LA Screenings: Networks Offer Starry Standouts as Writers Strike Impacts New Series Orders

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney has pegged total cash content spending at around $30 billion for this year — but the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike may drive that down, CFO Christine McCarthy said. “If you haven’t noticed we’re in the middle of a writers strike,” McCarthy said, speaking Wednesday at MoffettNathanson’s Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in New York. The WGA walkout may reduce Disney’s cash spending on content for the balance of the year, she said. At the MoffettNathanson conference, MCarthy appeared alongside Disney president of ad sales Rita Ferro. The two Disney execs spoke a day after the media conglom’s upfront presentation in the Big Apple to ad buyers and brands — which was noticeably light on scripted fare, given the writers strike. Marvel’s Kevin Feige previewed upcoming Disney+ series “Secret Invasion,” featuring Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle, and announced premiere dates for “Loki” Season 2 and “Hawkeye” spinoff “Echo.”

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Since the writers strike started on May 2, celebrities have turned out to support WGA members picketing for a better guild contract. Actors like Fred Armisen are also writers who are members of the WGA, while some SAG-AFTRA members are walking the line to support their colleagues. Since most TV shows and movies have suspended production until the strike is resolved, stars, writers and filmmakers like Christopher Nolan are taking to the streets to show their support for members of the Writers Guild of America.

William Earl UPDATED: The network upfronts are once again front-and-center for the television industry as major players gather in New York May 15-17 for the springtime ritual of presenting programming plans for the upcoming TV season. Upfronts are always a hectic time, but this year it’s even more so because of the writers strike that began May 2. Writers and many actors are sitting out the upfront presentations in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. The promise of WGA pickets surrounding all major events spurred Netflix to make a hasty decision to switch to a virtual presentation rather than an in-person event at the company’s Paris Theater.

The NBCUniversal Upfront kicked off a week of events in New York amid a writers strike.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos will no longer attend a gala meant to honor him next week in New York. The decision comes as labor issues grab headlines across Hollywood. Sarandos was set to accept the Business Visionary Award at the annual PEN American Spring Literary Gala, alongside fellow honoree Lorne Michaels and a host of literati including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Susan Choi, Jennifer Egan, Min Jin Lee, Jay McInerney and Gay Talese. He’s skipping the event, to be held under the blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History, as many industry celebrations weigh how to address the writers strike. “Given the potential to disrupt this wonderful evening, I thought it was best to pull out so as not to distract from the important work that PEN America does for writers and journalists, as well as the celebration of my friend and personal hero Lorne Michaels. I hope the evening is a great success,” Sarandos told Variety in a statement.

William Earl Variety has promoted Jem Aswad to lead all music content across digital, print and live media platforms as executive editor, music. Aswad will oversee all aspects of Variety‘s music-related editorial operations and staff. He will also continue to serve as Variety‘s leading voice on the business of music, penning cover stories, deep-dive features, investigative stories, personality profiles and reviews. With his promotion, Aswad will also help steer Variety‘s music-related event franchises, including Hitmakers and Music Mogul of the Year, and contribute significantly to developing music programming for live media events. Aswad is based in Variety‘s New York office and reports to co-editors in chief Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh. Shirley Halperin, Variety’s executive editor, music since 2017, is stepping down to become editor in chief of Los Angeles magazine.

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.

HBO, Warner Bros. TV, NBCUniversal and other major struck studios will be suspending some first-look and overall deals amid the ongoing writers strike. Sources close to the situation tell Variety that Amazon will be sending letters out Monday notifying those affected. The studio does have some carveouts for creatives who are rendering producing services but non-writing. HBO is said to be making calls to alert the individuals, but formal letters have not been sent yet. On May 2, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) called for a strike after failing to ink a new deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Picketing quickly ensued in New York City, Los Angeles and Atlanta and several productions were shut down due to the strike.

