Screen Actors Guild

Kartoon Studios Reports Strong Progress and Provides Business Update for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of 2023

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO of Kartoon Studios, stated, “2023 was a transformative year for the Company as we laid the foundation for long-term growth and sustainable profitability.

Key Points:

Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO of Kartoon Studios, stated, “2023 was a transformative year for the Company as we laid the foundation for long-term growth and sustainable profitability.
At the same time, Kartoon Channel!’s paid subscriber base continues to grow, providing us with high margin recurring revenue.
Moreover, our Beacon Media Group subsidiary has resumed solid growth and, in Q4 2023, achieved its highest quarter revenue since 2021.
The team of players now inside Kartoon Studios brings extraordinary playing records at Disney, Warner Brothers, Hasbro, and other leading organizations.

Award-Winning Actress & Performer Hannah Waddingham to Serve as Godmother of Stunning Sun Princess

Retrieved on:

Monday, April 8, 2024

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning actress and performer Hannah Waddingham will serve the time-honored, maritime tradition as the official Godmother of Princess Cruises' newest "Love Boat" Sun Princess. The star-studded naming ceremony will take place at the Port of Barcelona on April 23, 2024.

Key Points:

Waddingham joins an esteemed group who have served as Godparent to Princess ships: Diana, Princess of Wales (Royal Princess, 1984), Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales (Royal Princess, 2013); Audrey Hepburn (Star Princess, 1989); Sophia Loren (Crown Princess, 1990); Martha Stewart (Crown Princess, 2006), among many notable celebrities.
Earlier this year, Waddingham earned a BAFTA TV Award nomination for her own Apple TV+ holiday special "Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas."
"We're delighted to welcome the illuminous and elegant Hannah Waddingham to serve as Godmother for our sensational new Sun Princess," said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president.
"Just like Sun Princess, she exudes sophistication, beauty and wonderment through her inspiring work as a talented and award-winning actress and performer.

Kartoon Studios Provides Business Update for the Third Quarter of 2023

Retrieved on:

Friday, November 17, 2023

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kartoon Studios (NYSE American:TOON) today provided a business update for the third quarter of 2023.

Key Points:

Anticipates First Ever Break-Even EBITDA in Fourth Quarter of 2023, a First Since Its Launch
New CFO Brian Parisi Brings Strong Track Record from the NFL and Live Nation, Focused on Value Creation, as well as Growing Revenues and Driving Sustainable Earnings
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kartoon Studios (NYSE American:TOON) today provided a business update for the third quarter of 2023.
Mainframe Studios, Kartoon Studios’ affiliated work-for-hire and original content production studio based in Vancouver, Canada, has become an integral part of our company and our future success.
During this recent quarter, we delivered our longstanding production of BARBIE to Netflix, shortly after the blockbuster success of the live Barbie movie.
As of September 30, 2023, Kartoon Studios had current assets of $61.4 million, working capital of $11.8 million, and total stockholders’ equity of $74.0 million.

FOX Nation Taps Rob Lowe to Host and Executive Produce New Historical Docudrama Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party

Retrieved on:

Thursday, November 9, 2023

FOX Nation, FOX News Media’s streaming service, will debut a new docudrama hosted by award-winning actor Rob Lowe commemorating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, announced Jason Klarman, president of the platform.

Key Points:

FOX Nation, FOX News Media’s streaming service, will debut a new docudrama hosted by award-winning actor Rob Lowe commemorating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, announced Jason Klarman, president of the platform.
Entitled Liberty or Death: Boston Tea Party, Lowe will also executive produce the four-part historical series which will premiere on Sunday, November 19th.
In making the announcement, Klarman said, “The Boston Tea party was a momentous event that transformed the trajectory of American history and remains significant nearly 250 years later.
The Sons of Liberty, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock risked everything to shape a defining moment in American history, the Boston Tea Party.

