Picket signs are being prepared to possibly hit the streets next week, but talks between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers appear to have taken a productive turn in the past 24 hours.
After a new proposal from the studios to the Ellen Stutzman-led WGA Negotiating Committee on Wednesday, the guild and the AMPTP met face-to-face for a brief time late Thursday afternoon, and there has been a counter proposal, we hear. As with all meetings between the guild and the Carol Lombardini-led AMPTP since talks started on March 20, the parties were gathering at the latter’s Sherman Oaks offices.
As of now, with no details of the specifics of the AMPTP’s proposal or the counter the WGA put forth in response, the two sides are scheduled to meet again today. They had been pretty far apart since the negotiations started March 20. >>>Best And Last Offer? |
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Strike While The Iron's Hot - In what might be the last vigorous spec script auction before a possible WGA strike, Amazon Studios has paid near seven figures for Stakehorse, a crime thriller written by Justin Piasecki. Numerous bidders chased this one but it came down to Amazon with Hidden Pictures, and Netflix with Chernin Entertainment. It is not coincidence that an action thriller that already has filmmakers and talent circling would be at a premium in this moment. >>> Contingency Plans
A True Underdog Returns - Vince Vaughn will star in (and likely produce) a sequel to his hit 2004 comedy Dodgeball, scripted by Jordan VanDina (The Binge), which is in early development at 20th Century Studios. The original grossed over $168 million against a $20 million budget. >>>Vaughn's Idea
Who Is Rupert Murdoch? - At age 92, Rupert Murdoch confronts the challenge of re-energizing Fox News, yet his stewardship remains as enigmatic as his politics. Roger Ailes, the first head of Fox News, once enthused, “Rupert is a great man, whoever he is.” One long-term billionaire associate put it this way: "Rupert goes where the money is. There are no control buttons on morality or truth." >>>Peter Bart Column
Taken To The Himalayas - The Ice Road and Taken star Liam Neeson is headed back to treacherous and frozen terrain in action sequel Ice Road 2: Road To The Sky. This time, the evergreen action man will swap out The Ice Road's harsh climes of Northern Canada for the similarly inhospitable mountains of Nepal, where he fights off a band of Nepalese mercenaries targeting tourists. >>> Cannes Market Bound
In brief - Thunderbird Entertainment took rights to develop Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan novel Mad Honey as a TV series ... Yvonne Orji signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television ... Amazon Studios is fast-tracking Teton, a drama from The Wilds showrunner Amy B. Harris, Jason Reilly, musician Cameron Duddy and Temple Hill Entertainment ... Netflix has put into production Bandidos, a Spanish-language drama series about an underwater heist in the Gulf of Mexico. |
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Adam Brody is set as the male lead opposite Kristen Bell in Netflix’s untitled comedy series created and executive produced by Erin Foster and executive produced by Steve Levitan. The comedy centers on the unlikely relationship between an outspoken, agnostic woman (Bell) and an unconventional rabbi (Brody).
John Krasinski teed up a peek at his original family comedy/drama IF at CinemaCon, announcing voice cast including Matt Damon, Jon Stewart, Emily Blunt, Maya Rudolph, Sam Rockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Christopher Meloni, Richard Jenkins, Awkwafina and Vince Vaughn. They join the previously-announced Krasinski, Ryan Reynolds, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Cailey Fleming, Louis Gossett Jr, Fiona Shaw, Alan S. Kim, Steve Carell and Bobby Moynihan.
Exclusive
Prime Video has expanded the cast for Season 2 of its neo-Western series Outer Range. Christian James, Megan West, Daniel Abeles, Kimberly Guerrero and Monette Moio have been tapped for recurring roles opposite Josh Brolin in the drama series.
