EXCLUSIVE: Primetime Emmy nominee Jenna Fischer is boarding the ensemble cast of Paramount Pictures’ new Mean Girls film based on the Tony-nominated Broadway musical in the role of Ms. Heron, Cady Heron’s mom.
08.02.2023 - 21:35 / deadline.com
In a show of solidarity, more than 400 film and TV writers – including Adam McKay, David Simon, Tina Fey, Alfonso Cuarón, Lilly Wachowski, John Waters and Alan Zweibel – have signed a petition calling on MSNBC to negotiate a fair first-time contract with the WGA East for the cable news network’s news writers and producers.
The petition comes after MSNBC laid off 30 of the guild’s 300 members employed there last month – a move that the guild said left it “extremely frustrated and disappointed.” See petition and its full list of signers here.
“We are members of the Writers Guild of America who write and create scripted programs for NBCU and other studios,” reads the petition, signed “In Solidarity.” “We support our fellow Guild-represented writers and producers at MSNBC who have been fighting for over a year to win a reasonable first contract. They are fully dedicated to the important work they do for NBCU and they deserve to be paid – and treated – fairly.
“When they work long hours or long weeks, when they work night hours or stand by ready to write and produce on a moment’s notice, when they perform the duties of people at higher pay grades, they deserve extra pay.
“Our colleagues are fighting for what we all need – meaningful protections set forth in a collective bargaining agreement. We call on management to recognize the contributions of the Guild-represented employees at MSNBC by agreeing to a fair contract that includes the pay and protections they deserve.”
Lowell Peterson, the WGA East’s executive director, said: “We are proud to represent the people who write comedies, dramas, and news for NBCU. We will keep fighting at the bargaining table for a contract that addresses the very real needs and aspirations of
EXCLUSIVE: Primetime Emmy nominee Jenna Fischer is boarding the ensemble cast of Paramount Pictures’ new Mean Girls film based on the Tony-nominated Broadway musical in the role of Ms. Heron, Cady Heron’s mom.
EXCLUSIVE: Concordia Studio has hired Ash Sarohia as EVP of Narrative Film & Television, bolstering the studio’s efforts to expand its scripted and documentary slates.
K.J. Yossman “Cunk on Earth” star Diane Morgan and “Intelligence” creator Nick Mohammed have each inked independent deals with BBC Studios. Both comedians, who act and write, have signed deals for development, co-production and distribution of new scripted material, which BBC Studios will rep and distribute internationally. Mohammed is a double Emmy nominee who created and co-starred in “Intelligence” alongside “Friends” star David Schwimmer. He is perhaps best known for his role as Nate in “Ted Lasso” and will be seen in the upcoming feature “Maggie Moore(s)” opposite Jon Hamm and Tina Fey. Mohammed is also an associate of the Inner Magic Circle. Morgan recently had a hit with “Cunk on Earth” in which she starred as professional dim-wit Philomena Cunk. She is also known for comedy show “Mandy,” which she created, wrote and directed, and has starred in shows including “After Life” and “Motherland.”
Seven months after landing the highly coveted top jobs at Warner Bros. Motion Picture studios, Co-Chairpersons Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were bestowed with the PGA Milestone award tonight and paid respect for their mega industry mentors, remembered emotionally their cinematic NYC and New Jersey youths, and gave a huge shoutout to their new boss, Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally and Nick Cross has joined the cast of the fourth and final season of Netflix’s superhero drama series The Umbrella Academy.
Joe Otterson TV Reporter The fourth and final season of “The Umbrella Academy” at Netflix has added Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and David Cross to its cast, Variety has learned. It was announced in August 2022 that the hit series would be wrapping up with its fourth season. Offerman (“The Last of Us,” “Parks and Recreation”) and Mullally (“Will & Grace,” “Party Down”), who are married in real life, will star as Drs. Gene and Jean Thibedeau. The characters are described as “a married pair of community college professors from New Mexico who wear sensible footwear and suffer from the most extreme case of deja vu this timeline has ever seen.”
Emmy and Honorary Oscar winner Tyler Perry (A Jazzman’s Blues) has set another new film, titled Mea Culpa, at Netflix — enlisting Kelly Rowland (Think Like A Man), Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight), Sean Sagar (The Gentlemen), Nick Sagar (The Princess Switch trilogy) and RonReaco Lee (Nappily Ever After) to star.
Rebecca Lenkiewicz will be this year’s recipient of the WGA West’s Paul Selvin Award in recognition of her adapted screenplay for She Said, the Universal film about the New York Times reporters who broke the story that exposed disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein. The guild said Thursday that she will be honored at the WGA Awards’ Los Angeles ceremony March 5 at the Fairmont Century Plaza.
Anna Marie de la Fuente Mexico’s Yalitza Aparicio, Oscar nominated for her career-launching turn in Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” and Infinity Hill, producers of the Oscar-nominated Argentine drama “Argentina 1985,” have boarded sweatshop thriller “Bonded” as executive producers. The drama features a stellar cast that includes Golden Globe nominee Diego Calva (“Babylon”), Chile’s Alfredo Castro (“From Afar”), Mexico’s Paulina Gaitán (“Narcos”) and Jason Patric (“The Lost Boys”). The directorial feature debut of helmer-scribe Mohit Ramchandani, “Bonded” is produced by Mexican filmmaker Luis Mandoki (“Innocent Voices), Jon Graham (“The Vault”) and Kyle Stroud (“In Full Bloom”).
