Gabrielle Carteris Wins Re-Election as SAG-AFTRA President, Beating Matthew Modine

After one of the most openly hostile guild elections in recent Hollywood memory, SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris pulled out a victory over challenger Matthew Modine, ensuring the continued control of Hollywood’s actors guild by the Unite For Strength party for at least the next two years.

The “Beverly Hills 90210” star won 44% of the 30,837 votes cast (or 13,537), the union said, while Modine won 35% (or 10,682), SAG-AFTRA reported early Thursday. Jane Austin followed with 5,048 votes, Queen Alljahye Searles with 1,096 votes and Abraham Justice with 367 votes.

In addition, “The Practice” star Camryn Manheim was elected as secretary-treasurer with 52% of the ballots cast (16,047 votes), defeating Jodi Long (10,251), Chuck Slavin (2,204) and Rob Stats (1,790).

“I’m very grateful to all of the dedicated SAG-AFTRA members who participated in our union’s elections,” Carteris said in a statement. “Their support is humbling and I vow to fight every day on their behalf. We will keep building on our commitment to honesty, transparency and a strategic vision that protects our members, strengthens our contracts, and fortifies our union.”

Also Read: Gabrielle Carteris, Matthew Modine Intensify Attacks in New SAG-AFTRA Election Videos

Following the bitter campaign, the Carteris-led guild will face a major crossroads in 2020. SAG-AFTRA, along with the DGA and WGA, is due to negotiate a new film and TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, with pensions, health care and wages all on the line. The current agreement between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP expires on June 30, 2020.

Unite For Strength has been in control of the Screen Actors Guild since 2009, with Carteris becoming president in 2016 after the death of then-guild chief Ken Howard. The party oversaw the guild’s merger with AFTRA in 2012, but the group’s pragmatic, closed-doors approach to negotiations with studios and networks has been criticized by the Membership First party, on which Modine campaigned with a slate that included actors Ed Asner, Neve Campbell, Elliott Gould and Rob Schneider.

Modine and Membership First accused Carteris and UFS of not being transparent enough on contract negotiations and details, as well as not addressing a disparity in pensions between SAG members and AFTRA members. Modine supporters like Rosanna Arquette also accused Carteris of not adequately acting on demands to change the guild’s sexual harassment policies and improving communication with members who come forward with complaints about sexual abuse.

Carteris, in turn, accused Membership First of having “a very large and very negative impact” on SAG during its last go-around in leadership.

Also Read: Netflix Signs First SAG-AFTRA Contract for Film, TV Productions

“They failed to negotiate numerous contracts, and the failure they most want to distract you from…is their disastrous handling of the TV and theatrical contracts when they were last in charge,” Carteris said in a campaign video. “They left SAG without TV and theatrical contracts for over a year, resulting in earnings and benefit contribution losses of over $100 million.”

The attacks got more heated over the past month as Modine and Carteris were both accused of violating federal labor laws during the campaign. Carteris was accused of using insider information to claim credit for a new SAG-AFTRA deal with Netflix completed in July in a campaign statement that had to be filed to the guild three weeks before the Netflix deal was finished.

Modine, meanwhile, denied claims in a Los Angeles Times report that he had accepted illegal contributions from the New York Film Academy, of which he is an unpaid board member, by posting three campaign videos produced by the NYFA on his website. Attorneys quoted in the LA Times article noted that it is against federal labor law for union candidates to accept anything of value from an employer to promote their candidacy, but Modine’s status as an unpaid board member does not qualify him as an employee of NYFA.

Also Read: HBO's Casey Bloys: Intimacy Coordinators May Become as Standard as Stunt Coordinators

Whether the article was a major factor in swaying the election to Carteris is unclear, but Modine released a statement Wenesday afternoon calling on union members to regroup regardless of the result.

“As unionists. We come back to what’s most important — the membership. As brothers and sisters,” read a statement from the “Full Metal Jacket” actor to SAG-AFTRA members. “We come back to what’s most important – solidarity, in the face of apathetic odds, where the work continues anew, where we recommit to doing what’s right, what’s fair, what makes the most common professional sense for all of us.”

“Whatever the outcome, stay focused, remain committed — for the work to form a more perfect union continues.”

From the Beatles to Phil Collins, 13 Biggest Urban Legends Tied to Top Music Hits (Photos)

Many facets of rock and pop stardom have been associated with the macabre: from the 27 club to the "Paul is dead" conspiracy theory. Fan speculation about the "true" meaning behind certain radio hits has resulted in some grim mythology. Though many urban legends tied to famous songs have been debunked by the artists themselves, the stories, many of which are unsettling, live on.
“Strawberry Fields Forever,” the Beatles: “Strawberry Fields Forever” kickstarts the list of Beatles songs linked to the “Paul is dead” conspiracy: Believers thought Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a doppelganger. Many assumed that at the end of the song, John Lennon mumbled “I buried Paul,” though Lennon disputed those claims when he was alive, insisting that the phrase he utters is actually “cranberry sauce.”

