Will A Prolonged Writers’ Strike Be A Boon To The Struggling Indie Acquisitions Market?

The last time WGA picket lines formed in 2007, writers didn’t have an efficient way to communicate with fellow strikers about group meet-ups, illegal productions, and all those clever placards. The only place they could turn to for regular information was this very space, in which the late Nikki Finke would post regular missives about strike action, the broken-off negotiations and the financial impact of the 100-day work stoppage.

With a title as bland as “Assassin Club”, one that seems to present the idea that screenwriter Thomas Dunn seemingly forgot to conjure up a better moniker for this Henry Golding thriller, it serves the dual purpose of describing a by-the-numbers globetrotting suspense-fest that could either drive the viewer into fits of boredom with the familiar beats it hits over and over again or act as a gateway drug for those new to the genre.   Continue reading ‘Assassin Club’ Review: Watching This Weak Movie Will Make Anyone Want To Cancel Their Membership at The Playlist.

“This is not exactly the show we expected to do today,” said Warner Bros Discovery ad boss Jon Steinlauf in opening his company’s second Upfronts presentation as a merged company.

Matt Willis was left emotional as he reunited with his therapist he met in rehab 14 years ago as he visited The Providence clinic in Bournemouth during his powerful BBC documentary on Wednesday. The 40 year old, who is now five years sober, allowed cameras inside his life with his presenter wife, Emma Willis, 47, as they discussed his almost-lifelong battle with drugs and alcohol, and how it has affected them as individuals and as a couple.The documentary, named Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction, saw both Matt and Emma break down as they reflected on the past.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk, after dramatically slashing Twitter’s headcount following his takeover of the social platform, said the company will try to rehire some of them — acknowledging that the job cuts were too deep. Musk has slashed Twitter’s headcount by about 80%, from 7,800 to about 1,500, as he has attempted to cut costs and get the company in the black. “Some people who were let go probably shouldn’t have been,” Musk said during an interview with CNBC anchor David Faber following the 2023 Tesla annual shareholder meeting Tuesday at the car maker’s headquarters in Austin, Texas. “Desperate times call for desperate measures… Unfortunately, if you do it fast, there are some babies who will be thrown out,” Musk said. Twitter now will probably try to rehire some of the Twitter employees that were let go, he said.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Since the writers strike started on May 2, celebrities have turned out to support WGA members picketing for a better guild contract. Actors like Fred Armisen are also writers who are members of the WGA, while some SAG-AFTRA members are walking the line to support their colleagues. Since most TV shows and movies have suspended production until the strike is resolved, stars, writers and filmmakers like Christopher Nolan are taking to the streets to show their support for members of the Writers Guild of America.

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+.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are on a mission to make "the public to relate to them" as they want to be "more reachable" that the late Queen Elizabeth II, a body language expert has claimed. Over the weekend, William, 40, and his wife Kate, 41, shared a video featuring behind-the-scenes clips of them preparing for the coronation of King Charles III earlier this month.

“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.

Stranger Things‘ fourth season was split into two parts and the first part fell into the eligibility window for the 2022 Emmy Awards while the second part is in the eligibility window for the 2023 show.

Six months and counting! Lindsay Hubbard and Carl Radke are inching closer to their wedding day — but their guest list is still being decided.

Matt and Ross Duffer (aka the Duffer Brothers) have confirmed the status of season five of Stranger Things.

who died in September at the age of 96. “As my grandmother said, when she was crowned, coronations are a declaration of our hopes for the future, and I know she’s up there fondly keeping an eye on us, and she’d be a very proud mother,”William said.

Kate Middleton and Prince William are making a surprise appearance!

As if movie fans needed another reason to be wary of new Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav: Deadline reports that the CEO told the hosts of the CNBC show “Squawk Box” that “a love for working” will be what ultimately ends the current WGA writers’ strike.

” as the Princess of Wales—and may be the perfect opportunity to make a statement. According to Bethan Holt, fashion director at the Daily Telegraph, it's likely that the recently-minted Princess of Wales will use the historic moment as a way to set herself "apart from the crowd.""It's quite nice for her in a way that she can really make this her own, as every time she's on a tour, either the Queen or Diana has been there before—and there's an expectation," Holt told According to the publication, will be the first to attend a coronation since 1902. “I think Kate will wear something thoughtful that will in some way show her loyalty to King Charles,” Holt said.

continuing on for the time being. As Whoopi explained on Tuesday, “We did the show anyway, because we want to keep everybody employed, and we want to do our best, and we support our writers ’cause we know what they’re going through.”She noted at the top of that show that the lack of writers, for them, means that “you’re gonna hear how it would be when it’s not, you know, slicked up.” In each episode since, she has begun each show by reminding viewers that those writers are still on strike, so she and her co-hosts are essentially improvising the entire show.Such was the case on Thursday, as Whoopi noted that they’ll likely remind audiences that the writers strike is happening at the start of each episode for as long as the strike continues.

Snoop Dogg had some choice words about the “fucked up” streaming models that have led the Writers Guild of America to go on strike over writers’ compensation. “[Artists] need to figure it out the same way the writers are figuring it out,” Snoop said during a panel on Wednesday with Variety‘s Executive Music Editor Shirley Halperin, and his co-panelist and business partner, Gamma’s Larry Jackson. “The writers are striking because [of] streaming, they can’t get paid. Because when it’s on the platform, it’s not like in the box office.” He continued, “I don’t understand how the fuck you get paid off of that shit. Somebody explain to me how you can get a billion streams and not get a million dollars?… That’s the main gripe with a lot of us artists is that we do major numbers… but it don’t add up to the money… it’s not working for the artist right now.”

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer To a lot of people outside the negotiating room, a strike by Hollywood writers felt inevitable. But it didn’t feel that way inside the room. Until the last day or two, negotiators for both labor and management believed that the other side would give, and that a deal would be reached at the last moment. But picket lines in Los Angeles and New York this week tell a different story. The conflict that led to the breakdown of talks on the night of May 1 began the day before. On April 30, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers delivered a 40-page package of proposals to WGA’s negotiating committee. It did not include key elements that the Writers Guild of America has insisted are essential to sealing a new three-year contract, including a mandatory minimum number of weeks for TV writers and a minimum staff size for writers rooms.

Prince Harry has "resentment" towards his "calculated" brother Prince William who he believes "made him the spare", according to a royal expert.