NBCUniversal Addresses Writers Strike At Upfronts Presentation As Animated Star Takes Center Stage

Ellise Shafer Tom Holland has given an update on the development of his fourth “Spider-Man” movie. At the premiere of his new Apple TV+ show “The Crowded Room” in New York City on Thursday night, Holland told Variety that though he can’t share too much, he has “been having meetings” about the next chapter in the Marvel franchise. However, those conversations have been put on hold for now due to the ongoing writers strike. “I can’t talk about that, but I can say that we have been having meetings. We’ve put the meetings on pause in solidarity with the writers,” Holland said. “There’s been multiple conversations had, but at this point it’s very, very early stages.”

Olivia Wilde is making core memories with her kids. The actress was joined by her two children on the picket line for Hollywood's current writers strike, holding up signs in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America (WGA). «Core memories include learning about corporate greed even when you wanna love Netflix,» Wilde captioned a sepia-toned photo from the day, flanked by daughter Daisy, 5, and son Otis, 9.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Gordon Ramsay’s team has been inundated with emails from C-suite execs at food businesses across the U.S. over the past week, following the premiere of his latest Fox competition series, “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.” With the unscripted series having already shot its first season in its entirety, these people are already itching to get on a potential second season of “Food Stars,” which, in a twist for Ramsay isn’t a show about how well you cook, plate or serve — it’s ultimately about how you play the business game. And the winner gets $250,000 investment from the celebrity chef himself. “As you know, 68% percent of businesses fail in the first 18 months. And so I have to judge this on the business acumen, but more importantly, the decisions and the quickness of how decisive they need to be in the cutthroat business world,” Ramsay told Variety ahead of Episode 2 of “Food Stars” airing Wednesday at 9 p.m. on Fox “So I need to get behind the character to understand the business. And then as always, stress test those businesses and look for weaknesses. I’ve made mistakes in business, but I’ve never made that same mistake twice. Everything I’ve learned and the restaurants I’ve opened, and the huge success and the issues I’ve had to deal with, across the whole sector, has gone into this shows. It’s been fascinating, because the feedback has been extraordinary. Just on LinkedIn alone, the amount of CMOs and CEOs and COOs in the first 24 hours that my team was inundated with, thousands of requests. It’s been pretty incredible.”

Jason Sudeikis and the cast of “Ted Lasso” are backing writers.

EXCLUSIVE: International buyers will remain cautious over how the writers’ strike impacts program availability, as the ongoing industrial action dominated chatter at the LA Screenings.

Another Marvel blockbuster has hit a roadblock.

Amazon Prime Video’s live action Blade Runner series could be delayed by as long as a year after the production schedule was disrupted amid the writers strike.

Ellise Shafer Marvel’s upcoming “Thunderbolts” film has paused production due to the ongoing writers strike, Variety has confirmed. The movie was scheduled to begin shooting in Atlanta next month, and plans to resume production after the strike is resolved. Part of Marvel’s Phase Five, “Thunderbolts” is set to bring together the worlds of “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Black Widow” and the upcoming “Captain America” installment “New World Order.” “Paper Towns” director Jake Schreier is helming the film, with “Beef” creator Lee Sung Jin penning the script from a first draft by “Black Widow” writer Eric Pearson. The “Thunderbolts” cast includes Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, David Harbout, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Harrison Ford, all reprising their Marvel characters. Newcomers in undisclosed roles include “The Bear” breakout Ayo Edebiri and “Minari” star Steven Yeun. The film is currently scheduled to be released on July 26, 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: Marvel Studios is delaying filming on another upcoming production as Deadline has learned that the studios’ Thunderbolts pic has pushed pause on the upcoming production, which was set to start shooting in three weeks in Atlanta. The crew was notified today and insiders say that the plan is to resume production once the strike has ended.

organization said in a statement.Established in 2008, the Television Academy Honors recognize “Television with a conscience,” per the official branding. This year’s recognized productions are “37 Words” (ESPN), “As We See It” (Prime Video), “Mo” (Netflix), “The Rebellious Life of Mrs.

