County Union Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Following on from their superstar takeover by Hollywood celebs Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, all eyes will be firmly on Wrexham this summer.

Lights, camera, solidarity.

UK actors union Equity is to rally in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA later this week in London and Manchester.

After AMPTP called their AI proposal to SAG-AFTRA yesterday “groundbreaking”, the actors’ union National Executive Director and chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, still begs to differ.

Well, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav already put his foot in his mouth responding to the WGA writers’ strike, so now it’s Bob Iger‘s turn.

British acting union Equity will “stand in unwavering solidarity” with its counterpart SAG-AFTRA over the looming actors strike.

In a joint statement today, unions IATSE, Teamsters, the DGA, and the WGA East and West extended “unwavering support and solidarity” with SAG-AFTRA in the ongoing contract negotiations with producers.

WHNS, Promise Edwards, a family friend with whom Williamson had been living before his death, said that Williamson and Newton had chatted back and forth on Facebook for over a month before arranging to meet in person.The two men arranged to meet, with Newton agreeing to pick up Williamson at a Waffle House restaurant before going to Carowinds, an amusement park straddling the North Carolina-South Carolina border.According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, Newton drove more than 100 miles from Monroe to Laurens — a roughly two-hour trip — to pick up Williamson for their date. But authorities say that Newton instead brought Williamson back to his residence in Monroe, where he had been living in a trailer, before killing the 18-year-old.Edwards said Williamson agreed to download the family locator safety app Life 360 so she could track Williamson’s phone, but she became concerned after Williamson’s location was turned off.

Last Saturday (July 8), Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' performance at Saratoga Performing Arts Center was canceled due to a bomb threat, according to the Albany Times Union. The opening acts, Metric and Garbage, performed as planned, but around 10 p.m. (20 minutes before Noel Gallagher and his band were scheduled to begin), an announcement was made on stage saying that because of "circumstances beyond our control, the show will not continue.

Smallville, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2021 for manipulating women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere. She previously pleaded guilty in 2019.According to online records by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Mack was released on Monday (July 3) from federal prison in Dublin, California.Mack avoided a longer prison sentence by cooperating with prosecutors and providing information on Raniere, including an audio recording of the cult leader instructing her about the branding ceremonies for the recruited DOS slaves.As reported by the New York newspaper Albany Times Union, Mack apologised prior to her sentencing for her involvement in the group.

Welcome back, Insiders. Jesse Whittock with you this week to look back on the last seven days in international film and TV. Here we go. Also, sign up for the Insider newsletter here.

EXCLUSIVE: Black Widow actress Olga Kurylenko and American Gangster actor Armand Assante are toplining Kevin Lewis’ latest feature thriller, Misdirection, which looks to shoot later this year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Some 18 film industry guilds and trade associations are calling for urgent structural reform of the Busan International Film Festival. They point out that this year’s edition of the festival is looming less than 100 days away. The festival’s management has made a succession of management missteps in recent weeks, including one that resulted in an official apology. At the beginning of May, a decision to split the festival’s senior management in two by creating a new position for Cho Jongkook, was followed by consternation among guilds and the resignation of festival director Huh Moonyoung.

Taylor Swift set to perform at Wembley in 2024; 16 years after her first UK show in a Student Union in LondonWell, it’s finally happened - Taylor Swift has revealed that she will be performing in the UK as part of a number of international tour dates announced yesterday evening, with Swifties now patiently waiting a registration process to find out if they have a chance to buy tickets the day they go on sale, or if they have to wait in line. That’s right, it’s a ballot system to see Taylor Swift at Anfield in Liverpool or Wembley in London.

Editor’s note: Part 2 of two-part series about the writers strike crossing the 50-day mark.

Live Nation/TicketMaster and SeatGeek were among several companies several companies that agreed to display their “all-in” prices more clearly at a White House meeting Thursday to discuss ticketing industry practices, The New York Post reports and Live Nation confirms in a press statement. The move comes after months of rhetoric from President Biden advocating for a crackdown on what he called “junk fees” in his February State of the Union Address.

Two brothers have been jailed after stealing high-value cars in a crime spree across three counties. Samuel and Thomas Eddleston had a device which allowed them to get into and drive Range Rovers and Jaguars.

