Former Disney Channel president John F. Cooke has been selected as the Screen
Actors Guild's CEO and national executive director.
The cable veteran takes the helm as the actors' union attempts to craft a new
contract with studios. The current contract is scheduled to expire June 30 at
midnight.
One of the major issues on the table currently is residuals paid to actors
when their work is shown on cable. Actors now get 6 percent of the cable-license
fee, but they want that raised to 7.5 percent.
Writers asked for improved cable compensation in their recently concluded
contract talks, and they were unsuccessful in gaining concessions.
Cooke spent 15 years working for The Walt Disney Co., including 10 years
running Disney Channel. Most recently, he was executive vice president, external
affairs for the J. Paul Getty Trust.
