA's and placed it in sync with the DGA's.
SAG board member Justine Bateman recently issued a widely distributed email asking actors to spend at least an hour a day on the lines.
"Ultimately, this is our strike," she wrote. "If the WGA had not called this strike, we would all be participating in massive stockpiling. Then, in June, when our contract expires, the AMPTP would have offered us the no-gains-play-your-work-for-free-and-how-bout-some-rollbacks offer we're now familiar with. And SAG would have to go on strike, but because of the stockpiling, we would have no leverage."
Since the two sides went back to the table on Tuesday, this counter-offer was analyzed deeply by the AMPTP, and was not rejected altogether. That shows a bit of hope since there was a much less hostile negotiation going on than in recent weeks.
What I really liked when I first read this news was how the Screen Actors Guild was stepping in and showing support for the writers. They allowed for more exposure into the writers' issues, and SAG promised for even stronger ties between the two guilds in the near future.
It also takes a bit of heat off of the writers in the press since talk has already started about the SAG contract that ends this June. If the writers were to end their strike and come back to work, only to have the actors close up shop and get on their picket lines, that would be an even more crippling blow to the industry than the current strike. And just think, if the press is picking on the writers for the unfortunate laying off of crew members, how bad they would be to the actors. Since stars' salaries have become common knowledge thanks to all the entertainment and gossip magazines, it's safe to say newspaper writers wouldn't exactly paint them in the most positive light.
SYBIL THE SOOTHSAYER
UPCOMING MOVIES
Juno: When she finds herself pregnant by her high school boyfriend (Michael Cera), Juno (Ellen Page) lines up a perfect couple (Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner) to adopt her child.
The buzz for this has been outstanding, and just the cast alone makes this worth seeing. I will definitely be making an effort to see this.
The Golden Compass: A young girl (Dakota Blue Richards) winds up on an epic quest to save two worlds in this tale based on the popular "His Dark Materials" trilogy of books.
Yes, the industry is definitely taking another throw at the "Filling the Harry Potter Void" wall and seeing if this one sticks, after Eragon came and went. This one looks more unique than expected, and considering the overall tone that the book trilogy is supposed to have, I'm a little more curious than expected to see how this one goes.
Credit: TheMovieBox.net
DVD NEWS
For fans of the classic Ray Harryhausen films (Tom Hanks being one of them since he has stated before that Jason and the Argonauts is his all-time favorite movie), I'm sad to say that the six-disc set that Sony has been preparing for It Came From Beneath the Sea, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers and 20 Million Miles to Earth has been put on hold for undisclosed reasons. The set has been delayed until June of 2008. If I hear any reasons why, I'll let you know.
Credit: DVDReview.com
MOVIE TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Juno
JIM WEBBING AND HIS IT'S-THE-HONEST-TRUTH-DEPARTMENT
Snake Eyes "has a wicked tongue" even though he says nothing: When it was announced that Sienna Miller had been cast as the Baroness in Stephen Sommers' G.I. Joe, it provoked a good deal of interest from fans of the franchise. Tuesday, /Film has announced that Ray Park has been cast as Snake Eyes in the upcoming film adaptation of the cartoon from the 1980's.
Snake Eyes is one of the original members of the GI Joe team, and has proven to be one of the most popular characters from the line. Little is known about his real identity, as it has remained classified throughout the series (and re-interpreted with each new cartoon or comic series.) What has remained constant has been that he trained under two ninja masters - the Soft Master and the Hard Master, and that his history is linked to that of Cobra's ninja assassin - Storm Shadow. Snake Eyes has also had an ongoing romantic relationship with fellow G.I. Joe member Scarlett.
Hasbro has confirmed that the film will feature the rivalry between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.
I love this casting, and I love that Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow will be at the center of this film! As a fan of the animated series, I always thought those were two of the coolest characters and it's good to see that there are people in power who agree with me. Knowing how skilled a fencer Park is, I can only hope that they get someone just as talented to be Storm Shadow so we can see some really sick fights between them.
Credit: Movieweb.com
"There is a Possibility that I Very Well Might Be Back…": Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins producers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek spoke with EW.com and confirmed that Christian Bale will be playing John Conner in the new trilogy. In addition, they revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger may appear in the next film:
EW: Will Schwarzenegger be returning in any form?
Kubicek: He may make a cameo.
Anderson: It still hasn't been determined, but if he does, it would be a very small cameo.
EW: That's a tricky thing, because at this point, you don't want his presence to be a distraction, right?
Kubicek: That's sort of how we feel, though you can't divorce him from this franchise. He's a huge supporter of it, and he's very excited about what we're doing. It's for no lack of enthusiasm that we wouldn't bring him back. But I think we agree with you. This is about the future of the franchise, and we're really excited to bring in all new elements, while still maintaining the core mythology.
It makes sense for Arnold to be involved in some way since he became the face of the franchise ever since he was first cast as The Terminator, but in all three films, he was an assassin and a protector. Now, there's no time travel since the war's in full swing, and there's no need to protect John since he's now grown up into the military leader he was destined to be.
Plus, based on what we know regarding John Connor's fate from the third film, it also works that we won't see much of Arnold at all in this one since Skynet used the T-800 model from T3 to assassinate John. The less we see of that model now, the more impact it would have for John to see him later.
Credit: Movieweb.com
FILM MUSIC NEWS
* Hans Zimmer Signs with Cherry Lane Music Publishing
* Mark Watters Conducts "Movies Rock"
* Riptide Music to Rep Fuel Records Catalog
* Special Feature Article - by Mark Holden, TuneCore: Record Royalties Reinvented?
* The Scoreboard: Hundreds of Composers and Their Projects
* Signings and Projects: Rupert Gregson-Williams, Thomas Newman and more
* The Chart Doctor - by Ron Hess, "Trap Set Notation Basics: Give Your Drummer a Break"
* Music Technology and You - by Peter Lawrence Alexander, "Doug Rogers: Why It's Time to PLAY"
* Soundtrack Review: "Alien" (Jerry Goldsmith)
Download This Week's Issue at: www.filmmusicweekly.com.
VOX POPULI
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: November 30 – December 2, 2007
1. Enchanted - $16,403,316
Total: $70,000,316
2. Beowulf - $8,208,565
Total: $68,939,986
3. This Christmas - $7,941,068
Total: $36,431,987
4. Hitman - $6,021,927
Total: $30,426,328
5. Awake - $5,856,872
Total: $5,856,872
6. Fred Claus - $5,501,437
Total: $59,784,054
7. August Rush - $5,021,435
Total: $20,225,907
8. The Mist - $4,553,008
Total: $19,563,276
9. Bee Movie - $4,444,798
Total: $117,616,494
10. No Country for Old Men - $4,385,290
Total: $22,914,851
I'm not a "Heroes" watcher, although everyone I know says I should be. So as a shout-out to all of my friends who watch it, and all of you readers as well, here are some pics of the lovely Ms. Ali Larter!
