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SAG-AFTRA Board Approves AMPTP Deal

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SAG-AFTRA‘s national board is recommending the guild’s latest contract with the major studios to its full membership for ratification.

The board “decisively” approved the deal, tentatively sealed earlier this month, on Monday, per the union. SAG-AFTRA did not specify how the vote shook out. Now, the membership will need to vote.

Among the provisions in the new TV/Theatrical agreement, the parties agreed to merge the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and AFTRA Retirement Fund with an additional 1% to the contribution rate effective on the target completion date of January 1, 2028. The agreement also bolsters AI protections, specifically around consent and compensation, and establishes minimum rate increases.

Additionally, the agreement builds on our existing guidelines around AI including new provisions strengthening consent and compensation and establishing new and enhanced guardrails on synthetics including:

The full summary of the tentative agreement can be read HERE. 

The actors union managed to reach a new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers just one week into resumed talks. After negotiations began on February 9, the parties had previously paused to make way for the WGA in March. Both guild and union sources had told Deadline that they were not far off from a deal, but a few key issues — including regarding AI measures — still needed to be ironed out.

As we reported earlier, labor sources told us SAG-AFTRA has received a “sizable” contribution to its pension fund from the AMPTP. This follows the WGA, which similarly agreed to an extended-length contract with the studios and streamers last month in its own negotiations, accepting a multi-million contribution to its ailing healthcare plan. As with the WGA, there were a series of AI “guardrail” measures put in place between the SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP parties.

SAG-AFTRA has not yet released the full deal. Details are expected upon ratification.

The labor news will keep on coming as the DGA steps up to the plate. The Christopher Nolan-led organization sat down with the AMPTP May 11 to begin bargaining.

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Margot Robbie & Jason Blum Join Cinema United’s Filmmaker Leadership Council

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Oscar nominees Margot Robbie and producer Jason Blum have boarded exhibition trade org Cinema United‘s Filmmaker Leadership Council, a strategic group of producers and directors united in a single cause to champion the future of theatrical worldwide. The duo join council leaders Jerry Bruckheimer and Emma Thomas, and charter members Ryan Coogler, Brad Bird, Jason Reitman, and Celine Song.

The Filmmaker Leadership Council provides feedback and recommendations on pressing issues facing exhibition today—including consolidation, windows, the promotion and marketing of the cinematic experience, and highlighting innovation and technology. The Council meets quarterly. Former Imax exec Greg Foster is the Council’s Executive Director and a senior consultant for Cinema United.

“We are thrilled and honored to welcome two leaders like Margot and Jason to this influential group,” said Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United. “Margot is a global superstar and the voice of a generation who loves movies on the big screen. Jason is beloved by fans around the world for creating incredible—and scary—experiences in theatres. They are both well-known, fierce advocates of the theatrical experience. I want to thank them both for their commitment, and I look forward to working closely with them to advance this great industry together.”

“It’s an absolute honor to have Margot and Jason join the Filmmaker Leadership Council,” said Council Chair Bruckheimer. “Their combined impact on this industry is enormous, and I know they will help our efforts immensely.”

“For me, the magic of cinema starts with the cinema itself,” Robbie said. “Storytelling in this format can be incredibly powerful, and I truly believe movie theatres are essential to our art form. I couldn’t be more grateful and excited to be able to work with such a powerful group of creatives to continue to drive the theatrical experience forward.”

Blum added, “Movie theaters are where fans are made. Bold, creative voices are bringing young audiences back to the movies, and that’s exciting. Turning moviegoing into a habit takes all of us, and this Council gives us a way to do that together.”

This week, Blum will speak to members of exhibition as part of a live conversation at Cinema United’s annual Fall Summit gathering in Los Angeles.

Robbie is a 3x Oscar nominated actress and producer. She starred in Warner Bros’ highest grossing movie ever, Barbie, which made over $1.4 billion worldwide. She stared earlier this year in Warner Bros/MRC’s feature take of classic novel Wuthering Heights. She next stars and produces Warners’ Ocean’s prequel which is shooting in Monaco under the direction of Bradley Cooper who also stars.

