Gene Maddaus-Senior Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer CAA and Disney are fighting back against Julia Ormond‘s claim that they acted as enablers for Harvey Weinstein and failed to protect her from being sexually assaulted. Ormond rose to fame in the mid-90s, appearing in “Legends of the Fall” and “Sabrina.” She has alleged that Weinstein lured her to a business meeting in December 1995, then sexually assaulted her at her apartment in New York.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A judge has thrown out a lawsuit that accused Warren Beatty of coercing a teenage girl into sex in 1973, after the plaintiff’s attorney backed out of the case. Kristina Charlotte Hirsch filed the suit in November 2022 under a California law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer IATSE has taken the rare step of suing the producers of “That’s Amore,” alleging that the production has failed to pay $570,000 in wages to 77 union workers. “That’s Amore” is a romantic comedy starring John Travolta and Katherine Heigl, which is written and directed by Nick Vallelonga, who won two Oscars for “Green Book.” The producers announced last month that they were finally getting off the ground. But according to the union, production actually began more than a year ago, in September 2022.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A judge on Friday certified a class action lawsuit that alleges that Disney paid 9,000 women less than their male counterparts. The suit is the largest ever certified under California’s Equal Pay Act, which makes it illegal for workers to be paid less for substantially similar work based on their gender. Lori Andrus, the plaintiffs’ attorney, applauded the ruling outside the courtroom in downtown Los Angeles.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer President Biden is set to make a whirlwind fundraising tour of Los Angeles this weekend, hitting six or seven events in the course of a day and a half. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will attend a sold-out fundraiser on Friday night, with co-hosts including Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Shonda Rhimes, Rob Reiner, Peter Chernin and Jim Gianopulos. Lenny Kravitz is slated to perform.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Sean “Diddy” Combs was accused in a lawsuit on Wednesday of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl in 2003, marking the fourth sexual assault allegation lodged against the producer in recent weeks. The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, alleges that she was flown on a private jet from Michigan to Combs’ recording studio in New York, where she was raped by three people, including Combs and Harve Pierre, the president of Bad Boy Entertainment. According to the suit, Combs and his associates plied her with “copious amounts” of drugs and alcohol.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Writers returned to work two months ago, and the SAG-AFTRA strike has been over for nearly a month. Production has restarted but won’t be back to full strength until mid-January. But even as Hollywood tries to return to normal, dark clouds are forming on the horizon.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA members have voted to ratify their contract, officially ending the longest labor battle in Hollywood history. The contract was approved with 78% voting in favor. Turnout was 38%.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Tucker Carlson‘s longtime executive producer at Fox News was sued on Monday for allegedly sexually assaulting another Fox employee in 2008. Justin Wells was a producer of “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren at the time of the alleged assault. The accuser, Andrew Delancey, alleges that Wells lured him to his apartment in New York, then pushed him onto a bed and forcibly grabbed his genitals.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The woman charged in the death of Hollywood marketing consultant Michael Latt also stalked a film director and repeatedly threatened suicide, according to a court filing. Jameelah Michl, 36, has been charged with murder and burglary for allegedly breaking into Latt’s home on Monday and shooting him. Prosecutors stated in a press release on Thursday that she targeted Latt “for being friends with a woman she had been stalking.” The D.A.’s office did not identify the woman.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Michael Latt, a film marketing consultant who worked closely with Ryan Coogler and Common on a series of social justice campaigns, was shot and killed at his home on Monday night, the LAPD has confirmed. Latt, 33, was the founder and CEO of Lead With Love, a social impact marketing agency. In addition to Coogler and Common, he worked with Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins, and studios like Warner Bros.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Adjunct instructors at the USC School of Cinematic Arts are seeking to form a union, citing concerns about low pay and a recent move to drop health coverage. Organizers say that 75% of the 248 adjunct faculty members have signed on to the drive to join the UAW. They are seeking voluntary recognition from the university.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Jamie Foxx was sued on Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a patron at a rooftop bar in New York in 2015. The woman, identified in the suit as Jane Doe, alleges that Foxx took her to a secluded corner of the Catch NYC rooftop lounge, rubbed her breasts and groped her under her pants against her will. According to the suit, the woman and a friend were seated at a table next to Foxx and Mark Birnbaum, the owner of the bar.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Two members of the SAG-AFTRA board said they voted against the new contract because it does not do enough to protect actors against artificial intelligence. The negotiating committee unanimously approved the deal last Wednesday, ending the 118-day strike. The national board approved the deal on Friday, with 86% of the weighted vote in favor, and sent it to members for ratification.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher on Monday scolded “naysayers” and “contrarians” who have criticized the union’s new contract. Drescher defended the agreement during a Zoom meeting for SAG-AFTRA members on Monday morning. “Sadly there have been some naysayers who have exploited this momentum of ours,” Drescher said, appearing in a bathrobe from her home.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA had settled dozens of issues, ranging from pension and health contributions, to page limits for self-taped auditions, to pay for background actors. But there was still the small matter of zombies. The union was worried that studios could use artificial intelligence to reanimate dead actors, or to create a digital Frankenstein out of the body parts of real actors.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA‘s new contract is worth more than $1 billion over three years. But the union did not get one of its top priorities: a share of revenue from each streaming platform. Fran Drescher, the union president, made that her top priority, arguing it was essential to transform the contract to keep up with a transformed industry.