As the Writers Guild strike stretches into its fourth week, Michael Schur is feeling resolute.
02.05.2023 - 17:29 / thewrap.com
statement posted to Twitter Tuesday. “We believe that everyone working in the film and television industry deserves to be fairly compensated for their work and receive essential benefits.”The statement comes hours after the WGA officially commenced the entertainment industry’s first strike in 15 years after the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to reach a deal by Monday at midnight, when the most recent contract expired.“The decision was made following six weeks of negotiations with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP),” the WGA said in a statement Monday evening.
“The WGA Negotiating Committee began this process intent on making a fair deal, but the studios’ responses have been wholly insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing.” The WGA also confirmed picketing will begin Tuesday after the Guild informed its members that picket lines will begin on Tuesday afternoon had a deal not reached by the midnight deadline.Taking place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
on Tuesday in both New York City and Los Angeles, picketing lines will go up at 10 major studios in Hollywood, including Amazon, CBS Radford, CBS TV City, Disney, Fox Entertainment, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. WGA members and supporters will also march at the Peacock NewFront presentation in New York City.
.As the Writers Guild strike stretches into its fourth week, Michael Schur is feeling resolute.
Sean Penn has voiced his support for the Writer’s Guild of America strike.
Asked about the WGA strike at the Cannes Film Festival press conference Friday for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, director James Mangold said, “No movie happens without a great script, and no great script happens without writers.”
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy showed support for the writers strike while attending the Cannes press conference for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Kennedy has been a producer on the Harrison Ford-led franchise since its first installment. “When it comes to acknowledging the importance of writing, I think everybody up here has demonstrated that you can’t do any of this without great writing,” Kennedy said. “You can’t do any of this without great writing. All of us who create anything…I am in full support and I know most people are in full support of the writers getting what they deserve.” Kennedy said she’d like to see the strike resolved “in an environment where people can talk about what are some really complicated issues that are effecting the entire industry,” but it’s “going to take time.”
Sean Penn is standing in solidarity with the writers guild, whose members are currently on strike to fight for better wages and work conditions in the streaming era. “My full support is with the writers guild,” Penn said during Friday’s press conference for his latest movie “Black Flies,” which debuted in competition at Cannes Film Festival. “There are a lot of new concepts that are being tossed around, including the use of AI. And it just strikes me as human obscenity that there’s been a pushback on that.” Penn also slammed the PGA as a “bankers guild,” saying “the first thing we should do in these conversations is change the Producers Guild and title them how they behave, which is the bankers guild. It’s difficult for so many writers and people in the industry who cannot work.”
Just over a week ago, Bob Iger rhetorically asked the adversarial Gov. Ron DeSantis if Florida really wanted Disney’s considerable business and tax revenue, or not. Now, without mentioning the would-be presidential contender nor his attacks on the company, the Mouse House has pulled some of that business and taxes revenues from the Sunshine State.
The Producers Guild of America has staked its claim to a date for its annual trophy show. The 2024 Producers Guild Awards will are set for Sunday, February 25, at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles — two weeks before the Oscars.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Producers Guild of America will hold its next PGA Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 25, 2024, presidents Stephanie Allain and Donald DeLine announced on Wednesday. The 2024 installment will mark the 35th annual PGA Awards ceremony. Here is this year’s PGA Awards calendar: Eligibility Period for 2024 Producers Guild Awards Notice of Producing Credits Form Deadline
Producers Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on February 25, 2024.The Producers Guild Awards is a major predictor for the Academy Awards as a vast number of the voting members of the PGA are also members of the producers branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Thirteen of the last sixteen winners of the PGA’s Best Theatrical Motion Picture Award have gone on to win the Oscar for Best Picture, including this year’s winner, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The PGA Awards are also a predictor for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, as the last eight winners in that category have also won at this ceremony.
Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor UPDATED: Producers of the Tonys will file an appeal of the WGA’s waiver denial. The decision was made Monday during a meeting of the Tonys management committee. A source tells Variety, “Everyone is still trying to see if there is a workable solution.” On Friday, the Writers Guild of America denied a request for a strike waiver from the show’s producers, meaning the Tonys won’t be televised on June 11. Ariana DeBose was set to return as host but it is believed she’ll cancel if the strike is still on. The Tonys were scheduled to take place at the United Palace in New York’s Washington Heights. The ceremony was to start at 8 p.m. ET and air live on CBS, as well as the streaming service Paramount+.
Production on the Fox game show You Bet Your Life has halted amid the ongoing writers strike as the AMPTP continues to stall negotiations with the WGA. Series host Jay Leno, who has been seen at multiple picket lines delivering donuts, supports the move.
EXCLUSIVE: The fledgling Guild of Screenwriters of Ukraine (GSU) has backed its WGA counterparts “unconditionally,” stating that a “screenwriter is a creator of history and this should be evaluated appropriately.”
Striking writers marching Wednesday in New York City were joined by SAG-AFTRA members Bob Odenkirk and Mandy Patinkin.
As you have no doubt already heard, the WGA is on strike right now. Just over a week into it, this strike has already caused quite a few disruptions, with productions being halted and development coming to a standstill.
When are things not strange in Hollywood? Should we be surprised that there is always some industry or world crises crashing an awards season? Probably not, but it’s been quite a long time since a work stoppage affected the Primetime Emmy Awards. And, as we’ll discuss later, that means while writers form picket lines, actors and directors are still engaged in that Emmy nomination fight.
in solidarity with the WGA, and MTV scuttled plans for red carpet interviews and an in-person ceremony in order to to avoid run-ins with picketers (and lack of talent willing to show up).The show that aired was largely made up of clips of memorable moments from past MTV Movie Awards ceremonies — everything from Jim Carrey accepting his award as Jim Morrison to Sacha Baron Cohen landing crotch-first into Eminem’s face after a “stunt gone wrong.” They even played Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg’s performance of “California Girl” from the 2010 show in full, just to fill some time.As for the awards themselves, nominees from each category were called and the winner then accepted in the form of a pre-recorded message.
Another TV shoot has been disrupted by striking writers, Michelle and Robert King’s supernatural drama for Paramount+ Evil, which has been filming its fourth season at Brooklyn Stages in Brooklyn.
“You make billions/pay us some!” striking Writers Guild of America members chanted on the street of New York today near where filming was going on for Showtime’s Billions.
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.”
Chelsea Handler is standing with the WGA strike — “obviously.” The comedian told TheWrap as much during an interview promoting her “Little Big Bitch” comedy tour, which will see Handler headlining the the Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver on May 10 for SeriesFest.“Obviously, I stand with the writers, absolutely, and the WGA,” Handler said. “It’s unfortunate that it has to come to this.”To Handler, sharing profits and offering better deals to writers seems like an “obvious move” for large corporations that “make tons of money.” “The trickle-down economics don’t necessarily work. So I think it’s the only fair thing to do, and hopefully it’ll be over sooner than later,” Handler said.The actor and writer also spoke about potentially taking over “The Daily Show” after Trevor Noah left the late-night show in December.