Tag: Bryan Cranston

  • Bryan Cranston, Jessica Chastain join star-studded Times Square rally of striking actors and writers

    By Associated Press

    NEW YORK: SAG-AFTRA held its largest and most star-studded rally yet Tuesday in Times Square in a picket sign-waving show of solidarity 12 days into the actors strike.

    A day after a Variety report questioned the lack of A-listers that have hit picket lines thus far, the rally Tuesday boasted more star wattage than perhaps any single strike action yet. Among those joining throngs of demonstrators were Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Brendan Fraser, Ellen Burstyn, Wendell Pierce, Steve Buscemi, Rachel Zegler, Michael Shannon, Jane Curtin, Christian Slater and Chloe Grace Moretz.

    Taking up a full city block, actors and representatives from the actors union took turns giving fiery speeches on a stage in the heart of Times Square while tourists gawked and passing trucks honked in support. At times, the actors took aim at the corporate lights and billboards around them, including the Walt Disney-owned ESPN and ABC studios that sat alongside the rally.

    “We’ve got a message to Mr. Iger,” said Cranston, directing his comments at Disney CEO Bob Iger. “I know, sir, that you look through things from a different lens. We don’t expect you to understand who we are but we ask you to hear us, and beyond that, to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living.”

    ALSO READ | Combined strike by Hollywood actors, writers enter second week

    The rally took place a stone’s throw from Broadway theaters and, given the talent involved, featured a higher degree of show business than your usual labor rally. “Avatar” actor Stephen Lang quoted Frederick Douglass. Wendell Pierce recited Samuel Beckett. Tituss Burgess didn’t speak; he sang Stephen Sondheim.

    Arian Moayed, who played the investor Stewy Hosseini in “Succession,” compared the characters of the HBO series to the studio executives the actors are negotiating with.

    “It’s like these people haven’t seen (expletive) ‘Succession,’” Moayed exclaimed. “It’s about you!”

    Christine Baranski of “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight” likewise drew from her own credits.

    “We will not live under corporate feudalism. It is time, it is just simply time to make things right. Our contribution will not be undervalued, and we will not be robbed,” said Baranski before concluding: “Let’s fight the good fight!”

    Earlier this month, actors joined striking screenwriters who walked out in May. It’s the first time both unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960. The stoppage has shuttered nearly all film and television production. Actors say the streaming revolution has altered pay in entertainment, stripping them of residuals and remaking working conditions. They are also seeking guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence, along with increases to the union’s health care and pension programs.

    “Our industry has changed exponentially,” said Cranston. “We are not in the same business model that we were in even 10 years ago. And yet, even though they admit that that’s the truth in today’s economy, they are fighting us tooth and nail to stick to the same economic system that is outmoded, outdated. They want us to step back in time.”

    ALSO READ | This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike; here’s how past strikes turned out

    The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is negotiating on behalf of studios, has said it presented actors with a generous deal that included the biggest bump in minimum pay in 35 years among other benefits. Since talks broke off and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists commenced the strike, the sides have not negotiated and no talks are scheduled.

    “We may be on strike but I said to them on July 12 we are ready to continue talking tomorrow and every day after until we reach a deal,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. “And I’ve said that every day since to the media, to them, to anyone who would listen. SAG-AFTRA is ready, willing and able to return to the bargaining table.

    “The only reason we aren’t there now is because those companies said that they didn’t want to deal with people who were uncivilized and because those companies said they wouldn’t be ready to talk for quite some time,” added Crabtree-Ireland.

    Many actors Tuesday cast the strike in personal terms. Slater said the union’s health care helped sustain his father’s life. Slater’s father, the actor Michael Hawkins, died last November. Liza Colón-Zayas, the 51-year-old Bronx-born actor of the Hulu hit series “The Bear,” said her lifetime of hard work isn’t paying off.

    “I have struggled 35 years to get here only to find residuals have dwindled exponentially,” said Colón-Zayas. “If you can announce the highest-viewed this and the highest profits in that, then you can track our residuals. So we need to come to the table but we need to come to the table in good faith that there will be transparency in how we are being paid by streaming. We need you to open the books.”