William Earl On May 2, the Writers Guild of America called for a strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers fell through. The first week was robust with picketing in New York City, Los Angeles and Atlanta, with the striking shutting down productions. As the strike enters a second week, Variety is still reporting from the picket lines. *Mother and Kid Day at the Netflix picket drew a huge crowd, seemingly showing that Week 2 crowds would be as robust as Week 1. *Variety spoke with Michele Mulroney, vice president of the WGA West who brought her son Mateo to Mother and Kid Day, about what AMPTP needs to do to resume talks.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Judd Apatow thinks the studios and streamers already have an idea of when the writers strike may end. “I think they probably already know what they’re going to bend on,” Apatow told Variety Saturday at the Rock4EB benefit in Malibu. “I would assume they already know what date this is going to end. They’ve probably been planning this for years.” The writer-director reflected comments heard on picket lines in Los Angeles and New York after talks cratered between the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the writers union began to strike Tuesday. Apatow explained that he sees the strike as a calculated business move by Hollywood’s largest employers.

The MTV Movie & TV Awards will no longer be held live amid the ongoing writers’ strike, instead pivoting to a pre-taped ceremony that will air Sunday. The network announced the news Friday as the writers’ strike, which officially began Tuesday, continues in Los Angeles and New York City, after a breakdown in talks with studios and streaming services.

MTV Movie & TV Awards will no longer be held live amid the ongoing writers' strike, instead pivoting to a pretaped ceremony that will air Sunday. The network announced the news Friday as the writers' strike, which officially began Tuesday, continues in Los Angeles and New York City, after a breakdown in talks with studios and streaming services.“As we carefully navigate how best to deliver the fan first awards’ show we envisioned that our team has worked so hard to create, we’re pivoting away from a live event that still enables us to produce a memorable night full of exclusive sneak peaks, irreverent categories our audience has come to expect, and countless moments that will both surprise and delight as we honor the best of film and TV over the past year," Bruce Gillmer, president of music, music talent, programming and events at Paramount Global, and executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards, said in a new statement.Drew Barrymore, who was set to host the awards, pulled out of the event on Thursday, announcing that she was standing in solidarity with the striking writers.«I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,» Barrymore said in a statement to ET.

For Tony Award nominees, the next 37 days will be the usual long slog of interviews, parties, nerves and anticipation. But for producers of the ceremony’s June 11 broadcast on CBS, the date carries a new cause for insomnia: Who will write the thing?

unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before Monday’s contract expiration. Picketing began in New York City and Los Angeles on Tuesday.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.When asked about what it would take to find common ground and resolve the writers’ strike, Zaslav replied “a love for the business and a love for working.”“We all came into this business because we love storytelling, we want to entertain and when we’re at our best we get a chance to have an impact on the culture,” he said. “Almost all of us got into this business with a lot of sacrifice in order to be part of that journey and so that’s what’s gonna bring us together.” Zaslav’s comments on the strike come as Warner Bros.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor It’s deja vu all over again for Patric Verrone, the former WGA West president who led the guild during the 2007-08 writers strike. Verrone, who spoke to Variety while picketing outside Fox Studios in West Los Angeles, sees a number of parallels to the dynamic that led to the work stoppage in November 2007 but also a number of important differences. He is a member of the negotiating committee that has been wrangling this latest three-year contract with executives at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. “I would say the chief similarity is that in 2007, and in 2023, the management didn’t believe us, when we said we were going to strike and that our demands were genuine, and that we had the full support of our membership,” Verrone said. “There was skepticism on the part of the companies that this would actually happen.”

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

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is the latest marquee TV series to move forward with production amid the ongoing WGA strike, but the Amazon Prime Video show will be doing so without the services of executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. The sweeping fantasy series has 19 days of filming remaining, sources confirm to Variety, but per WGA strike rules, Payne, McKay and any other writer-producers are barred from participating in any writing-based duties during production while the strike continues — including making creative decisions on set. Instead, the show’s non-writing executive producers (like Lindsey Weber), directors (Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper) and crew are overseeing production on the U.K.-based shoot.

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.

The Writers Guild of America began its second day of strike action Wednesday, picketing several sites throughout Los Angeles beginning at 9 a.m. as well as at Netflix headquarters in New York City. In L.A., protests were beginning to wrap as scheduled by around 1 p.m.; they will resume Thursday morning.