Baltimore21201.Com - The Blog

HBO's Movie: 'Game Change' - Watch the Full Trailer, the First Full Promo Here

 
          Game Change, the HBO movie, the trailer

This new HBO film follows John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, from his selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, to their ultimate defeat in the general election. "Game Change" premieres on March 10th.

Lots of Baltimore folks might be on-screen. Could be fun. Watch.

Baltimore - Washington SAG Members: Merger Documents are Available

Here are the links to the official SAG-AFTRA Merger Documents.

January 31, 2012
Dear SAG and AFTRA Members:

As you know, merger referendum ballots are scheduled to be mailed on or about February 27 – but members of both unions now have access to the complete merger documents online. Full printed merger documents will also be mailed to each voter with the referendum ballot, which will be due for return on March 30. This will give each member ample time to make a thoughtful and well-informed decision.  Please click the below links to view the SAG-AFTRA Merger Agreement, SAG-AFTRA Constitution and the Pension & Health / Health & Retirement Feasibility Review.

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW THE SAG-AFTRA MERGER AGREEMENT.

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW THE SAG-AFTRA CONSTITUTION.

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW THE P&H/H&R FEASIBILITY REVIEW.

As a reminder, watch for the launch of the new joint website to provide members all the information they’ll want to consider before casting their votes. The website will include complete merger details, FAQs, and a comprehensive calendar of events to alert members nationwide to informational meetings and other opportunities for learning about the plan. Watch your email later this week for details of the website launch.

After more than a year of intensive work, we are extremely proud to bring you this historic opportunity. We also want to acknowledge the ceaseless dedication of the AFTRA and SAG members and staff who came together as the Group for One Union (G1) to produce this remarkable plan. We look forward to sharing all the details and answering any questions you may have. Finally, we are confident that SAG and AFTRA members will embrace this singular chance to harness the true power of unity, and that SAG-AFTRA will protect members and shape the entertainment and media industries for decades to come.

In unity,
Ken Howard, President , Screen Actors Guild
Roberta Reardon, President AFTRA

Postcards Were Like Tweets: An Early 20th Century Baltimore Christmas Card

     [signed in script: A Merry X Mass to you all (Will)]

What ever you have to say about good ol' Will, you can't call him sentimental. And, he certainly wasn't into waxing bucolic.

No sir, no snowy scenes of Baltimore, no holiday theme, no close-ups of churches for Will. Nothing at all warm and fuzzy.

He appears to have been a cut-to-the chase kind of guy.

I wonder who he was? I wonder why he was in Baltimore?  I wonder who his family was?

Vintage postcards fascinate me in much the same way that Twitter fascinates me. Both are forms of extremely short communication that can be read by most anyone who happens to see it. They both convey and publicly display personal messages, sell products, add to an organization's marketing mix, and many times carry photos along with bragging rights. Both forms of communication let friends know where you are, where you've been, and what you did there.

             Fort McHenry Centennial Postcard, Baltimore 1912

Postcard writers and Twitter authors use a form of highly abbreviated writing that would almost never be acceptable in another format. The language for postcard writers is actually called Postcardese. And, both postcards and Twitter can create a highly charged impact; sometimes the message is vital and urgent.

The postcard business in the United States became a full-on craze between 1903 and 1915, reaching its zenith around 1906.

And a look back at some of the early postcards is just plain fun, if not educational. Here's a 2-and-a-half-minute look at old Baltimore via the picture postcard.

 

One day someone may look back at your Tweets and photos and make a fun little show like this one. Hey it could happen. Remember that...

...every public tweet, ever, since Twitter’s inception in March 2006, will be archived digitally at the Library of Congress. That’s a LOT of tweets, by the way: Twitter processes more than 50 million tweets every day, with the total numbering in the billions.

Enjoy. And that's song is a cute little ditty, yes?

Baltimore Casting Notice. Urgent Background Call.

 

Taylor Royall casting for commercial shoot Tomorrow, February 1st.

Here's the email:

Dear Stephen,

Please feel free to pass this email along to people you know who might qualify.

