Hollywood Braces for Fallout as a Possible Writers Strike Looms

As the writers strike enters its third week, there’s little sign of resolution between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Picket lines surrounding studio offices and production sets continue to draw striking writers and other entertainment industry workers, including members of SAG-AFTRA, the PGA and IATSE looking to show solidarity with their colleagues. With their pens down professionally, writers have taken the opportunity to channel their talents toward the strike, crafting some clever puns and harsh roasts for media executives.

Nearly two weeks into the national writers' strike spearheaded by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), little progress has been made between both sides. The WGA has a litany of requests for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Tony Gilroy is standing with the writers amid their strike.

 The Hollywood writers’ strike that’s snarling the television and movie industries has now scrambled the White House schedule.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The war between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis does not appear to be calming down any time soon — as both sides have traded lawsuits in a struggle for control over the company’s Orlando theme parks. In the latest move, the DeSantis-backed board that oversees Disney World, EPCOT and the other parks will take up a proposal on Wednesday to establish a code enforcement system. According to a staff report, the proposal would allow code enforcement officers to impose civil penalties of up to $500 per infraction per day — the maximum allowed by state law. The board would also appoint a special magistrate who could hear appeals of citations.

unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Picketing began last week in New York City and Los Angeles.The strike involves a long list of concerns that the writers want Hollywood studios to address, from the low pay involved in writing streaming series to reining in “mini-rooms” used to skirt contractual pay practices to addressing the use of artificial intelligence.Murdoch’s comments come ahead of Fox’s Upfront presentation to advertisers on May 15.“I think the timing of the strike, obviously, with the upfronts next week, creates some hesitancy,” he added.

J. Kim Murphy “Evil” is wrapping up filming on Season 4 earlier than anticipated. After the set faced disruptions by picketing Writers Guild members on Friday, the Paramount+ series is now seeing a cast member take a leave of absence due to a personal family matter. As a result, production has wrapped early on the next season. A source close to the series would only confirm that the early end to filming was a result of the unnamed actor’s temporary exit from the show. However, no filming occurred on Friday, as Writers Guild members on strike demonstrated near the production. The fourth season of “Evil” was commissioned to include 10 episodes. It remains unclear whether the early end to production will impact those plans.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Paramount has filed a motion to throw out a lawsuit over the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” arguing that a nude scene with underage actors does not amount to “childhood sexual assault.” Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were 16 and 17 when they starred in the movie, which was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The film’s famous bedroom scene includes a lingering shot of Whiting’s buttocks and a brief glimpse of Hussey’s breasts. The actors, now in their 70s, filed a $500 million suit in December, alleging that Zeffirelli pressured them into performing in the nude. They accused Paramount, the distributor, of profiting from their sexual exploitation.

EXCLUSIVE (Updated with Jen Statsky’s comments): Filming on Season 3 of HBO Max/Universal TV hit comedy series Hacks, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, has been halted due of the writers strike, Deadline has learned. According to sources, production will be on pause for the duration of the work stoppage.

EXCLUSIVE: Filming on Season 3 of HBO Max/Universal TV hit comedy series Hacks, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, has been halted because of the writers strike, Deadline has learned. According to sources, production will be on pause for the duration of the work stoppage.

unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before Monday’s contract expiration.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer To a lot of people outside the negotiating room, a strike by Hollywood writers felt inevitable. But it didn’t feel that way inside the room. Until the last day or two, negotiators for both labor and management believed that the other side would give, and that a deal would be reached at the last moment. But picket lines in Los Angeles and New York this week tell a different story. The conflict that led to the breakdown of talks on the night of May 1 began the day before. On April 30, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers delivered a 40-page package of proposals to WGA’s negotiating committee. It did not include key elements that the Writers Guild of America has insisted are essential to sealing a new three-year contract, including a mandatory minimum number of weeks for TV writers and a minimum staff size for writers rooms.

Hollywood writers’ strike. However, a “Tonight Show” insider told The Post that neither Fallon, 48, nor “Late Night” host Seth Meyers, 49 — whom Kobos later mentioned — are typically not in those production meetings.The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced in the wee hours Tuesday that its 11,500 screenwriter members in California, New York and other cities will refuse to work after the union and studios failed to agree on a new three-year contract after their current one expired just after midnight.In the wake of the strike, Fallon’s “The Tonight Show,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers” have all been shut down.On Tuesday, Kobos, a non-union member who is not striking, quote tweeted a video of Fallon at the Met Gala on Monday night, in which he told Variety: “I wouldn’t have a show if it wasn’t for my writers, I support them all the way.“They got to have a fair contract and they got a lot of stuff to iron out and hopefully, they get it done,” he added.

Refresh for updates… The Writers Guild strike no longer is looming but here, and guilds in Hollywood, entertainment and other fields are weighing in to show their support for the WGA in its labor action against the studios. Here is what we’re hearing so far.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer With half a day to go until the clock strikes midnight on WGA talks, Hollywood is trying to operate as if it were any other day in town, despite the fact TV and film writers could be on strike Tuesday if the negotiations don’t go their way. While high and low-budget shows alike shoot in Los Angeles, New York City, Georgia and across the pond Monday, everyone from writers on sets to executives in office buildings knows Tuesday might bring a situation they haven’t dealt with since 2007. “As expected, it is eerily quiet — it is overcast in LA and that matches the mood of the town,” one comms exec said. “Lots of discussion about what news to announce and how news will play with both sides of the table, so to speak. Definitely feels like the calm before the storm.”

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer During a labor negotiation, management almost never speaks publicly. The current negotiations with the Writers Guild of America are no exception. The studio chiefs have said almost nothing, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has limited itself to a few prepared statements. But Jeff Ruthizer is talking. Ruthizer retired in 2009 as senior vice president of labor relations at ABC. Over a 40-year career, he worked for ABC, NBC, RKO and then ABC again. He negotiated hundreds of contracts and went through numerous strikes, several of them involving NABET, the broadcast technicians’ union.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Jeff Shell was forced out as CEO of NBCUniversal after an internal investigation into his relationship with Hadley Gamble, an overseas correspondent for CNBC, two sources confirmed to Variety on Monday. In a securities filing on Monday, Comcast said that the company received a complaint of “inappropriate conduct,” including sexual harassment. During the investigation, “evidence was uncovered that corroborated the allegations,” leading to Shell’s termination “with cause.” Gamble is based in Abu Dhabi, where she anchors the “Capital Connection” broadcast. She has worked for the network since 2010. Her previous jobs included stints at CNN in Abu Dhabi and at ABC News and Fox News in Washington.

The late-night television sector will be the first to get hit if there’s a writers’ strike and its stars are bracing themselves for impact.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A key hearing in the “Rust” manslaughter case has been postponed until August, as New Mexico prosecutors say they need more time to complete a fuller investigation. Prosecutors announced on Thursday that they would drop charges against Alec Baldwin, after new evidence came to light. But the state is still pursuing involuntary manslaughter charges against Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer who loaded Baldwin’s gun. Baldwin was preparing for a scene at a film ranch near Santa Fe in 2021 when his gun fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The gun was supposed to be loaded only with inert “dummy” rounds, but instead included a live bullet that bore similar brand markings.