Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight! It seems the spotlights on film and television sets across the country are primed to be turned back on, as actors’ union SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) finally reached a tentative agreement to extend and modify the expired collective bargaining agreement. That the strike lasted for over six months – the longest of its kind in history is notable and raises questions about why the parties waited so long for this breakthrough.  Perhaps the AMPTP thought they could win the war of attrition, but ultimately underestimated the actors’ skill at being waiters (many of whom will remain as such notwithstanding the strike ending). Perhaps SAG-AFTRA was satisfied that the wage and pension benefit increases and accompanying restrictions around the use of artificial intelligence in productions under the final proposal were indeed the “best and final” offer from the AMPTP. Or perhaps both sides felt that there were more compelling stories to tell and portray than that of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce (blasphemy, I know). Whatever the reason, it sounds as if we will be assured at least three years of a détente between actors and studios. Until then, let the champagne (and popcorn) pop and revel in that and other news in this installment of the spotlight.       

• • Death, taxes and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” invading the airwaves during the holiday season – those things are certain.  Another possible entrant might soon be copyright litigation around the lattermost.  Clearly, plaintiffs are misinterpreting the lyrics.
    
    
  • As the dust settles from FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried being convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges, additional pressure is put on the various athletes and entertainers (Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Larry David) facing lawsuits for their roles in having endorsed the platform. Short of settlement of the lawsuits for pennies on the dollar, the best outcome might be an appeal that renders Sam Bankman, freed.
    
    
  • Hedge fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is leading the charge on an $8 billion bid to bring a casino to Flushing Meadows, Queens right across from the Mets’ CitiField ballpark. If the move encourages wagers on the Mets to win, it might be the ultimate hedge.