As WGA Contract Talks Begin, Union Tells Members What To Expect In Coming Weeks

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The WGA and Hollywood’s major employers are set to resume contract talks on Wednesday as the sides aim to make progress in sorting through complicated compensation issues and averting a strike. Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are expected to sit down again in person Wednesday morning at AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks. The WGA had planned to take a two-week break after March 31 to begin the process of a strike authorization vote, with talks tabbed to resume the week of April 17. The guild’s current three-year contract expires on May 1. A rep for the AMPTP declined comment. The WGA did not immedately respond to a request for comment.

LOONA were blindsided earlier this month when the beloved K-pop group’s former creative director Jaden Jeong and his new agency Modhaus announced that they had signed exclusive contacts with four of the group’s former members: Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry. In an exclusive interview with NME, Jeong speaks on how he reunited with the four idols and addresses speculation around their future at the agency.Jeong parted ways with LOONA when he left the group’s agency Blockberry Creative in 2019.

EXCLUSIVE: British visual effects outfit Union is launching its first international studio in Montreal, Canada, as it looks to expand the services it offers its clients in feature film and high-end television. 

BreAnna Bell BET has announced its upcoming docuseries special from Gabrielle Union titled, “My Journey to 50.” The two-part special serves as Union’s first project to come from her overall deal with the company, which was announced last June. The documentary follows the “L.A.’s Finest” alum as she jets off with her husband Dwyane Wade, family, friends and loved ones on a journey across Africa from the island of Zanzibar to the coast of Ghana to the parks of Namibia and the nightlife of South Africa in celebration of her 50th birthday. “We join Gabrielle, along with her family and closest friends, as she embarks on a journey that sheds light on the woman she once was and honors who she is in the present while discovering the deeply rooted, badass that she has always been. On this journey, she’ll walk the path of her heritage, gain wisdom and shed what no longer works for her while welcoming others to relearn, rediscover and reconnect as we collectively celebrate our most authentic selves,” reads the show’s official synopsis, per BET.

Former Directors Guild presidents Paris Barclay and Thomas Schlamme have been named co-chairs of the DGA Outreach Team in advance of what the guild predicts will be “difficult” negotiations for a new film and TV contract, which are set to start May 10.

A teaching union has recommended to its members to reject a new pay offer from the Education Secretary which it labels 'insulting'. The National Education Union has put this recommendation to its members in a ballot, which could lead to more strike action.

As the WGA begins its second week of bargaining for a new contract with the AMPTP today, the guild is prepared for a strike, if it comes to that, though that’s by no means a foregone conclusion. The WGA’s current film and TV contract expires May 1.

Hundreds of WGA East members who work for Hearst Magazines Media are planning to stage a walkout Thursday to demand a fair contract. The half-day action is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET and will last the remainder of the day.

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 showed their support for the WGA on Monday, posing with WGA leaders shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the Writers Guild’s contract negotiations with producers at the AMPTP’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks.

The editorial staff at Fox affiliate WNYW-TV New York has voted unanimously to ratify a new four-year contract with the WGA East. The 52-member bargaining unit includes news writers, writer/producers, assignment editors, segment producers, news assistants and feed coordinators.

Much like the beginning of a Congressional hearing on a hot potato political topic, expectations for the first day of talks between the WGA and AMPTP were high, but largely began with formalities.

The 1998 erotic thriller "Wild Things," which celebrates its 25th anniversary today, was almost a different movie for a variety of reasons. The film’s director John McNaughton revealed new details about the production, including a twist with Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon’s characters.

EXCLUSIVE: First among Hollywood unions this year, the WGA is going face-to-face with the studios starting Monday in what’s expected to be contentious negotiations for a new overall contract. However, the atypical pole position for the hard-hitting scribes this labor round is a consequence of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ rebuke of the DGA efforts to strike a pact a few months ago.

Mother's Day this Sunday 19 March, HELLO! have taken a look at how the nation's celebrity mothers are spending the special day, as well as how they are paying tribute to their own mums.From Victoria Beckham's heartfelt tribute to her mum Jackie, as well as her doting tribute from husband David, to Lorraine Kelly's family lunch and Louise Redknapp's adorable post from her sons Charley and Beau, other stars have taken to sharing cute throwback photos from the past.Take a look at the best Mother's Day post from the likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sarah Ferguson, Holly Willoughby and more… Former Spice Girls star Victoria Beckham shared the sweetest photograph beside her mother Jackie Adams to her Instagram Story along with the caption: "I love you so much."VB celebrated her mother-in-law Sandra Beckham on Sunday too, sharing a second snap of David's mum looking radiant in a sage green blouse. The mother-of-four also received a flurry of sweet messages from her sons Brooklyn, Cruz, and Romeo on social media, to which she responded that she is "blessed to be a mum".  This Morning star Rochelle Humes was showered with several bouquets of blooming spring flowers to mark Mothering Sunday.

CCTV footage has emerged of missing teenager Faith Marley meeting a man at Buchanan Bus Station.

EXCLUSIVE: There was “fire and brimstone” at tonight’s WGA membership meeting – the last to be held before the start of contract negotiations with the AMPTP on Monday. The meeting, held via Zoom, was led by the co-chairs of the guild’s negotiating committee: former WGA West presidents Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman.

Her biggest fans! Dwyane Wade‘s daughter Zaya Wade opened up about her “giant support system” and proud family while making her magazine cover debut.

Leaders of the Writers Guild of America won’t discuss the specifics of the contract proposals they’ve exchanged with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. But in an interview with Deadline on Tuesday ahead of next week’s start of negotiations, they made it perfectly clear a deal can be reached without a strike if the companies take the needs of writers seriously.

Saying that “writers are not keeping up,” the WGA said today that its upcoming negotiations for a new film and TV contract “must significantly address writer compensation.” The talks are set to begin March 20, and the current contract expires May 1.

EXCLUSIVE: Saturday Night Live’s labor negotiations continue.