http://btlnews.com/blog A BTL weblog. Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:58:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Here's the announcement currently on the homepage for IATSE Local 44: Jennings Resigns, Pawluc Sworn In Due to circumstances both professional and personal, on Friday September 19, 2008 Secretary Treasurer Elliot Jennings submitted his resignation. On Wednesday September 24, 2008 Local 44’s Executive Board met in a called Special Meeting and voted ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/191 You thought there was only one critical election this fall? True, the one in November may determine whether you eventually wind up on the streets and/or in a "detention facility," but here in Hollywood we just had the SAG board elections, a kind of capper to Glitter Town's own pre-financial ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/188 John Adams and Mad Men lead winners at Saturday’s Creative Emmy Awards By Jack Egan With awards in eight categories, John Adams, the HBO biographical miniseries about the second president of the United States, was the big winner at the Creative Emmy Awards. Mad Men, AMC’s retro-hit about the ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/186 The languors of summer are behind us -- and still no settlement in the "SAG Slowdown" of '08, which, as readers of this space know all too well, has the unfortunate timing of following the actual "Writer's Strike" of '07-'08. kind of like the serial hurricanes in the gulf. Meanwhile, this piece ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/183 So, after we've heard the rumblings at BTL, after it's been blogged about elsewhere, today it became official: Tom Short, the president of the IA, announced his retirement today. What's left up in the air, however, is the next IA contract, since Short liked to conclude business early with the studios, ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/180 In honor of "opening day" for the cowled one, here's an article from the most recent print edition of "Below the Line:" Dark Knight, new day: VFX Supes Nick Davis and Paul Franklin on Batman's new minimalism by Mark London Williams Neither “The Dark Knight's” overall VFX supe, Nick Davis, nor Paul Franklin, the ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/175 Here's a rather interesting AP article posted over at the NAB Website. Note the paragraph about FilmLA and permits, towards the end. No mention if these were for features, TV, or commercials, so it's hard to gauge the "activity" being talked about. On the other hand, it could also be ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/173 This was from the Financial Times. And all we can say is --uh oh, you mean Hollywood isn't "recession" (or "depression") proof? Lack of bank financing will shut down the feature pipeline faster than any guild or union action... Paramount forced to suspend $450m financing The credit crunch has hit home in Hollywood ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/167 Someone we know who is very close to, shall we say, the top of things at SAG, checked in with some thoughts about the recent AFTRA settlement: Well, it ain't good, but it also ain't horrendous - a 62% ratification, while still implementing the contract, shows its holes. AFTRA appealed ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/166 I was in the middle of, well, working on a novel, when I was "texted" with the news: AFTRA approves by 62%! The Onion once wrote a parody article about novelists going on strike. Here in Hollywood, there are still some stakes involved. For now. But frankly, it hasn't been a ... http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/165