Hollywood’s writers union said its members could return to work on Wednesday while they decide whether to approve a three-year deal that provides pay raises and some protections around use of artificial intelligence among other gains.
The iconic Hollywood sign is pictured the day after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced it reached a preliminary labor agreement with major studios in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) leadership voted unanimously to end the strike on Wednesday, the guild said in a statement. The 11,500 members have until Oct. 9 to cast their votes on the proposed contract.
The WGA said the estimated value of the deal was $233 million per year.
Film and television writers walked off the job in May after failing to reach a deal with major studios, including Netflix (NFLX.O), Walt Disney (DIS.N) and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O).
Writers appeared to have won concessions across the board, with raises over the three years of the contract, increased health and pension contributions, and AI safeguards.
Under the agreement, the studios agreed to meet at least twice a year with the guild to discuss plans to use AI in film development and production.
The studios are not expressly prohibited from using AI to generate content. Writers, however, have the right to sue if their work is used to train AI.
Writers can choose to use AI when drafting scripts, but a company cannot require the use of the software. The studios also must disclose to a writer if any materials were generated by AI.
Strike signs await striking SAG-AFTRA actors and Writers Guild of America (WGA) outside Disney Studios in Burbank, California, U.S., July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Hollywood’s writers union reached a preliminary labor agreement with major studios on Sunday, a deal expected to end one of two strikes that have halted most film and television production and cost the California economy billions.
The three-year contract still must be approved by leadership of the Writers Guild of America (WGA,) as well as union members, before it can take effect.
The WGA, which represents 11,500 film and television writers, described the deal as “exceptional” with “meaningful gains and protections for writers.”
“This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who joined us on the picket lines for over 146 days,” the negotiating committee said in a statement Sunday.
The WGA settlement, while a milestone, will not return Hollywood to business as usual even if it is ratified. While writing may resume, the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union remains on strike.
Writers walked off the job on May 2 after negotiations reached an impasse over compensation, minimum staffing of writers’ rooms, the use of artificial intelligence and residuals that reward writers for popular streaming shows, among other issues.
“We stuck it out,” WGA liaison Caroline Renard said Sunday. “This is a union industry, and it’s about the people that make the actual product that makes these company billions of dollars.”
One writer posted an image on social media of a picket sign that read simply: “The End.”
The only comment from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade group representing Walt Disney (DIS.N), Netflix (NFLX.O), Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) and other major studios, came in a brief statement with the union.
“The WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement,” the statement said.
The proposed contract is still preliminary. The WGA’s negotiating committee said it would share details only after it receives final contract language. After that, the negotiators will vote on whether to recommend the deal to leadership, which must then decide if they will present it to members for a vote.
Hollywood’s dual strikes had shut down production of movies and TV series and sent late-night talk shows into re-runs. Efforts to restart daytime talk shows without writers, such as “The Drew Barrymore Show,” collapsed this month, in the face of criticism from striking writers and actors.
At picket lines, protests took on the rhetoric of class warfare. Writers assailed media executives’ compensation and said working conditions had made it hard for them to earn a middle-class living.
Executives at times fanned tensions. Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger, fresh off a contract extension that offered an annual bonus of five times his base salary, criticized striking writers and actors as “just not realistic” in their demands.
Iger subsequently struck a conciliatory note, citing his “deep respect” for creative professionals.
“It’s been a long road, and I’m ready to take the next step forward, which is just like healing for our guild and getting back to work on ourselves,” “Harlem” writer Brandon K. Hines said on Sunday.
BILLIONS LOST
The work stoppages took a toll on camera operators, carpenters, production assistants and other crew members, as well as the caterers, florists, costume suppliers and other small businesses that support film and television production.
The economic cost is expected to total at least $5 billion in California and the other U.S. production hubs of New Mexico, Georgia and New York, according to an estimate from Milken Institute economist Kevin Klowden.
Four top industry executives – Iger, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and NBCUniversal (CMCSA.O) Studio Group Chair Donna Langley – joined negotiations this week, helping to break the months-long impasse.
As with past writers’ strikes, this job action responds to Hollywood capitalizing on a new form of distribution – and writers seek to participate in the newfound revenue. The 100-day strike in 2007-08 focused, in part, on extending guild protections to “new media,” including movies and TV downloads as well as content delivered via ad-supported internet services.
The latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 15 begins with Fastest Finger First round and Chirag Agarwal takes a hot seat.
He is from Ahmedabad and is studying B Tech.
First question for Rs 1000 is an image based What service does this image represent? A. Taxi, B. Lift, C. Airport, D. Food Counter. He correctly answers option B.
Big B on AI development
After Rs 2000 question, Big B talks about the widespread of AI and asks Chirag if he is also studying.
Chirag shared about his studies and asked Big B, “It was said that AI will take over labour jobs. But now it is seen the people in the creative field are most affected. I feel very lucky to see you in flesh and blood. But someday it might happen that you are not able to shoot and your hologram is being used.”
Big B joked saying, “Let me tell you the truth. This is not me but my hologram.” He then goes on to add, “I am scared, I might be replaced with hologram. In films, such things are happening. We are taken to a room and around 40 cameras rotate around and made to make several expressions by making faces and looking all around. I didn’t know for what but later I learned that they would be used accordingly in my absence. Even if I haven’t given the shot, it will seem that it is me. So I get scared that AI will take our jobs.”
He requested the contestant saying, “Please help me out if I ever go jobless. We get a job with a lot of difficulty.”
Big B asks Chirag if he is popular amongst girls. Chirag says, “My number is in minus. Girls leave me. I get called cute and cuddly. Everyone calls me a panda. Girls don’t like me and I get friend-zoned.”
He takes lifeline for Rs 80,000 question – Which state’s film industry is popularly called ‘Sandalwood’? A. Andhra Pradesh, B. Karnataka, C. Madhya Pradesh, D. Kerala.
With the help of the poll, he correctly answers option B.
Contestant Chirag on getting brother-zoned by girls
Mr Bachchan asks his sister if his brother is saying the truth. She says that indeed he gets brother-zoned. Big B tells him not to lose hope as girls will see him differently after KBC and he should thank the show.
He uses video call a friend lifeline for Rs 1,60,000 question: In which sport was Ding Liren crowned world champion in 2023? A. Chess, B. Snooker, C. Badminton, D. Table Tennis.
He didn’t get any help as his uncle was not sure of the answer. Chirag doesn’t use Double Dip lifeline as he isn’t sure of the answer. Hence, he quits the game and takes home Rs 80,000. Before leaving, he goes for option D but the correct answer is option A. Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/kaun-banega-crorepati-15-amitabh-bachchan-expresses-fear-over-ai-development-says-i-am-scared-of-getting-replaced/articleshow/103443683.cms
Travis Barker had to abruptly fly home from Blink-182’s tour after his pregnant wife, Kourtney Kardashian, was hospitalized, according to a new report.
The reality star had a “brief” stay and is “back home now with her kids,” a source told People Monday.
“She is feeling better,” the magazine’s insider added. “She is happy to have Travis back home, too.”
It is unclear why Kardashian, who was photographed leaving a Los Angeles-area hospital Saturday with her husband by her side, sought medical attention.
Her reps did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Blink-182 announced early Friday that they had to postpone the launch of their European tour while Barker dealt with an “urgent family matter” in the US.
The rock band’s statement did not specify what the emergency was, but they were forced to reschedule shows in Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin and promised to provide more information “as soon as possible.”
Travis Barker’s “urgent family matter” that forced Blink-182 to postpone their European tour launch involved pregnant Kourtney Kardashian. Instagram/kourtneykardashianThe band rescheduled shows in Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin amid Kardashian’s pregnancy. kourtneykardashian/Instagram
Just hours before the cryptic announcement, Barker, 47, posted several photos in the prayer room of Glasgow Airport.
One of his Instagram Stories featured a banner that read, “Together we pray.” Another showed a stained glass window in a church setting.
Meanwhile, Kardashian, 44, stayed quiet and off social media.
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na actor Manjari Fadnnis says casting happen on the basis of Instagram followers. The actress further added that she dislikes this trend.
Pic courtesy: Manjari Fadnnis (Instagram)
We remember actress Manjari Fadnnis as Jai’s girlfriend Meghna Pariyar in Abbas Tyrewala’s romantic comedy film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na released in 2008. Since then, the Indian actress has worked in several films and web series. She was seen in the crime thriller show Miya Biwi Aur Murder alongside Rajeev Khandelwal. Very recently, the action-thriller TV series The Freelancer was dropped in which Manjari played a prominent role.