Three-time Oscar nominee Blum leads Blumhouse Atomic Monster. Blumhouse has a first-look deal with Universal Pictures and has produced the highly-profitable Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Insidious, and Sinister franchises which have grossed more than $1.2 billion worldwide on combined budgets under $40 million. This past summer Blumhouse Atomic Monster had two movies which grossed over $900M combined on very low budgets: A24’s highest grossing movie ever Backrooms and Focus Features’ highest grossing movie ever, Obsession.

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The Now Agency Opens Social Distribution Network

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EXCLUSIVE: As the worlds of entertainment and brands move closer together, The Now Agency has a plan to scale content.

The New York-based social media agency is launching a social distribution network (SDN), which is aimed at helping brands push their content towards a network of more than 50,000 third-party publishers.

“Great content alone is no longer enough to win on social,” said Gabe Feldman, co-founder and Managing Partner of The Now Agency. “Brands need to think just as critically about how that content is engineered to break through the discovery mechanisms that determine its reach, and how distribution can scale that reach beyond a brand’s owned channels.”

In effect, the social distribution network will allow content such as podcasts, interviews, live streams, YouTube programing and other types of long-form content to reach vetted third parties, who turn the content into social-native clips and distribute them through their own channels. The content will span the entertainment, lifestyle, sports and culture spaces.

The Now Agency says content discovery that was once tied to a creator or brand’s follower base, but that platforms are now sharing based on signals such as watch time, engagement, discussion and shares.

“The opportunity isn’t simply to produce more content,” added Jonathan Chanti, Co-Founder of The Now. “It’s to build a system that gives every strong piece of content more chances to find its audience. Social distribution should be treated as infrastructure, not an afterthought.”

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‘Spider-Man’ Sony Universe TV Series Nears Amazon Order (EXCLUSIVE)

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EXCLUSIVE: Will the real Ben Reilly please stand up? Prime Video is closing in on an order for a new series set in Sony Pictures’ Universe of Marvel Characters based on the popular Clone Saga storyline from the Marvel Comics, more specifically the second Clone Saga story arc that focuses on two Spider-Man clones, Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, sources tell Deadline.

Reps for Amazon MGM Studios and Sony TV declined comment.

The new series, written by American Born Chinese creator Kelvin Yu, will succeed Spider-Noir, which was recently canceled by Prime Video after one season. It starred Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly whose alter ego was the title character. In the comic books, Spider-Man Noir is Peter Parker, with the identity switched for the TV series because of rights carveouts.

Details about the new series are scarce.

In the comics, Ben Reilly is a successful, stable Spider-Man clone whose name is a combination of the first name of Peter’s uncle Ben and the maiden name of his aunt May and who develops a superhero identity of his own, the Scarlet Spider. Kaine Parker is the flawed first clone of Spider-Man.

Sources caution that, while the comics serve as source material and inspiration, there may be significant changes in the screen adaptation.

There is some conflicting information, with some saying that the TV series would follow Ben and Kaine as they grapple with their newly discovered identities as clones while also facing other clones. (Another clone in the comics becomes the villain Spidercide.)

Others claim that the series may alter Ben and Kaine’s origins as clones, and they could take on new identities.

In what is considered Clone Saga’s most controversial twist in the books, Ben Reilly at one point is declared the real Spider-Man and Peter Parker the clone, a switch that was eventually reversed after backlash from fans.

Like Spider-Noir, the new series falls under the multi-title deal between Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television aimed at generating a suite of TV series based on IP from Sony’ Universe of Marvel Characters, most of them in the world of Spider-Man. It also will have a linear debut on Amazon’s MGM+ platform followed by a streaming release on sibling Prime Video.

Amy Pascal, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who oversee the universe for Sony TV and executive produced Spider-Noir, are expected to also executive produce the Clone Saga series with Yu.

As Deadline reported at the time of the Spider-Noir cancellation earlier this month, Amazon and Sony TV were continuing to develop multiple projects under the pact, with one of them nearing a series order.

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