Writers Guild Cancels In-Person Meetings as Contract Talks Near

Leaders of the Writers Guild of America have told members that they may need to extend to current contract beyond its current May 1 expiration due to the coronavirus pandemic.

By David Robb

Paradigm has reached an agreement with the Writers Guild of America, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The pact, which runs through April 2025, is based on the standard franchise agreement offered by the WGA, with a few key gains for Paradigm: Packaging fees will be allowed until Dec.

The WGA is evaluating its options for conducting contract talks with Hollywood’s major studios that were to have started today until coronavirus prevention measures made it untenable for the sides to hold a face-to-face bargaining session.

Paradigm Talent Agency has signed a new franchise agreement with the Writers Guild of America, allowing the agency to resume representation of its WGA-represented clients for the first time in nearly a year.

Renfrewshire Council has pulled the plug on all scheduled board meetings until late June in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

James Maddison remains a target for Manchester United when the transfer window reopens at the end of the season.

In what may be a bellwether for genre-based awards shows going into the near future, the Blues Foundation has announced it is canceling both the Blues Hall of Fame induction ceremony and Blues Music Awards, which were set to take place on successive nights in May — but will still celebrate the winners via webcasts.

By David Robb

The Directors Guild of America has announced it has cancelled non-critical group meetings and will limit or cancel future events due to the coronavirus epidemic.

By David Robb

With the coronavirus crisis continuing to accelerate at an alarming pace internationally, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has joined the growing number of organizations and companies to have instructed U.K. employees to cancel in-person meetings, The Hollywood Reporter understands.

In a milestone development, the Writers Guild of America  East has negotiated a first collective bargaining agreement with CBSN, the first anchored live-streaming news service to be unionized.

The Writers Guild of America West has called off a membership meeting scheduled for Tuesday night at the Hollywood Palladium as a precaution against the coronavirus.

Global dating app Tinder has scrapped international release plans for its original, in-app streaming series “Swipe Night,” the company told Variety exclusively. The decision comes on the heels of advice it gave users about meeting potential love interests in person, as coronavirus continues to spread worldwide.

Some events planned for GDC 2020 will now take place virtually, after this month’s in-person San Francisco conference was canceled over coronavirus concerns.

SAG-AFTRA is canceling or postponing most in-person meetings across the country, the union announced Monday, in the wake of increasingly urgent coronavirus warnings from public health officials over the weekend directed at high-risk individuals. The move, which also curtails non-essential travel, was disclosed in an email to members that follows a Friday email advising actors to report concerns to on-set medics or the union’s safety hotline.

The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will begin talks March 23 on a new three-year theatrical and television agreement ahead of a May 1 contract expiration, the WGA disclosed Friday. Negotiators are expected to grapple with issues that include basic wage increases, residuals, and compensation, holds and exclusivity related to short seasons such as are common on streaming platforms.