WGA Strike: Zack Stentz Talks Those Critical First Days

On-location filming in Los Angeles continues to nosedive amid the ongoing Writers Guild strike, plunging 51.5% last week compared with the same time a year ago. The WGA strike is now in its 23rd day with no signs of abating as films and TV shows shutting down production across the county.

Endeavor President and COO Mark Shapiro said the ultimate resolution of the WGA strike will improve the fortunes of the company’s representation business.

Editor’s Note: The co-creator & showrunner of Mrs. Davis, Tara Hernandez has put artificial intelligence at the core of her creativity in the just completed Peacock limited series. Today, in a guest column on the Writers Guild of American strike, the Young Sheldon writers’ room alumna takes a different POV on AI and the notion of the individual in a greater collective

James Cromwell, nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1995 for his role in Babe, expressed solidarity today for the WGA members who are out on strike.

Sean Penn strongly backed the current Hollywood screenwriters strike while speaking at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, saying the dispute over artificial intelligence is “a human obscenity.”

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.”

Peabody Awards and unspecified changes to the Tony Awards.

Matt Reeves’ Max series The Penguin has become latest high-profile TV production to be disrupted by WGA-organized picketers.

Refresh for updates Amid all the noise here at the Cannes Film Festivals about festival sexual predators, Johnny Depp’s return in Jeanne du Barry tonight and the admitted assaulting history of that movie’s director Maiwen; the WGA Strike is not forgotten.

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, but there’s still one host who’s proudly still on the air as his TV peers continue to picket: Greg Gutfeld.“I have the No. 1 late night show,” Gutfeld said Monday during Fox’s 2023 upfront presentation. “I also have the only late night show — sorry — right now, so you don’t have a choice in this matter.

No decisions were reached at today’s emergency meeting of the Tony Awards Management Committee, a get-together in which contingency plans were discussed in light of last week’s news that the June 11 ceremony will not be televised on CBS due to the Writers Guild of America strike.

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.

Requests by scripted TV production companies to film on location in Los Angeles plummeted 51% in the first week of the Writers Guild’s strike compared to the same week a year ago, according to FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

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.

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.

SAG-AFTRA, which starts its contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on June 7, is in “the same boat” with the Writers Guild as it strikes for a fair contract, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told a cheering crowd Wednesday night at the WGA strike rally at the Shrine Auditorium.