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
Why do my t shirts get little holes in the front
Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television
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
Benedict Cumberbatch To Lead & EP Netflix’s ‘Eric’ From Abi Morgan & Sister
Benedict Cumberbatch is to lead and EP Netflix ’s Eric , playing a puppeteer whose son goes missing in 1980s Manhattan. Netflix has set cast on the Abi Morgan -penned show from Chernobyl producer Sister and the likes of Gaby Hoffman, McKinley Belcher II, Dan Fogler and Phoebe Nicholls will star opposite Cumberbatch. Cast is rounded out by Clarke Peters, Ivan Morris Howe, David Denman, Bamar Kane, Adepero Odyue, Alexis Molnar and Roberta Colindrez. The six-parter follows Vincent Anderson (Cumberbatch), a grief-stricken puppeteer on a leading TV show whose young boy goes missing and who finds solace through his friendship with Eric, the monster that lives under his son’s bed. The Split scribe Morgan’s Little Chick is producing with Sister and Morgan EPing alongside Cumberbatch, Jane Featherstone, Lucy Dyke and Lucy Forbes. “Eric is a dark and crazy journey into the heart of 1980’s New York, and the good bad and ugly world of Vincent,” said Morgan. “The chance … [Read more...] about Benedict Cumberbatch To Lead & EP Netflix’s ‘Eric’ From Abi Morgan & Sister
Sony Pictures Classics Picks Up Sundance Winner ‘The Persian Version’
Sony Pictures Classics has taken North American on Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version which won the Audience Award (U.S. Dramatic Competition) and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award (U.S. Dramatic Competition) at this year’s Sundance. Keshavarz is the first filmmaker to have two films win the Sundance Audience Award in the Dramatic Competition category. This is the second title that SPC has snapped out of Sundance, Deadline first telling you about their acquisition of A Little Prayer, which they took global rights on. Logline: Coming from two countries at odds with each other, Iranian-American Leila (Layla Mohammadi) strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures, while boldly challenging the labels society is so quick to project upon her. When her family reunites in New York City for her father’s heart transplant, Leila navigates her relationships from arm’s length in an effort to keep her “real” life separate from her family life. However, when her secret … [Read more...] about Sony Pictures Classics Picks Up Sundance Winner ‘The Persian Version’
Thanks, ‘Night Court’! How Multi-Cams Are Having A Moment … Again
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
Hulk Hogan Says Kurt Angle’s Wrong About Health, Walks On Video To Prove It
Hulk Hogan has a message for his fans ... "Don't believe everything you hear!" Days after WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle provided a bleak health assessment of Hulk's current condition, saying he was in such rough shape he had no feeling in his legs and couldn't walk without a cane, TMZ Sports obtained a video which appears to show differently. The clip, shot by Hulk's longtime friend and sports agent, Darren Prince , was shot Thursday night and shows 69-year-old Hogan very much walking without a cane, doing his best Ric Flair strut. "Hulk Hogan here, the greatest of all time, a little stiff, a little sore, but woooooo!" before executing a walk that'd make Ric proud! Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media. Of course, Angle, on the latest episode of his podcast, said he spoke with Hogan last month during the taping of WWE Raw's 30th Anniversary show and the WWE legend told him he “had the nerves cut from his lower body" during back … [Read more...] about Hulk Hogan Says Kurt Angle’s Wrong About Health, Walks On Video To Prove It
Boris Johnson Says He Spends His Days Drawing Cows After Scandal Forced Him From Office
Boris Johnson has revealed his weirdly specific new hobby: mastering the form of a cow. The former UK Prime Minister has told TalkTV , the Rupert Murdoch-backed British television channel, that he spends his days drawing cattle after resigning in scandal last year. In his first major TV interview since leaving office, Johnson sat down with his friend and colleague Nadine Dorries , the former UK Culture Secretary. “At the moment I’ve got a project, which is to master the form of the cow,” he told Friday Night with Nadine in an exchange that bordered on bizarre. Johnson continued: “Cows are actually far more difficult to draw than you think. How many toes on the front does a cow have? It’s two, and they’ve got a little thing on the heel. And what do you call that bit of the cow? I think it’s called the withers. What do you call the back of the knee of the cow? The hock. “They repay a lot of study. So, I’m filling a book now with cow. Pictures of parts of cows, … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson Says He Spends His Days Drawing Cows After Scandal Forced Him From Office
Tommy Lee’s Wife Brittany Furlan Makes Pamela Anderson Joke on TikTok
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
Hello Sunshine Shuts Down Kids & Animation Division
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that Hello Sunshine is shuttering its kids and animation business as part of a strategic decision to focus Candle Media ’s kids and animation efforts under Moonbug , the family production studio the corp snapped up for a near $3 billion in November 2021. Hello Sunshine will collaborate with Moonbug on future kids and animation projects. As a result, a few individuals will be departing Hello Sunshine over the coming weeks. The Blackstone-backed Candle Media, which is also co-run and co-founded by Tom Staggs, acquired Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine in August 2021 for $900M. At last April’s MIP TV , Candle Media co-founder Kevin Mayer spoke about synergies between both Hello Sunshine and Moonbug. The latter is the production company behind popular kids shows like CoComelon. CoComelon was one of the top three streaming programs in 2022 with 37.8 billion minutes viewed on Netflix per Nielsen, behind Stranger Things (52B) on … [Read more...] about Hello Sunshine Shuts Down Kids & Animation Division
SAG-AFTRA Talks Start Monday: What To Expect
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