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Several Productions Shows Halted As A Result Of Strike By Film And Television Writers; Interview With Entertainment Attorney And "Hollywood On Strike!" Author Jonathan Handel; Georgia Legislators Requesting The Justice Department To Look Into The Shooting Of Climate Activist; Recovery From February Ransomware Attack Ongoing For U.S. Marshals; Several Hours After Wedding, A Bride Was Killed By An Alleged Drunk Driver. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired May 02, 2023 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: They say that on a per episode basis, these fees have gone down in the era of streaming. And so, they want studios that into account in their contract. And also, a show on Netflix or HBO Max or some of these other streamers, generally isn't as long as they show that would have aired on a broadcast network, usually there are about 10 episodes per streaming show versus the 20 plus episodes that were ordered on broadcast shows.

And so, writers want this taken into account as well. And this is seemingly one of the main sticking points because the AMPTP, the trade association that represents the studios, they're saying they were willing to move up on compensation and some of the other things, but that they don't want to be forced to basically hire writers they say they don't need. And of course, the writers say that they would like studios to, obviously, make sure that their profession isn't a temporary profession. So, they are calling for some assurances on this.

I want to read to you, John, a statement that the Writers Guild put out yesterday after the negotiations failed to materialize in a deal before the deadline. They said that, the studios' responses, to these industry challenges, have been wholly insufficient given the existential crises writers are facing. And they go on to say, the companies' behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing.

And of course, John, as you pointed out, we will see the immediate effects of this strike, late night comedy shows, like the one you just played from Colbert, those are expected to immediately go to reruns given there are no writers to produce their contents. And if this does go on for some time, those shows that were set to premiere in the fall could also be postponed. We'll keep a lookout, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: We are watching very closely, the picket line start this afternoon. Oliver Darcy, thank you very much.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: And joining us now is Jonathan Handel, he's an entertainment and the author of "Hollywood on Strike!: An Industry at War in the Entertainment -- in the Internet Age." Jonathan, thanks for coming in. I mean, you've been in this business for years. I mean, you wrote a book on the last major writer's strike that we're talking about. How do you describe and how do you lay out what is -- what this fight is really about?

JONATHAN HANDEL, ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY AND AUTHOR, "HOLLYWOOD ON STRIKE!": Well, thank you for having me, Kate. This fight is about compensation and precarity. In other words, adequate pay and making sure that the profession remains a sustainable occupation for people. What the writers are saying is that compensation is down or flat, you know, they have released certain numbers, they haven't released other numbers. You know, there's debates about some of it.

But, you know, they -- the fundamental issue, as Oliver pointed out, is the decline from a 22-episode model per season to a 10-episode. 10.2-episode, I think is the episode as the actual average. And what happens is, writers are hired by the series, and as, you know, any viewer knows, there are just tons of new series every year, scripted series, but they are paid by the episode and/or by the week.

So, more writers are drawn into the system, because of the increase of the number of series, but there is less work for each individual writer to do. That makes the business a much more difficult one to sustain. And in addition, the so-called mini rooms, these rooms with a smaller number of writers working together than was typical, those rooms also tend to often close before the show even begins production.

And the problem with that is for a junior writer, a staff writer, so- called, to move up the career ladder, they need experience doing production re-writes. They need experience interacting with director and with actors and indeed with editors. They need experience in post- production so that they are able to ultimately, when they got a good idea and a good pilot script, become sole winners (ph) themselves. Without that experience, writers are saying that they find themselves mired at the lower end of the career ladder.

BOLDUAN: The Writers Guild has described this as an existential moment. Do you agree with that? Do you see it that way?

HANDEL: I think this is a very difficult moment both for writers and for the studios and the streamers. You know, to take -- to point out the company perspective for a moment, and I -- you know, we need to be -- to look at both sides of the equation. The companies were dancing to one tune prior to March of last year, which was subscriber growth, and they were being rewarded by Wall Street for growth, for quarter after quarter growth in the number of subscribers. Netflix then hit a glitch in March of last year and had a decline in the number of subscribers.

[10:35:00]

And that decline, that one-time shocked the system, the investor community. And what Wall Street is demanding now is profits. And so, the companies -- stock prices were punished, they're still down about a third or so from what they were prior to this -- prior to March of last year, and they are engaging in layoffs.

They say, look, we are spending billions of dollars and so very expensive to build these worldwide platforms. To which the writers respond, if other spend billions of dollars building platforms which you expect to make profit from based on the content that we create, we need a fair share of that and we need a sustainable career.

