Latest news with #MeredithStiehm
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Entertainment Union Coalition Launches ‘Keep California Rolling' Campaign To Bolster State's Film & TV Jobs
The Entertainment Union Coalition has launched a campaign aimed at keeping film and TV jobs in California, marking the latest in a series of moves from both lawmakers and Hollywood workers to reinforce the state's production industry. Keep California Rolling is a labor-led initiative, described to Deadline as the unions' answer to Stay in LA, another similar initiative led by some of the industry's biggest stars as well as top film and TV writers and producers. More from Deadline California Lawmakers Introduce Bills To "Modernize" Film & TV Tax Credit Program In Conjunction With Newsom's Proposed Expansion WGA East Slams MSNBC's "Mass Layoffs" As 99 Staffers Brace For Impact Amid Network Shakeup WGA West President Meredith Stiehm Calls On Studios To Sue AI Companies, Takes Aim At Trump At Guild Awards: "We Do Not Cower In The Face Of Bullies" Its main goal will be to urge the state to explore more ways to rework its current jobs-based incentive program to attract production back to the state, in addition to supporting Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposal to expand the California Film & TV Tax Credit from $330M annually to $750M. On March 5, nearly 100 workers from across the Entertainment Union Coalition's member entities will travel to Sacramento to lobby lawmakers on the jobs-based program. Among those represented will be the American Federation of Musicians, California IATSE Council, Directors Guild of America, LiUNA! Local 724, SAG-AFTRA, Teamsters Local 399, and the Writers Guild of America West. 'California's entertainment industry sustains hundreds of thousands of middle-class jobs across every sector and in every corner the state,' EUC President and Directors Guild of America Western Executive Director Rebecca Rhine said in a statement. 'It's essential that the expansion of the Film & TV tax credit program prioritizes workers rather than corporate profits. The EUC fully supports the governor's proposal, marking the most significant expansion to the program in decades, but we must ensure it delivers on its promise: keeping production, and the jobs it creates, right here in California, where workers and their families can thrive in their own communities.' The announcement of Keep California Rolling comes one day after state lawmakers introduced a pair of bills that are meant to 'amend, update, and modernize' the current Film & TV Tax Credit Program, sponsored by Senator Ben Allen and Assemblymembers Rick Chavez Zbur and Isaac Bryan. Details on how the program might be reshaped were not revealed yet, but Chavez Zbur vowed it would include 'expanding the kinds of productions that qualify for the program, again, focusing on those productions which we are losing and that provide the best jobs.' Newsom's proposed expansion of the tax credit is also not yet set in stone, given California's 2025-26 budget is still being negotiated, though it still seems very likely to be approved. Hollywood workers have been sounding an alarm for several decades on the loss of production jobs in California, particularly as other territories have begun offering more financial incentives for film and TV production. Several jurisdictions have no caps on their subsidies, including Georgia, Ontario and the UK. In an impact report released Thursday, the Entertainment Union Coalition says that from 2015 to 2020, about 50% of the 312 productions that did not qualify for California's tax credit incentive relocated to another area, resulting in an approximate loss of 28,000 jobs and $7.7B in economic activity. Local concerns have only grown over the last few years as work became even more scarce due to work stoppages from a global pandemic and historically, long dual strikes, followed by a massive, global contraction in production spending. According to a recent report from FilmLA, production in Los Angeles was down more than 30% over five-year averages in 2024. The Entertainment Union Coalitions report also makes the case for the impact of the film and television industry beyond just direct job loss, illustrating how production supports tourism, hospitality, and more local industries in California. Per a 2023 report from the Motion Picture Association, the U.S. film and television industry alone supports more than 2 million jobs and contributes over $180B in total wages, encompassing 122,000 businesses nationwide. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery How To Watch The 2025 Oscars Online And On TV How Jon Gries' Return To 'The White Lotus' Could Shape Season 3
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WGA West President Meredith Stiehm Calls On Studios To Sue AI Companies, Takes Aim At Trump At Guild Awards: 'We Do Not Cower In The Face Of Bullies'
WGA West President Meredith Stiehm sought to reassure members that the guild is doing its best to work in their favor during her speech at Saturday night's guild awards. Not only did she once speak out against the use of writers' work to train AI systems, she also took a jab at the Trump administration, declaring: 'We do not cower in the face of bullies.' More from Deadline WGA Awards: 'Anora' & 'Nickel Boys' Take Top Screenplay Prizes; 'Hacks', 'Shōgun', 'The Penguin' Among TV Winners — Full List Vince Gilligan Advises Amplifying 'Good Guys' And Warns Against Making Villains 'Too Sexy' During WGA Honorary Award Speech Bill Lawrence On The Importance Of Mentoring Young Writers, Or "People Who Will Give Me My Last Job When I Am Un-Hirable," As He Accepts WGA East Award 'As a president is being puppeted by the richest man in the world, working very hard to hurt vulnerable people, the lawlessness, the heartlessness is outrageous,' she said. 'People are understandably fearful, and I can only speak for our community here. We're just one small union in one state, but I want to say to our members, the guild's values have not changed. We believe in labor, in freedom of speech, civil rights, inclusion and equity.' She vowed to 'protect and push back politically,' reminding members that the union has already endured four years of Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Hollywood has been through a difficult few years, and writers in particular have faced incredible hardship. On the heels of the devastating wildfires, which kicked off a year that writers hoped might bring reprieve after years of work stoppages and a massive production contraction, Stiehm said the union is working hard to 'make these projects here in Los Angeles.' RELATED: The WGA and SAG-AFTRA embarked on dual strikes in 2023 that hinged on AI protections, and, unsurprisingly, Stiehm also addressed that in the room at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday. Recently, several unions have called on the studios to take legal action against AI companies using copyrighted work to train their algorithms. Since the writers sell their work to these companies, they have less recourse themselves. Stiehm reiterated this call to action on Saturday, urging the studios to 'please stand up and fight back on AI.' As further proof the union is working as best it can to serve its members, Stiehm added that the guild has recovered $78M in late pay and residuals owed to writers in the last year. 'If you're not being paid properly, call us. We'll get your money,' she promised. She continued: 'That is the kind of quiet but fierce work the guild does every day. The state of this union is strong. The Board of Directors, captains, the entire staff is a plus. We are brave, powerful, compassionate. Now more than ever, I am proud to be WGA and to represent you, our members.' Best of Deadline How To Watch The 'SNL50' Anniversary Concert And Three-Hour Special This Weekend Everything We Know About Christopher Nolan's Next Film – 'The Odyssey': Release Date, Cast And More 'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
