Producers of 'Biggest Loser' plan to bring in replacement workers this week, show's DP says [update]

[UPDATE: IATSE said Sunday the union and its various production locals planned to stage a large rally on Monday at the King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas where "The Bigest Loser" is produced to "face-strike breakers crossing their picket line."]

 

The labor dispute between crew members and producers involved in reality TV series "The Biggest Loser" could get ugly.

The producers plan to bring in replacement workers to resume production of the NBC series next week, according to the show's director of photography.

"The companies that produce Biggest Loser have decided to replace everyone with scabs and try and limp along as a non-union production," Vanessa Holtgrewe, director of photography for "The Biggest Loser," wrote in an e-mail circulated to colleagues and obtained by The Times. "These companies, 3Ball and Reveille, who have produced union shows in the past, are willing to fire 50 to 60 people that have worked for them for years."

Representatives of NBC and Reveille have declined to comment on the dispute and were not immediately available to respond to Holtgrewe's statement.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees announced Wednesday it was mounting a strike against the show, saying producers have resisted efforts by the union to secure union benefits for the show's crew members, from makeup artists to grips and camera operators. The crew walked off the job Monday, shutting down production of the popular NBC show.

The union, which this week picketed outside the Calabasas Ranch where the show is produced and outside production offices in Redondo Beach, plans further protests next week.

"Biggest Loser is the last big reality show standing that is not a union show," Holtgrewe continued in her widely circulated e-mail. "Survivor, The Bachelor, American Idol, Project Runway, Top Model...these are all union shows. We've been using union members' expertise, safety knowledge, and skill sets for many seasons, without paying the union for it. And now the check has come due."

Holtgrewe added that she hoped the dispute would end soon. "As the head of the camera department, I feel a responsibility to my crew, and I want us all to return to shooting overweight people sweating, crying, and shedding pounds. I believe in the change that this show can inspire within people, and right now it is very inspiring to me."

-- Richard Verrier

 

 

"Biggest Loser" suspends production due to labor dispute (Update)

[UPDATE: IATSE confirmed Wednesday that it was on strike against the show and its producers. IA International President Matthew D. Loeb said: “This is a top-rated prime-time television show, and the crew remains unified. "The strike is the result of a unanimous decision by members of the production crew that they get a contract similar to others covering these types of productions, and we are resolute in getting it for them.”]

A labor fracas has shut down production on the reality TV show "The Biggest Loser."

Crew members walked off the Los Angeles set of the show on Monday as part of a campaign to unionize.

The crew members are seeking to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents below-the-line workers in the entertainment industry, but the show's producers Reveille and 3Ball Productions have opposed the effort.

The standoff halted production Monday and Tuesday and no filming was scheduled for Wednesday, said two people familiar with the dispute.

Now in its 10th season, "The Biggest Loser" is a mainstay of NBC's lineup. Representatives of NBC and IATSE declined comment Tuesday night on the dispute, which was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

-Richard Verrier

 

 

 

Tom Walsh elected to third term as president of Art Directors Guild

The union representing Hollywood's art directors, set designers and illustrators has reelected Tom Walsh as its president.

Walsh, a veteran film and TV production designer, was narrowly reelected to his third term as president of the 2,000-member Local 800 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, known as the Art Directors Guild. He defeated opponent Nelson Coates by just 21 votes, the guild said Tuesday.

Also joining Walsh as newly elected officers are Chad Frey, who was elected vice president; Liza Frazza, who was elected secretary; and Cate Bangs, who is the new treasurer. The candidates defeated incumbents in close contests.

The election comes nearly a year after the guild completed a controversial merger with two smaller unions representing illustrators and set designers, an issue that figured prominently in the election.

The shotgun marriage was pushed by former IATSE chief Tom Short, who saw it as a way to strengthen the bargaining clout of the guilds and reduce turf fights among them. The measure, however, was unpopular with the merged locals, many of whose members feared they would lose their autonomy. 

Walsh strongly backed the merger, while his opponent did not. In an interview from Albuquerque, where he is working as a production designer for the USA TV show "In Plain Sight,"  Walsh said he would continue to "work toward unifying our members" and promote more continuing education for members on new technology. "Technology is such a huge issue for us in the workplace, and for too long the unions have not taken it seriously,"  he said.

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Tom Walsh, president of the Art Directors Guild. Credit: Art Directors Guild

IATSE and AFI settle labor dispute

 The AFI Fest won't have to worry about a "Norma Rae" scene playing out in Hollywood.

An ugly labor dispute between the union representing Hollywood's below-the-line workforce and the American Film Institute has been settled.

Last week, Matt Loeb, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, issued an unusually blunt denunciation of AFI, accusing the nonprofit group's management  of using scare tactics to discourage concession workers at its Silver Theater and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland from joining the union, which represents 110,000 workers in the film and theater industry.

The dispute threatened to to disrupt the AFI Fest in Los Angeles this week when Loeb called for a boycott of all AFI events, although he stopped short of calling for an actual work stoppage by the IATSE concession workers at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre where AFI films are screened.

But the spat ended on Wednesday when the union announced that it had negotiated an agreement with AFI to represent the Maryland theater workers. The agreement provided "significant wage, benefit and condition improvements," according to a statement from the guild, which touted how Loeb had "put pressure on the company by informing the public of the dispute."

The union added  cryptically, that "President Loeb was in Los Angeles and had planned to be present for any necessary activities."

-Richard Verrier

Photo: IATSE President Matt Loeb. Credit: IATSE