Looking Forward to TOMORROWLAND

Can't wait to see TOMORROWLAND! It comes out in May 2015 and features our own Matthew Kevin Anderson (who plays Camera One in ODD BRODSKY)!  Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k59gXTWf-A

Congratulations Audrey Brodsky! (Whoops --I mean Robin Brodskky!)

Congratulations to Robin Brodsky Curtin (the namesake of our movie) for getting her first royalty check as a songwriter! Her song "Freedom" was used on 2 episodes of The Voice & 1 episode of American Restoration!! AND her song "When you want" is also featured in ODD BRODSKY in this scene pictured here. Way to go Robin!!

SAG begins new year with civil war

According to Variety: SAG's moderate wing plans to replace the guild's negotiating committee -- and possibly fire national exec director Doug Allen -- in hopes of breaking the contract stalemate with the majors.

While much of the town's been shut down for the past two weeks, SAG's internal firefight over its divisive strike authorization vote has escalated. Allen and SAG president Alan Rosenberg have spurned calls to ditch the authorization vote but agreed Dec. 22 to delay it until after a Jan. 12-13 emergency meeting of the national board in order to present a united front to members.

But the moderates have grown increasingly frustrated by what they perceive as a lack of response from SAG toppers and are poised to begin moving to make SAG more pragmatic -- three months after gaining control of the 71-member board over the more aggressive Membership First faction, which still dominates the negotiating committee.

Ned Vaughn, spokesman for the moderate Unite for Strength faction, said he could not comment on specifics of steps to be taken at the meeting. "The board has a choice to make -- either go ahead with the strike authorization vote or move in a new direction," he told Daily Variety. New York board member Paul Christie said Allen may be on thin ice if he doesn't change his approach.

"His idea of re-establishing consensus to date has been 'getting you all to agree with me,' " Christie added. "He will go down in flames if that is his game plan for this meeting." But SAG First VP and negotiating committee member Anne-Marie Johnson told Daily Variety it would be "undemocratic" to call off the strike authorization vote and not allow SAG's 120,000 members to make the decision. Johnson also criticized Allen's critics. "To want to fire your lead negotiator, whose only fault is that he's trying to get the best possible contract he can get, baffles the mind," she added.

SAG's New York board, now in open rebellion from Allen and Rosenberg, first called for the cancellation of the strike authorization vote and the replacement of the negotiation committee on Dec. 12. A new negotiating team would probably attempt to restart negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which made its final offer on June 30, the expiration date of SAG's master contract on features and primetime.

SAG, led by Allen and Rosenberg, held 46 negotiating sessions with the AMPTP since April but refuses to relent on key new-media issues. And Allen, who's starting his third year as SAG chief, has become a polarizing figure over how he's handled SAG's strategy on several fronts: 1) Efforts in 2007 to force AFTRA to reduce its participation in joint bargaining, which led to AFTRA splitting angrily from SAG and negotiating its own deal 2) An unsuccessful campaign to persuade dual SAG-AFTRA members to vote down the ratification of AFTRA's deal. 3) The inability to close SAG's deal with the AMPTP, even after a federal mediator joined the process in October. Two days of talks cratered after SAG deman congloms ded a hike in DVD residuals -- long a nonstarter for the 4) His latest assertion that while he's hoping a strike won't occur, it won't shut down the industry since work would continue on indie features with SAG waivers and on cable shows and commercials.

That declaration, made Tuesday in a message to members, was met with incredulity by Christie. "If you are constantly telling the members no way will I shoot the gun I am asking for, then why are you begging for bullets?" Christie added. "These emails are astounding in their similarity as if they will wear down the membership by their sheer volume. Honest fact is, if Doug 'no way' Allen really wanted a strike authorization, he should have, according to any knowledgeable labor negotiator, asked for it July 1st." Christie also accused Allen of stalling on negotiations until after the September elections in hopes that Membership First would retain control of the national board.

The AMPTP also blasted back at Allen on Tuesday. "Today's SAG statement suggesting that a SAG strike would not have a devastating impact on our industry, in the midst of the greatest economic turmoil since the Great Depression, simply defies reality," the AMPTP said. "The 100-day writers strike -- which resulted in the writers receiving the same terms that the DGA achieved without a strike -- cost our economy $2.5 billion. A SAG strike would cost the working families who depend on our industry even more -- at a time when everyone is already under extreme pressure by the unprecedented national economic crisis."

The moderates have rallied behind a Dec. 2 letter by Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman contending that SAG needs to accept a deal along the lines of the final offer, which contains similar terms to those in pacts signed in 2008 by the WGA, DGA, AFTRA, IATSE and the casting directors. More than 1,800 members have come out against the authorization including Tom Hanks, George Clooney and Sally Field. Nearly 3,000 members have signed a solidarity statement supporting a "yes" vote, including Martin Sheen, Ed Asner and Mel Gibson.

SAG postponing Strike Authorization vote.

According to Variety, SAG's postponement of its strike authorization vote may signal that its leaders are tilting in a more moderate direction -- so much so that the divisive vote may be called off.

It's still unclear what direction the national board will take at its emergency meeting on Jan. 12-13, scheduled ostensibly by national exec director Doug Allen and president Alan Rosenberg to persuade the fractured 71-member panel to present a united front and convince members to vote up a strike authorization. But the timing of the Monday night announcement was telling. It came a few hours after Allen and Rosenberg met with leaders of the Unite for Strength faction, a group of Hollywood moderates who gained five board seats in the fall after campaigning on a platform that asserted that Rosenberg and his allies had bungled the contract negotiations strategy.

