Extremely annoying 7 little words

The WGA ‘s talks with the AMPTP over a new basic agreement began February 3 and there’s been little word from either side — except some hints of unease over the multimillion-dollar rollback proposal producers sent the guild before negotiations began. Now the two sides are taking a “temporary recess for scheduling reasons” and will resume negotiations March 4, two days after the Oscars. The joint release this evening: Today the Writers Guilds of America, West and East concluded two weeks of bargaining with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) toward a new Minimum Basic Agreement. The parties have agreed to a temporary recess for scheduling reasons. Negotiations will resume on March 4th. Neither the Guilds nor the AMPTP will be commenting further at this time. Related: Writers Hopeful As They Head Into Contract Negotiations … [Read more...] about WGA Contract Talks Off Until March 4

As talks are about to resume Monday on the final elements that many hope will lead to a new deal for the Writers Guild Of America, we wanted to lend some perspective and give voice to the TV and feature writers whose fortunes will be tied directly to the deal their union makes. This is the first in a quick succession of five questions we asked a panel of 10 writers. Here are their responses, and hopefully other writers will be moved to comment about the issues that worry them most as their work is monetized in this fast-changing digital age. (Note: Writer #2 didn’t reply to this question.) Related: WGA: Why Gains, Lessons From 2008′s Strike Will Keep Hollywood From Another War DEADLINE: How has your ability to make a living improved or deteriorated since the WGA strike and why? WRITER #1: Directly, I lost at least one job so, for me, that is a loss of over $1 million. I was fortunate to survive the strike without the terrible ramifications that hit … [Read more...] about Writers Rail As Talks Resume – First Question In A Deadline Survey

UPDATE 10:58 AM PT -- Brittany Furlan tells us she made the TikTok as a joke, and deleted it because she felt it was going to be twisted. She says she's been faced with a barrage of attacks online from people expressing how much they wanted Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee to get back together -- and wanted to make a joke about it -- hoping it would make people laugh. Before she posted she showed it to Tommy who thought it was funny. UPDATE She also wanted to clarify that she is not annoyed with Pamela. Brittany has had a ton of family and friends reach out her to see if she is ok because they felt the documentary made it very clear that Pam is still very much in love with Tommy. She wishes it was a little less of a love letter to her husband, but gets that Pam is entitled to feel how she feels and she understands. Tommy Lee's wife apparently doesn't think Pamela Anderson gives a damn about her, despite what Pam's said publicly, suggesting Pam doesn't care … [Read more...] about Tommy Lee’s Wife Brittany Furlan Makes Pamela Anderson Joke on TikTok

There was a moment last November when Channel 4 ’s senior executives breathed a sigh of relief. Sat at the top table of Channel 4’s 40th birthday party, Chief Executive Alex Mahon was flanked by her friend Elisabeth Murdoch and doyens of UK broadcasting, including BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive. They were raising a glass to a British success story in a rare public display of unity. On the same table was Thérèse Coffey, a senior government minister who had survived three prime ministers in the space of little more than three months. Her presence at the V&A Museum event bemused others, who believed the government only had hostile intentions for Channel 4 after sanctioning a sale of the broadcaster against its wishes. Things soon got weirder. Coffey turned to Mahon and asked if she could raise a glass to Channel 4. She then proceeded to surprise the room full of TV luminaries by serenading her hosts with a rendition of happy … [Read more...] about Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television

As talks are about to resume Monday on the final elements that many hope will lead to a new deal for the Writers Guild Of America, we wanted to lend some perspective and give voice to the TV and feature writers whose fortunes will be tied directly to the deal their union makes. This is the second in a quick succession of five questions we asked a panel of 10 writers. Here are their responses, and hopefully other writers will be moved to comment about the issues that worry them most as their work is monetized in this fast-changing digital age. Related: WGA: Why Gains, Lessons From 2008′s Strike Will Keep Hollywood From Another War DEADLINE: As a working writer, what is the biggest hardship right now facing you (i.e., one-step deals for feature writers, exclusivity clauses for TV writers), the one that gives you the greatest amount of worry for you and your WGA brethren? WRITER #1: I think the biggest setback from the strike was one-step deals. One-step deals were a … [Read more...] about Writers Rail As Talks Resume – Second Question In A Deadline Survey

Leave it to a sitcom vet like Melissa Rauch to remind the industry that everything old can be new again. After persuading Warner Bros. TV to dust off the Night Court IP and revive it for NBC, multi-cams are suddenly hot again, with every broadcast network — and even a few streamers like Netflix (home to new hit That ’90s Show , which just got renewed ) are putting studio audience comedies in development. While no one is straight-up abandoning single-cams — the success of CBS’ Ghosts and ABC’s Abbott Elementary have certainly made sure of that — there’s no beating the cost-effectiveness of one of TV’s most tried and true genres. “Everybody had a hunch they should probably be doing more of them,” says one high-powered comedy agent. “Night Court is a good sign there is an appetite for that. Everything I’m hearing out of CBS, for example, is that they have pretty hard caps they are trying to hit on these multi-camera shows. The Conners is an exception because … [Read more...] about Thanks, ‘Night Court’! How Multi-Cams Are Having A Moment … Again

With negotiations for a new of SAG-AFTRA film and TV contract set to begin Monday, all signs are pointing to weeks of intense bargaining — followed by a new deal with significant gains and no rollbacks that will be resoundingly ratified by the union’s members. In other words, no actors strike this year; you can bank on it. The upcoming negotiations will be the union’s first film and TV contract talks since SAG and AFTRA merged in 2012 , but they’ve been jointly negotiating their film and TV pacts since 1981, so in a sense it’s like a couple that’s been living together for 33 years and finally getting married. So don’t expect any big changes in the talks to replace the current contract which expires June 30. Related: WGA Members Approve New Contract DGA Board Approves New Contract With Producers The DGA and the WGA both negotiated new contracts earlier this year, and those deals — both of which were overwhelmingly approved by their members — will set the … [Read more...] about SAG-AFTRA Talks Start Monday: What To Expect

There’ll be fireworks but no fire, and there will be a deal in the end. That’s the word I’m hearing from both sides out of the WGA ’s contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers after two days of talks . No one is commenting publicly, but I’ve learned that besides presentations from both sides during the opening days, there’s palpable unease in the room at AMPTP HQ thanks to the multimillion-dollar rollback proposal producers sent the WGA more than a week before negotiations began. “There’s a feeling of, Why did you have to insult us?’” a WGA insider told me over the producers’ request for $60 million in rollbacks from the health and pension plans, residuals and targeted screenplay minimums. “Once again it makes us the least favored child of the guilds.” Some on the other side of the table don’t disagree with that assessment. “Those were ridiculous proposals meant to appease the people at the top, not anyone in the room,” a well-placed … [Read more...] about WGA Contract Talks Brittle In Opening Days Over “Ridiculous” AMPTP Proposals