"Everyone's in a Horrible Position": Festivals, Award Shows Scramble Amid COVID-19 Surge

Oprah Winfrey.Each of the three books have announced first printings of 1 million copies, Penguin announced Thursday, numbers that virtually no poet would dare even fantasize about.

Twenty-two-year-old Amanda Gorman was the youngest poet to ever read at a presidential inauguration and — even with megastars abounding — stole the show at the 59th one, reciting her poem "The Hill We Climb." She was the country's first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017 and the first Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate in 2014. According to Gorman (who's repped by lit agency Writers House and WME and was recently signed by IMG Models), her 2012 enrollment in the L.A.

Amanda Gorman has secured a new modeling deal following her history-making appearance at the U.S.

Amanda Gorman says she was a little star struck at the inauguration ceremony last week, even as she stole the spotlight with her historic appearance. The National Youth Poet Laureate spoke with Ellen DeGeneres on Tuesday, and reflected on her incredible experience.Gorman, who lives in Los Angeles, attended the high-profile event in Washington, D.C.

Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander. A native and resident of Los Angeles and the country's first National Youth Poet Laureate, Gorman told The Associated Press last week that she planned to combine a message of hope for President Joseph Biden's inaugural without ignoring "the evidence of discord and division.” She had completed a little more than half of “The Hill We Climb” before Jan.

No need to set the DVR. This Is Us will air a repeat on Tuesday, January 19, following a delay in production due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As Los Angeles's public health officials are calling the city's current COVID-19 surge — in which 10 people are testing positive for the virus every minute — the "worst disaster our county has experienced in decades," Hollywood's top studios have begun their return to production in L.A.

Actors’ Equity has temporarily paused its consideration of safety plans for live theater productions in California as the state battles unprecedented infection rates of Covid-19. The union, which represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers nationwide, noted that there are currently no Equity-approved theatrical productions running in California.

Acknowledging that California has repeatedly missed its stated Covid-19 vaccination targets, Governor Gavin Newsom made a bold commitment on Friday.

With production stalled in Los Angeles amid the city's latest COVID-19 surge, the industry is wrestling with when it'll be able to return to work safely in one of its most popular filming regions. The major studios and streamers have paused production on the bulk of their L.A.-based projects, most of which were already on a hiatus over the holidays, marking the town's biggest shutdown since March when the virus first began to spread in the U.S.

Larry King is staying strong amid his COVID-19 battle. His representatives confirmed on Monday that he has been taken out of the intensive care unit at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The Grammy Awards have been postponed to March 14 as COVID-19 cases surge in Los Angeles, where the ceremony was set to be held.

Sundance Film Festival has cancelled its 2021 drive-in screenings in Southern California as the region continues to see a record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases.

Health officials are warning that Los Angeles County may soon see up to 1,000 coronavirus deaths per week after revealing that as many as one in five residents who are getting tested are turning up positive "Your bubble is not as safe as you think it is," LA Public Health tweeted on Monday.

Nine and a half months after all Hollywood production was shut down at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., filming in Los Angeles once again is at a standstill.

CNN has confirmed that Larry King was hospitalized for COVID-19.

Lionsgate Television is the latest TV studio to keep its Los Angeles-based series dark amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus infections and Covid-19 deaths in LA County.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterAmid surging COVID-19 cases in Southern California following the holidays, SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild of America and the Joint Policy Committee are together recommending a “temporary hold on in-person production in Southern California.” Together, the organizations represent thousands of actors, producers, commercial advertisers and ad agencies.“Southern California hospitals are facing a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before,” said SAG-AFTRA president