AMPTP Reaches Out to WGA Chief Negotiator in Effort to Resume Talks

Following the ongoing rift between the Royal Family, Kate Middleton "wants to reach out to Prince Harry" and is "something she wants to deal with" a royal expert said. Within the space of a year, tensions have noticeably grown between the Royal Family and Harry after his explosive memoir Spare was released in January, not forgetting the Oprah Winfrey interview and Netflix docu-series that were previously aired alongside his wife Meghan Markle.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America met Friday with the major studios for the first negotiating session since May, and received a new package of proposals. The WGA told members in an email that it would respond to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers next week.

After their first day of bargaining since the Writers Guild went on strike May 2, the AMPTP and the WGA have recessed their negotiations until next week after the companies made a counterproposal to guild’s proposals.

SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is hopeful that Friday’s meeting between the Writers Guild and the AMPTP helps push the needle forward as the actors await their turn to get back to the bargaining table.

Honolulu, Hawaii native Jason Momoa is stepping up for his birth state.

The WGA and the AMPTP have agreed to resume bargaining for a deal that could end the guild’s ongoing strike.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America will resume negotiations with the studios on Friday, the guild told members in an email. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is set to deliver a response to the guild’s proposals, the union said.

Editors note: One in a series of stories marking the 100th day of the WGA strike.

Ariana Grande isn’t going to let Dalton Gomez‘s birthday go by unnoticed!

Ariana Grande won’t let estranged husband Dalton Gomez’s birthday go by without sending him her best wishes.

The Writers Guild introduced new demands on Friday that could prolong the three-month strike even longer.

Meeting for the first time in more than three months, the Writers Guild and the AMPTP on Friday failed to reach an agreement to resume contract negotiations. Their inability to agree on terms for returning to the bargaining table comes after their much anticipated meeting to discuss a possible resumption of talks.  

WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman and WGA West general counsel Tony Segall ran about an hour on Friday afternoon at the Sherman Oaks headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Sources said the WGA duo made clear that the guild will not bend on proposals to establish minimum staffing levels in episodic TV and a guaranteed minimum number of weeks of employment. The AMPTP has called those proposals non-starters, and gave no indication on Friday that they’re prepared to change that position.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass weighed in again on the writers and actors strikes that have shut down much of production in the region, telling the sides that she stands “ready to personally engage” to reach a resolution.

If you thought the Writers Guild of America was going to be playing nice heading into tomorrow’s meeting between WGA Chief Negotiator Ellen Stutzman and AMPTP boss Carol Lombardini – you really might want to think again.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America is continuing to downplay expectations for Friday’s meeting with the studios, and is telling members that it will not be pressured into accepting a bad deal. Ellen Stutzman, the WGA’s chief negotiator, is scheduled to meet Friday with the head of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. It will be the first formal meeting between the two sides since the writers went on strike on May 1.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery reported the Hollywood writers and actors’ ongoing work stoppage had brought the company savings in the “low$100 million range” during its Q2 earnings results call Thursday. “We’re in the business of storytelling.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Leaders of the Writers Guild of America expressed cautious optimism on Wednesday about a move to resume bargaining, but said they are still ready to stay on strike over the long haul. The head of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers called the WGA’s chief negotiator on Tuesday to set up a Friday meeting to discuss how to proceed.

In the wake of yesterday’s upbeat news that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the WGA are heading back for talks this Friday, SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says that as far as actors go, it’s still crickets from the producers.

There’s movement!