We're looking for non-union actors to work background on some commercial spots shooting tomorrow, Wednesday 2/1, in Baltimore. Approximate call time is 6:30am and the shoot will be a full day. The rate is $250 flat.

If you are available ALL DAY tomorrow and would like to be considered, please email julie@taylorroyall.com with the following:

Subject: 2/1 BG work 

Name

Phone #

Age Range

Attach a current headshot/photo

We will be in touch later today with more details if you are selected. If you are not available all day/evening, please don't submit.

Good Luck! And to my fellow SAG Members, Remember Rule One.

Actors in Baltimore and Washington DC: A Joint Message from SAG and AFTRA

                               Looks like it's going to happen

Here's the joint email message to SAG-AFTRA members from our unions:

Dear Member,

This weekend, the SAG and AFTRA National Boards took a decisive step to strengthen our future by overwhelmingly endorsing a plan to merge Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

If members approve the merger, the new union will be called SAG-AFTRA.The vote of the unions’ National Boards came after more than a year of focused effort to hear from members about their needs for stronger union representation and to develop a merger plan to meet those needs.

With the enthusiastic approval of our boards, the decision now rests in the hands of AFTrA and SAG members.

Merger referendum ballots are scheduled to be mailed on or about February 27th – but all members of both unions will have access to the complete merger documents within the next couple of days on the SAG and AFTRA websites.

Full printed merger documents will also be mailed to each voter with the referendum ballot, which will be due for return on March 30th. This will give each member ample time to make a thoughtful and well-informed decision. We’re also excited to announce that on Friday, February 3rd, we will launch a new joint website to provide members all the information they’ll want to consider before casting their votes. The website will include complete merger details, FAQs, and a comprehensive calendar of events to alert members nationwide to informational meetings and other opportunities for learning about the plan.

Watch your email later this week for details of the website launch.

After more than a year of intensive work, we are extremely proud to bring you this historic opportunity. We also want to acknowledge the ceaseless dedication of the AFTRA and SAG members and staff who came together as the Group for One Union (G1) to produce this remarkable plan. We look forward to sharing all the details and answering any questions you may have. Finally, we are confident that SAG and AFTRA members will embrace this singular chance to harness the true power of unity, and that SAG-AFTRA will protect members and shape the entertainment and media industries for decades to come.

In unity,

Ken Howard
SAG National President

Roberta Reardon
AFTRA National President

------------------

And, in the event that you've been a cave for the past day, here are the SAG AWARD WINNERS with the press release from our guild:

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 29, 2012) - Screen Actors Guild presented its coveted Actor® statuette for the outstanding motion picture and primetime television performances of 2011 at the “18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®” in ceremonies attended by film and television’s leading actors, held Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center. The “18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®” was simulcast live coast-to-coast by TNT and TBS at 8 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (PT). An encore presentation was telecast on TNT at 10 p.m. (ET) / 7 p.m. (PT).

Honored with individual awards were Viola Davis, Jean Dujardin, Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer for performances in motion pictures and Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Lange, Betty White, and Kate Winslet for performances in television. Screen Actors Guild originated awards for the outstanding performances by a motion picture cast and by television drama and comedy ensembles. The Actor® for a motion picture cast performance went this year to “The Help”, while the Actors® for television drama and comedy ensemble performances went this year to “Boardwalk Empire” and “Modern Family.” Screen Actors Guild’s honors for outstanding performances by a stunt ensemble in film and television were awarded to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and “Game of Thrones.” Nearly 100,000 active members of Screen Actors Guild nationwide were eligible to vote for the recipients.

Dick Van Dyke presented Mary Tyler Moore with Screen Actors Guild’s highest honor, the 48th Annual Life Achievement Award, following a filmed tribute. Jessica Chastain introduced a film salute to SAG's regional branches, spotlighting memorable moments created by actors who live and work across the nation. Meryl Streep introduced a filmed “In Memoriam” tribute to the actors we have lost in the past year.

PEOPLE magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) hosted the Screen Actors Guild Post-Awards Gala for the 16th year. This exclusive event, immediately following the SAG Awards on the back lot of the Shrine Exposition Center, honors the philanthropic causes and good works of the members of the Screen Actors Guild. The gala benefits the SAG Foundation.

