Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Hollywood gears up for more tough times in 2009
Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:30pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The economic crisis and the threat of another labor strike are creating a "perfect storm" for Hollywood as major studios to brace for further layoffs early next year, according to studio executives and analysts.
"Indicators for Hollywood don't look good right now, based on the economy and the potential actor's strike. Layoffs around the studios would not surprise me," said Kurt Scherf, an analyst with consulting firm Parks Associates.
Job cuts have already swept through some media companies. This month, General Electric Co's NBC Universal, home to Universal Pictures, said it would cut 500, or 3 percent, of its staff, while Viacom Inc, owner of Paramount, cut 850, or 7 percent, of its workforce.
Layoffs at those companies' respective film studios totaled 70 at Universal and 150 at Paramount, say studio executives.
Looking ahead, industry insiders see more belt-tightening at Walt Disney Co, Time Warner Inc's Warner Brothers and Sony Corp's Sony Pictures.
Sony Pictures' parent, Sony Corp, has already announced 8,000 job cuts chiefly from its electronics division, but various Hollywood insiders say they believe the studio will cut jobs in January.
Sony Pictures declined to comment, but a source familiar with the studio said it had already started lowering costs by reducing travel expenses, overtime and restricting the filling of open or newly vacant positions.
Job cuts are also expected to be announced at Warner Bros in early 2009, said one executive familiar with the studio.
"We are currently assessing our operations to determine if the company is appropriately structured for today's extremely challenging economic environment," said Warner Bros Entertainment spokesman Scott Rowe, who declined to comment on potential job cuts.
Two spokespeople for Disney studios and ABC network declined to comment for this story.
Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said in November that senior executives were looking at ways to reduce expenses companywide and that significant savings will be delivered. Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs said last week he and Iger were pleased with cost savings now under way at the company's four businesses.
Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild, is locked in a contract dispute and calling for members to authorize leaders to call a strike roughly one year after a 100-day screenwriters strike paralyzed the industry.
Another work stoppage would cause a major pullback in production already downsized due to the economy.
Jonathan Handel, an entertainment lawyer and blogger, told investors on a conference call on Thursday that there was a real possibility of a strike.
"If one occurs, I believe it will be long and bitter," he said, noting that a six- to nine-month halt to production would seriously hamper the industry's 2010 film slates. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Hollywood gears up for more tough times in 2009
Also on Reuters
Sketches behind da Vinci painting may be Leonardo's
Slideshow
Slideshow: The shoe incident continues...
Full Coverage: Reuters 2008 Year In Review
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Holes in Earth's magnetic cloak let the sun in
Piven leaves "Speed-the-Plow," blames mercury count
Father offers daughter to shoe-thrower
Fan death made "Idol's" Cowell think "long and hard"
First U.S. patient gets face transplant | Video
Obama picks new head of SEC, considers shakeup | Video
HIV infects women through healthy tissue: U.S. study
Obama promises to bolster financial regulation | Video
Hit film Twilight sequel will be harder, say stars
Pirates seize four ships in Gulf of Aden
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Sold! Marilyn's iconic images
Talk of the Town
Chrysler shuts plants
A new face forward
Madoff under house arrest
Talk of the Town
Obama and the Middle East
Bush ducks flying shoes
Talk of the Town:Madonna settlement
Lockerbie remembers
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Fan Fare
Ask Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler stars in the upcoming holiday comedy “Bedtime Stories". Do your kids have a question for him? Post them here and we'll ask him for you. Blog
"
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.