The September 25th Wordle word shouldn’t cause much trouble for most players, but for those who need a little help, we’ve got the hints and answer.
A brand new Wordle word is available for fans of the game to solve and today’s answer should be an easy win for most. There are no hidden tricks, repeated letters, or region-specific spellings in today’s answer which often makes for a quick and easy win.
Although it’s not an overly difficult word today, sometimes players can get stuck in a loop of incorrect guesses. Especially if you use word combos to solve the puzzle. Wasting guesses on words known to be incorrect, but providing extra letters, can sometimes pay off, but oftentimes just end up wasting one of the six chances. Before losing out and breaking a long-running win streak, you may want to check out the hints below to help solve today’s Wordle.
This word uses two vowels, one normal and one is the “sometimes” vowel.
Hint 4
Something unsteady, or craggy.
Today’s Wordle Hints (September 25th #828)
The September 25th Wordle answer is ROCKY.
For our starting Wordle word we used IRATE which only provided a single misplaced letter and four other incorrect letters. Moving the known ‘R’ to the front our second attempt was ROUND. This locked in the first and second letters, giving us a good base to continue forth with ‘RO’.
Moving into the third guess we tried ROOMY to test if there was a repeated vowel, we were wrong in our assumption but this did lock in the ‘Y’ and gave us a fantastic push to the correct answer. Finally, we nailed it home with the correct answer of ROCKY. Another Wordle win-in-four and another notch on our long-running win streak.
Wordle is a web-based word-guessing game developed by Josh Wardle that took the world by storm in 2021. Players are given a five-letter word to guess and have six attempts to get the word correct. When they get a letter correct, it will mark itself as green if it’s in the correct position and yellow if it is the correct letter in the wrong position. A yellow letter also means that letter could appear more than once. Wordle was purchased by The New York Times Company in 2022 and added to their website and app, keeping the core game free to play as promised – with additional words and other bonuses available through subscription, and is available via browser, iOS, and Android.
“Yo no moriré de amor,” the feature debut of theatre actress Marta Matute, among the five titles selected by the Madrid Film School’s ECAM incubator program, has been boarded by Elastica Films,
whose credits include Berlinale Golden Bear prize winner “Alcarràs” and “Creatura,” Elena Martin’s best European film winner at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
The family drama is lead produced by José Esteban Alenda and César Esteban Alenda’s Solita Films, which saw their first international co-production, “El despertar de las hormigas,” by Costa Rican Antonella Sudasassi, world premiere at Berlinale’s Forum and become the first Central American film to be nominated for a Spanish Goya.
Executive producer Cecilia Rivas of Solita Films told Variety she is hoping to close a European co-production deal for “Yo no moriré de amor” in San Sebastian.
“Elastica Films makes an ideal partner as we share the same vision,” she noted, adding that they’re expecting to hear from Spanish film institute ICAA and broadcaster RTVE about additional support.
The drama, “I Won’t Die for Love” in English, follows 20-year-old Claudia who, along with her siblings, is coping with the challenges of taking care of their mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. But she refuses to sacrifice her youth to be her mother’s caregiver. As their mother’s disease progresses, Claudia’s dysfunctional family begins to grow closer.
“From the age of 19 to 28, I devoted a large part of my life to caring for my mother. Now I am thirty-four and my memory of those years still lingers. ‘Yo no moriré de amor’ was born with the aim of accompanying and making visible all those young people who become early caregivers of their parents,” said Matute.
Tapping incidents from her own life, Matute wrote the screenplay to “Yo no moriré de amor” without any previous writing experience. “To my surprise it has been widely accepted to wherever I submit it,” she said. In 2020, she entered her script in the Residencias program of Spain’s Academy of Motion Pictures and won the SGAE Julio Alejandro Screenplay Award.
She has recently completed her first short film as a director, “Una amiga,” with support from ICAA and the Community of Madrid where she found part of her crew for “Yo no moriré de amor.” “I had a blast and learned a lot, I hope to make another short before my feature,” said Matute.
Based in Madrid, Solita Films has been producing auteur-driven and genre features for more than 10 years. Its co-production with Puerto Rico, “La Pecera,” directed by Glorimar Marrero, world premiered at Sundance and had its European premiere at last week’s Göteborg Festival.