Universal Music Group
“A Day in the Life,” the Beatles: Beatles conspiracists believe that this song made use of backmasking -- a technique in which a message is recorded backwards onto a song. According to them, if one plays a segment of “A Day in the Life” in reverse, they can hear Lennon saying “Paul is dead, miss him, miss him.” Also, according to the theory, the lyrics “He blew his mind out in a car” corroborate that McCartney had died in a car crash.
Universal Music Group
“Revolution 9,” the Beatles: The last “Paul is Dead” biggie in the Beatles’ discography is “Revolution 9.” Though the avant-garde, eight-minute track is undeniably one of the band’s spookier songs, some say that playing the “number nine” lyric backward reveals the hidden backmasked message, “turn me on, dead man.” It was also one of well-known Beatles fan Charles Manson’s favorite tracks, as he saw it as prophetic and compared it to the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
Public Domain
"Better By You, Better Than Me,” Judas Priest: A cover of an original track by Spooky Tooth, Judas Priest’s heavy metal version has been accused of hiding the subliminal message, “do it,” that are reported to have prompted the suicides of two men in 1985. The band was even enveloped in a civil suit over the matter, but they denied any wrongdoing and the case was eventually dismissed.
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“American Girl,” Tom Petty: The urban legend surrounding Tom Petty’s rollicking tune posits that the song was written as a tribute to a University of Florida student who jumped out of a tower in her dorm building. The origin of the legend appears to be the lyrics, “It was kind of cold that night she stood alone on her balcony / She could hear the cars roll by out on 441,” which mention the highway that runs past the school. Petty later shut down the theory.
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“The Kids,” Lou Reed: Apparently, some think that the crying sounds at the end of the track were coaxed out by producer Bob Ezrin telling his children that their mother had died in a car crash. Ezrin confirmed that the crying was a recording of his own kids, but said they were crying because they didn’t want to go to bed.
Public Domain
“Love Rollercoaster,” Ohio Players: The story behind the scream heard midway through “Love Rollercoaster” is one of the darkest musical urban legends. There are many theories behind the scream, but they all center on the idea that it came from a recording of an actual woman being murdered.
Universal Pictures
“Cross Road Blues,” Robert Johnson: Blues artist Robert Johnson has had a myth built around him -- as some believe that Johnson, originally a mediocre guitar player, went to the crossroads described in the song and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for great musical prowess. “Cross Road Blues” makes no specific mention of any Faustian exchange and Johnson himself never perpetuated the story in his short life, which ended at the age of 27 in 1938.
Public Domain
“In the Air Tonight,” Phil Collins: Legend has it that Phil Collins wrote “In the Air tonight” about witnessing a man who let another man drown in front of him. Collins later clarified the meaning behind the song, which was about his divorce.
Getty Images
“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” the Beatles: The first letters in the song title spell out “LSD,” a drug the Beatles were known to have dabbled in. Lennon insisted the psychedelic word puzzle was a mere coincidence and that the song was inspired by a picture that his son, Julian, had drawn of a classmate named Lucy.
Parlophone/EMI
“American Pie,” Don McLean: Don McLean has been pretty mum about the meaning of his hit song, but he has quashed the theory that “American Pie” was the name of the plane that Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens were on when it crashed -- you know, “the day that music died.” He has said that his album was dedicated to Holly but the track name wasn't in reference to any plane.
Public Domain
“Puff the Magic Dragon,” Peter, Paul and Mary: Many have suspected that the easygoing ditty about an innocent story of a boy and a dragon wasn't so innocent after all. The “puff” in the title, as well as other dubious lyrics, has been interpreted as a reference to marijuana -- but band members have strongly pushed back on that idea.
Public Domain
“Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin: Contrary to its celestial title, it’s been believed that backmasked lyrics in "Stairway to Heaven" include satanic references. For example, the "bustle in your hedgerow" part, when reversed, apparently sounds like “here’s to my sweet Satan.” Lead singer Robert Plant vehemently denied the hidden messages, asking who had the time to even do that.
Public Domain

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Sinister backstories and hidden messages played in reverse

Many facets of rock and pop stardom have been associated with the macabre: from the 27 club to the "Paul is dead" conspiracy theory. Fan speculation about the "true" meaning behind certain radio hits has resulted in some grim mythology. Though many urban legends tied to famous songs have been debunked by the artists themselves, the stories, many of which are unsettling, live on.

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From the Beatles to Phil Collins, 13 Biggest Urban Legends Tied to Top Music Hits (Photos)

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