WGA Raises $1.7 Million To Help Industry Workers Impacted By Strike

EXCLUSIVE: A solidarity assistance fund that the Writers Guild and several of its prominent members established to help non-members during the guild’s ongoing strike has now grown to over $2.2 million and has already helped more than 400 industry members. The needs-based fund is administered by the Entertainment Community Fund, formerly known as the Actors Fund.

EXCLUSIVE: Half of the 46 projects currently in the California film incentives program have submitted “force majeure” requests seeking waivers to extend their mandated start-date requirements due to the ongoing Writers Guild strike, according to the California Film Commission, which administers the tax credits program. The number of approved film and TV projects seeking force majeure delays is expected to grow as the strike, now in its 25th day, grinds on.

Another brand-defining, Best Drama Emmy-winning HBO series is coming to an end this Sunday when Succession airs its finale. Just like when each of its esteemed predecessors, The Sopranos and Game Of Thrones, ended, there is the inevitable succession question about what comes next.

LinkedIn livestream event promoting his new Netflix docuseries “Working: What We Do All Day,” the former president spoke of the importance of writers in the entertainment industry. “I know there are many studios and streamers who feel a little bit embattled and there’s been a little bit too much of a glut of product and they’re looking at their bottom line and their experiencing shareholder pressure, etc, but the fact is, is that they wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for writers creating the stories that matter,” Obama said to host Ira Glass. “My hope is that as somebody who’s really supportive of the Writer’s Guild and as someone who just believes in storytelling and the craft of it,” Obama continued, “I’m hoping that they will be compensated and the importance of what they do will be reflected in whatever settlement’s arrived at. I’m very supportive of the writers and the strike and I’m hopeful that they get a fair share of the fruits of their labor.” Obama’s statements echo those of his former Vice President Joe Biden, who earlier this month said he hopes the WGA receives “a fair deal they deserve as soon as possible.”Now entering its 24th day, the strike has continued to halt production in Hollywood.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Colin Farrell, Mariska Hargitay, Danny Strong, Paula Pell, Rachel Dratch, Michael Kelly and Craig Zobel were among the stars who came out to the writers strike picket line outside Paramount Global’s New York City office in Times Square Thursday. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D.-N.Y., and local politicians spoke at the event in support of the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) cause against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that has led to a four-week-and-counting work stoppage due to the organizations’ inability to ink a new contract May 1. “This is about what’s right. We’ve seen income inequality grow exponentially over the last decade; and in your business, it has never been more present,” Gillibrand said to the crowd, filled with not only WGA members, but also those from SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and Teamsters, among other unions. “We see writers working hard every day to produce content and we have an unfair playing field. Not only does AI want to displace our writers, they simply can’t. AI generates content based on what’s been written before the work you did last year, and the year before. It’s not original. It’s not imaginative. It doesn’t come from the human heart. It’s not about a human experience. It’s not about what people actually want to learn about or know about or see or experience. That is what writers bring to the equation every single time. So this strike is so important for the future of this country. It’s about the value of workers; workers and what they create is fundamentally valuable.”

BreAnna Bell “The Mother” continues to lead all of Netflix titles for the second consecutive week with 92 million hours viewed during the May 15-21 viewing window. Thus, pushing the show to hit more than 90 million views. Netflix calculates total views by dividing the total hours watched, (178.1 million hours) by total runtime (1.96 hours). Spinoffs reigned supreme on the English-Language TV chart. Taking the no. 1 spot on the list is “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” which managed an additional 82.39 million hours viewed. In its third week among the popular titles chart, Shonda Rhimes’ Georgian era tale also appeared in the Top 10 in 89 countries. Coming just beneath is the “To All the Boys” sequel series, “XO, Kitty” which opened to 72.08 million hours viewed following its May 18 debut. Starring Anna Cathcart (Kitty Song Covey) and Minyeong Choi (Dae), the YA rom-com had over 14 total views and appeared in the Top 10 in 90 countries.

As the Writers Guild strike stretches into its fourth week, Michael Schur is feeling resolute.

lost her bid to remain out of prison while seeking to overturn her conviction. Holmes is being held jointly reliable for the restitution alongside her former romantic and business partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who is currently in prison on a number of felonies including wire fraud.Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors out of more than $100 million through Theranos, which claimed to have technology that could perform accurate blood tests with a mere fraction of blood that a normal draw would necessitate.She was sentenced to 11 years in prison last November, followed by three years of supervised release.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Directors Guild of America is continuing its negotiations with the AMPTP, as companies hope to get a deal that could play a role in ending the two-week-old writers strike. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America told members Monday that the guild is winning the “PR war” against the studios, as members share their stories in the media. “It seems the whole world is on our side,” wrote Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, a WGA East vice president, in an email to members titled “Our Momentum Grows.” “Members’ individual stories of our broken system — of getting by on ten weeks of work a year, of residual checks amounting to pennies — are resonating with the public. They understand we are losing out on the middle-class American Dream. We are not the elite. We are just like them. We are them.”

The industry’s shift to streaming has made for some strange bedfellows at the AMPTP, which could impact when and how a new agreement with the WGA is reached.

the site requires the name of the person reporting, their email address and provides a subject line and message box to describe the violation.The guild’s Strike Rule #9 require that members report of any strikebreaking activity such as scab writing or other ways of crossing the picket line.“To the extent possible, you should be specific about the nature of the violation, including the date and place of the violation, the name of the struck company involved, and the name of the project, if any,” the rule states.Disciplinary action is described under Article X of the guild’s constitution as including but not limited to “expulsion or suspension from Guild membership, imposition of monetary fines, or censure.” These methods of discipline are enforceable through the court system. Since the strike began 11 days ago, writers and showrunners have established picket lines at various awards shows, premiere events and by refusing to do any press to promote their upcoming releases.Wednesday the WGA Negotiating Committee, the WGAW Board, WGAE Council and others pledged funds to give to industry workers in need. More than $1.7 million in total has been pledged to the Entertainment Community Fund to aid writers in the industry.

Billy Ray and Todd Garner recap the second week of the WGA standoff on Deadline’s Strike Talk podcast. They then interview with John Wells, producer of shows from ER to The West Wing and former chief negotiator for the WGA.

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. 

Tony Gilroy is standing with the writers amid their strike.

writers’ strike aims to shut down production in Hollywood to force studios to make a better deal with the Writers Guild of America, some of the top showrunners in the industry are banding together to raise funds for entertainment workers who will be affected by the loss of jobs. The WGA announced on Wednesday that more than $1.7 million has been pledged by writers to the Entertainment Community Fund, a nonprofit formerly known as The Actors Fund that provides emergency financial assistance to workers in film and television who meet the needs-based requirements, regardless of their profession within the industry or union affiliation.Among the showrunners and producers contributing to the fund are J.J.

Andor creator/showrunner Tony Gilroy says he has ceased all non-writing producing duties on the Disney+ series amid the WGA strike.

As you have no doubt already heard, the WGA is on strike right now. Just over a week into it, this strike has already caused quite a few disruptions, with productions being halted and development coming to a standstill.

When are things not strange in Hollywood? Should we be surprised that there is always some industry or world crises crashing an awards season? Probably not, but it’s been quite a long time since a work stoppage affected the Primetime Emmy Awards. And, as we’ll discuss later, that means while writers form picket lines, actors and directors are still engaged in that Emmy nomination fight.

EXCLUSIVE: The AMPTP has called the Writers Guild’s minimum staffing demands for episodic TV shows “a hiring quota that is incompatible with the creative nature of our industry.” But if the WGA prevails in its ongoing strike, it wouldn’t be the first guild to require minimum staffing in its contract.

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.