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3 articles from 2008

4 July 2008 10:35 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

A spokesman for the semi-official group that coordinates the issuance of production permits for location shooting in Los Angeles has taken issue with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which said that the impasse in negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild had led to a "de facto strike" in Hollywood that had virtually shut down motion picture production. Todd Lindgren of FilmL.A. told the Associated Press that in the five-week period ending June 24, FilmL.A. obtained 21 permits, up from 13 during the same period a year ago. "I wouldn't say it is the de facto strike that the AMPTP has mentioned. ... We are seeing the opposite." Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild on Thursday stepped up its campaign to encourage members who also hold cards in the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to reject a contract that AFTRA union leaders had negotiated with the AMPTP. Dual cardholders received an email message containing quotes from Sean Penn, Sandra Oh, Edward Asner, Justine Bateman, Anne-Marie Johnson, and Jobeth Williams denouncing the AFTRA deal. AFTRA has claimed that SAG has misrepresented the terms of the deal.

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29 June 2008 5:50 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Veteran actor Ed Asner has blasted his former TV bosses for ending his hit U.S. series Lou Grant because they disapproved of his political views.

The 78-year-old Emmy-winning actor became infamous for his role as the high-powered TV boss of legendary actress Mary Tyler Moore on her 1970s series The Mary Tyler Moore show, before getting his own spin-off after the pair's series was cancelled in 1977.

Lou Grant was subsequently axed in 1982 after its five-year run on U.S. TV network CBS - and Asner blames conservative bosses at the network for stalling his acting career because he had become increasingly vocal about his liberal politics.

Asner tells Fancast.com, "I said the people of El Salvador should be able to elect the government of their choice. I knew I was signing my death warrant.. the show was threatened with being blacklisted. Charlton Heston... called me a 'dangerous, dangerous man' and then the show was indeed canceled."

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27 June 2008 10:32 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Ed Asner, best known for his portrayal of Lou Grant -- first on the Mary Tyler Moore show from 1970-77, then on the spin-off Lou Grant from 1977-82 -- has accused CBS founder and chairman William S. Paley of canceling the Lou Grant series because of Asner's political activism at the time. In an interview with the website Fancast, Asner said, "Bill Paley was responsible for the cancellation of my show." Paley, he said, acted after Asner publicly supported a fundraising campaign for medical aid to leftist El Salvador rebels. "When I returned to L.A., I came under a tremendous amount of attack and the show was threatened with being blacklisted. Charlton Heston took me on and called me a 'dangerous, dangerous man' and then the show was indeed canceled." Asner did not disclose how he learned that Paley, who died in 1990, personally decided to cancel the show, which had won 13 Emmys. Asner said that, as a result of that experience, he has learned how "to pick and choose" his political causes. "I want to work as much as the next man," he said.

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3 articles from 2008