WGA and SAG-AFTRA Take Action After Universal Studios Trims Trees to Prevent Shade for Strikers

EXCLUSIVE: Karsen Liotta (Blackbird), daughter of the late Ray Liotta, is headlining an anthology indie pic that has been handed a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.

The Sun that the California-based royals recently had a power lunch with John Travolta, 69, at The Beverly Hills Hotel’s exclusive Polo Lounge. “They got on extremely well,” the insider said of the Sussexes and the “Grease” star — who famously danced with Harry’s mom, Princess Diana, at the White House back in 1985.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Jamie Lee Curtis doesn’t pretend to know when she thinks the SAG-AFTRA strike will end. “I have no idea,” the Oscar winner told me Thursday morning at Project Angel Food’s groundbreaking ceremony for The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Campus in Los Angeles. However, Curtis says she remains “hopeful” that the actors union and AMPTP can find common ground.” “I’m hopeful that we can all see all sides.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has said that goalkeeper Nathan Bishop will be "missed by everyone" after sealing a move to Sunderland.

Viola Davis is backing away from “G20” in a move that may put pressure on other A-listers.

Viola Davis is backing away from G20 in a move that may put pressure on other A-listers.The EGOT winner says she’s stepping away from the project even after the film got the SAG-AFTRA interim agreement necessary to start production. “I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike,” said the 57-year-old in a statement obtained by ET.

Thania Garcia Randy Meisner, the retired American singer and co-founding member of the Eagles, died on July 26 in Los Angeles due to complications from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a statement shared by the band on their website. He was 77.

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler will join striking actors and writers on the picket line Thursday morning at Fox Studios in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, she joined picketers outside Netflix offices in New York City. “When we fight together, we win together. And we won’t stop fighting until workers have a fair contract!” she tweeted the other day.

Snoop Dogg is choosing to take a stand for the writers and actors on strike in Hollywood by canceling some of his upcoming shows.

The dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes resulted in almost every production pressing pause — not including the movies that have received approval to keep filming.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Prince Royal, an actor in Los Angeles, was working as an extra on “The Flash” when he was directed to a tractor trailer to “take pictures.” Inside were hundreds of cameras. He stood with his arms up as the operators took a 3-D scan, which he was told would be used for continuity and special effects. “We were told if we didn’t do it, we’d be sent home without pay,” he said.

The Gray House, a Civil War spy drama series that is being produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman, is the latest high-profile project to land an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA.

EXCLUSIVE: Noah Hawley’s Alien FX series has started production in Thailand but without its stars who are SAG-AFTRA members — including the two leads — due to the ongoing strike.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone will not be attending the closing night of this year’s Outfest LA, where they were set to receive the James Schamus Ally Award. The couple was expected to be on hand for the July 23 event at The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, but their rep tells Variety that will not make an appearance due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. “We understand that Melissa and Ben are unable to join us for our closing night due to the strike,” Outfest executive director Damien S. Navarro said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “We will miss them, as our closing night will be a wonderful celebration of our community.”

As the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes force many TV shows to press pause, season 3 of Netflix’s Heartstopper is seemingly still in development.

https://t.co/ZUOkfMbM0lFor those wondering, the City Controller is the paymaster, auditor and chief accounting officer for the city of Los Angeles, with a mandate to provide transparency on city policies, operations and data.Read more here.Our Office is investigating the tree trimming that occurred outside Universal Studios where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket.The trimmed trees are LA City managed street trees.(Before and after photos below) pic.twitter.com/xczw0bTdh9Trees can be trimmed by a StreetsLA Urban Forestry Division (UFD) crew as part of its trim cycle, or as part of a Council District’s trimming allotment.A business can also obtain a permit to trim a tree.

Ellise Shafer Both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA filed labor complaints against NBCUniversal on Tuesday, alleging that the company is disrupting their strike efforts. According to the Los Angeles Times, the complaints allege that NBCUniversal has “interfered with, coerced and restrained employees in the exercise of their rights” during the dual strike. Grievances include allegedly designating picket locations that were obstructed by construction fencing, resulting in marching in busy streets on which they say two picketers have been struck by cars, and not providing barriers to establish pedestrian walkways. In a statement to the L.A. Times, NBCUniversal said: “We strongly believe that the company has fulfilled our legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act and we will cooperate with respect to any inquiries by the National Labor Relations Board on this issue. While we understand the timing of our multi-year construction project has created challenges for demonstrators, we continue to work with public agencies to increase access.”

SAG-AFTRA is expanding its strike activities outside Los Angeles and New York this week, with picket lines and rallies in Orlando, Atlanta and Hawaii.

Artificial intelligence continues to be one of the hot topics as we head into the second week of the actors week with Congressman Adam Schiff joining the picket line to call for more AI regulation.

Leonardo DiCaprio is standing with his fellow actors. The “Revenant” star took to his Instagram Stories to show his support not long after it was announced that SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) formally approved a strike upon negotiations falling apart between the actors’ union and major Hollywood studios and streamers, who are represented by the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers).