Striking Hollywood writers lament residuals slide

Editor’s note: The interviews conducted in this podcast were recorded at Deadline’s Contenders TV event, prior to the WGA’s strike starting on May 2.

"Spider-Man" actor Tom Holland announced he’s momentarily taking a step back from his acting career.  After the British star struggled to play the role of producer and actor simultaneously, Holland revealed what pushed him to take a break from Hollywood.  "It was a tough time, for sure," the 27-year-old said during an interview with "Extra" for his film "The Crowded Room." "We were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before. And then on top of that, being a producer, dealing with the day-to-day problems that come with any film set, just added that extra level of pressure." While Holland executive produced the dark psychological-thriller series, he admitted that portraying a character who is suffering from mental health issues at the same time wasn’t an easy task.  "I’m no stranger to hard work," Holland noted.

Daisy Jones and the Six” does the opposite — the women are a unit. “From Disney movies that came out when we were tiny, that’s what we were seeing,” says Riley Keough, who portrays rockstar Daisy Jones in the Amazon Prime Video adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book, which flipped that trope on its head. It was that reason why I chose the women of “Daisy Jones and the Six” for our Women of Awards Season issue. Keough, Suki Waterhouse and Camila Morrone aren’t in competition. Even their characters, three independent women fighting for success and love, weren’t in competition — and two were in love with the same man. 

Tupac Shakur received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday 7 June, with the hip-hop legend posthumously honoured days before his birthday. The late rapper’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, accepted the star on behalf of their family and shed tears while describing her older brother’s vision of being celebrated with a star in Hollywood.

Britain’s News Channel that, according to an industry insider, “the next James Bond won’t be white.” Ariel in the Disney remake “The Little Mermaid” was also mentioned as a white character who had been recast as nonwhite.“And I thought that was a little bit more of an odd fit,” Cuomo went on. “But if you were going to play to the global palette, wouldn’t he, and if it’s for America, wouldn’t he be Latino? And if it’s for the world market, wouldn’t he probably come from Bollywood? I mean, why is there this expectation that he has to be a Black actor?”“I don’t think there’s an expectation that he has to be a Black actor. The idea is that he has been White for six iterations and there is no problem in opening it up to other people,” Mystal responded.

Norman Lear showed solidarity to the striking writers Tuesday by posting a sympathetic message on his Instagram page.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Like almost every project in Hollywood, the “Community” movie is on hold amid the writers strike. However, the bright spot in the darkest timeline is that, according to star Joel McHale, series creator Dan Harmon and co-writer Andrew Guest had almost finalized the Peacock film’s script ahead of the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) work stoppage and Harmon was in talks with his ideal director for the movie. “We had a shooting date coming up, which was going to be in the summer,” McHale told Variety. “And I think they were extremely close to — I mean, Dan is somebody that tweaks things but, obviously, that’s all stopped. But I think it was pretty darn close. It was close, the shoot date was coming up and we were all excited to do it and then the writers strike happened, which obviously put everything on hold, and rightfully so. The writers are asking for very reasonable things. Writers need to be paid properly.”

Selome Hailu Seven years ago, Javier Grillo-Marxuach got drunk with his fellow writer-producer Jose Molina and made a list of “made a list of all the sociopathic abusers [they’d] worked for, and a list of the good ones. One list was was significantly longer than the other.” While he didn’t specify which of his TV jobs he was referring to — though “Lost” comes to mind thanks to recently surfaced accounts about its “toxic” writers room — Grillo-Marxuach spoke on ATX Festival’s Beyond the Page panel about how resources and mentorship for younger writers began dwindling when the industry shifted to a streaming model. One of the major responsibilities a writer has aside writing scripts is to make sure those scripts retain their integrity throughout the production process. For any number of practical reasons, a scene that works on the page doesn’t always translate in front of the cameras, and it used to be universally acknowledged that TV writers were there to provide on-the-fly guidance about how to make adjustments that stay true to showrunner’s vision. But these days, writers are much more rarely paid to come to set at all.

