Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers

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Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
AbbreviationAMPTP
Founded1924;100 years ago (1924)
Type Trade association
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Location
  • United States
Membership
350+
President
Carol Lombardini
Affiliations MPA
Website www.amptp.org
Formerly called
Association of Motion Picture Producers

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) [lower-alpha 1] is a trade association based in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, that represents over 350 American television and film production companies in collective bargaining negotiations with entertainment industry trade unions that include, among others, SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America West and East, the American Federation of Musicians, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. [2]

Contents

Overview

As the entertainment industry's official collective bargaining representative, [3] the AMPTP, like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), is a key trade association for major film and television producers in the United States. The AMPTP currently negotiates 80 industry-wide collective bargaining agreements on behalf of over 350 motion picture and television producers. AMPTP member companies include the major motion picture studios (including Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros.), the principal broadcast television networks (including ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC), streaming services like Netflix, Apple TV+, [4] and Amazon, [4] [5] certain cable television networks, and other independent film and television production companies.[ citation needed ]

History

The AMPTP was founded in 1924 as the Association of Motion Picture Producers (AMPP). [1] It merged with the Alliance of Television Film Producers (ATFP) in 1964 [lower-alpha 2] and was renamed the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. [7] In 1966, it also merged with the Society of Independent Producers (formed in 1964). [8] In September 1975, Universal quit the Association during craft negotiations and United Artists and Walt Disney Productions also notified the Association of their intention to withdraw the following month. [9] Paramount and Universal formed a new organization, the Alliance. In 1982, the Alliance and the AMPTP merged to form the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. [7]

Since the formation of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in 1982, [10] there have only been two presidents. Nick Counter was president of the AMPTP from 1982 until March 2009. [11] With Counter's March 2009 retirement, Carol Lombardini took over on an interim basis until becoming permanent president seven months later in October. [12] [13]

The AMPTP was an affiliate of the MPAA and Jack Valenti was president of both organisations. [14] [9]

Other former presidents and chairmen have included Joseph Schenck, [15] Lew Wasserman, [16] Sid Sheinberg, [9] Y. Frank Freeman [17] and Richard Jencks. [18]

Jarryd Gonzales served as AMPTP's spokesperson from 2015 to 2023. [19] [20]

In October 2023, it was announced that over two thousand producers signed a petition to drop the word "producers" from the name of the company, saying it was "left over from a long-gone era". They feel that it no longer reflects the producers, but the CEOs of the studios. [21] [22]

Post Production Guild

In 2022, post-production workers in New York City, represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) under the name The Post Production Guild, signed union cards and asked AMPTP for voluntary union recognition. AMPTP declined to voluntarily recognize the union, saying they support "a secret ballot election process by which a union can become certified as the collective bargaining representative of employees". The CWA referred to AMPTP as "anti-union", alleging the workers are "supervisors" and ineligible for representation by the National Labor Relations Board. The group filed for a union election on March 8, 2022. [23]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Formerly the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. [1]
  2. ↑ Founded in 1951. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) Records". Margaret Herrick Library. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. ↑ "AMPTP". www.amptp.org. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  3. ↑ Hess, John P. (September 3, 2012). "A Guide to Hollywood Unions". FilmmakerIQ.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Tran, Diep (October 20, 2021). "What We Know So Far About the IATSE + AMPTP Deal". Backstage. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  5. ↑ Sakoui, Anousha (July 30, 2021). "Netflix joins Hollywood studio producers' alliance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  6. ↑ Bognar, Desi K. (1999). International Dictionary of Broadcasting and Film. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   1136054014. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2018.[ page needed ]
  7. 1 2 Katz, Ephraim; Nolen, Ronald Dean (2013). The Film Encyclopedia (7th ed.). Harper Collins. p. 31. ISBN   978-0062277114. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ↑ "Society of Independent Producers Expected to Go for AMPTP Absorbtion". Variety . November 2, 1966. p. 3.
  9. 1 2 3 "AMPTP At Moment Of Truth". Daily Variety . October 10, 1975. p. 1.
  10. ↑ "ALLIANCE OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION PRODUCERS". amptp.org. Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers . Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Nick Counter dies at 69; former chief negotiator for major studios". Los Angeles Times (Obituary). November 7, 2009. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  12. ↑ Lang, Brent (November 6, 2009). "Obit: Former AMPTP President Nick Counter Chief negotiator of multiple labor disputes, Counter remembered as a consensus builder". TheWrap . The Wrap News Inc. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Carol Lombardini Named AMPTP President Had been acting president since Nick Counter retired in April". TheWrap . October 15, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  14. ↑ Suplee, Curt (July 8, 1981). "The Movie Mystique: Moguls to Munchies". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ "70 Years of Milestones". Directors Guild of America. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  16. ↑ Natale, Richard (March 15, 1993). "Lew Wasserman at 80". Variety . Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Y. Frank Freeman Dies at 78; Retired Paramount Executive" . The New York Times . February 7, 1969. p. 37. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  18. ↑ Liberatore, Paul (July 11, 2014). "Retired CBS president Richard Jencks of Mill Valley dies at 93". Marin Independent Journal . Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  19. ↑ Robb, David (May 6, 2015). "AMPTP Taps Former California GOP Strategist As New Spokesman". Deadline. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  20. ↑ Serjeant, Jill (November 15, 2021). "Hollywood crew members narrowly approve contract with TV and film producers". Reuters. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  21. ↑ Grobar, Matt (October 10, 2023). "2,000+ Top Producers Sign Petition To Drop Second "P" From AMPTP, Part Of Larger Push To Address Inequities; Cathy Schulman, Jason Blum, Dede Gardner, Todd Garner Among Signees". Deadline. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  22. ↑ The Wrap (October 10, 2023). "Producers Union Asks AMPTP to Drop 'P' From Its Name: 'Left Over From a Long-Gone Era'". The Wrap. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  23. ↑ Kilkenny, Katie (March 8, 2022). "N.Y. Postproduction Workers File to Unionize Over AMPTP's Voluntary Recognition Objection". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
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