BOLDUAN: It's interesting because Seth Meyers is kind of getting at that last night. I mean, the first -- because and that -- and we've been talking about is one of the first places is late night TV and that we're going to see an impacts on TV when the strike begins. Let me play a little bit more for everyone what Seth Meyers said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": A strong writing is essential to the show. It's essential to any show where the host, myself, is at best a C-plus performer. Really got to have the jokes. Look, no one is entitled to a job in show business, but for those people who have a job in show business, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living. I think it is a very reasonable demand that is being set out by the guild, and I support those demands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And one thing we have seen and one thing you have written about is that the Writers Guild has shown in the past that they can withstand, and they can -- they're pretty resilient, they can withstand a pretty long strike. I mean, do you think that is what we are going to see this time? Because times are definitely different though, right, Jonathan? I mean, we're and just turning -- kind of, returning to work in this post-pandemic world media companies, as you have just laid out across the board, they are tightening their belts. What do you think?

HANDEL: I think this strike is going to last until, at least July, and here is why -- in other words, eight weeks or so at least. The -- in the era of irrational exuberance, when money was like water, the company spent millions, tens of millions, and even in some cases hundreds of millions of dollars on so-called overall deals, which are deals with show runners who then become exclusive and they're trying to generate good ideas for shows. And if they get a show on the air then they get paid more and so forth.

You know, and we're talking at the very pinnacle. People like Shonda Rhimes, Greg Pallante and a whole host of others. But some of those deals don't prove out. They don't make economic sense. And if an event of so-called force majeure, an earthquake, civil unrest, or in this case a labor strike, shuts down the industry for at least eight weeks -- six to eight weeks in some case, on -- in those contracts, the studios and streamers have the right to terminate the deals. And we are going to see the terminations and forceable renegotiations, and then the companies will go to the street and say, look how much money we've saved. And look how much money we've saved not producing in this good quarter. They'll have a good quarter because of the strike.

BOLDUAN: Standby to standby. Thank you, Jonathan. Really appreciate it.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: All right. A new computer network is in the works for U.S. Marshals, months after a random ware attack on their system. Ahead, how the agency is still recovering from the February hack.

And, Democratic lawmakers demand action. The push for a federal investigation into the death of climate activist Manuel Teran after the Cop City protesters was shot 57 times.

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[10:40:00]

BOLDUAN: Now, to the situation in Israel where a Palestinian detainee has died in Israeli custody following a lengthy hunger strike. This is Khader Adnan that you're seeing here. Earlier we mistakenly showed the wrong photo of him on air. He is, at least, the seventh Palestinian detainee to die in a hunger strike in an Israeli prison since 1970. Now, in the wake of the news of his death, at least, 22 rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel today. But his widow is pleading for no violence. Saying, "We do not want a drop of blood to be spilled."

In other news, protesters took to the streets in Paraguay today to demonstrate against alleged election fraud. The third-place finisher in the recent election is among those claiming that fraud took place. Authorities say 42 protesters have been arrested, 10 police officers have been injured in clashes. And so far, the elected president, Santiago Pena, has not responded to the allegations.

And just days to go now until King Charles is coronated in -- at Westminster Abbey in London, Buckingham Palace has just announced that the king will be wearing clothing with some serious historical significance. Vestments worn at previous coronations, that his -- including that of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, and his grandfather, King George VI.

John.

BERMAN: All dry cleaned, I am sure.

Calls for justice this morning. Six Georgia lawmakers are asking the Justice Department to investigate the shooting of a climate activist during an operation to clear land near a proposed police training site. Opponents of the site dubbed Cop City fear or further militarize police and harm the environment. CNN's Nick Valencia is with us. So, what do these lawmakers want, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, these six lawmakers, all of them are Democrats, by the way, John, are calling for an independent investigation by the Department of Justice into the shooting death of climate activist Manuel Teran.

[10:45:00]

Teran was shot and killed by Georgia State troopers back in January during a clearing operation of the so-called site of Cop City. And it was during that operation that the GBI says the Teran fired first at Georgia State troopers. But an autopsy revealed by DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office is raising some serious questions. Principally it showed no evidence of gunpowder on Teran's hands.

Now, activists had used this as evidence to point to and say that Teran was murdered by police, and that it was more likely that the Georgia State trooper injured during that clearing operation was injured by friendly fire. Police have refuted that claim. But now, these lawmakers are saying, there's enough questions that deserves an independent investigation by the Department of Justice.