GQ magazine in an interview published on Tuesday that the possibility of bidding farewell to the character after the fourth season would “feel like a death, in a way.” However, he said that he envies some of his peers who have had “that freedom to just shoot yourself out of some different cannons.”“Sometimes Kendall feels like the same cannon over and over again,” Strong added.An HBO spokesperson declined to comment.In addition to Strong, the show’s ensemble cast includes Brian Cox, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, J. Smith-Cameron, Peter Friedman, David Rasche, Fisher Stevens, Hiam Abbass, Justine Lupe, Dagmara Domińczyk, Arian Moayed, Scott Nicholson, Zoë Winters, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Juliana Canfield and Jeannie Berlin.
Salma Hayek, Ricky Martin, Kim Kardashian, Alfonso Cuarón and Gaby Espino are some of the stars with thriving TikTokers at home. Valentina Paloma Pinault, Valentino Martin, North West, Tess Bu Cuarón, and Oriana Lander are part of the new generation of centennials taking over the social media world. Valentina Paloma Pinault is the daughter of Mexican actress Salma Hayek and French businessman François-Henri Pinault.
Oliver Wood, an English cinematographer whose credits include “Die Hard 2,” “Face/Off,” “The Other Guys” and the original “Bourne” trilogy, died Monday, Feb. 13, following a battle with cancer. He was 80. With a career spanning across seven decades, Wood worked across a wide variety of projects, collaborating with directors like John Woo, Adam McKay, Antoine Fuqua, Barry Sonnenfeld and Larry Cohen. He was nominated for a BAFTA award for best cinematography for his work on 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum,” directed by Paul Greengrass. Born in London, Wood moved to New York City when he was 19. His first major credit came on Leonard Kastle’s 1970 crime film “The Honeymoon Killers,” making a strong impression for his technique of using available light to give the anachronistic dark comedy the look of a newsreel.
Who knew a Canadian biopic of an infamous smartphone could be this entertaining, even poignant and moving? I am here to tell you today’s World Premiere Berlin Film Festival competition entry, BlackBerry is all that and more.
Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron wanted to explore making a series of short films honoring the different cultural traditions at the end of the year, from Christmas to Hanukkah to pagan traditions. His concept was to find a director suited to telling the story, depending on the culture. When it came to Christmas, Cuaron says, “That time of year is meaningful in most cultures. It’s the end of the darkest nights and the beginning of a new cycle. I immediately thought of Alice Rohrwacher. I’m a huge fan and have been ever since I saw ‘The Wonders’ and her short films.” Written and directed by Rohrwacher, “Le Pupille,” (The Pupils) the 37-minute short now streaming on Disney+, was produced by Cuaron in tandem with her regular producer Carlo Cresto-Dina.
Damson Idris gives a sweet forehead kiss to Lori Harvey at the premiere event for Snowfall, held at the Ted Mann Theater on Wednesday night (February 15) in Los Angeles.
Ishana Night Shyamalan is following in her dad’s footsteps.
Baby on the way! Marc Anthony and his wife, Nadia Ferreira, are expecting their first child together.
William Earl Variety will present Diego Luna with the inaugural Variety Virtuoso Award at the Miami Film Festival on Saturday, March 4. The award is will be presented to celebrate Luna’s excellence in acting, directing and producing over the years. “Emerging as a major force in Latin American cinema back at the dawn of our current century, Diego Luna has consistently proven the promise of his breakthrough role in Alfonso Cuarón’s acclaimed film ‘Y Tu Mama Tambien’ not only with awards-nominated work as an actor but also a growing reputation as a director of the first order,” said Steve Gaydos, Variety EVP of Global Content and Executive Editor. “Currently starring in the hit ‘Star Wars’ prequel series ‘Andor,’ Luna’s leading man credentials are vividly on display.”
“Saturday Night Live” cast members are touring this year.Just a few of the most high-profile alum on the road over the next few months include Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Tracy Morgan and Martin Short (with Steve Martin) to name just a few.However, none have demanded overnight buzz quite like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s upcoming four-show ‘Restless Leg’ Comedy Tour.On their first-ever tour, Tina Fey promised the shows will be “an evening of comedy, conversation, improv, maybe a little slow dancing between us” on Instagram.The duo, who co-anchored “SNL’s” Weekend Update, portrayed Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton on the show and hosted the Golden Globes together four times, begin the quick run where they’ll celebrate “30 years of friendship” at April 28 at Washington, D.C.’s DAR Constitution Hall.From there, the “30 Rock” and “Parks and Recreation” stars (as well as “Baby Mama” and “Sisters” co-stars) will hit Chicago’s Chicago Theatre on May 20, Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway on June 9 and finally Atlantic City’s Etess Arena at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on June 10.And if you want to treat yourself to tickets to see the “Only Murders In The Building” and “Upright Citizens Brigade” stars live as soon as today, you can.Although inventory isn’t available on Ticketmaster until Friday, Feb.
WGA East-represented news writers and producers at HuffPost have ratified a new three-year contract. According to the guild, the pact was approved unanimously by the 91-member bargaining unit employed at the online news site.