Sarah Goldberg has already lined up a new gig now that Barry is saying buh-bye: she is joining season 3 of HBO’s Industry. Goldberg will recur as Petra Koenig, a portfolio manager at ethical investment fund FutureDawn. Her casting follows the news that Kit Harington will also recur on the HBO drama. |
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BY THE NUMBERS
$56 million - The pay package for Charlie Collier in the last three months of last year after he took over as President of Roku Media in late October |
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More News
👋 James Corden said goodbye to The Late Late Show with visits from Will Ferrell and Harry Styles and a skit with fellow late-night hosts Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon --- and a suprise appearance from éminence grise David Letterman.
✍️ Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has signed with WME for representation, Deadline has confirmed. The deal includes repping the content division of Archewell, the company she founded with her husband Prince Harry in 2020. The deal does not include repping Markle for acting.
🪑 Richard Sharp, the BBC Chairman, has resigned after a long-awaited report found he had breached appointment rules by failing to declare his role in securing former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson an £800,000 ($1 million) loan. Sharp said the breach was "inadvertent and not material," but accepted it would be a "distraction" in the future.
🍿 Paramount’s CinemaCon slate presentation included an epic treat with a 20-minute extended sequence from the seventh installment in the franchise, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. It was also announced the pic is now set for domestic release on July 12 rather than July 14. That puts it in step with the start of international rollout and is a move designed to take advantage of early summer play.
🚨 The alleged victim in a domestic violence incident with Jonathan Majors has been granted a full temporary order of protection by a New York judge, and the Creed III actor is in full agreement with the measure. The order directs Majors to have no contact with the alleged victim. It remains in effect until at least the next court hearing, which is currently scheduled for May 9.
📺 MSNBC’s All in with Chris Hayes topped the 8 p.m. ET time slot on Wednesday night, a ratings following the departure of Tucker Carlson at Fox News. Hayes’ show drew 1.38 million viewers, edging out Fox News Tonight with 1.33 million and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 with 643,000. Tucker Carlson Tonight was the most-viewed show in cable news last month. It averaged 3.25 million viewers.
In brief - Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Milk, will stand trial in the UK after being accused of assaulting a BBC TV presenter at a London nightclub ... An R-rated reimagining of A.A. Milne's beloved Christopher Robin is in the works, with Boat Rocker and Bay Mills Studios ... Scripps-owned network Bounce renewed dramedy Johnson for a third season ... Eva Green won a high court case in the UK over the collapse of sci-fi film A Patriot. |
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Trending  Amazon reported revenue for the first quarter and earnings per share well above Wall Street forecasts. Amazon shares jumped 11% on the earnings report after closing the regular trading session up almost 5% to a 6-month high. The company said it expects revenue to continue rising in Q2 between 5% and 10%.
🔻 Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat missed Wall Street forecasts for the first quarter, reporting a 7% dip in total revenue to $989 million as net losses per share narrowed by a penny to 21 cents. |
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Obituaries 🕯 Jerry Springer, the legendary talk show host, daytime TV star and and former mayor of Cincinnati, died Thursday at his home in Chicago. According to friend and family spokesperson Jene Galvin, he had been fighting pancreatic cancer and recently had taken a turn for the worse. He was 79. 🕯 Carolyn Bryant Donham , the white woman whose claim that 14-year-old Emmett Till whistled at her during a grocery store visit led to the Black teenager’s brutal murder in August 1955, died of cancer Tuesday in Westlake, Louisiana. She was 88. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries | |
On the Radar
Sat - Deadline Contenders TV/Docs & Unscripted
Sun - WH Correspondents Dinner
Mon - WGA contract expires; Met Gala; NewFronts begin
Tue - Tony Nominations
Thu - Paramount Global and Apple earnings |
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Blood & Oil - Martin Scorsese began to pull back the curtain on his hotly-anticipated Killers of the Flower Moon at Paramount’s CinemaCon session Thursday. The director showed off the teaser for his epic tale about the serial murder of members of the oil-rich Osage Nation who, in the 1920s, were some of the wealthiest people on earth.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, cast includes Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, Janae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal. The Apple-produced pic, which clocks in at 3 hours and 26 minutes, world premieres at Cannes next month. |
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