American Picture House Corporate Update

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

SURVIVOR, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Writers Guild, TEXAS, SECRET, United States Housing Corporation, Screen Actors Guild, ASK, SAG, CIA, OTC, HATE, 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, LOS, APHP, House, Film industry, John Luessenhop

American Picture House supports the ideals behind the two current industry strikes -- brought by the Writers Guild of America (“WGA”) and the Screen Actors Guild (“SAG”) -- and joins the many reasonable voices urging for a fair and timely resolution.

Key Points:

NEW YORK, NY, RALEIGH, NC, and LOS ANGELES, CA, Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire – American Picture House Corporation (OTC: APHP), an entertainment company with a focus on producing feature films, limited series, and entertainment enhancing technologies, today provided a corporate update for shareholders.
American Picture House supports the ideals behind the two current industry strikes -- brought by the Writers Guild of America (“WGA”) and the Screen Actors Guild (“SAG”) -- and joins the many reasonable voices urging for a fair and timely resolution.
American Picture House commenced preproduction on two feature films, ASK CHRISTINE and DEVIL’S HALF ACRE.
American Picture House intends to announce a full slate of films later this year, including production of THE SECRET WAR, an historical-war drama based on CIA heroes in Laos during the Vietnam era, co-written by William J. Macdonald ( ROME , THE SAINT ) and John Luessenhop, to be directed by Luessenhop.

Entertainment's Biggest Night for Asians and Pacific Islanders Returns and Expands Internationally

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Unforgettable Gala, also known as UNFO or "the Asian American Awards Show," is scheduled to return to the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, December 16, pending the status of the current Hollywood strikes by the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America. Character Media stands in full support of the actors and writers on strike and is prepared to postpone its annual event to the first quarter of 2024, if necessary. This year's UNFO will mark 21 years of celebrating the biggest names in entertainment, arts and culture from the Asian and Pacific Islander community.

Key Points:

This year's UNFO will mark 21 years of celebrating the biggest names in entertainment, arts and culture from the Asian and Pacific Islander community.
"We stand united with those on the picket lines in their fight for representation, fairness and equity.
Guests at the invitation-only event represent some of the most influential API-led brands and leaders in business, innovation, entertainment, arts and culture.
Details on UNFO, including its official event date, participants and performers, are updated on its official website www.unforgettablegala.com .

Kartoon Studios Provides Business Update for the Second Quarter of 2023

Retrieved on:

Monday, August 14, 2023

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kartoon Studios (NYSE American:TOON) today provided a business update for the second quarter of 2023.

Key Points:

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kartoon Studios (NYSE American:TOON) today provided a business update for the second quarter of 2023.
Although the strike is ongoing, neither Kartoon Studios nor its subsidiaries are signatories of WGA or SAG.
As a result, Kartoon Studios is now less dependent on third-party networks for distributing our content.
As of June 30, 2023, Kartoon Studios had current assets of $91.6 million, working capital of $14.4 million, and total stockholders’ equity of $87.5 million.

What are Hollywood actors and writers afraid of? A cinema scholar explains how AI is upending the movie and TV business

Retrieved on:

Monday, August 7, 2023

The ongoing strikes by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild were sparked in part by artificial intelligence and its use in the movie industry.

Key Points:

The ongoing strikes by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild were sparked in part by artificial intelligence and its use in the movie industry.
Both actors and writers fear that the major studios, including Amazon/MGM, Apple, Disney/ABC/Fox, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount/CBS, Sony, Warner Bros. and HBO, will use generative AI to exploit them.
Generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence that learns from text and images to automatically produce new written and visual works.
So what specifically are the writers and actors afraid of?

The fear

Writers fear that, at best, they will be hired to edit screenplays drafted by AI.
They fear that their creative work will be swallowed whole into databases as the fodder for writing tools to sample.
And they fear that their specific expertise will be pushed aside in favor of “prompt engineers,” or those skilled at working with AI tools.
They fear that deepfake technologies will become the norm, and real, live actors won’t be needed at all.

