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Jonathan Handel

The preeminent expert on Hollywood unions and guilds, Puck’s contributing writer Jonathan Handel is an entertainment and technology attorney and former contributing editor at The Hollywood Reporter.

THE LATEST ARTICLES
AMPTP president Carol Lombardini.
Jonathan Handel • September 11, 2023
Will the AMPTP Crack?
With the dual strikes causing real damage and the companies pursuing divergent goals, holding the Hollywood management alliance together may be impossible.
The August 11 counteroffer was publicly released after eleven days, suggesting the counteroffer underwent little or no change during the negotiating sessions.
Jonathan Handel • August 28, 2023
Nine Issues for the AMPTP Studio Eight
An in-depth look at the studio/streamers’ counteroffer, and what it reveals about the duration of the strike.
Fran Drescher
Jonathan Handel • August 21, 2023
A Solution for Success-Based Streaming Residuals
A modest proposal for solving Hollywood’s data transparency and residuals formula problem.
When a service de-platforms a streaming series, how much does it save in residuals? Consider Diary of a Future President, the Disney+ series which first premiered in January 2020 before both seasons were withdrawn this May.
Jonathan Handel • August 18, 2023
Are Residuals Driving the Streaming Purge?
When a service like Disney+ or Max de-platforms a made-for-streaming series, how much does it save in residuals for union talent? The answer is more than just a hypothetical as the cutbacks continue.
When the meeting arrived, WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman and general counsel Tony Segall told Lombardini there would be no further negotiations unless the companies were willing to engage with all of the guild’s demands
Jonathan Handel • August 7, 2023
The Writers Will Script This Strike Ending
With the AMPTP chief reluctant and the Writers Guild recalcitrant, Friday’s meeting was doomed from the start. A historical look at why Hollywood union bargaining is so difficult.
Jonathan Handel • July 24, 2023
Hollywood’s Billion Dollar Math War
The studios say that they offered the actors a billion-dollar package. The actors say it was less than $800 million, and not good enough anyway. But the truth is that the AMPTP may have as many deal insecurities as SAG-AFTRA, itself.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher.
Jonathan Handel • July 3, 2023
Inside the Actors’ Strategy
Dissecting the latest SAG-AFTRA moves amid a last-minute deadline extension and Hollywood’s “hot labor summer.”
DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter proclaimed the new contract will “build for the future and impact every category of member in our guild.”
Jonathan Handel • June 26, 2023
Actors, Writers & A Delicate Strike Dance
As the Directors Guild ratifies its new contract amid skepticism from those who say it could have done better, SAG-AFTRA may not be as close to a deal as some expect, and the WGA remains “militant.”
DGA Negotiations chair Jon Avnet.
Jonathan Handel • June 12, 2023
Did the Directors Really Sabotage Their Sisters?
A close look at the DGA’s proposed pact with the studios and streamers suggests a way forward, despite grumbling that leadership abandoned its fellow guilds.
Is the deal as “truly historic” as DGA negotiations committee chair Jon Avnet claims?
Jonathan Handel • June 5, 2023
Strike Politics: What the Directors Deal Means for Writers and Actors
The devil’s in the details as the DGA makes a quick (and probably not “historic”) three-year contract, the actors weigh a walkout and the writers strike presses on.
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