While the Writers Guild of America will continue to negotiate with the studios right up to the expiration of their current contact tonight, strike preparations are underway. But Hollywood might not see picket lines as quickly as you think.
In fact, the WGA will likely not have its first picket lines out on the streets “until Tuesday afternoon,” sources say. What's more, the guild leadership is planning a big meeting on Wednesday at the 6,000-person capacity Shrine Auditorium to explain to members why they do or do not have an agreement with the AMPTP.
Despite the tense atmosphere gripping the town right now, the explanation for the later than expected WGA picket start time is actually more bureaucratic than dramatic. >>>WGA Member Survey
Also:
SAG-AFTRA Advises Members To “Continue To Work” In Event Of A WGA Strike
Seth Meyers Says A WGA Strike Would Be "Miserable" |
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Above 'Average' - Netflix and Adam McKay are reuniting as the streamer has acquired the director’s new star-studded feature, Average Height, Average Build. The film stars Robert Pattinson, Amy Adams, Robert Downey Jr., Forest Whitaker and Danielle Deadwyler. McKay, who has written the script, will direct and produce under his Hyperobject Industries banner with Kevin Messick. >>>Political Serial Killer Comedy
Lionsgate's Prayers Go Unanswered - Lionsgate’s feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s pinnacle 1970 novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret fell short at the box office with a $6.8M opening; below both the $7M-$9M that the studio was seeing, and the more bullish $10M+ that rivals spotted. >>>What Went Wrong?
Disney Tunes In On TV Comms Team - Following the major second round of Disney layoffs, Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul, EVP, Publicity, and Head of Communications for Disney General Entertainment, has set her team for the Disney Entertainment Television communications and publicity operation, which includes new responsibilities for a number of executives. >>>New Hires, Too
There Will Be 'Blood' - New Regency is adapting Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, considered by many one of the greatest modern works of American literature, as a feature film. John Hillcoat, who adapted McCarthy's The Road, is set to direct. >>>McCarthy & Son EPs
Wolf In The Streaming Fold - Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars) and Brandon Larracuente (The Good Doctor) are set as the leads of On Call. Originally at Amazon Freevee, the half-hour drama, from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, will stream on Amazon’s main platform, Prime Video. Amazon Studios has handed an official eight-episode order to the project, co-created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf, which marks Wolf Entertainment’s first streaming series and its 10th current scripted series overall. >>> "It’s Television Popcorn"
On The Road With Willie Nelson - Decorated live event TV director-producer Don Mischer, a fifteen-time Emmy Award winner, has worked frequently with country legend Willie Nelson, who just turned 90. A chapter from Mischer’s forthcoming book,10 Seconds To Air: A Life in the Director’s Chair, excerpted by Deadline, pays tribute to his longtime friend. >>>Guest Column |
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Exclusive
Keesha Sharp (Power Book II: Ghost) is set as a lead opposite Taye Diggs in BET+ true crime film series Love & Murder: Atlanta Playboy, from Mona Scott-Young of Monami Productions and Eric Tomosunas of Swirl Films. It is set to debut on BET+ later this year.
Exclusive
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is working again with Pose co-creator Ryan Murphy on the 12th season of FX’s American Horror Story. Rodriguez joins already-cast Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts and Cara Delevingne in what’s being dubbed thematically as "delicate." |
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More News
🤘 Aerosmith, the Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band that’s been recording and performing since the early 1970s, announced today that its farewell tour will begin in September. The group’s 40-date run of shows, called the Peace Out tour, will begin Sept. 2
💰 AMC Networks said it paid three former CEOs — Christina Spade, Matt Blank and Josh Sapan — packages worth more than a combined $40 million for 2022. Spade, the most recent, was hastened out in November after just three months on the job.
☀️ The Morning Show will return for a fourth season on Apple TV+. The early renewal comes ahead of the premiere of Season 3 later this fall. Although Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon's contracts were up at the end of Season 3, Apple is in talks with the pair, who also exec produce, and they are expected to sign on. There’s also an option for a Season 5. |
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Trending  Former First Lady Michelle Obama joined Bruce Springsteen during his April 28 concert in Barcelona, belting out “Glory Days” while banging a tambourine. Obama sang with Patti Scialfa and actress Kate Capshaw on stage. Michelle and husband Barack were in Spain with director Steven Spielberg and Capshaw.
🔻 A user leveraged Twitter Blue and its new ability to upload longer videos to post the entirety of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, an infringement that wasn’t discovered for several hours. Estimates of multiple millions of page views as high as 9 million have been reported before the film was finally taken down. |
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Obituaries 🕯 Jock Zonfrillo, the MasterChef Australia judge and award-winning Scottish chef, has died unexpectedly at age 46. His family confirmed he passed yesterday. 🕯 Mike Shannon , a radio broadcaster for 50 years and two-time World Series champion for the St. Louis Cardinals, died Saturday at age 83 from complications stemming from long-haul Covid-19, his family said. After a playing career with the Cardinals that was cut short by kidney disease, Shannon became a member of the team’s radio broadcasts. He was known for his “Get Up, Baby!” calls when the Cardinals hit a home run. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Mon - WGA contract expires; Met Gala; NewFronts begin
Tue - Tony Nominations
Thu - Paramount Global and Apple earnings
Fri - Guardians 3 opens |
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Comedy In The Capital - NBC News' Kelly O’Donnell, Vice President Kamala Harris and Politico’s Eugene Daniels were just three of the attendees at this weekend's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, which also drew the President and First Lady. The event, headlined by The Daily Show’s Roy Wood Jr., was held at the Washington Hilton with a myriad of celebrities in attendance. |
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