Meredith Stiehm Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

EXCLUSIVE: The Writers Guild of America’s silence on the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel looks to be the only statement they’ll be making, at least according to West Coast president Meredith Stiehm.

The writers of MTV’s Ridiculousness have officially bargained their first contract.

The writers strike ended seven months ago, but memories of the picket lines were fresh at the WGA Awards tonight.

Brent Simon For the roughly 12,000 scribes the Writers Guild of America represents, the last year has been an emotional roller coaster: The guild engaged in a labor stoppage for over four and a half months in 2023 that, alongside a partially overlapping SAG-AFTRA strike, ground production to a halt. But with a new contract now in hand, the upcoming Writers Guild Awards afford union members the chance for a collective exhalation.

EXCLUSIVE: After bringing back CSI: Crime Scene Investigation with CSI: Vegas, CBS is looking to revive another Jerry Bruckheimer Television-produced crime procedural from the 2000s. The network is in negotiations with Warner Bros. TV for a reboot of Cold Case, which aired on CBS for seven seasons from 2003-2010, Deadline has learned. The followup comes from the series’ creator/executive producer Meredith Stiehm.

Jaden Thompson Screenwriter, director and producer Walter Hill will receive the 2024 Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers Guild of America West. Per the guild, the award is bestowed upon members who have “advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter.” A few of Hill’s writing and co-writing credits include “The Getaway,” “48 Hrs.,” “Last Man Standing” and “Dead For A Dollar.” “Walter Hill’s impact on our industry is undeniable,” said WGAW president Meredith Stiehm.

Walter Hill, who wrote and/or directed and produced such films as 48 Hrs., The Warriors, The Getaway and many more, will receive the WGA West‘s 2024 Laurel Award. He will be presented with the career achievement honor April 14 during the strike-delayed Writers Guild Awards‘ L.A. ceremony.

The Writers Guild of America continues to express its displeasure with the exclusion of some writing categories from the 75th Emmy Awards.

For a Friday that is time for reflection and giving thanks, host Billy Ray and returning original host Todd Garner welcomes WGA president Meredith Stiehm and SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher. They talk with the guys about the lessons learned from the long and brutal six month strike that is finally and mercifully over. The guild leaders advise IATSE and Teamsters negotiators what to expect when their deals expire next July. They also review a negotiation that in their minds never had to turn into such a protracted process. The gains made by their guilds could have been achieved if only the signatories had sent in the CEOs earlier to the bargaining table, and stopped trying to work from a contract and negotiating moves that were hopelessly outdated in the streaming age. Coming in for particular criticism here is AMPTP negotiator Carol Lombardini. After Billy Ray recalled watching Lombardini cancel catering and then announce that the WGA walked away from the table in 2017, Stiehm said this time the head negotiator for studios responded to rejection of an offer by the WGA negotiating committee by presenting the contract to membership and releasing the full offer to the media. Ray and Garner will do one more Strike Talk by the way, and to the editors, that is another thing to give thanks for.

BreAnna Bell The drinks were flowing and the guests were energized with a renewed sense of promise as writers gathered to celebrate their Humanitas wins as well as a new deal with the AMPTP at the Humanitas Prizes Toast on Thursday night. Held almost one month after the WGA ratified its new contract officially ending the summer-long writers strike, this year’s event was moved from its usual hotel ballroom location to Hollywood nightclub Avalon, out of respect for the Local 11 Unite Here hotel workers who remain on strike for fair and livable wages — a cause that all in the room shouted their support for once announced on stage by co-MCs Lennon Parham and Jessica St.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer David Young, the longtime executive director of the Writers Guild of America West, is stepping down, the guild announced on Friday. Ellen Stutzman, who served as chief negotiator through its 148-day strike this year, will take over as executive director. Young was initially expected to lead this year’s negotiations, but surprisingly took a medical leave in February, shortly before talks began.

The David Young era is ending at the Writers Guild.

