Industry & Labor

Marjo Bernay, the trailblazing labor leader and feminist activist who once led three Los Angeles-based IATSE locals and served on the board of another, died Sunday of heart disease. She was 79.

Over the past few years, Abigail Disney has made no secret of her concerns around the corporate policies of The Walt Disney Co., criticizing its compensation practices for senior executives and its treatment of lower-level employees.

The industry remains up in arms about Warner Bros.’ decision to send its biggest 2021 movies directly to HBO Max on the same day the titles hit U.S. theaters. But one group is probably pleased with the plan: Film pirates. “For sure, pirates are celebrating WarnerMedia’s decision,” says Abigail De Kosnik, director of the Berkeley Center for New Media and an associate professor at UC Berkeley.

On Dec. 5, a Los Angeles County-based restaurant owner went viral after posting a video of herself showing off her outdoor dining area, which she was forced to shut down after November orders from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In the clip, the woman, Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill owner Angela Marsden, pans away from her patio, its picnic-style table and chairs situated 7 feet apart to comply with COVID-19 restrictions, to reveal a series of large white tents with similarly distanced seating a mere 50 feet away.

Filmmakers all use the same tools, more or less, but do so with endlessly varied methods, says cinematographer Roger Deakins. That idea drove the master cinematographer, who won Academy Awards for Denis Villeneuve’s “Bladerunner 2049” and Sam Mendes’ “1917,” to launch with his wife James Deakins the buzzy behind-the-scenes podcast Team Deakins, a streaming chat show that has now hosted more than 60 film artists of all stripes.

COVID-19 forever changed many aspects of our lives this past year, and our collective media and entertainment choices certainly were no exception. The global pandemic fueled a massive industry divide where in-home entertainment choices thrived, while many out-of-home entertainment players, quite literally, died.

The decision to release Warner Bros.’ 2021 films simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters has angered many filmmakers, financiers, agents and theater owners, and deepened a partisan divide between old-school Hollywood types and tech futurists who believe the exhibition business is due for epic disruption.

Join Local 600/ICG Magazine for our latest "Deep Dive" virtual panel with the creatives behind Disney+'s The Mandalorian.

As COVID-19 hospitalizations surge in Los Angeles, a group representing commercial producers nationwide has agreed to adopt COVID-19 testing for workers on sets.

One of 15 founding Society members, and a key organizer, Phil Rosen served as the ASC’s first president starting in 1919, but almost immediately shifted from the camera to the megaphone. Yes, cinematographers transitioning into directing is nothing new.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — MTV Entertainment Group says it's making a $250 million commitment to spur reality production over the next three years by companies owned and operated by women and people of color.

Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner shot all five films in the “Small Axe” anthology, working alongside director Steve McQueen. “Lovers Rock,” now streaming on Amazon, is the second film in the anthology and focuses on reggae music sub-genre of the same name which was frequently heard at house parties among the Black community. The house parties were a celebration of love and Black culture.