After his quotes about writing for Lost appeared in a Vanity Fair book excerpt Tuesday, veteran scribe Javier Grillo-Marxuach doubled down via social media by sharing more of his experience on the ABC drama.

Voting yes is NOT a vote to strike. It gives the board the POWER to strike if the AMPTP doesn’t agree to the essential contract improvements our members need.We’re a union, and a union stands together! pic.twitter.com/aSdTvb23WNThe guild is set to begin talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on June 7.

Another Marvel blockbuster has hit a roadblock.

LinkedIn livestream event promoting his new Netflix docuseries “Working: What We Do All Day,” the former president spoke of the importance of writers in the entertainment industry. “I know there are many studios and streamers who feel a little bit embattled and there’s been a little bit too much of a glut of product and they’re looking at their bottom line and their experiencing shareholder pressure, etc, but the fact is, is that they wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for writers creating the stories that matter,” Obama said to host Ira Glass. “My hope is that as somebody who’s really supportive of the Writer’s Guild and as someone who just believes in storytelling and the craft of it,” Obama continued, “I’m hoping that they will be compensated and the importance of what they do will be reflected in whatever settlement’s arrived at. I’m very supportive of the writers and the strike and I’m hopeful that they get a fair share of the fruits of their labor.” Obama’s statements echo those of his former Vice President Joe Biden, who earlier this month said he hopes the WGA receives “a fair deal they deserve as soon as possible.”Now entering its 24th day, the strike has continued to halt production in Hollywood.

Weezer have become the latest band to show their support for striking writers in Hollywood amidst the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.The band’s Rivers Cuomo, Brian Bell and Scott Shriner joined striking writers at a picket line outside of Paramount Picture’s studio, where they performed an acoustic set to entertain the strikers.A clip of the set, which was captured by striking Disney writer Brittney Jeng, shows Weezer performing their hit ‘Buddy Holly’ has strikers singalong. Per clips obtained by TMZ, Weezer also performed ‘Beverly Hills’ and ‘Island In The Sun’.Jeng wrote on Twitter: “Thanks [Weezer] for keeping our spirits up and supporting the writers on the picket line! Best Day Ever!!!!”What happened? This happened!!! Gah! Impromptu performance at the Paramount lot! Thanks @Weezer for keeping our spirits up and supporting the writers on the picket line! Best Day Ever!!!! #WritersStrike #WGAStrong #WGAstrike #weezer pic.twitter.com/iGhivf3RfF— Brittney Jeng (@PurpleBJenga) May 18, 2023Earlier this month, Imagine Dragons surprised striking writers with an acoustic performance outside of Netflix’s headquarters, playing hits like ‘Radioactive’, ‘Whatever It Takes’ and ‘Enemy’.Frontman Dan Reynolds shared his support for the writers, telling TMZ: “We just want fair compensation for people who put in the time and are incredible creators.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Cocaine Bear filmmaker Elizabeth Banks has urged industry professionals to “hold the line” and support striking writers, particularly around issues such as the use of AI as her thriller Dreamquil, which explores the dangers of artificial intelligence, launches at the Canes Market.

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.

Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds and guitarist Daniel Wayne Sermon surprised the Writers Guild Of America strikers with a mini-performance on the Netflix picket line in Hollywood yesterday (May 9).Performing an acoustic set of hits including ‘Radioactive’ and ‘Whatever It Takes’, the rock band provided entertainment to the writers who were on strike Tuesday outside of the Netflix headquarters.The Writers Guild Of America, also known as WGA, have been on strike since last week as they fight for higher pay and improved working conditions.Reynolds shared his support for the writers, telling TMZ: “We just want fair compensation for people who put in the time and are incredible creators. We have many friends who are writers.

numerous postponed TV shows was also fast approaching Emmys voting season.On Sunday, WGA informed studios that it is canceling all advertising of For Your Consideration (FYC) events. “After deliberation with our legal department, all FYC production is now suspended,” WGA leadership said in an email to studio awards teams obtained by TheWrap.

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.