Unite for Strength spokesman Ned Vaughn told Daily Variety that he and his colleagues expressed concerns about going ahead with the vote, given the growing numbers of SAG members - particularly high-profile stars such as George Clooney and Tom Hanks - coming on the "no" side. "We felt that in light of what's been happening that it would have been reckless for the national board to proceed without having the chance to reconsider," Vaughn said. "We appreciate that they've taken our concerns seriously."

The victory by Unite for Strength wrested away control of the national board from the more assertive Membership First faction for the first time in three years and gave the moderates - comprised largely of New York and regional reps -- a narrow ruling margin . It's unclear whether the emergency board meeting will lead to the withdrawal of the authorization vote or replacing the SAG negotiating committee, which remains dominated by Membership First. Vaughn would not comment as to what steps the board might take but he expressed concern that scheduling the confab as a "face to face" meeting in Los Angeles on a Monday and Tuesday will make it more difficult for New York and regional branch members to attend. Similar concerns arose earlier this month when Rosenberg scheduled an emergency meeting for Dec. 19, but then called it off a few days later.

SAG's insisted it needs a strike authorization vote, which requires the approval of 75% of members who cast ballots, to force the congloms to improve their final offer and has spent the past year blasting the moguls and the deals they signed with the town's other unions,
particularly in new-media residuals and jurisdiction. The guild's also contended that signing the final offer will hasten the disappearance of residuals as TV programming migrates to the Web. But the majors have insisted that they won't change the terms of the deal and they've blasted SAG repeatedly for insisting it deserves better terms amid a full-blown recession.

SAG faces dissension from NY board

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A faction of the Screen Actors Guild on Friday called for the union to suspend an upcoming vote to authorize a strike amid stalled negotiations with Hollywood producers. The announcement represents a major split between the union's Hollywood leadership and a more moderate group based in New York. The group hopes its opposition will force the union to rethink the timing of its vote scheduled for January."Our members and our industry are struggling through the worst economic crisis in memory," the New York board said in a statement. "While issuing a strike authorization may have been a sensible strategy in October, we believe it is irresponsible to do so now.

"The New York division's 14 board members also called for the 71-member national board to hold an emergency meeting to appoint new negotiators to work with the American Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the major studios."With a fresh team, the AMPTP will return to the table, and we can get a fair deal," the New York board wrote. "A deal that will not cost careers, homes, lives. We want our members to understand that while strikes are sometimes unavoidable, we will do everything in our power to avoid this one." 

SAG President Alan Rosenberg said he was surprised by the announcement because the group did not approach him first. He said he agreed to call an emergency meeting to discuss "this extraordinarily destructive and subversive action." He would not say when the meeting would be held or what effect the board's opposition may have on the scheduled vote. SAG plans to send strike authorization ballots to more than 100,000 union members on Jan. 2, a date that puts Oscar night within reach of a potential boycott. Votes will be counted on Jan. 23, ahead of the Feb. 22 Academy Awards, the most important date on the Hollywood awards calendar. Approval by 75 percent of voting members is required to pass the measure. 

If it is approved, the SAG national board can call a strike.Studios and the actors union have been negotiating a new deal since before the previous contract expired June 30.SAG wants union coverage for all Internet-only productions regardless of budget and residual payments for Internet productions replayed online, as well as continued actor protections during work stoppages. Directors, writers, stagehands and another actors union settled for lesser terms
and the studios said it was unreasonable for SAG to demand a better deal, especially now that the economy has worsened.AMPTP spokesman Jesse Hiestand declined to comment on the board's announcement. Meanwhile, the guild has been sending e-mails, fact sheets and Web video testimonials by famous actors urging members to vote yes on the strike. 

It said Mel Gibson, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Martin Sheen and other actors were among the first signers of SAG's "Statement of Support."The actors union, however, appears to be in transition. In guild elections in September, an upstart group called Unite For Strength broke up the majority control of the national board that had been held by Rosenberg's supporters. But the Unite group has not clarified its position on the strike vote.The guild plans a town hall meeting in New York on Monday and one in Hollywood on Dec. 17.

Petition against the SAG strike

Here is a non-partisan online petition seeking alternative solutions WITHOUT striking.  PLEASE take a moment to sign at
http://www.petitiononline.com/DealNow/petition.html
We CAN NOT afford another costly strike...

Indie Filmmakers Get Bailout Break

Great news for Indie Filmmakers! Somehow Section 181 of the Jobs Creation Act ended up as part of the Bailout Bill! According to Variety: "Tax incentive legislation aiding Hollywood was tucked into the mammoth $700 billion bailout plan signed into law Friday by President Bush. The legislation, originally enacted in 2004 in an effort to stem runaway production, extends and expands an existing federal domestic production tax credit that had been set to expire at the end of this year. The credit was also modified to allow the incentive to be applied as an immediate deduction of the first $15 million spent on any film or TV program produced in the United States. Previously, the incentive was only available to productions with a total cost of under $15 million. The modification is retroactive to January. The legislation also increases the single-year deduction in production costs, from $15 million to $20 million, that film and TV productions may take if the costs are incurred in designated economically depressed areas. The incentive was extended through December 2009." Read full story here.