Fran Drescher: Last News

Fran Drescher got fired up on Thursday when delivering a powerful message about SAG-AFTRA's decision to go on strike.The actress and union president delivered an impassioned speech at a press conference Thursday morning — shortly after news broke that the union voted to authorize a strike — and called out the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for making «Wall Street and greed a priority.»The SAG-AFTRA national board met Thursday to formally approve a strike after negotiations fell apart between the actors' union and major Hollywood studios and streamersThe actors will now join the writers on the picket line, marking the first time since 1960 two major guilds will be striking at the same time. The writers' strike began May 2 and is in its 10th week.Below is the complete transcript of Drescher's powerful address during Thursday's press conference.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic It’s the spotlight Fran Drescher turned out, unexpectedly, to be born for.  Speaking at a press conference announcing the actors strike Thursday, the SAG-AFTRA president, still known best for her winsome and haphazardly charming protagonist of the sitcom “The Nanny,” looked stricken. Speaking at first deliberately and then with increasing passion, Drescher narrated her union’s attempt, initially, to avoid a strike, and then what she cast as the dawning realization that action was required.  It was a performance with build and emotional heft, culminating in an appeal to labor across the world: “This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth,” she declared — and if that reads a bit awkwardly on the page, well, you should have heard how she delivered it. She continued to excoriate “big business, who care more about Wall Street than you and your family.” On “you,” she gestured out into the audience; on “your family,” she gazed directly into camera, to the unseen viewers out there at home, proletariat and executive alike. 

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher will be doing a tour of Hollywood picket lines tomorrow morning, after her rousing speech saying they were victimized by the AMPTP, which she called a “very greedy entity” and that the studios were on the wrong side of history.

officially going on strike and joining the writers already on the picket line, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher is taking a moment to defend herself against the recent backlash after a photo of her and Kim Kardashian appeared amid negotiations between the actors' union and major Hollywood studios and streamers, who are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).The 65-year-old  star traveled to Puglia, Italy, last weekend for a promotional event with the fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana. Drescher was spotted at the event after she appeared in a photo that the reality star shared on her Instagram Story on Monday.Backlash against the actress grew on social media as many pointed out the poor timing and «tone deaf» optics of the photo amid a potential SAG-AFTRA strike.

be joining Hollywood writers on the picket line beginning Friday, July 14.Negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), which represent the majority of actors in film and television, and major Hollywood studios, who are being represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), fell through after the Wednesday, July 12 deadline of 11:59 p.m. Pacific time passed without resolution.Actors will join writers on the picket line starting Friday morning. This will mark the first time the actors and writers will be striking at the same time since 1960.Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director/chief negotiator, made the strike announcement at a Thursday press conference following a national board meeting to approve the work stoppage. Crabtree-Ireland said talks with the AMPTP left the union «with no choice» but to move forward with a strike.«It came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads.

SAG-AFTRA is officially on strike.

Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt left the London premiere of Oppenheimer today (July 13) as a Hollywood actors’ strike was called.According to director Christopher Nolan, the actors left the premiere as the strike began (via BBC), after the event was brought forward by an hour so the cast could walk the red carpet.The national board of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) – Hollywood’s largest union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers – voted unanimously today to strike, according to The Los Angeles Times.SAG-AFTRA was seeking better pay and working conditions in the age of streaming, while other negotiations related to safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.Following a breakdown in negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), SAG-AFTRA members were told to be prepared to strike as they awaited the outcome of today’s vote.The Hollywood shutdown is first time in 63 years that actors and writers have gone on strike simultaneously. Actors will reportedly be on the picket line from Friday (July 14).“What’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher.

The actors strike is “probably” going to last a while, according to SAG-AFTRA leadership.

