Outfest Sees Layoffs & Exec Director Damien Navarro Taking Leave Of Absence Amid Staffers’ Unionization Effort

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Los Angeles production dropped 41% overall last quarter, led by the near total shutdown of scripted TV and film production due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. According to FilmLA, which handles L.A.-area location permits, production also declined in areas that are not affected by the strikes: reality TV and commercials. Reality TV production dropped 23% compared to the same quarter last year, while commercial production is down 26%.

The WGA strike is over, but the fallout from that and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA walkout continue to clobber film and TV production in Los Angeles. FilmLA reported today that on-location shooting days plunged again during the third quarter, dropping 41.4% over 2022 — the seventh consecutive quarterly decline.

in an off-the-shoulder athleisure look, which means cold-shoulder tops are back and it's time to start cutting the necklines out of our sweatshirts once again.Paps caught Lopez and out for a walk in Los Angeles on October 15, dressed in some distinctly early 2010s normcore. Lopez wore a baggy white sweatshirt that was artfully ripped at the neck so it hangs off of one shoulder, and she completed the Flashdance-inspired look with a pair of metallic gray leggings and chunky white dad sneakers.

In Cindy Holland‘s first executive hire since she joined Sister as Global CEO in July, the former Netflix head of original content has brought in another former exec at the streamer, Efrain Miron.

EXCLUSIVE: After sellout stadium shows all over the continent this year, and a lot of attention at a bunch of recent NFL games, Taylor Swift will be literally stopping traffic in Los Angeles on Wednesday. There will be road closures and more in the Fairfax District later today as the City of Angels braces for the world premiere of the superstar’s concert movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour at The Grove.

Dozens of delegates from the Israeli TV sector will not travel to Mipcom Cannes next week following the Hamas-led attack on the country’s civilians over the weekend.

Barry Melrose is retiring.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Patrick Stewart writes in his new memoir, “Making It So,” that Paramount executives wanted him to audition for the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” with a wig on, which required his then-wife Sheila Falconer to ship a hairpiece from London to Los Angeles. “Right as I was boarding my plane at Heathrow, my London agent called Sheila at home and notified her that the Paramount people had been in touch, asking if I owned a hairpiece, and if I did, could I bring it to the audition?” Stewart writes (via Insider). “Sheila diligently retrieved my ‘audition wig’ from its space in my wardrobe and boxed it up, whereupon a British Airways representative collected it and placed it on a later flight to Los Angeles.” “I do not know if my hairpiece flew first class,” he continues.

Are they or aren’t they dating?! That’s what fans want to know about Harry Jowsey and his new Dancing With the Stars partner Rylee Arnold.

A better-than-expected overall jobs picture in September had an exception: Entertainment industry employment continued to fall amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Joshua Jackson has been spotted out and about amid his divorce from estranged wife Jodie Turner-Smith.

EXCLUSIVE: Jillian Share, who was recently eOne‘s President of Film Production, has been named President of Teton Ridge Entertainment, a new Los Angeles-based independent studio.

Linda Laban Opening for Sting at the Hollywood Bowl makes for some album release show. That’s what Joe Sumner will be doing Saturday night, the day after his debut solo album, “Sunshine in the Night,” is released.

EXCLUSIVE: Roadside Attractions has claimed U.S. rights to Dreamer, a thriller exec produced by Roma Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparicio, which examines enslaved child labor in the U.S. Inspired by a landmark sweatshop case in El Monte, CA, the film marks the feature directorial debut of veteran producer Mohit Ramchandani, and will bow exclusively in theaters nationwide April 5th, 2024.

Following a staff attempt to unionize, LGBTQ+ nonprofit Outfest laid off five employees, while its executive director, Damien Navarro, has taken an unanticipated leave of absence. The organization’s board said the layoffs were pre-planned. Photo: Outfest

On the heels of a staggeringly triumphant run with Barbie, the fantastical comedy which she co-wrote and directed for Warner Bros, Greta Gerwig has been appointed by the American Film Institute to serve as Guest Artistic Director of AFI Fest 2023.

She’s back!

Superpower director Sean Penn isn’t mincing words in his denunciation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Could Amanda Bynes once again grace our screens soon?

Chris Evans is sharing his thoughts on his Captain America character, his initial reluctance to take on the role and why he’s not ready to return to the MCU anytime soon.