John Wells Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

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.

American Fiction filmmaker Cord Jefferson and writer John Wells have signed on to Just Cause, Amazon’s upcoming thriller limited series, starring and executive produced by Scarlett Johansson, Deadline has confirmed.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Cord Jefferson will write and executive produce the upcoming Scarlett Johansson limited series, which serves as her first major television role. The “American Fiction” filmmaker has boarded the Amazon Prime Video adaptation of John Katzenbach’s novel “Just Cause.” Additionally, acclaimed writer John Wells has joined the project, co-writing the series with Jefferson, and will also serve as an executive producer. “Just Cause,” first published in 1992, tells the story of Matt Cowart, a Miami reporter.

EXCLUSIVE: Pulitzer Prize-winning August: Osage County playwright Tracy Letts has signed with UTA for representation in all areas, the agency said today.

BreAnna Bell Forest Whitaker has signed on to star in John Wells’ “Emperor of Ocean Park” series set at MGM+. He joins previously announced cast members Grantham Coleman (“Lawman: Bass Reeves”), Tiffany Mack (“Jessica Jones”), and Paulina Lule (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”). He’ll play Judge Oliver Garland, a notable name in national politics and the judicial system as well as the leader of his family.

ABC Signature veteran Tracy Underwood has been elevated to President of the Disney Television Studios division. Underwood, most recently EVP of creative affairs for ABC Signature, is taking over the top post vacated by Jonnie Davis in July.

Caroline Brew editor The Motion Picture and Television Fund has launched its “Back to Work” campaign to fundraise for crew members who were financially impacted by the work stoppage as a result of the writers and actors strikes. “While the agreement between the WGA and AMPTP and the tentative agreement between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP are certainly encouraging, our crews will continue to struggle for many months to come,” MPTF president & CEO Bob Beitcher said in a statement.

MPTF is launching the “Back to Work” campaign, a fundraiser to assist crew members impacted financially by the Hollywood strikes.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer CBS Studios has suspended term deals with talkshow star Phil “Dr. Phil” McGraw, BET+’s “Kingdom Business” producer DeVon Franklin and “Nancy Drew” executive producer Lis Rowinski due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Representatives for CBS Studios declined to comment on the suspension of these deals Monday.

As the Hollywood strikes continue, studio deals are being put on pause.

Mindy Kaling and Greg Berlanti‘s overall, first look deals with Warner Bros. Studios have been suspended, according to a new report from Variety.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Warner Bros. TV has suspended overall deals with more of its A-list, marquee producers, which is believed to include Greg Berlanti, Bill Lawrence, John Wells, Chuck Lorre and Mindy Kaling, as well as J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot shingle.

IATSE has allocated another $2 million to support its members who have been negatively affected by the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes, bringing the total committed to $4 million since June. The additional funding was approved unanimously by IATSE’s general executive board.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has approved a $2 million fund to support motion picture Teamsters impacted by the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, which is now in its 56th day. The aid package was approved unanimously by the IBT’s General Executive Board.

IATSE’s general executive board has unanimously approved $2 million to be distributed to the union’s members who are in need of financial assistance due to the Writers Guild strike, which is in its 39th day.

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.

As upfronts week comes to a close, the broadcast networks have announced many of their new series pickups for next season, although, amid a pull away from the traditional pilot cycle and the writers strike, pickup decisions on several pilots are still pending. Additionally, there are more reality series and acquisitions among the 2023-24 freshman class due to evolving business models as well as the work stoppage.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter For the second year in a row, Fox is not releasing a fall schedule ahead of its upfront presentation. Fox did the same thing in 2022, opting instead to announce their content slate for the upcoming broadcast season but holding off on announcing a formal schedule until a later date. Last year, the move came as the network was still waiting on decisions on the dramas “9-1-1” and “The Resident.” But with the latter show canceled and the former moving to ABC, this year’s move comes as the writers’ strike enters its third week. Networks like CBS and NBC have already announced their fall lineups, but whether or not any primetime scripted shows across all the networks debut as scheduled remains to be seen as the strike drags on.

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.

The Writers Guild and several of its prominent members, recognizing that other workers in the entertainment industry are being impacted by the ongoing writers strike, have pledged more than $1.7 million to provide them with financial assistances during the walkout, which is now in its ninth day.

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.

Shonda Rhimes is being recognized for her achievements.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Emperor of Ocean Park,” the best-selling novel by Stephen L. Carter, is being adapted into a TV series at MGM+. MGM+ (formerly Epix) has ordered 10 episodes of the show. The order brings the book’s long road to the screen to near completion. It was originally optioned back in 2001 ahead of the book publishing. Multiple attempts have since been made to adapt the book into a film and later a television series, though none of those projects have moved forward until now. “Emperor of Ocean Park is much more than a murder mystery,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “While it is an engrossing whodunit in its own right, it also explores important themes of middle-and-upper-class Black identity, making it an outstanding addition to MGM+’s slate of engaging and thought-provoking original series.”

MGM+ is moving forward with its series adaptation of suspense thriller Emperor of Ocean Park.

USC School of Cinematic Arts alums Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Fruitvale Station) and Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Little) have joined the school’s Board of Councilors.

Filmmakers Ryan Coogler and Tracy Oliver are the newest and youngest members of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors.“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” director Coogler graduated from the program in 2011. “Girls Trip” writer Oliver is an alum of the Class of 2010.The Board of Councilors oversees strategic planning, development, and fundraising efforts for the film school.

Rick Tuber, a TV and film editor who won an Emmy and an ACE Eddie Award for his work on NBC’s classic medical drama ER, died January 7 of a heart attack at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 69.

The best of the 2021-2022 TV season has been revealed, first during the 74th Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which were handed on Sept. 3 and 4, before being followed by the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards hosted by Kenan Thompson on Sept. 12.

It became the speech heard around Hollywood — Jeff Sagansky’s blistering comments last week about the adverse impact the proliferation of the streaming-driven “cost plus” business model has had on profit participation struck a chord in the industry. A week after Deadline wrote about the media investor and producer’s speech at a NATPE event, the discussion over the issue continues, with agencies and unions mulling ways to step in and help the creative talent they represent.

Churning out 22 episodes a season may not appeal to today’s up and coming writers but there’s always been an upside to working on a broadcast TV show, insists uber-producer John Wells: it helps to create well-trained showrunners.