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA negotiators have approved a tentative agreement that will end the longest actors strike against the film and TV studios in Hollywood history. In an announcement Wednesday, the union said the 118-day strike would officially end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA‘s top negotiator has never done this before. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has worked for the union for most of his adult life. In that time, he has become a master of the details.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA may take another day to respond to the studios’ “last, best and final” offer, as the union’s negotiating committee continues to weigh its next move. The studios last talked to union leadership on Saturday afternoon, when a large group of CEOs sought to make clear that they will not make further concessions. After that meeting, some members of the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee expressed dissatisfaction with the studios’ offer.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The studios told SAG-AFTRA on Saturday that they have made their “last, best and final” offer, as they seek an end to the 114-day actors strike. The offer includes an enhanced residual bonus for high-performing streaming shows. Under the proposal, actors who appear on the most-watched shows on each platform will see their standard streaming residual doubled.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer David Young, the longtime executive director of the Writers Guild of America West, is stepping down, the guild announced on Friday. Ellen Stutzman, who served as chief negotiator through its 148-day strike this year, will take over as executive director. Young was initially expected to lead this year’s negotiations, but surprisingly took a medical leave in February, shortly before talks began.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Hollywood’s major studios are preparing to make an offer to SAG-AFTRA on Friday that they hope will end the 113-day actors strike. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had previously warned the actors union that if a deal could not be reached by the end of this week, the networks would have to cancel certain TV shows and there would be further delays in 2024 summer theatrical releases. The talks could well go into the weekend, especially if the two sides see that a tentative agreement is within reach.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA is set to meet again on Wednesday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers after a “productive” day of talks on Tuesday. The sides continue to project “cautious optimism” about resolving the strike, which is now on Day 110. The studios have warned that they must get a deal this week in order to be able to produce partial seasons of scripted network TV series.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA advised its members Monday night that negotiations will resume on Tuesday, but warned that the two sides remain “far apart” on key issues. The union and the major studios have been bargaining for a week, focusing on issues like increases in minimum payments, a new residual model in streaming, and artificial intelligence.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Progress has been made toward ending the SAG-AFTRA strike in recent days, but “a lot” of issues are still on the table, the union’s chief negotiator said Monday morning. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator and executive director of the guild, made an appearance at the Disney picket lines. In an interview outside the studio gates, he would not hazard a guess as to when the strike will be over.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA leadership continued to bargain with the major studios on Sunday, but despite growing optimism around the industry, no deal has been reached yet. The union presented its latest proposal to the studios on Saturday. The two sides were said to be engaged in “productive” talks through the weekend.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA negotiations have ended for the day, as the studios and the union plan to keep working on a deal to end the 107-day strike. It’s not clear yet when the next bargaining session will be, as negotiators are still working out the schedule. The union delivered its latest response on Saturday, and is awaiting word back from the studios.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA is expected to hold bargaining sessions with the major studios over the weekend, as the two sides continue to work toward a deal to end the 106-day strike. The sessions may be held virtually, rather than in person. The two sides met on Friday for the third day this week at SAG-AFTRA headquarters.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer More than 3,600 SAG-AFTRA members have signed an open letter stating that they would rather stay on strike than “cave” to a bad deal. The group, calling itself Members in Solidarity, includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jon Hamm, Maya Hawke, Marisa Tomei, John Leguizamo and Bryan Cranston, among many other notable names.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA delivered its response Thursday to the latest proposal from the major studios, as the two sides appeared to be making progress toward ending the actors strike. The sides are expected to pick up negotiations again on Friday. Both sides are trying to avoid another breakdown in talks, and each one has a strong incentive to get to a deal.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The CEOs of four major entertainment companies offered SAG-AFTRA on Tuesday an improved bonus for the most-watched streaming shows, as well as higher increases in minimum rates. But the studios are still not offering a cut of total streaming revenue, which the actors union has made the centerpiece of its demands to end its 104-day strike. SAG-AFTRA is expected to deliver its response to the studios’ latest proposal today.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Negotiations on a new SAG-AFTRA contract are set to continue on Wednesday, as the studios aim to salvage the 2024 summer box office. The union resumed bargaining on Tuesday for the first time in almost two weeks. The studios delivered a new offer on the most contentious issue — streaming residuals — that they hoped would break the deadlock that has led to a 103-day strike.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Four CEOs are set to return to SAG-AFTRA headquarters on Tuesday with a new offer that they hope will break the stalemate in the 102-day actors strike. Among them will be Disney’s Bob Iger, who called SAG-AFTRA’s top negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, on Saturday to invite the actors back to the bargaining table. The CEOs — who also include David Zaslav of Warner Bros.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer On the first day of the SAG-AFTRA strike in July, union president Fran Drescher was asked how long she expected it to last. “We’re set up to go six months if we have to,” Drescher said. It hasn’t been that long yet.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer In her two years as SAG-AFTRA president, Fran Drescher has worked assiduously to bridge the factional divides that have long beset the union. “Member unity will be my greatest legacy,” she promised in her campaign statement this summer, and she sought reelection.