Screen Actors Guild

BURBANK — With the countdown to the possible Screen Actors Guild strike approaching on Monday, city officials fear that losing the actors would hit an already ailing local economy. The main points of contention for guild members are future salaries and residuals in new media, according to the guild’s website. All Burbank businesses will have to cope with another revenue hit if the actors strike, at a time when gas and food prices are soaring, City Manager Mary Alvord said.

BURBANK — Screen Actors Guild leaders have urged their members to vote against approving a contract that their sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, made last month with Hollywood studios. “I plan on voting no whenever the vote happens,” said actor Perry Anzilotti, who has appeared in television programs such as “ER,” and is a guild member. The AFTRA contract broke the solidarity as joint unions and strong-armed SAG members into negotiating no matter what the terms, he said.

Although the deal reached Sunday between the Screen Actors Guild and producers is only tentative, we’re saying it anyway: It’s about time. It’s certainly a bit disconcerting that the offer accepted by the guild is similar to the one producers proposed 10 months ago, but better now for the local economy than in another 10 months. It hasn’t been a good past year for writers, actors guilds or the local economy in general, but hopefully this tentative agreement will become concrete soon.

While the potential labor conflagration smolders on between the Screen Actors Guild of America and the large Burbank entertainment companies, now is the perfect time to discuss one of the future contentious issues that should surface immediately following any form of labor peace. All official word dictionaries define the word “merge” as follows: “to become combined into one,” or “any various methods of combining two or more organizations,” and finally, “to cause to combine, unite or coalesce.

Imagine being a somewhat famous actor in your late 70's as you cope with your impending death, while looking back on your career and crazy life with your close friends. If you can form a mental image of that in your head and it sounds appealing, then I highly recommend seeing "Venus." Peter O'Toole stars as an aging English thespian named Maurice whose life is in the final act. Maurice is not alone and most of his closest mates are either deceased or dying. His best friend, Ian, feels death is just around the corner and agrees to have his niece's daughter, Jessie, move in to help.

Woodbury to host economic summit Economic leaders will hold a business summit beginning at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the Woodbury University Auditorium. “Navigating Today, Innovating Tomorrow,” a collaboration of the city, Burbank Chamber of Commerce and Woodbury University, is designed to highlight the opportunities available to local businesses, especially in the harsh economic climate. City Manager Mike Flad will provide a snapshot of local economic conditions, to be followed by panel that includes Warner Bros.

Closure could hurt businesses too As a 15-year ?resident? of the Magnolia Park Post Office and a 25-year resident of Burbank, I am disappointed to the level of outrage that there is the possibility that the branch will be closed (?Post office is being shipped,? Feb. 14). This feeling rises from two directions, the practical and the sentimental. Practically speaking, there are hundreds of Burbank businesses that use a Magnolia Park Post Office box as their ?home office.

BURBANK — As Hollywood gears up for a possible strike, Burbank is readying itself for the fallout. The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have been negotiating a new contract. The current contract is due to expire Oct. 31. The guild is seeking a new digital media pay structure and higher DVD royalties. If no deal is made, a strike could come as early as Nov. 1, officials said. Writers could be joined on the picket lines next year by other industry workers, as the Screen Actors Guild will be negotiating a labor contract of its own next year to replace the one that expires in June.

It takes three days to create a 16-inch-tall work of art at American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank that weighs as much as a bowling ball — albeit one that Hollywood stars would covet onstage. In anticipation of the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday, 75 actor statuettes covered in black clothes await transportation to Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles for presentation. The unassuming white façade of the foundry hides the workspace where the statues come to life, beginning first as red wax in one of two molds used to make the figurines.

The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists must merge, and the sooner the better. A voice like mine, a journeyman actor, does not carry very far into the hallways of Corporate Hollywood, but nonetheless, it is my voice, and I intend to express my concerns over the fate of my chosen profession! The astronomic box-office results of “Avatar” seems to have begun what could be potentially horrendous consequences for actors. A recent Los Angeles Times article implied that the fate of actors may be doomed.

Woodbury to host economic summit Economic leaders will hold a business summit beginning at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the Woodbury University Auditorium. “Navigating Today, Innovating Tomorrow,” a collaboration of the city, Burbank Chamber of Commerce and Woodbury University, is designed to highlight the opportunities available to local businesses, especially in the harsh economic climate. City Manager Mike Flad will provide a snapshot of local economic conditions, to be followed by panel that includes Warner Bros.

Although the deal reached Sunday between the Screen Actors Guild and producers is only tentative, we’re saying it anyway: It’s about time. It’s certainly a bit disconcerting that the offer accepted by the guild is similar to the one producers proposed 10 months ago, but better now for the local economy than in another 10 months. It hasn’t been a good past year for writers, actors guilds or the local economy in general, but hopefully this tentative agreement will become concrete soon.

While the potential labor conflagration smolders on between the Screen Actors Guild of America and the large Burbank entertainment companies, now is the perfect time to discuss one of the future contentious issues that should surface immediately following any form of labor peace. All official word dictionaries define the word “merge” as follows: “to become combined into one,” or “any various methods of combining two or more organizations,” and finally, “to cause to combine, unite or coalesce.

Closure could hurt businesses too As a 15-year ?resident? of the Magnolia Park Post Office and a 25-year resident of Burbank, I am disappointed to the level of outrage that there is the possibility that the branch will be closed (?Post office is being shipped,? Feb. 14). This feeling rises from two directions, the practical and the sentimental. Practically speaking, there are hundreds of Burbank businesses that use a Magnolia Park Post Office box as their ?home office.

BURBANK — Negotiators from the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to reach a deal on Thursday, days after the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists approved their contract agreement with the producers. The deal that had been put to the guild — what the producers are calling their final offer — is consistent with the one the artists federation approved earlier this week, said Jesse Hiestand, a spokesman for the producers alliance.

BURBANK ? The Screen Actors Guild agreement expired at midnight Monday without any new deal being reached, meaning that the movie and television industry is now in a de facto strike. ?Film production is virtually shut down, and television production is now seriously threatened,? said Jesse Hiestand, spokesman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. With no renewed contract signed, the old terms affect guild members still working, Hiestand said. In an effort to finish negotiations, the alliance released a final offer to guild members on Monday that provides more than $250 million in additional compensation, he said.