ValueSubtracted

Both contracts—Marvel and Disney fall under one agreement, and Avatar team Lightstorm has its own—offer minimum wage increases and access to IATSE’s pension plans and meal penalties. In terms of differences, Lightstorm’s contract guarantees preferential hiring rights on future Avatar films for current bargaining employees (and without a pay loss), new wage scale rates based on a 40-hour work week for those future films, and minimum call rates for the sixth and seventh days of work. This contract also has “protections against technological change and subcontracting” and AI-related language adopted from IATSE’s Basic Agreement.

Marvel and Disney’s specific contract ensures extra pay for “hazardous set conditions, and health and comfort during long postproduction assignments,” plus job descriptions for each role and legally binding agreements “enforced through a grievance and arbitration procedure.” Cael Liakos-Gilbert, a VFX wrangler for Marvel, considers the ratified contract “not just a victory for [us], but a much-needed win for the entire VFX industry. Seeing this come together after over two years as an organizer, contract negotiator, and now a founding union member is one of the proudest moments of my life. […] We’ve put ink to paper and given our people the contract we deserve.”

Written by: Juno Dawson

Directed by: Ben A. Williams

As this is an unannounced Star Trek series, not many details are currently known. Our first indication of this new series comes from the USPTO – United States Patent and Trademark Office. The filing details clearly list “a multimedia series featuring animation distributed via various platforms”. Additionally, another source is a casting website. This site is specifically requesting young actors and actresses for a YouTube Short Series. So it’s possible this could air on the Nick Jr. YouTube channel.

It seems Star Trek: Starfleet Scouts will be something like Disney+ and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. This Star Wars series originally started as six shorts on YouTube before it gained a full season order. It has been an excellent success for Disney+, with two full 20+ episode seasons released and a third in production.

Based on casting information, the new animated series will focus on three 8-9-year-old friends as they go to school on an earth-like planet. The series will follow their adventures as they train to become future Starfleet explorers. This information seems like a step before Starfleet Academy. The characters of Starfleet Scouts are described as “Cool, funny, heroic, and authentic”.

The most significant change will add protections for defenceless receivers. A 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down will now be called when a hit is delivered at or below the knees of a player who is in the act of catching a pass while in a vulnerable position. This protection does not exist if the receiver leaves his feet and jumps while catching the pass.