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Writers’ Shut-It-Down Strategy Has Been Effective, Executives Privately Concede
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Business
Where Actors Could Make a Deal With Studios on AI
With AI no longer a theoretical issue and lawyers looking for ways to protect talent without stifling innovation, SAG-AFTRA has a new rallying cry: "augmentation, rather than replacement."
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Business
As Writers Strike, AI Could Covertly Cross the Picket Line
Writers want artificial intelligence to be used only as a tool that can help research or facilitate script ideas — but studios have taken an expansive view of the labor-reducing possibilities.
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Business
What Constitutes “Writing” During a Strike?
Scribes also employed as directors, actors or producers are consulting their reps, their unions and their consciences on when it’s kosher to work.
Latest Business
Jemele Hill Seeks New Home for ‘Unbothered’ Podcast As Spotify Exclusive Deal Set to End
Jemele Hill is looking for a new home for her podcast, Jemele Hill Is Unbothered, as she prepares for her Spotify contract to end later this summer, according to people familiar with the matter. Hill has been an early fixture in Spotify’s podcasting strategy, having hosted Jemele Hill is Unbothered exclusively on Spotify since 2019. […]
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BuzzFeed Receives Nasdaq Delisting Notice After Poor Stock Performance
BuzzFeed has until Nov. 27 to improve the performance of its stock or risk getting delisted from Nasdaq, according to a Friday filing with the Securities Exchange Commission. The media company received a notice from Nasdaq on Wednesday warning that for the past 30 business days, the bidding price for BuzzFeed’s common stock has closed […]
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CNN CEO Chris Licht Exposed: Five Takeaways From Bombshell Profile
On June 2, The Atlantic published a deeply reported look at the rocky tenure of Chris Licht, who took over as chair and CEO of CNN Worldwide last year. The colorful 15,000-word profile features his unvarnished opinions, as well as intimate access, including a morning session with the polarizing executive’s physical trainer, who Licht refers […]
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Disney Takes $1.5B Write-Down After Removing Shows Off Disney+ and Hulu
Disney is set to take a $1.5 billion write-down during the fiscal third quarter after the entertainment giant removed more than 30 shows off of Disney+ and Hulu last month in an effort to bring down costs, according to a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On May 26, Disney pulled shows like The […]
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Anonymous Strike Diary: The ‘Well-Known Creator’ on Actually Missing Development Hell
This is part of a series of accounts of the strike from Hollywood writers at different levels in their careers. The diarists have been granted anonymity to encourage candor. You can read previous entries by ‘Well-Known Creator’ and others here. I wasn’t in production when the strike started nor was I running a writers room. For the last half […]
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New York State Senate, Assembly Members Call on AMPTP to “Negotiate in Good Faith” With WGA Amid Stalled Contract Talks
Over 50 members from the New York State Senate and Assembly have signed two separate letters calling on the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to return to the bargaining table with the Writers Guild. One letter from the senate and one from the assembly were delivered to AMPTP Friday morning, which marks one […]
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Tavi Gevinson: Auditions Are Work. Pay Us. (Guest Essay)
It is both obvious and radical to say that auditions are work. Actors are even supposed to be paid for them. SAG-AFTRA’s contract with the studios states that we’re entitled to half our scale day rate for every audition we perform but don’t book for a TV show, studio feature or high-budget indie. Since our […]
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WME Buys D.C. Literary Agency Ross Yoon, Bringing Over Authors and Journalists
Talent agency WME is establishing a foothold inside the Beltway. The Beverly Hills-based representation giant has acquired the literary agency Ross Yoon, the company said on Friday. Led by Gail Ross and Howard Yoon, the agency focuses on the non-fiction space, and has a roster of author clients including Time journalist Molly Ball, Mother Jones’ […]
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Ron DeSantis Gets a New Judge in Disney’s Free Speech Suit
In an early blow to Disney’s suit against Ron DeSantis for control of the district that oversees development around the company’s theme parks, the Republican governor has won a bid to disqualify the judge who was initially assigned the case. The judge denied DeSantis’ motion to disqualify him, but then recused himself anyway. U.S. District […]
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Netflix Shareholders Reject Exec Pay Packages, Days After Writers Guild Urged “No” Vote
In a rare rebuke of corporate executive compensation, Netflix shareholders rejected the pay packages for top executives at the company, including co-CEO Ted Sarandos, former co-CEO Reed Hastings, and Greg Peters, who was COO of the company last year and was elevated to the co-CEO role earlier this year. The “no” vote on the “Say […]
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AMC Theatres Moves Streaming Library to Fandango’s Vudu
AMC Theatres has transferred its streaming library over to Fandango’s Vudu as the theater chain prepares to sunset its own streaming platform, AMC Theatres On Demand. Beginning Thursday, AMC Theatres On Demand users will be able to transfer their accounts over to Vudu to rent and purchase films, as well as view previously purchased movies. […]
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A+E Networks Group Chief Paul Buccieri Joins Elton John AIDS Foundation Board
Paul Buccieri, president and chairman of the A+E Networks Group, has joined the Elton John AIDS Foundation board of directors. Buccieri leads the multiplatform global entertainment business that encompasses A&E, Lifetime, The History Channel, A+E Networks International, A+E Studios, Six West Media and Category 6 Media. “Raising awareness of the ongoing global AIDS epidemic, and […]
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Verizon Bundles Netflix and Paramount+ With Showtime
Amid calls to build back the pay TV landscape, streaming rivals Netflix and Paramount+ are being bundled together via Verizon +Play. The telecom giant will see its subscription bundling platform for a limited time offer Netflix’s premium plan and the Paramount+ with Showtime in a bundle for $25.99 a month. Verizon is pointing to annual […]
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Why AI Isn’t Funny — At Least Not Yet
Many comedy writers view AI as no laughing matter. “It’s horrific,” Seth Rogen explained to The Hollywood Reporter at the May 10 premiere of Apple TV+’s show Platonic, in which he stars. “Any use of AI seems terrifying and also just unfair from a financial standpoint because it’s all being input with things that they’re not […]
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AMC Networks CFO Outlines Three Steps to “Economic Repair” in the Streaming Age
AMC Networks CFO Patrick O’Connell elaborated on how media and entertainment is pivoting to streaming sustainability, telling an investor conference on Thursday that “there needs to be economic repair to the media business.” Speaking at TD Cowen’s 51st Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in New York in a session that was webcast, he said that […]
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All3Media Up For Sale From Warner Bros. Discovery, Liberty Global
Entertainment conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery and John Malone’s cable and telecom giant Liberty Global are considering alternatives for their production joint venture All3Media, the largest TV production firm in Britain, whose titles include the likes of Fleabag, The Traitors and The Tourist, as well as the 2019 film 1917. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that […]
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