    NEW YORK: SAG-AFTRA held its largest and most star-studded rally yet Tuesday in Times Square in a picket sign-waving show of solidarity 12 days into the actors strike.

    A day after a Variety report questioned the lack of A-listers that have hit picket lines thus far, the rally Tuesday boasted more star wattage than perhaps any single strike action yet. Among those joining throngs of demonstrators were Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Brendan Fraser, Ellen Burstyn, Wendell Pierce, Steve Buscemi, Rachel Zegler, Michael Shannon, Jane Curtin, Christian Slater and Chloe Grace Moretz.

    Taking up a full city block, actors and representatives from the actors union took turns giving fiery speeches on a stage in the heart of Times Square while tourists gawked and passing trucks honked in support. At times, the actors took aim at the corporate lights and billboards around them, including the Walt Disney-owned ESPN and ABC studios that sat alongside the rally.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “We’ve got a message to Mr. Iger,” said Cranston, directing his comments at Disney CEO Bob Iger. “I know, sir, that you look through things from a different lens. We don’t expect you to understand who we are but we ask you to hear us, and beyond that, to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living.”

    ALSO READ | Combined strike by Hollywood actors, writers enter second week

    The rally took place a stone’s throw from Broadway theaters and, given the talent involved, featured a higher degree of show business than your usual labor rally. “Avatar” actor Stephen Lang quoted Frederick Douglass. Wendell Pierce recited Samuel Beckett. Tituss Burgess didn’t speak; he sang Stephen Sondheim.

    Arian Moayed, who played the investor Stewy Hosseini in “Succession,” compared the characters of the HBO series to the studio executives the actors are negotiating with.

    “It’s like these people haven’t seen (expletive) ‘Succession,’” Moayed exclaimed. “It’s about you!”

    Christine Baranski of “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight” likewise drew from her own credits.

    “We will not live under corporate feudalism. It is time, it is just simply time to make things right. Our contribution will not be undervalued, and we will not be robbed,” said Baranski before concluding: “Let’s fight the good fight!”

    Earlier this month, actors joined striking screenwriters who walked out in May. It’s the first time both unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960. The stoppage has shuttered nearly all film and television production. Actors say the streaming revolution has altered pay in entertainment, stripping them of residuals and remaking working conditions. They are also seeking guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence, along with increases to the union’s health care and pension programs.

    “Our industry has changed exponentially,” said Cranston. “We are not in the same business model that we were in even 10 years ago. And yet, even though they admit that that’s the truth in today’s economy, they are fighting us tooth and nail to stick to the same economic system that is outmoded, outdated. They want us to step back in time.”

    ALSO READ | This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike; here’s how past strikes turned out

    The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is negotiating on behalf of studios, has said it presented actors with a generous deal that included the biggest bump in minimum pay in 35 years among other benefits. Since talks broke off and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists commenced the strike, the sides have not negotiated and no talks are scheduled.

    “We may be on strike but I said to them on July 12 we are ready to continue talking tomorrow and every day after until we reach a deal,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. “And I’ve said that every day since to the media, to them, to anyone who would listen. SAG-AFTRA is ready, willing and able to return to the bargaining table.

    “The only reason we aren’t there now is because those companies said that they didn’t want to deal with people who were uncivilized and because those companies said they wouldn’t be ready to talk for quite some time,” added Crabtree-Ireland.

    Many actors Tuesday cast the strike in personal terms. Slater said the union’s health care helped sustain his father’s life. Slater’s father, the actor Michael Hawkins, died last November. Liza Colón-Zayas, the 51-year-old Bronx-born actor of the Hulu hit series “The Bear,” said her lifetime of hard work isn’t paying off.

    “I have struggled 35 years to get here only to find residuals have dwindled exponentially,” said Colón-Zayas. “If you can announce the highest-viewed this and the highest profits in that, then you can track our residuals. So we need to come to the table but we need to come to the table in good faith that there will be transparency in how we are being paid by streaming. We need you to open the books.”

  • ‘Breaking Bad’ actor Bryan Cranston’s legal thriller ‘Your Honor’ renewed for season two

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: “Your Honor”, a legal thriller starring “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston, is returning for a second run on Showtime.