Amid the bad optics of appearing on social media with Kim Kardashian at a Dolce & Gabbana show in Puglia, Italy as SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP contract talks went down to the wire, the actors’ president Fran Drescher, along with the guild’s National Executive Director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, blasted “employers” at the SAG-AFTRA Strike presser this AM for stirring up the bad ink against The Nanny actress.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors, has officially joined the writers on strike against the film and TV companies, setting off the entertainment industry’s first industrywide shutdown in 63 years. Once the strike — which will start at midnight on Thursday, with picketing to begin on Friday morning — commences, the tens of thousands of film and television actors in SAG must cease all work covered by their union contract. Film and television productions will shut down, but the work stoppage has reverberations that extend beyond actors going to set. According to the guidelines, SAG-AFTRA members will not be able to attend premieres, do interviews for completed work, go to awards shows, attend film festivals or even promote projects on social media while the strike is in effect. They are also not allowed to attend conventions such as Comic-Con or 90s Con to promote any past or present work made under a SAG-AFTRA contract.

Fran Drescher is calling out the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Hollywood stars will walk off sets after US actors union Sag-Aftra announced its first major members strike in over 40 years. The decision came after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to produce new contracts for members on Thursday.

William Earl SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher gave an emotional speech at Thursday’s press conference announcing the union’s plans to strike. During her heartfelt words, she had many pointed messages for the AMPTP, including, “We are labor and we stand tall and we demand respect and to be honored for our contribution” and “We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.” Watch Drescher’s speech and read a full transcript of it below. “Thank you everybody for coming to this press conference today. It’s really important that this negotiation be covered, because the eyes of the world, and particularly the eyes of labor, are upon us. What happens here is important because what’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor, when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run.

Leaders of a Hollywood’s actors union voted Thursday to join screenwriters in the first joint strike in more than six decades, shutting down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down.Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, executive director of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said at a news conference that the union leadership voted for the work stoppage hours after their contract expired and talks broke off with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers representing employers including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others.“A strike is an instrument of last resort,” he said. Union leaders said at a news conference that they voted unanimously for a strike to begin at midnight.

The group represents Hollywood’s studios has responded to SAG-AFTRA’s strike call today.

SAG-AFTRA is set to launch the guild’s first strike against the film and television industry since 1980, and the leadership of the actors union are set to explain the decision.

SAG-AFTRA’s national board voted unanimously this morning to launch the guild’s first strike against the film and television industry since 1980. The strike is set to begin tonight one minute past midnight, with picketing at all the major studios.

officially on strike.The SAG-AFTRA national board met Thursday to formally approve a strike after negotiations fell apart between the actors' union and major Hollywood studios and streamers, who are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The deadline to reach a new agreement expired Wednesday, July 12 at 11:59 p.m.

The Los Angeles Times.It will mark the first time in more than 60 years that actors and writers have gone on strike simultaneously.Here is everything we know about why actors are poised to strike this week.SAG-AFTRA – is Hollywood’s largest union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers – and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are seeking an increase in base pay and residuals in the age of streaming, while other negotiations relate to safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.The WGA strike, which began on May 2, occurred following unsuccessful negotiations with AMPTP, who represent major Hollywood studios like Netflix, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Paramount, Warner Bros. and others.Since the strike was announced, a number of films and TV shows have shut down production in solidarity.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA announced Thursday that it is on strike against the film and TV companies, marking only the second time in Hollywood history that actors have joined writers on the picket lines. The SAG-AFTRA national board held its meeting on Thursday morning and voted unanimously to approve a strike recommendation forwarded by the negotiating committee, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, said during a press conference. “Union members should withhold their labor until a fair contract can be achieved,” he told the room. “They have left us with no alternative.”

AMPTP from the June 30 deadline through July 12, the actors guild formally called for a strike during a press conference on July 13 led by SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and lead negotiator Duncan Crabtree. With Hollywood already largely shut down this summer by the writers strike, which has been ongoing since May 2, the actors strike will complicate things even further. First and foremost, all production will now be forced to shut down completely. Prior to this, some projects had managed to stay up and running by working off of already completed scripts and simply not having any writers on set — including big-budget productions like the second season of HBO’s “House of the Dragon.” Amazon just recently wrapped filming on Season 2 of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” in the U.K., making it one of the priciest shows to come in under the wire. Variety has confirmed that “House of the Dragon” will remain in production, however.