WGA Strike: ‘The Penguin’ Starring Colin Farrell Suspends Production After Picketing

Austin Butler, Brie Larson, Colin Farrell, Idris Elba, Kristen Wiig and Sarah Snook all have in common? They are all stars in Apple TV+'s slate of new films and series slated to debut in 2023. The streaming platform shared an extended teaser of several of its upcoming projects as well as returning favorites, offering viewers several first looks at what's to come throughout the rest of the year. Among the new projects are Butler in Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks' latest World War II drama,; Larson trading capes for lab coats in; Farrell playing a private detective in the crime series,; Elba in the intense airplane thriller,; and Wiig teaming up with Carol Burnett and Laura Dern in . Additionally, Amanda Seyfried returns to TV after in the new limited series,, which also stars Tom Holland. Snook, meanwhile, appears alongside Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks in.

Amber Dowling Last April, Sphere Media took the Canadian Screen Awards by storm with 22 awards for its scripted content, including a record 12 wins for the historical Black drama “The Porter” and seven for queer comedy “Sort Of.” It was a big night for Canada’s third-largest independent producer, and in particular for Jennifer Kawaja, Sphere’s president of scripted and feature films for English Canada. Previously, Kawaja spent decades heading up Sienna Films with her business partner, Julia Sereny, helming several award-winning projects like “Cardinal,” “Trickster” and “One Dead Indian.” The duo sold the company to Kew Media Group in 2017 and in 2020, Montreal-based Datsit Sphere snatched it up when Kew was placed into receivership. Last year, Sphere restructured and rebranded under a single banner with the intention of streamlining content creation, production and distribution.

Angelique Jackson Grammy winner Erykah Badu has joined the all-star ensemble for Netflix’s feature adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” The singer-songwriter (“What Men Want”) will make a cameo, delivering “her soulful sound and eclectic style” with musical performances in the film,” starring Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington. Jackson and Washington reprise their roles from the highly successful Broadway revival of Wilson’s play, which recently received two Tony Award nominations (best revival of a play and best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play for Jackson).

Made in Chelsea's Louise Thompson has taken to social media to share an emotional post reflecting on her near-death experience earlier this year. The reality star shared a series of snaps of herself with her son Leo-Hunter, and partner Ryan Libbey, in St. Lucia on a delayed trip the trio should have made months ago.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Colin Farrell, Mariska Hargitay, Danny Strong, Paula Pell, Rachel Dratch, Michael Kelly and Craig Zobel were among the stars who came out to the writers strike picket line outside Paramount Global’s New York City office in Times Square Thursday. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D.-N.Y., and local politicians spoke at the event in support of the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) cause against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that has led to a four-week-and-counting work stoppage due to the organizations’ inability to ink a new contract May 1. “This is about what’s right. We’ve seen income inequality grow exponentially over the last decade; and in your business, it has never been more present,” Gillibrand said to the crowd, filled with not only WGA members, but also those from SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and Teamsters, among other unions. “We see writers working hard every day to produce content and we have an unfair playing field. Not only does AI want to displace our writers, they simply can’t. AI generates content based on what’s been written before the work you did last year, and the year before. It’s not original. It’s not imaginative. It doesn’t come from the human heart. It’s not about a human experience. It’s not about what people actually want to learn about or know about or see or experience. That is what writers bring to the equation every single time. So this strike is so important for the future of this country. It’s about the value of workers; workers and what they create is fundamentally valuable.”

EXCLUSIVE: J.J. Abrams-exec produced drama series Duster has had its production suspended.

Matthew Wright has admitted he is "gutted" that Phillip Schofield has stepped down from hosting This Morning after 21 years.The 57-year-old regularly appears on the hit ITV1 daytime show alongside Phillip and Holly Willoughby to discuss the top news stories. Phillip, 61, announced on Saturday that he would no longer present the programme after weeks of rumours his friendship with co-host Holly, 42, had come to an end. Matthew has become the first regular This Morning guest to address the news that Phillip won't be returning to the show, making it clear that he is unhappy about his resignation.

Sean Penn has voiced his support for the Writer’s Guild of America strike.

A new family are now just weeks away from making their debut in Walford and they are set to shake things up. Recently viewers have watched as Linda Carter's mum Elaine Peacock arrived as the new co landlady of the Queen Victoria pub with her daughter.

EXCLUSIVE: Showtime’s hit drama The Chi, which films entirely in Chicago, has paused production on its upcoming sixth season, effective today. The decision was made Monday after a second consecutive day of shooting was disrupted by WGA strike-related picketing.

WGA strike.“We are grateful for the contribution writers make to our company and respect their right to demonstrate it may take some time, but I know we will eventually get through this and the result will be a stronger foundation on which we can all move forward together,” Chairman of NBCUniversal Mark Lazarus said during the New York event. Unsurprisingly, the event scaled back on its celebrities, relying on more executives and reality TV stars to introduce its clips and segments.

“The Little Mermaid”The Dolby Theatre, HollywoodUnder the sea and back to Hollywood in a whole new way! At the world premiere of Walt Disney’s live-action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” a crowd of excited fans helped make the atmosphere electric, cheering on the stars and their friends who walked the blue carpet. Adorned with shimmering seashell decorations and with the sounds of Caribbean music filling the air, the joyful feeling immersed everyone in the world of the film.“The Little Mermaid” herself, Halle Bailey, wowed in a shimmery sea-blue gown that evoked Ariel, while Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Art Malik, Awkwafina and director Rob Marshall gathered for the celebration. TheWrap caught up with Melissa McCarthy (who plays the much-loved musical’s iconic octopus villain Ursula), to discuss the backlash that African-American star Bailey experienced when cast as Ariel, who is white in the animated classic.

EXCLUSIVE: Dick Wolf-exec produced drama series On Call is the latest series to shut down its production.

Sophia Scorziello editor John Travolta and Katherine Heigl will star in Nick Vallelonga’s upcoming rom-com “That’s Amore!” Palisades Park Pictures made the announcement Thursday ahead of the sales launch for the film at Cannes Film Festival. Additionally, Christopher Walken is in talks to join the cast. “Nick Venere (Travolta) is a modern-day “Marty” – he’s never been married and his best dating years are well behind him. He’s never heard the words “I love you” and figures he never will,” said the official film synopsis. “Patty Amore (Heigl) has her share of problems as well. Shy and introverted, she’s filled with various tics and nervous habits. A secret from her past, combined with her over-protective father, have caused her to withdraw from the dating game. When Nick and Patty meet, literally bumping into one another, they share an immediate connection. When these two emotionally damaged people attempt to date one another, their families get involved, and the results are hilarious.”

We heard Britney Spears was going to be ruffling some A-list feathers with her upcoming memoir. But we didn’t even think to put Colin Farrell on our bingo cards!

Ted Sarandos, who was set to receive the PEN America Visionary Award at the literary group’s gala next week in NYC, won’t be attending amid an ongoing strike and vigorous picketing on both coasts by the WGA.

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.

Theo James will star in the latest feature film adaptation of a Stephen King short story. “The Monkey” will be adapted for the screen by Osgood Perkins, who will write and direct. The film will be produced by Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Michael Clear, C2 Motion Picture Group’s Jason Cloth and Dave Caplan (Babylon).

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off starring in season two of HBO’s The White Lotus, Theo James has been set to lead new horror movie The Monkey, based on the short story of the same name by Stephen King.

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.