    According to Variety, the new season will consist of 10 episodes and will start production next year.

    Originally set up as a limited series, the second season will see Cranston return as respected New Orleans judge Michael Desiato.

    In season one, Desiato’s son is involved in a hit-and-run that leads to a high-stakes game of lies, deceit and impossible choices.

    Peter Moffat, known for acclaimed “The Night of”, will also return as writer, showrunner, and executive producer.

    Gary Levine, co-president of entertainment for Showtime, said like other fans of the show, he is excited about the new chapter.

    “We were blown away by ‘Your Honor’, by the power of Peter’s storytelling, by the depth of Bryan’s performance, and by the overwhelming reaction from our subscribers who watched in record numbers.

    “Imagine our delight when we learned that Peter believed he had more story to tell and Bryan felt he had more depths to plumb.

    So, along with its millions of fans, I am gleefully shouting ‘Encore!’” Levine said.

    Season one also starred Hope Davis, Michael Stuhlbarg, Hunter Doohan, Carmen Ejogo, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Maura Tierney, Amy Landecker, Margo Martindale, Lorraine Toussaint, Benjamin Flores Jr, Chet Hanks, Lamar Johnson, and Lilli Kay.

    CBS Studios produces the show in association with KingSize.

    “Your Honor” is based on the Israeli series “Kvodo” created by Ron Ninio and Shlomo Mashiach.

    It also got an Indian adaptation, a Sony LIV series which starred actor Jimmy Sheirgill in the lead role.

  • Dua Lipa to make acting debut in ‘Argylle’ alongside Henry Cavill, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L Jackson

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: English filmmaker Matthew Vaughn has set an ensemble cast, including Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L Jackson, for his upcoming spy movie “Argylle”. Additionally, British pop sensation Dua Lipa will make her acting debut with the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    The big-budget action film, which Vaughn will direct and produce through his banner Marv, will start production in Europe in August.

    Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell, veteran actor Catherine O’Hara and “Fast and Furious 9” star John Cena are also part of the cast.

    The film, based on an upcoming spy novel of the same name from author Ellie Conway, follows Argylle, “the world’s greatest spy” as he is caught up in a globe-trotting adventure.

    The movie will be the first of at least three films in the franchise and is set in America, London and multiple locations across the world.

    Conway’s thriller novel is set to be published next year by Transworld Publishers Ltd, a division of Penguin Random House.

    Jason Fuchs is writing the script and he will also serve as executive producer alongside Adam Bohling, David Reid, Zygi Kamasa, Carlos Peres, Claudia Vaughn and Adam Fishbach.

    Vaughn is currently awaiting the release of “The King’s Man”, the prequel to his blockbuster “Kingsman” movies.

    The film, starring Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Bruhl, Djimon Hounsou, and Charles Dance, is scheduled to be released theatrically by Disney in December 2021.

  • Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening to headline ‘Jerry And Marge Go Large’

    By Express News Service
    Actors Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening have been roped in to star in Jerry And Marge Go Large.Set to be directed by David Frankel with a script by Brad Copeland, the film is a true story inspiration. It follows a retired Michigan couple who help revitalize their community by playing and winning the Massachusetts lottery.

    It is based on the real-life story of retiree Jerry Selbee, who discovered a mathematical loophole in the Massachusetts lottery. With the help of his wife Marge, he won $27 million dollars and used the money to revive their small Michigan town.

    The film will be produced by Gil Netter, Levantine Films and executive produced by Kevin Halloran. Amy Baer will also produce via MRC Film’s Landline Pictures. The film is the label’s maiden feature production. Netter, Tory Metzger and Renee Witt from Levantine Films developed the film based on an original article by Jason Fagone for The Huffington Post.

    The principal production of the film is set to begin next month in Georgia. Cranston is best known for portraying Walter White on the popular TV show Breaking Bad.

    He most recently starred in the limited series Your Honor, Disney’s feature film The One and Only Ivan, and reprised his role as Walter White in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. He also starred opposite Kevin Hart and Nicole Kidman in The Upside.