For three decades, filmmaker Takeshi Kitano was fixated on a period of Japanese history, in which Lord Oda Nobunaga was inexplicably betrayed by one of his closest allies, Akechi Mitsuhide, in an ambush at Honno-ji Temple. The reasons behind Mitsuhide’s deception are unknown, but Kitano dedicated years to concocting his own theories, going so far as to pen a novel imagining the events that led to the incident.  Adapted from his own book, “Kubi” is an outrageously exhilarating update of the samurai epic, dialing up the blood and guts and sprinkling in the sick humor to match.

Thania Garcia Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers took home the Ivor Novello award in the coveted songwriter of the year category at the 2023 ceremony on Thursday in London’s Grosvenor House. The event honored 30 music-makers across 14 categories in recognition of songwriting and screen composition. Wet Leg’s self-titled debut album was one of the most-talked-about releases of the last year and earned the indie rockers their first Brit awards and a pair of Grammys. The Ivor judges described Teasdale and Chambers’ writing, citing singles “Wet Dream” and “Chaise Lounge,” as “fresh, unapologetic and direct, with surprising melodies that demand attention.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Disney’s annual upfront presentation leaned heavily on the company’s non-scripted programming, opening with nearly an hour of focus on ESPN and its sports offerings. The emphasis on live events, of course, comes as the writers strike continues and is expected to impact the fall TV season. In fact, around 100 Writers Guild members and other union supporters marched outside the Javits Center on Tuesday to remind Disney they are still looking for a deal with the company and the other studios. Among those seen on the picket line: Zach Cherry and Michael Emerson. Inside the Javits, sports and news stars from within Disney were out in force, while reality personalities like Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Jesse Palmer and Ryan Seacrest made appearances as well. Even WABC-TV New York anchors Sade Baderinwa and Bill Ritter got some time onstage.

Tiffany Red Tiffany Red is a Grammy-winning songwriter and songwriter advocate who has written hits for Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Jason Derulo and Zendaya, among others. She is founder and executive director of the 100 Percenters, a 501 c3 organization with the stated goal of advocating “for all music creatives with a focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and marginalized creatives.” Variety welcomes responsible commentary — email [email protected] to submit. Dear Music Publishers, I am writing this letter as a call to action for all major and independent music publishers to support the #paysongwriters movement. As the founder and executive director of the 100 Percenters, a music non-profit, and a songwriter myself for over 15 years, I have witnessed and experienced firsthand songwriters’ insurmountable struggles in their quest for a livable wage from publishing royalties. Unfortunately, the plight has increasingly led to one percent of the industry’s elite hogging most of the rewards. But what about everyone else? As I watch the Writers Guild of America and 11,500 of their members on strike for fair pay for screenwriters, I admire those with the courage to fight for a better tomorrow for their industry. And I wonder where that spirit is for songwriter’s compensation in the music industry. 

The upfronts may be an annual ritual steeped in TV and streaming advertising, but NBCUniversal gave film more than a fleeting moment in the spotlight during its pitch to media buyers Monday morning.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery has asked talent not to appear in-person at their Wednesday upfronts presentation, so as not to put those individuals in a position where they need to cross the Writers Guild of America’s picket line amid the ongoing writers strike, Variety has learned. A source close to the situation says this choice was made by WBD out of respect for both the talent and the writers on strike. However, talent will be represented in other ways throughout the show, and the event will cover all parts of the WBD business operations. The original pre-strike plan had been for a robust lineup, including big WBD stars like Magnolia Network’s Chip and Joanna Gaines, but has been trimmed down since the strike went into effect May 2, when the WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to ink a new contract.

WGA strike.“We are grateful for the contribution writers make to our company and respect their right to demonstrate it may take some time, but I know we will eventually get through this and the result will be a stronger foundation on which we can all move forward together,” Chairman of NBCUniversal Mark Lazarus said during the New York event. Unsurprisingly, the event scaled back on its celebrities, relying on more executives and reality TV stars to introduce its clips and segments.

2023 Tony Awards to air as scheduled on June 11 amid the ongoing writers strike. The Hollywood Reporter reported Friday that the telecast of theater’s biggest night will not air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ as originally planned.

Even without a once-in-a-generation strike or a Twitter bombshell, next week would already pose a challenge to media companies making their annual upfront pitches to ad buyers in New York.