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards is produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors Guild Awards®, LLC. For more information about the SAG Awards, SAG, TNT and TBS, visit sagawards.org/about, “like” SAG Awards at facebook.com/sagawardsofficialpage and follow SAG Awards attwitter.com/sagawards.

The complete list of recipients of the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® follows.

18th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® RECIPIENTS 

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
JEAN DUJARDIN / George - "THE ARTIST" (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
VIOLA DAVIS / Aibileen Clark - “THE HELP” (DreamWorks Pictures / Touchstone Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER / Hal - “BEGINNERS” (Focus Features)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
OCTAVIA SPENCER / Minny Jackson - “THE HELP” (DreamWorks Pictures / Touchstone Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
THE HELP (DreamWorks Pictures / Touchstone Pictures)
JESSICA CHASTAIN / Celia Foote
VIOLA DAVIS / Aibileen Clark
BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD / Hilly Holbrook
ALLISON JANNEY / Charlotte Phelan
CHRIS LOWELL / Stuart Whitworth
AHNA O’REILLY / Elizabeth Leefolt
SISSY SPACEK / Missus Walters
OCTAVIA SPENCER / Minny Jackson
MARY STEENBURGEN / Elaine Stein
EMMA STONE / Skeeter Phelan
CICELY TYSON / Constantine Jefferson
MIKE VOGEL / Johnny Foote

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
PAUL GIAMATTI / Ben Bernanke - “TOO BIG TO FAIL” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
KATE WINSLET / Mildred Pierce - “MILDRED PIERCE” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson - “BOARDWALK EMPIRE” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
JESSICA LANGE / Constance - “AMERICAN HORROR STORY” (FX)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy - “30 ROCK” (NBC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
BETTY WHITE / Elka Ostrovsky - “HOT IN CLEVELAND” (TV Land)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson
DOMINIC CHIANESE / Leander Cephas Whitlock
ROBERT CLOHESSY / Ward Boss Jim Neary
DABNEY COLEMAN / Commodore Louis Kaestner
CHARLIE COX / Owen Sleater
JOSIE & LUCY GALLINA / Emily Schroeder
STEPHEN GRAHAM / Al Capone
JACK HUSTON / Richard Harrow
ANTHONY LACIURA / Eddie Kessler
HEATHER LIND / Katy
KELLY MACDONALD / Margaret Schroeder
RORY & DECLAN McTIGUE / Teddy Schroeder
GRETCHEN MOL / Gillian Darmody
BRADY & CONNOR NOON/ Tommy Darmody
KEVIN O’ROURKE / Mayor Edward Bader 
ALEKSA PALLADINO / Angela Darmody
JACQUELINE PENNEWILL / Lilian
VINCENT PIAZZA / Lucky Luciano
MICHAEL PITT / Jimmy Darmody
MICHAEL SHANNON / Agent Nelson Van Alden
PAUL SPARKS / Mickey Doyle
MICHAEL STUHLBARG / Arnold Rothstein
PETER VAN WAGNER / Isaac “Icky” Ginsburg
SHEA WHIGHAM / Sheriff Elias Thompson
MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS / Chalky White
ANATOL YUSEF / Meyer Lansky

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
AUBREY ANDERSON-EMMONS / Lily
JULIE BOWEN / Claire
TY BURRELL / Phil
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell
NOLAN GOULD / Luke
SARAH HYLAND / Haley
ED O’NEILL / Jay
RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria
ARIEL WINTER / Alex

SAG HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (WARNER BROS. PICTURES)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Screen Actors Guild Awards 48th Annual Life Achievement Award
MARY TYLER MOORE

------------------

Additional merger news will be forthcoming.

Baltimore 21201: Lookin' So Good at 3AM

Sometimes, when I wake up in the wee, small hours of the morning, I gaze out the windows at our view.

Have a sixty-second gaze with me. It's all kinds of peaceful.

 
              Baltimore on Sunday Morning, January 29th 2012

Views like this definitely put the Shama-Lama in the Ding Dong.

