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Fran Drescher

SAG-AFTRA members chant outside Paramount Studios on day 118 of their strike against the Hollywood studios on November 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Jonathan Handel • December 21, 2023

2023: A Hollywood Labor Odyssey

What did we learn from a tumultuous 2023? As an extraordinarily challenged year sunsets, here are five takeaways.
Jonathan Handel • 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.
Jonathan Handel • November 16, 2023
Are Actors Overthinking the A.I. Threat?
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.
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.
SAG-AFTRA will almost certainly compromise on the key issues to a degree. And in fact, it already has.
Jonathan Handel • 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?
Fran Drescher has ceded some of the spotlight to chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who comes across as firm and determined but not ferocious.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • September 4, 2023
The Official End-of-Summer Strike Report
A candid conversation on The Eight’s strategy, Fran Drescher’s whereabouts, why Bradley Cooper isn’t in Venice, the interim agreements and more as Hollywood’s summer of unrest turns into an autumn free-for-all.
Matthew Belloni • August 3, 2023
The Studios-Streamers Coalition of the Willing
Why the AMPTP finally agreed to sit down with the Writers Guild and how there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic for Hollywood’s labor breakthrough of the summer.
Jonathan Handel • July 23, 2023
Hollywood’s Billion Dollar Math War
The studios say that they offered the actors a billion-dollar package. The actors say it was less than $800 million, and not good enough anyway. But the truth is that the AMPTP may have as many deal insecurities as SAG-AFTRA, itself.
Rep. Adam Schiff and SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
Matthew Belloni • July 21, 2023
Can Anyone Win Hollywood’s Labor Summerslam?
With Netflix pulling away in streaming and L.A.’s mayor poised to jump into the fray, the incentives for the studios and talent guilds to make a deal become even more complicated.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher with chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • July 17, 2023
Burning Questions on Hollywood’s Summer From Hell
The streets are full of picketing actors and writers, and our mailboxes are full of lingering questions. Herewith, an urgent mailbag on a crazy situation.
Bob Iger, always a master of his own image, has seemed to misplay the moment—even if he’s right about the dire situation that Disney and the other AMPTP companies face.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • July 14, 2023
The Nanny Steps All Over Bob Iger
An insider look at the deal points, red lines, and potential paths forward as SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and the actors join Hollywood’s writers on the picket line and at the negotiating table.