And here's the letter that they sent Merrick Garland which says in part, we believe that the ongoing release of information by the GBI in context with the report from the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office raises questions that warrant an independent investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Now, it was earlier this year that the family released an independent autopsy which they say -- shows that Teran was seated in a meditative position with their palms faced inwards when they were shot and killed by police. In the many months that this site has been protested, there are have been dozens of arrests, with some people charged with domestic terrorism.

And really, John, this has become sort of a national staging area for activists to come in from across the country to air their grievances with police, to confront police. Atlanta Police Department have defended this proposed site which would be about $90 million and 85 acres, saying that police and fire deserve adequate training facilities. The bottom line here though, is that lawmakers want and independent investigation by the Department of Justice. And this story is not going to go away. John.

BERMAN: Nick Valencia, we know you will keep us posted. Thank you so much.

VALENCIA: You bet.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: Fugitive hunters are tracking criminals and at least three major operations from Texas to Mississippi and Virginia. But a key tool in their arsenal is still not fully operational. In February, hackers targeted the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Tracking System in a ransomware attack.

CNN's Sean Lyngaas joins us now. Sean, what are they saying about the damage of this attack?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Well, Sara, we all think of the Marshals Service in terms of -- you know, I go back to the Harrison Ford in the "The Fugitive" movie where Tommy Lee Jones chasing him. So, we associate with, you know, fugitives, fugitive hunting, and all that importance stuff. But like any government agency, they can't do this with pen and paper. They have to have computer records of it.

And in February, this hack actually disrupted a key component of that system. And we're finally learning a bit more about this this week, because the Marshals Services telling CNN that they're still recovering from this hack. They had to take the system offline, kind of, rebuild it and put it back in place. And bit by bit, over the course of months, it's now getting back up to speed.

But in the meantime, it's, as you mentioned, up top, there's fugitives on the lam right now that they need to track. Now, the Marshals Service tells us that they are not hindered in their ability to do so. However, this computer system has been historically a very important part of the way that they do track fugitives and it's something that they're trying to get back fully online as soon as possible. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Sean, thank you for that. And over to you, Kate.

Coming up on "CNN News Central" -- I'll take over. The tragedy in South Carolina. A bride is killed just as she's leaving her wedding reception. Her sister is now talking about the shock and the heartbreak that's setting in for their whole family. That is coming up next.

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[10:50:00]

BERMAN: In Folly Beach, South Carolina, a bride was killed on Friday just hours after she said her wedding vows. Samantha Miller and her husband, Aric Hutchinson, had just left their wedding reception when an alleged drunk driver hit the golf cart that the newlyweds were riding in.

CNN's Ryan Young following the story for us. Ryan, what more are you learning?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, this is a tough story. When you look at the pictures that you see there of this bride and groom, they look tremendously happy. And when you listen to her family members, they talk about this was the day that she always wanted. This was a special day and she was enjoying it as well.

After this wedding, parentally, they got into one of those larger golf carts, John, got back on the road to go back to their Airbnb with the rest of the family. And then someone came along, driving a Toyota Camry, slamming into the back of this golf cart, sending it 75 yards off the road. And, of course, there were several tremendous injuries including Samantha Miller who lost her life. Police tried to give her life-saving CPR at the scene but that did not work.

As you can imagine, this has been tremendously hard for the family. In fact, several members of the family could hear the sirens from the Airbnb. They felt something was wrong in their hearts, they rushed out to the scene, only find out the worst. And as you can imagine this has just been tremendous.

Now, let's look at the woman who has been arrested. She is Jamie Komoroski. She's 25 years old. And she has been arrested and charged with possible DUI. And listen to family members talk about how heartbroken they are over this entire situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANDI JENKINS, SISTER OF BRIDE KILLED IN CRASH: From the moment she woke up that day until she left the venue, she told Aric on the golf cart that she wanted this day to last forever. He told us that at the hospital today when we saw him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:55:00]

YOUNG: John, it's hard to wrap your mind around all the things that are at play right now. The groom, still in the hospital, recovering from injuries will probably need another surgery. At the same time, he's lost his new bride. And so, all of this is happening in this small community. We were actually talking to the police chief earlier. You could hear the pain in his voice. The family has started a GoFundMe page for Samantha Miller. And as you can believe, people from around the world are donating. John.

BERMAN: I got to say, watching this wedding video now, it is just heartbreaking. Ryan Young, thank you so much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: A third knife attack near the campus of UC Davis has thrown that community really on edge. What the university is now doing to keep students and staff safe as police are urgently searching to find the person who is behind these deadly attacks. We'll be right back.

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