WGA Members Vote 98.4% to Approve Pattern of Demands for Upcoming Talks

Hundreds of WGA East members employed at Hearst Magazines Media staged a half-day walkout and rally today to demand a fair contract. The walkout at four of the company’s offices – in New York City, Easton, PA, Ann Arbor, MI, and Birmingham, AL – comes after more than two years of negotiations for a first-time contract. The last scheduled day of negotiations is March 28.

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.

All good things must come to an end, and that’s what’s happening with Prime Video’s Emmy-winning comedy series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” As seen in the trailer for Season 5 of “The Marvelous Mrs.

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.

With its contract talks with the AMPTP set to start this morning, the WGA is telling its members in a new video what to expect in the coming weeks amid an expected media blackout on the negotiations.

The Power, the new Prime Video sci-fi drama based on Naomi Alderman's best-selling novel, follows a group of teenage girls from all across the globe who suddenly develop the power to electrocute people at will. As they navigate their new reality, the teens begin to embrace their newfound powers to shift the power balance of the world.ET exclusively debuts the electric opening scene from the nine-episode first season, which drops March 31, setting the table for what's to come.«We never dared to imagine it,» Toni Collette's Mayor Margot Cleary-Lopez narrates.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The solo TV auteur may soon be a thing of the past. The Writers Guild of America will sit down with the studios on Monday, and high on the agenda is setting a minimum staffing level for writers rooms. That means the days when Mike White or Craig Mazin could write an entire season of prestige TV all by themselves could be coming to an end. The guild argues that studios are squeezing more work out of fewer writers over a shorter time span, and paying them less than they’re entitled to. And the union’s leadership believes that it’s time to set basic standards around the size and duration of a writers’ room.

pic.twitter.com/SWmeB6SNcH“As you’re promoted, your minimum wage raises…but what’s happened is our minimum wage has become our ceiling,” she said. “They’ve decided that the lowest amount we are willing to accept is also the most they are willing to pay.”She added that many staff writers have been “forced to repeat that entry level job over & over again.”“And you’ll never guess who I’ve heard this happening to more than anyone else.

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.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon Prime Video have set the launch date and pricing for their ‘Warner Pass’ offer in France to March 16. Priced at €9.99 per month, the offer will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video Channels in France, and will boast all of HBO programs, along with 12 channels, including Warner TV, Eurosport, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network and CNN, as well as their associated on-demand services. Subscribers will benefit from a 30-day free trial until April 3. “The launch of Warner Pass exclusively as a Prime Video channel in France is the next step in our journey to become the destination for customers in France to find the best in storytelling, premium entertainment and sports,” said Brigitte Ricou-Bellan, Prime Video French Country Director.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer As it prepares for tough negotiations with the major studios, the Writers Guild of America issued a report on Friday emphasizing that the entertainment business is “highly profitable.” The guild is seeking to counter the gloomy tenor of industry coverage, which tends to stress that companies are losing billions on streaming. In its State of the Industry report, the guild argued that entertainment divisions remain profitable overall, and that the companies have a “path to profitability” in streaming. “(T)he fundamental truth remains: the content writers create has tremendous value,” the report concluded. “The companies have demonstrated time and time again that they can and will capture that value, but writers and the WGA must work to ensure that success is shared.”

The Writers Guild of America announced in a memo on Tuesday that its members have overwhelmingly approved the pattern of demands set forth by leadership for its upcoming contract negotiation talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, setting the stage for negotiations to begin on March 20. 98.4% of the 5,643 votes were in favor of approving the pattern of demands, with only 90 votes against.

As expected, WGA members have voted overwhelmingly to approve a Pattern of Demands for the guild’s upcoming film and TV contract negotiations, which are set to begin March 20. The combined vote of the WGA West and the WGA East was 5,553 (98.4%) voting yes, and 90 (1.6%) voting no. The WGA’s current contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers expires May 1 amid growing concerns about a possible writers’ strike.

Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Too $hort, Warren G, Berner and DJ Drama.From July 7 through Aug. 27, the hip-hop icons are taking off on their 33-concert ‘High School Reunion Tour’ that will take them to arenas and amphitheaters all over North America.That includes three stops in New York and New Jersey.First, the sextet will drop it like it’s hot at Camden, NJ’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on July 30.

Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa have announced a massive joint tour titled ‘High School Reunion’ across North America.Snoop announced the 33-date run via a poster on Instagram on March 7. The tour will kick off on July 7 in Vancouver before wrapping up the run in Irvine, California on August 27.

Levi and Vida McConaughey are all grown up!

Helen Skelton is thought to have "grown close" to Strictly Come Dancing pro Vito Coppola. The TV presenter, 39, finished in second place on the show with dance partner Gorka Marquez and has been touring the nation with 'Strictly Come Dancing Live' - and according to reports, Helen has established a close bond with the professional dancer.

What’s next for Paul Feig after directing “The School For Good And Evil” last year? It’s “Grand Death Lotto,” an action-comedy for Prime Video with a pretty dark premise. In the near future, California starts a Grand Lottery to help with its economic challenges, albeit with a catch: if anyone kills the winner before sundown, they get to collect the massive multi-billion dollar prize.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer David Young, the chief negotiator for the Writers Guild of America West, has bowed out of the negotiations on a new basic agreement due to a medical leave. The WGA informed members Tuesday that Ellen Stutzman, the assistant executive director of the guild, will take over as chief negotiator. The move comes just three weeks before the high-stakes negotiations are set to begin with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The current three-year contract is due to expire on May 1, and writers have been agitating for significant increases in wages and residuals and for measures to address “mini rooms.” Stutzman has been with the guild for 17 years, and has been assistant executive director since 2018.

Steven Yeun is getting candid.