LA City Council Members Introduce Resolution Backing WGA in Writers’ Strike

Editor’s note: Part 2 of two-part series about the writers strike crossing the 50-day mark.

Big news in specialty this weekend as Asteroid City arrives in theaters with Wes Anderson and his army of fans behind it and a major marketing campaign by Focus Features. The director’s latest opens at six locations in New York and Los Angeles, where Focus has partnered with Landmark for the reopening of Sunset, the five-screen theater it took over from AMC early this year.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Grammy-winning Songwriters Hall of Fame member Cynthia Weil — who co-wrote “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “On Broadway,” “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” “Walking in the Rain,” “You’re My Soul and Inspiration,” “Uptown,” “He’s So Shy,” “Kicks,” “Here You Come Again,” “Through the Fire,” “Somewhere Out There” and many other hits, mostly with her husband and Brill Building colleague Barry Mann — died earlier this month at the age of 82. She was one of the top “Brill Building” songwriters that came out of the Midtown Manhattan building of the same name (although much of the work actually was done a couple of blocks uptown at 1650 Broadway) and spawned literally hundreds of hits throughout the 1960s for the Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes, the Drifters, the Monkees, the Animals, multiple Phil Spector productions and many others. Along with Mann — to whom Weil was married for some 62 years — the coterie included another young married couple, Carole King and the late Gerry Goffin.

For the second week in a row, no scripted TV series were shooting on location in Los Angeles due to the Writers Guild strike, according to data compiled by FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

“Part One,” which comes out next month. Last week, Empire Magazine published an interview with “Dead Reckoning” director Christopher McQuarrie, where he acknowledged the delays and hurdles that his team’s work on the two “M:I” films have had to face.

Film and television writers from around the world will be picketing and rallying Wednesday in support of the Writers Guild strike, which is now in its 39th day.

pic.twitter.com/5UJ3Ddm0TkTV writer Tom Smuts, who is married to WGA president Meredith Stiehm, said he was there when the incident occurred.“In the past five weeks coordinating production pickets in Los Angeles and Georgia, no one else has treated us like that,” he tweeted. “And we in the WGA and Teamsters will stay here in solidarity – in Los Angeles, New York, New Mexico, Georgia and wherever else we need to be – until our labor and dignity are respected again.”A Lionsgate spokesperson told TheWrap that the company takes “acts of intimidation and threats of violence seriously” and that they are investigating the incident “thoroughly.”“As we continue to investigate, we have sent home the individual involved,” the studio added. A WGA spokesperson told TheWrap it is “working closely with members who were endangered during this incident to hold this individual accountable.”“Workers should not be threatened with physical harm when exercising their right to publicly protest and picket against unfair wages and working conditions,” the guild said.

On-location production of scripted TV series has ground to a complete halt in Los Angeles due to the five-week-old Writers Guild strike, according to data compiled by FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

A new opening date for Co-op Live, the £365m indoor arena being built in by Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, has been announced.

Jason Sudeikis holds on to his sign as he joins the WGA Strike in Los Angeles on Monday (June 5).

The WGA has detailed its plans to target Apple to coincide with its Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple reported almost $400 billion in revenue,” tweeted WGA captain Olga Lexell. “The cost of settling is reasonable, so what is Apple waiting for?”Members also shared stories of how Apple TV+ has frequently employed the use of minirooms, which require showrunners to hire staff for a writers room to write more scripts for a series before it is even greenlit.

Production on the Peacock series Hysteria! starring Julie Bowen and Anna Camp has shut down production in Atlanta for the remainder of the WGA writers strike.

Snoop Dogg is standing in solidarity with Hollywood writers who are demanding better pay and contracts for their work.

Jennifer Lopez's movie Unstoppable stopped on Friday due to the ongoing writers strike. Production on the wrestling drama flick — which stars the 53-year-old Maid In Manhattan actress — paused amid picketing by the Writers Guild of America, according to Deadline.   It is unknown when the biopic — from her husband Ben Affleck's indie production company with Matt Damon, Artists Equity — will resume filming but is expected to pick back up at the end of the strike at the very latest, the publication reported.

Los Angeles City Councilmembers representing Hollywood introduced a resolution on Friday in support of the striking workers, and calling on the studios to return to the bargaining table to meet workers’ demands.

On-location filming of scripted TV shows in Los Angeles has ground to a near-complete halt in the fourth week of the Writers Guild’s strike, according to data compiled by FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

In a split ruling today, a state appeals court panel reinstated a grant of parole for former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, overturning an earlier decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom to block her release.

Kelly Clarkson is taking her eponymous talk show to New York City, all in the name of family.It was first announced in early May that Clarkson would be moving from its longtime home in Los Angeles to Manhattan, and now the pop superstar and daytime talk show host is explaining the reasons for the big switch.Speaking with Nancy O'Dell on the TalkShopLive podcast recently, Clarkson explained that she first broke the news of the move to her staff back in January.«I talked to them because I was like, 'Guys, I need you to know what’s happening. It’s either I’m not going to be able to continue the show or I gotta go East Coast,'» Clarkson recalled.The singer explained that, during the coronavirus pandemic, she realized «being isolated and so far from your family… that’s not good for anyone.»«My family is East Coast, they’re North Carolina based.

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello continue to heat up rumours of their rekindled romance.