Manjari Fadnnis says she is against actors getting roles based on their Instagram followers
The actress, who isn’t proactive on social media, says that currently in the Hindi film industry, actors get roles based on the number of followers they have on Instagram. She said, “I mean there are castings happening on the basis of how many followers you have on Instagram. I find that absurd, and annoying and I hate it when people tell me ‘Manjari you should be more active on Instagram’. I love to put things on Instagram when I feel like, it’s not a compulsion for me, I don’t want it to become like a job.”
She further added that she hates this trend and the pressure it puts on actors to be influencers. Sharing why she dislikes it, the Mumbai Salsa fame said, “It is the importance that the industry and everybody in the industry is giving to the number of followers on Instagram. I don’t like this trend, the pressure everyone puts on actors to be influencers. We are influencers by default. And being an influencer is not my profession.”
She further added that her profession is acting and she doesn’t want to spend her time and energy creating content for Instagram. “I would rather do fun creative things because I enjoy it and not because I have to put it on Instagram and people have to like it.”
TV legend Bob Barker, known for hosting “The Price Is Right” for 35 years, has died, Page Six can confirm. He was 99.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us,” his rep tells us Saturday.
A spokesperson for CBS, the network behind “Price Is Right,” adds in a statement to Page Six, “We lost a beloved member of the CBS family today with the passing of Bob Barker.
“During his 35 years as host of ‘The Price Is Right’ Bob made countless people’s dreams come true and everyone feel like a winner when they were called to ‘come on down.’”
The rep concludes, “In addition to his legendary 50-year career in broadcasting, Bob will be remembered as a dedicated animal rights activist. Daytime television has lost one of its most iconic stars.”
Bob Barker has died, Page Six can confirm. Getty Images
According to TMZ, the game show host died peacefully in his Los Angeles home Saturday morning of “natural causes.”
In January 2019, Barker suffered an injury after taking a spill in his Hollywood Hills home.
He was treated by paramedics onsite and was not taken in for further treatment at the time.
The year prior, Barker was hospitalized in Los Angeles twice within one month because of severe back pain. After the second hospitalization, his manager said he was doing much better under the doctor’s care.
The former host also went to the hospital in 2017 after hitting his head in a fall at his home.
The legendary TV host was 99 years old. WireImage
Robert William Barker was born on Dec. 12, 1923 in Darrington, Wash., to parents Byron Barker and Matilda Tarleton Barker.
Although Barker was born in Washington, he grew up in Mission, S.D., on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. In high school, Barker’s family moved to Springfield, Mo., where he ended up obtaining a basketball scholarship to Drury College (now Drury University).
During Barker’s time in college, the US entered into World War II and he left to become a Naval Aviation Cadet, earning his wings at Corpus Christi in 1944.
The following year he wed his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo Gideon. Barker was awaiting assignment in Michigan when the war ended and returned to Drury to finish school.
An opportunity is required to be given to the Respondent / Defendant to file their reply to the interim application, the HC observed
A still from Dream Girl 2 | File pic
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court, while refusing to stay the release of Ayushmann Khurrana starrer “Dream Girl 2”, has said that films should not be prevented from release at the eleventh hour.
The order was passed by Justice Riyaz Chagla on August 22 while hearing a suit filed by one Ashim Bagchi who claimed the story of the film was similar to a script he had registered with the Film Screen Writers Association in May 2007. Bagchi sought a stay on the release of the film pending hearing of his suit.
However, the HC noted that the suit and application seeking injunction order on the film’s release was filed only on August 18 and the respondents have not had an opportunity to respond to it.
“It is well settled that at the eleventh hour films should not be prevented from their release. An opportunity is required to be given to the Respondent / Defendant to file their reply to the interim application,” the HC said.
HC asked crew to submit their affidavits in response to suit
The court has asked the respondents – Balaji Telefilms Ltd; the company’s directors Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor; writers of the film Raaj Shaandilyaa of Think Ink Picturez Ltd; and Naresh Kathooria – to file their affidavits responding to the suit.
