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Jonathan Handel

The preeminent expert on Hollywood unions and guilds, Puck’s contributing writer Jonathan Handel is an entertainment and technology attorney and former contributing editor at The Hollywood Reporter.

THE LATEST ARTICLES
HOLLYWOOD • November 20, 2023
A Quick Fix for (Some of) the Actors’ A.I. Contract Fears
SAG-AFTRA can take some control of the playing field by issuing its own consent forms for digital replicas.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher speaks as SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland looks on at a press conference discussing their strike-ending deal with the Hollywood studios on November 10, 2023, in Los Angeles.
HOLLYWOOD • November 16, 2023
Are Actors Overthinking the A.I. Threat?
A close look at the three primary concerns raised by SAG-AFTRA members regarding how “synthetic performers” and other computer-generated replacements could threaten their livelihoods.
The 16 pages of contract language surrounding A.I. are by far the most intricate provisions in the new agreement.
HOLLYWOOD • November 13, 2023
What the Actors Really Won on A.I.
A detailed look at the tentative SAG-AFTRA deal, from streaming residuals to health benefits to the extraordinary restrictions on the use of A.I.
SAG-AFTRA is expected to respond or counter the offer as early as Monday.
HOLLYWOOD • November 6, 2023
What’s Holding Up an Actors’ Strike Deal
An inside look at the negotiations surrounding the A.I. issue and others that are preventing the SAG-AFTRA strike from (finally) coming to an end.
The SAG-AFTRA proposal that president Fran Drescher says she won’t back down from is also flawed.
HOLLYWOOD • October 23, 2023
A 10-Point Plan to Finally Resolve the Actors Strike
With SAG-AFTRA and studios set to restart negotiations, it's time to get real: the union should drop its insistence on a per-subscriber payment and instead propose a supercharged version of the “success” bonus that the Writers Guild achieved.
SAG-AFTRA will almost certainly compromise on the key issues to a degree. And in fact, it already has.
HOLLYWOOD • October 13, 2023
Can the Actors Beat the Writers’ Deal?
The WGA, after a nearly five month strike, got essentially everything the quieter Directors Guild got, plus more. Now, as talks between SAG-AFTRA and the studios hit a major speed bump, the actors want what the writers got—and more. Will it work?
HOLLYWOOD • October 1, 2023
The WGA Deal Ten Commandments, Part II
Five more takeaways after five months in hell, including the much-discussed performance bonus in streaming and why the wins in A.I. might be short-lived.
The WGA says the new deal contains $233 million per year of gains, which is almost three times the $86 million that the guild says the studios were offering before the nearly five-month strike (though it’s nowhere near the $429 million the guild sought).
HOLLYWOOD • September 28, 2023
The WGA Deal 10 Commandments, Part I
Herewith, the most important conclusions and long-term takeaways from five months of hell.
AMPTP president Carol Lombardini.
HOLLYWOOD • September 11, 2023
Will the AMPTP Crack?
With the dual strikes causing real damage and the companies pursuing divergent goals, holding the Hollywood management alliance together may be impossible.
The August 11 counteroffer was publicly released after eleven days, suggesting the counteroffer underwent little or no change during the negotiating sessions.
HOLLYWOOD • August 27, 2023
Nine Issues for the AMPTP Studio Eight
An in-depth look at the studio/streamers’ counteroffer, and what it reveals about the duration of the strike.
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