After weeks of outrage from members about its silence over the terror attack against Israel, the Writers Guild is finally speaking out.

The Screenwriters Guild of Israel (SGI) has slammed the WGA for its silence over the conflict raging in the nation.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America has voted overwhelmingly to ratify its new contract, formally ending one of the longest labor disputes in Hollywood history. The membership voted 99% in favor of ratification, with 8,435 voting yes and 90 members opposed. In a statement, WGA West president Meredith Stiehm thanked leadership, strike captains, and WGA staff for working to deliver the contract.

EXCLUSIVE: As the striking actors guild sits down today with the studio bosses for the first new talks in over 80 days, the writers are one step closer to officially ending their nearly 150-day labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill giving unemployment benefits to striking workers, which was backed by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. “Now is not the time to increase costs or incur this sizable debt,” he wrote in his veto message Saturday.

It was everything everywhere all at once Thursday in New York City: Striking actors getting ready for contract talks were joined by writers who have just wrapped up theirs at a rally in Manhattan that also highlighted Asian American Pacific Islander culture in film and television. 

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor David Goodman, Chris Keyser and Meredith Stiehm have spent this year in warrior mode on behalf of their fellow 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America. Goodman and Keyser, both past presidents of the WGA West, were co-chairs of the WGA’s 25-member negotiating committee. Stiehm was re-elected earlier this month to her second two-year term as WGA West president.

EXCLUSIVE: “This strike was way too long, because the companies took so long to get serious,” WGA West President Meredith Stiehm declared tonight of the nearly 150 days the Writers Guild was out on the picket lines before a tentative agreement was reached on September 24.

Meredith Stiehm has been re-elected president of the WGA West, defeating Rich Talarico in a landslide.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Meredith Stiehm has been reelected as president of WGA West, in a strong show of support as the union’s strike continues into its fifth month. Stiehm took 3,354 votes, easily defeating Rich Talarico, who took just 300 votes. Two other officers were also reelected: Michele Mulroney, as vice president, and Betsy Thomas, as secretary-treasurer.

A bill that would make striking workers in California eligible to receive up to $450 a week in unemployment insurance benefits passed in the state Senate on Thursday by a vote of 27-12. Senate Bill 799, which passed in the state Assembly last month, now heads to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who can either sign it into law or veto it.

A bill that wouldmake striking workers in California eligible to receive unemployment benefits was approved on Wednesday by a 4-1 vote of the state Senate’sLabor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee. Senate Bill 799, which has already been passed by the state Assembly, now goes to a vote of the full Senate. If approved there, it will be up to Governor Gavin Newsom to either sign it into law or veto it. Last year, he vetoed 169 bills while signing nearly 1,000.

Tech CEOs and other industry leaders converged on the stately top floor of a Senate office building on Wednesday for a closed-door forum with lawmakers focused on potential regulation of AI.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA are pushing California lawmakers to grant unemployment benefits to striking workers. In California, workers currently do not receive unemployment pay when they are on strike. But state lawmakers are working on a bill, SB 799, that would extend benefits to workers who have been on strike for at least two weeks.

This is Day 129 of the WGA strike and Day 56 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

The Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA will rally on Thursday at Amazon Studio in Culver City to highlight their push a bill that would provide unemployment insurance to striking workers in California. Striking writers and actors in New York and New Jersey are already eligible to receive unemployment benefits after 14 days on the picket line, but not in California.

WGA West President Meredith Stiehm and SAG-AFTRA Secretary-Treasurer Joely Fisher were in Sacramento last week lobbying California legislators for passage of Senate Bill 799, which would make striking workers eligible to collect unemployment benefits. The bill passed through the Assembly Insurance Committee on Thursday and the Legislature has until September 14 to send the bill to the Governor’s desk.

A gallery of tech industry CEOs, including Tesla/X’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai, are scheduled to attend a Senate forum on artificial intelligence next month.