On the road to the AI future

The use of AI by a major studio sparked controversy due in part to the timing and fears about AI displacing people from their jobs.
Further, series director and executive producer Ali Selim’s tone-deaf description of the use of AI only added to the sense that there is little concern at all about those fears.
Finally, Volkswagen recently produced a commercial that features an AI reincarnation of Brazilian musician Elis Regina, who died in 1982.
However, for others, the AI regeneration of someone who has died prompts worries about how one’s likeness might be used after death.

Keeping actors and writers in the credits

If the dismissive attitude toward writers and actors held by many of the major studios continues, not only will there be little consideration of the needs of writers and actors, but technology development will lead the conversation.
However, what if the tools were designed with the participation of informed actors and writers?
Answering these questions could give actors and writers the assurances they seek and help the industry adapt in the age of AI.

New Research by Horizon Media Reveals Public is Prepared to Strike Alongside Writers and Actors and are Intentionally Shifting Viewing Habits

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As thousands of members of the Writer's Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild continue to strike, Horizon Media, the largest U.S. media agency according to Ad Age Data Center 2023, released findings of a new study called "The Tipping Point," which sheds light on the strike from the audiences' ' point of view. In the 72 hours following the announcement of the WGA strike, there were nearly 800k social posts, and in the same period following the SAG strike announcement, there were 1.1 million related social posts. Although the conversations have slightly subsided since the initial spikes, the Tipping Point results reveal a sustained volume of high interest due to overall awareness and investment in the outcome. Horizon Media's WHY Group surveyed 600 adults 18+ and analyzed social conversation to better understand people's awareness of and reactions to the strikes.

Key Points:

Horizon Media's WHY Group surveyed 600 adults 18+ and analyzed social conversation to better understand people's awareness of and reactions to the strikes.
More than half of those surveyed were aware of the WGA strike (52%) and SAG strike (58%) – 11+ points higher than other high-profile labor disputes.
However, most notably, respondents are not only aware, but they're invested – with nearly three in four (73%) saying they care and are following the story.
It is also the most used emoji overall by people online to show support for the striking workers.

Computer-written scripts and deepfake actors: what’s at the heart of the Hollywood strikes against generative AI

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Working conditions, adequate pay, and the increasing encroachment of artificial intelligence (AI) into their professions.

Key Points:

Working conditions, adequate pay, and the increasing encroachment of artificial intelligence (AI) into their professions.
But in the current strike, the specific concern is a subset of AI known as generative AI.
It is crucial that an equilibrium is reached between protections for creative professionals, and the application of generative AI as a useful tool.

Remind me, what is generative AI?

What is significant about generative AI is the capacity to undertake the so-called “learning” process relatively autonomously and to generate original content.
Many of us are most familiar with generative AI as the technical process that gives us increasingly sophisticated deepfakes.
Generative AI has taken off in the mainstream through companies such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Meta and OpenAI.

So what is happening in Hollywood?

This would significantly reduce opportunities for people entering the workforce to gain necessary expertise in their craft.
Questions arise around how these works would be attributed, who or what would be given credit, and consequently how payment would be allocated.
But many experts and industry professionals see this proposal as alienating writers from the creative process, repositioning writers as copy editors.
One of the most dystopian scenarios to be put on the table by big studios has been termed “performance cloning”.

It’s also a question of copyright

With generative AI, consent is closely bound together with issues of copyright.
Comedian Sarah Silverman is currently suing OpenAI and Meta for copyright infringement.
She alleges their AI models were trained on her work without her consent, and were consequently able to roughly reproduce her comedy style.

We need collaboration without exploitation

An early example is David France’s 2020 documentary Welcome to Chechnya, which explores the persecution of LGBTQ+ people in Russia.
We need regulatory measures that enable creative collaboration with generative AI while ensuring creative workers are not exploited to further centralised power.
Read more:
The exploitation of Hollywood's writers is just another symptom of digital feudalism