Baltimore-Washington Members: An Update on the SAG - AFTRA Merger

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 28, 2012) – The National Board of Directors of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO – a national union of more than 70,000 actors, broadcasters, singers, dancers, recording artist and other performers who work across the spectrum of media industries including television, radio, cable, sound recordings and digital media – today voted overwhelmingly to approve and recommend to the AFTRA membership a plan to merge with Screen Actors Guild.

The National Board met in a regularly scheduled meeting via videoconference in New York and Los Angeles to vote on the merger package put forward by the AFTRA and SAG Group for One Union (G1), which includes a Merger Agreement, Constitution and Dues Structure.

The vote was 94%-6% in favor.

The AFTRA National Board’s resolution will provide for the referendum material to be mailed to AFTRA members on or about Feb. 27, 2012, with a ballot return and tabulation deadline of March 30, 2012.

This time frame was created  to avoid interfering with the ratification period for AFTRA members to vote on the tentative agreement for the AFTRA Network Television Code (“Front of the Book”) – the union’s largest contract that covers programming in all television day parts (except for scripted primetime programs on the major networks and the CW, which are covered under the AFTRA Exhibit A contract) and programming produced for digital media.

The AFTRA National Board unanimously voted to recommend the terms of the 2011-2014 Network Television Code agreement to AFTRA members for ratification. Ballots on the Network Television Code will go out on Monday, Jan. 30 with a return date of Feb. 22.

The Merger package outlines the merger plan, dues and finance structure, membership requirements and other basic attributes of the successor union, including the proposed name for the new union, which is SAG-AFTRA.

“I applaud the AFTRA National Board for their overwhelming approval of this historic merger package. The partnership we formed on the G1 was one of collegiality and consensus that went into laying the foundation for a new union. This plan embodies the thoughtful work and valuable perspectives from large and small markets across the nation of many working actors, broadcast professionals, recording artists and other performers who all worked together in solidarity through the G1,” said AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon. “I thank the G1 for their good work, and the National Boards for their approval and we will now present this plan to the members of AFTRA and SAG for their review and approval.

“We now have the opportunity to finally stand united through one union to secure more union work and better benefits for our members, and for the generations of entertainment and media professionals who follow us," she added.

On Friday, the SAG National Board of Directors overwhelmingly approved the same merger package with a vote of 87.1% - 12.9%. With AFTRA’s vote, a referendum will be sent out for a vote by members of both unions.

In voting for the package, AFTRA National Board members passed a resolution that read, in part:

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Board, in accordance with its authority under AFTRA’s Constitution, approves the merger documents and the merger of AFTRA and SAG into SAG-AFTRA, a unified, powerful union committed to organizing all work in our jurisdictions, negotiating the best wages, working conditions and health and pension benefits, preserving and expanding our members’ work opportunities, vigorously enforcing our contracts and protecting our members against the unauthorized use of their work; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Article XX of AFTRA’s Constitution is interpreted so as not to apply to a transaction, such as this merger, in which all of AFTRA’s rights, liabilities, contracts and collective bargaining agreements will be assumed, without impairment or interruption, by a successor union; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that AFTRA’s staff is directed to commence a vigorous campaign to educate our members about the benefits this merger in order to secure a resounding “yes” vote in the upcoming membership referendum; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the National Board expresses its deepest gratitude to and commends the members of AFTRA’s New Union Committee and AFTRA’s staff for their herculean efforts and extraordinary work in completing the merger documents and concluding the merger negotiations.

The G1 began meeting in June of 2011 and held a total of five rounds of meetings to create the successor union merger package. The meetings followed an historic Listening Tour conducted by AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon and SAG National President Ken Howard. The G1 voted to approve the merger package on Jan. 16.

The Network Television Code contract generates more than $250 million a year in member earnings and covers a variety of media and entertainment professionals, including sportscasters, broadcasters, actors, singers and talk show hosts. Current programs covered by this contract include: “Good Morning America,” “The View,” “The Voice,” The Young and the Restless,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Nightline,” “Dancing with the Stars,” and “Late Night with David Letterman.”

