Industry & Labor

“When I first read it, I was quite scared of it,” admits cinematographer Tobias Schliessler of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” The script was adapted from the play by late playwright August Wilson, and its stage origins meant that the majority of the story takes place within two rooms.

Publicists with the International Cinematographers Guild have canceled their annual awards luncheon to instead support their Local 600 Hardship Fund amid the pandemic.

A Q&A webinar with Simmons is scheduled for Feb. 28, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.casa01001.org

Join ICG Magazine/ICG Local 600 for our next "Deep Dive" with Amazon Studio's One Night in Miami... on February 21.

Watching Spike Lee’s latest joint Da 5 Bloods, you’re immediately taken aback by how NOW it feels. How immediately it renders right in front of you. His film blends a decades-old story with all of the aggression, angst, and anguish of the modern day Black Lives Matter movement. As I’ve said in my review, it feels as if Spike finished editing it moments before you hit play on Netflix.

Telling the true-life story of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), “Judas and the Black Messiah” leans on historical authenticity. That was important to director Shaka King, who spent years researching Hampton and William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield), the FBI informant involved in the 1969 assassination of 21-year-old Hampton.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) and the Black Artists Group will host a webinar on February 16 that will explore the contributions of Black animation pioneers.

Donald Trump has been barred from future re-admission to SAG-AFTRA. The SAG-AFTRA National Board announced Sunday that they passed a resolution denying any potential re-admission applications by Trump. "Preventing Donald Trump from ever rejoining SAG-AFTRA is more than a symbolic step," said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. "It is a resounding statement that threatening or inciting harm against fellow members will not be tolerated. An attack against one is an attack against all."

Long the king of cable news, Fox News has fallen behind competitors CNN and MSNBC in ratings. The right-leaning network started losing viewers when Trump attacked Fox in November for correctly calling Arizona in favor of Joe Biden. Disappointed in Trump’s loss, some former Fox fans have left to seek even more right-wing content on One America News Network and Newsmax.

On Tuesday, Joe Biden demanded the resignations of all 10 of Donald Trump’s appointees to the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a powerful labor relations board, in a major victory for federal unions. Eight members resigned, and two were fired after refusing to step down. Trump’s appointees—a group of partisan anti-labor activists—had hobbled federal unions for years, sabotaging their ability to organize and bargain collectively.

"When I wanted to be a cinematographer, somebody said to me, 'Girls don't do that job,' " Disney's Mulan director of photography Mandy Walker admits, adding that she's recently seen an uptick in representation. "It's a little slower in our world, but it's definitely changing." Agreeing with Walker at THR's virtual Cinematographer Roundtable on Dec. 12 were DPs Damian Garcia of Netflix's I'm No Longer Here; Erik Messerschmidt of Netflix's Mank; Tami Reiker of Amazon's One Night in Miami and Netflix's The Old Guard; Joshua James Richards of Searchlight's Nomadland; and Dariusz Wolski of Universal's News of the World.

At the ballot box, working people pushed America in a new direction. Two years ago, even two months ago, the idea of a pro-worker control of the US House of Representatives, Senate and White House was far-fetched. Following the victories of President Joe Biden in November and Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock three weeks ago in Georgia, that is now America's governing reality.