UK actors union Equity has joined the AI debate full throttle by developing a toolkit that, amongst other things, attempts to prevent performers from having their performances cloned.

Prof Kathleen Stock is the daughter of a council boss who introduced a four-day working week. Riz Possnett’s mother Liz Watts was working on a PhD thesis on the topic when South Cambridgeshire District Council last year became the first to implement a trial to cut hours while staff remain on the same pay. The 19-year-old’s father Robert Possnett is an Extinction Rebellion protester who has been arrested a number of times.

a statement on Twitter Wednesday, saying that she “passed away peacefully, surrounded by family.”“Her films, books, and unapologetic push to highlight discrimination and injustices within the news and entertainment industries will remain with us,” the announcement continued. “The world through Jessie’s lens offers views of humanity that are often overlooked due to race and power dynamics.”Please read the media announcement that the family of Jessie Maple asked that we share.

McKinley Franklin editor Jessie Maple, who broke barriers for Black women in entertainment and news as both a cinematographer and director, died on Tuesday in Atlanta. She was 76. Maple’s family released a statement confirming her death via the Black Film Center & Archive.  Maple was recognized as the first Black woman to be admitted into the International Photographers of Motion Picture & Television Union in the ‘70s. Her career as a trailblazing cinematographer led her move into directing, making the 1981 independent feature film “Will.” Maple was said to be the first Black woman to direct an independent feature-length film in a post-civil rights America. 

Gabrielle Union is falling for Keith Powers in their upcoming Netflix movie, The Perfect Find.

Members of the WGA East employed by Hearst Magazines Media have overwhelmingly ratified what the guild is calling a “groundbreaking” first contract that covers some 560 writers, producers and editors at 28 of the publishing giant’s brands, including Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, Car & Driver, Oprah Daily, Seventeen, Elle, Redbook and Woman’s Day.

Christopher Vourlias Ukraine’s cinema union issued an open letter on Thursday calling on participants of the Cannes Film Market to halt all business with Russia. The statement asserted that releasing films in Putin’s pariah state is akin to “support for terrorism” amid its ongoing war of aggression in the Eastern European nation. The letter, which was written by the Ukrainian League of Cinemas, singled out a number of leading international indie distributors and sales agents — including Lionsgate, STXInternational, FilmNation, A24 and Pathé — whose films have been released in Russia since the start of the war. “Continuing to do business in Russia means supporting the Russian terrorist state with taxes,” the statement read. “These taxes are then turned into weapons with which peaceful Ukrainian cities are destroyed, and our friends and colleagues are killed and maimed.”

A higher percentage of workers in Scotland are now relying on zero hours contracts than any other UK nation.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher took some heat for comments she made on the picket line May 8, including how she doesn’t think what is “very important to writers … is the kind of the stuff that we’re [the actors] going after.” But while guesting on SiriusXM’s The Julie Mason Show, the former star of The Nanny said both her union and the WGA were “all cogs in the same wheel” and that “it’s important that we sit by our sister unions in solidarity.”

Princess Kate and Prince William were in great company Sunday for King Charles III coronation concert at Windsor Castle. Their two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, appeared to be having a blast while sitting in the royal box to watch the show with 20,000 revelers. The family cheered along as Nicole Scherzinger took the stage to sing before Katy Perry and Lionel Richie performed for the new king and queen.

Ed Sheeran has claimed he never received an invite to perform at this evening's Coronation Concert this evening, as fans begin to flood to central London for the special music event. Speaking earlier this month, the Thinking Out Loud singer, 32, expressed his desire to "set the record straight" after reports began circulating that he'd rejected the opportunity to perform before the newly crowned King and Queen.

Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Prince and Princess of Wales surprised Coronation Concert-goers with a walkabout at Windsor's Long Walk, where William briefly opened up about his family. During the walkabout, William was asked by one young royal fan where Princess Charlotte was, to which he replied: "She’s very tired after yesterday. She’s having a quiet day at home.

A young fan appeared overwhelmed as she met Kate Middleton on Sunday, bursting into tears as she was comforted by the understanding royal. The sweet moment took place in the middle of the crowds surrounding King Charles' Coronation Concert on Sunday, with the Prince and Princess Of Wales making a surprise appearance to greet the public.