About AFTRA

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO, are the people who entertain and inform America. In 32 Locals across the country, AFTRA members work as actors, broadcasters, singers, dancers, announcers, hosts, comedians, disc jockeys and other performers across the media industries including television, radio, cable, sound recordings, music videos, commercials, audio books, non-broadcast industrials, interactive games, the Internet and other digital media. The 70,000 professional performers, broadcasters and recording artists of AFTRA are working together to protect and improve their jobs, lives and communities in the 21st century. From new art forms to new technology, AFTRA members embrace change in their work and craft to enhance American culture and society. Visit AFTRA online at www.aftra.com.

Statement from SAG National President Ken Howard:

LOS ANGELES (January 28, 2012) — Screen Actors Guild National President Ken Howard released the following statement regarding the AFTRA National Board vote on the proposed merger with Screen Actors Guild:

“This is a terrific outcome and I offer my sincere thanks and congratulations to AFTRA’s National Board and National President Roberta Reardon. Professional performers are now an important step closer to the strongest union representation possible. Just as our boards have, I believe our members will decisively approve this merger and that SAG-AFTRA will be a leader in shaping the entertainment and media industries.”

SAG Awards - Tomorrow Night. A Preview of What SAG Members are Reading Now!

                    Awards Issue -SAG Magazine - 'Screen Actor'

Sunday, January 29th 2012, a select group entertainment-folk will win one of these:

                  SAG Awards Statuette, ©Screen Actors Guild

This is sneak peak for everyone: Here's your link to the digital edition of the Awards Issue of Screen Actor Magazine. Enjoy. It's a wonderful multimedia publication. And, it's interactive.

Friday Fun - Name this Baltimore Eatery

                              Friday's Mystery Dining Room

Will you be the first to name this restaurant dining room, long gone from Baltimore?

Hint: They served oysters over 20 different ways.

Please post responses as a comment, it you post them on Facebook or Twitter you ruin it for everyone. And really, nobody likes a Suzie Spoiler.

AND THE WINNER IS... 

my Twitter friend, @platypotamus 

The photo was taken at the Eager House Restaurant at the Emerson Hotel.

          The Emerson Hotel, Corner of Baltimore & Chase Streets

The storied Emerson was built in 1911, closed in 1969, and demolished in 1971. Here is a must read memory about the hotel and the Eager House Restaurant.

Late in its life, the Emerson Hotel had a Tiki Bar called the Hawaiian Room. Here's the menu:

                     Hawaiian Room at the Emerson Hotel

The best backgrounder on the hotel appears in Baltimore Style Magazine (January-February 2011). Here is the link to Mary K Zajak's article.

Tickets for Super Bowl XLVI - Available and Expensive, but for a Very Good Cause

                        Super Bowl XLVI - Incianapolis 2012

Here are the details from my friends at Charity Buzz —

You and a guest will be a part of the biggest game of the year when you attend the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI on February 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This package includes:

• 2 Tickets to the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 5, located at the West Gate, section: 236, Row: 13, and Seats 9 & 10
• 2 Tickets to the Taste of the NFL Party on Saturday, February 4 at the Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana including a performance by country singer, Sara Evans
• The opportunity to meet NFL Hall of Famers at the Taste of the NFL Party
• Signed picture from NFL Hall of Famer, Joe DeLamielleure

About the Taste of the NFL:

Since 1992, the Taste of the NFL has rallied the country's top chefs and the NFL's greatest to raise money in support of food banks throughout the United States. Held on the eve of Super Bowl, this event is a unique way to experience exceptional cuisine, meet NFL players and coaches, and support our fight against hunger.

The proceeds for this item benefit The City of Children Orphanage

Terms: The doors open to the Taste of the NFL Party at 7:00 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012. 2 Tickets to the Super Bowl on February 5, 2012 located in section: 236, Row: 13, and Seats 9 & 10. Cannot be resold or re-auctioned. Travel and accommodations are not included.

Donated by: CRCF Shinsky Orphanage

Visit Charity Buzz for additional details and to bid on this Super Bowl Package.