With just the CW left tomorrow, the near-talent-free upfronts are winding down, and shows are still being shuttered in New York City, while on the picket lines in LA there was Mariachism, tacos, tunes and some Mandalorians to galvanize the troops.
28.04.2023 - 19:41 / deadline.com
Writers Guild members “are preparing to picket studio headquarters and production sites in the event the AMPTP refuses to make a deal that fairly addresses the concerns of our members,” the WGA said in a statement to Deadline on Friday.
As negotiations for a new WGA contract enter the homestretch, the WGA has hundreds of picket signs ready to go in the event of a strike, which could come as early as Tuesday. (See a sampling of signs above and below.) The WGA’s current contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers expires Monday night at midnight PT.
On Thursday, Deadline featured some of the picket signs that the WGA West is preparing in the event of a strike. Shown here exclusively are signs created by the WGA East, which contain messages specifically targeting the AMPTP, Disney, Amazon, Netflix, Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery and NBC/Peacock. In New York, a strike would have an immediate impact on the late-night talk shows, all of which began airing reruns on Day 1 of the 2007-08 WGA strike.
RELATED: WGA Reviews & Counters Latest AMPTP Offer As Potential Strike Deadline Moves Closer
Guild leaders have stressed that previously “a strike is not a guaranteed outcome for this year’s negotiation. And we do not want one. What we want is to be paid fairly for creating a product that earns massive profits for the companies. And we want protections that allow us to build a stable career and a stable life.”
The AMPTP, meanwhile, has said: “We are all partners in charting the future of our business together and fully committed to reaching a mutually beneficial deal with each of our bargaining partners. The goal is to keep production active so that all of us can continue working and continue to deliver
With just the CW left tomorrow, the near-talent-free upfronts are winding down, and shows are still being shuttered in New York City, while on the picket lines in LA there was Mariachism, tacos, tunes and some Mandalorians to galvanize the troops.
It was a tale of two coasts today, as WGA picketers and their allies targeted Disney’s upfront presentation in New York and also the company’s Burbank lot in Los Angeles. And the two scenes were very different.
Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Since the writers strike started on May 2, celebrities have turned out to support WGA members picketing for a better guild contract. Actors like Fred Armisen are also writers who are members of the WGA, while some SAG-AFTRA members are walking the line to support their colleagues. Since most TV shows and movies have suspended production until the strike is resolved, stars, writers and filmmakers like Christopher Nolan are taking to the streets to show their support for members of the Writers Guild of America.
Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor UPDATED: Producers of the Tonys will file an appeal of the WGA’s waiver denial. The decision was made Monday during a meeting of the Tonys management committee. A source tells Variety, “Everyone is still trying to see if there is a workable solution.” On Friday, the Writers Guild of America denied a request for a strike waiver from the show’s producers, meaning the Tonys won’t be televised on June 11. Ariana DeBose was set to return as host but it is believed she’ll cancel if the strike is still on. The Tonys were scheduled to take place at the United Palace in New York’s Washington Heights. The ceremony was to start at 8 p.m. ET and air live on CBS, as well as the streaming service Paramount+.
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.
Showtime’s The Chi is the latest series whose production has been disrupted by the ongoing writers strike. According to sources, the hit drama, which is based in Chicago, filmed Friday morning before moving to another location, which had a picket line already in place.
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.
EXCLUSIVE: The Writers Guild of America East took down the FBI today.
EXCLUSIVE: The WGA East has hit the pause button on two more shows in New York today.
Mandy Patinkin is feeling the rage.
Netflix’s first upfront presentation to advertisers will be a virtual event. The streamer sent notes to attendees this evening to inform them of the last-minute shift. It is the first 2023 upfront event to pivot to a remote format.
On the West Coast, the chief negotiator for the striking Writers Guild of America, Ellen Stutzman, is more than a week into an existential battle between the 20,000 union members she represents and the movie and television studios that are, for now, not at the bargaining table.
Ted Sarandos, who was set to receive the PEN America Visionary Award at the literary group’s gala next week in NYC, won’t be attending amid an ongoing strike and vigorous picketing on both coasts by the WGA.
tweeted a selfie at the New York picket lines captioned “Let’s do this.”Odenkirk and Patinkin also posed together for a photo, which the latter captioned with: “Saul’s unite.” In addition to Odenkirk’s work as Saul Goodman, Patinkin is also known for playing a character named Saul in “Homeland.”Saul’s unite! #wgastrong Support our writers! pic.twitter.com/VdyElwh7C5Adam Scott, who can most recently be seen in “Severance,” also joined the picket line. Ran into Mandy Patinkin, Bob Odenkirk, and Adam Scott on the WGA picket line.
Production on Freeform’s Good Trouble fifth season was halted for the day as a result of WGA picketing.
Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing theater actors and stage managers, is inviting its members and allies to join the WGA picket line outside HBO and Amazon offices tomorrow.
Latino WGA members and their allies descended upon Universal Studios en masse Monday beginning at 5 a.m. to picket on the sixth day of the Hollywood writers strike.
Writers Guild of America has notified studios that it will not be running FYC ads for the upcoming Emmy season on its website or in email communications to members, two insiders have told TheWrap.“After deliberation with our legal department, all FYC production is now suspended,” read an email from the guild to studio awards teams obtained by TheWrap. “We understand that this may be frustrating and that you have media already planned, but due to the strike rules, we cannot continue.”The guild is offering studios who have already bought ad space the choice between a full refund or credit towards future FYC ads after the strike concludes.
“You make billions/pay us some!” striking Writers Guild of America members chanted on the street of New York today near where filming was going on for Showtime’s Billions.
EXCLUSIVE: On the third day of its first strike in 15 years, the Writers Guild of America closed down Wall Street drama Billions for several hours Thursday.