SAG: Actors Won't Cross Lines at Globes

SAG: Nominated Actors Will Likely Not Cross Striking Writers' Picket Lines at Golden Globes

By LYNN ELBER
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES


Golden Globe-nominated actors are expected to snub the awards in support of striking Hollywood writers, the actors union said Friday.

After canvassing nominees over the past several weeks, Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement, "there appears to be unanimous agreement that these actors will not cross" the picket lines to present or accept an award.

It was unclear how the move might affect the awards set for broadcast on NBC on Jan. 13.

Michael Russell, a spokesman for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which stages the Golden Globes, did not immediately return telephone or e-mail requests for comment about the move by actors.

The Writers Guild of America had refused to grant a waiver to allow its members to work on the Globes, the People's Choice Awards and the prestigious Academy Awards.

A total of 72 actors are among this year's Golden Globe nominees. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has repeatedly tried to seek the blessing of the writers guild.

The actors' union said previously that the choice to attend or not was a personal one that its members would make for themselves.

In his statement Friday, Rosenberg referred to "considerable outreach" by the actors guild to nominees and their representatives in recent weeks.

The writers strike, which began Nov. 5, has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, since whatever deal is struck by writers on payment for shows offered on the Internet could affect talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.

Rosenberg also weighed in on the late-night talks shows, which are back on the air. Some are working without writers after failing to strike deals with the writers guild.

Rosenberg stopped short of pressing actors to skip the picketed shows, like Jay Leno's "Tonight."

"We urge our members to appear on the two programs that have independent agreements with the WGA, `The Late Show with David Letterman' and `Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,'" he said.

Actors who appear on other shows have to cross picket lines, he said.

That creates "the same situation that has led to the consensus among actors to skip the Golden Globes," Rosenberg said.



Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

Tom Cruise's independent film company could sign a contract Sunday and get back to work. Other companies may follow.
By Claudia Eller and Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
4:05 PM PST, January 5, 2008
United Artists, the independent production unit of MGM headed by actor Tom Cruise and his longtime production partner, Paula Wagner, is expected to become the first movie company to cut an interim deal with the Writers Guild of America, enabling the recent start-up to hire union writers despite the continuing strike.

The guild, which has reached a deal with UA that is expected to be signed Sunday, is also in discussions with several other independent companies, including Lionsgate and the Weinstein Co. about similar interim agreements.

The agreement with UA would benefit the company's distributor and majority shareholder Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. in that it would supply the studio with ready-made releases once they are produced.

MGM, which unlike UA is a member company of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, does not plan to break ranks with the Alliance's other major studios and sign a similar side deal with the guild, according to people close to the situation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly.

The strike, now in its second month, is largely over how much writers will get paid when their work is distributed over the Internet. UA is a relatively small player in Hollywood, and a deal with the company is not expected to have an immediate effect on the larger dispute.

In recent days, Harry Sloan, MGM's chief executive, has attempted to dissuade Wagner and Cruise from making an interim deal with the guild, those sources said. Wagner and Sloan are said to have had a long discussion about the matter on Friday. Sloan ultimately must defer to Wagner, who as chief executive of UA has the final word on how the company operates. They could not immediately be reached for comment.

Some people close to the matter cautioned that the deal between UA and the guild could still fall apart.

Wagner and Cruise, who have been production partners for more than 15 years, jointly own 35% of UA, with MGM and its equity partners controlling the majority shares.

Sloan had recruited Cruise and Wagner to resurrect UA as an independently run, artist-friendly production company that could help fill MGM's annual distribution pipeline. UA's debut film, "Lions for Lambs," a political drama directed by and starring Robert Redford, Cruise and Meryl Streep, bombed at the U.S. box office last year. The company's planned production, "Pinkville," to be directed by Oliver Stone, was derailed by the writers strike in the late fall because it was in need of a script rewrite.

The pending agreement with UA marks the second deal the guild has struck with an independent production company, following a recent agreement with Worldwide Pants Inc., the production company owned by talk show host David Letterman.

Securing such deals is part of a strategy by the guild to demonstrate that it can successfully reach an agreement containing the demands it was seeking with the major studios, including Internet residuals. The alliance broke off negotiations with the writers in December, portraying them as intransigent.

-- At 9 PM there will be a press conference covered by NBC News announcing the Golden Globe winners. (9pm-10pm)
-- At 8 PM, we are negotiating with Dick Clark Enterprises for a one-hour retrospective/clip show.
-- At 7 PM, we will air a Dateline with clips and interviews with nominees. (Currently scheduled to air for two hours on Saturday night.)
-- At 10 PM, we will broadcast an "Access Hollywood" style, Golden Globes party show...visiting the various parties in Hollywood