Solita Films currently has in post “Alemania” by María Zanetti, a co-production with Juan Pablo Miller of Tarea Fina (Argentina) and documentary “Hija del Volcán,” helmed by Jenifer de la Rosa, in co-production with Mexico’s Mayéutica Prods, Auna Prods. and Cebolla Films, also in post.
It’s also developing suspense thriller “Deliver Us from Evil”; claustrophobic horror film “Waka Waka” and fantasy young adult drama, “Alma and the Seven Monsters.”
For the Alenda brothers, Matute’s story resonated with them as they experienced something similar in their lives.
Describing the drama’s screenplay as “mature, intelligent and emotional… but, above all, honest,” they added: “It’s as honest as something can only be when it’s told from the truth and the rawness of what one has experienced firsthand. And Marta has lived it. It’s the kind of story that sometimes scare us as viewers, but later transform us.”
“For us, it’s a story that needs to be told because if we want to improve as a society, we must learn to normalize caregiving and death as part of life,” they said.
Thirty years after the release of Nirvana’s final studio album, In Utero, there are somehow still new things to learn about the band, as original biographer Michael Azerrad proves in his upcoming expanded edition of his classic 1993 book, Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. The new book, The Amplified Come As You Are (due Oct. 24) more than doubles the length of the original version, with new information from Azerrad’s original interviews, corrections (no, Kurt Cobain never actually lived under a bridge), and reflections on the initial text.
In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, Azerrad goes track-by-track on In Utero and more with host Brian Hiatt. Then, Nirvana’s manager, Danny Goldberg, (author of the memoir Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain), and Jim Merlis, who was Nirvana’s publicist in 1993 and 1994, share memories. Here’s some of what we learned; for the full interviews, go here for the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or just press play above.
Cobain liked to (mockingly) call Dave Grohl “the most well-adjusted boy I know,” according to Azerrad. “I think Kurt partly was mocking Dave for being fairly together and normal,” says Azerrad. “He’s a popular, well-adjusted guy, he really is. And I think partly Kurt was making fun of that because he wasn’t a freak like Kurt. And he also was jealous. I think Kurt was a little bit jealous of Dave because Dave did have his act together.”
Two In Utero tracks appear to borrow from other bands. The main riff of “Very Ape” sounds similar to “Kanishka” by Los Brujos, an Argentinian band who opened for Nirvana, and “Milk It” resembles the Melvins’ “It’s Shoved.”
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The reference to “aqua seafoam shame” on “All Apologies” may have a very specific meaning. “I thought, well, maybe it’s a reference to being in a hospital,” says Azerrad, “with all those bland aqua-seafoam-colored walls and he’s feeling shamed because he’s there for his drug habit.”
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Sometime after Nevermind, Cobain asked his manager a question that suggested he was looking beyond the band for his musical future. “He had asked, did he need Nirvana to be able to make records?” Goldberg recalls. “And I said, ‘No, you don’t need them, nor do you need to choose. You can do both. A lot of artists made solo side projects and did band things and that’s always been my imagination of what the future would have been. He didn’t like repeating himself creatively.”
Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone‘s weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). Check out six years’ worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, Halsey, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Rick Ross, Alicia Keys, the National, Ice Cube, Taylor Hawkins, Willow, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Dua Lipa, Questlove, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Charlie Puth, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, and Gary Clark Jr. And look for dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters.
Described by Variety critic Peter Debruge as a “convoluted portrait of a pre-teen in turmoil,” Kore-eda ‘s Palme d’Or best script and Queer Palm winner stars Sakura Andō as a mother who confronts a teacher after noticing odd changes in her son’s demeanor. Written by Yuji Sakamoto, it’s scored by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto.
“Peafowl,” Byun Sungbin, South Korea
Myung, a transgender, is estranged from her family because of who she is. She competes in a dance to earn some money for her sex-change surgery but it does not go well. One day, she is told that her father has died and that his will stipulates she could inherit his estate if she performed the Drum Dance during his memorial. Left with no other options, she returns to her hometown to do her father’s bidding.
“Waiting for Dali,” David Pujol, Spain
Fernando, a brilliant chef, arrives at the coastal village of Cadaqués during the ‘70s where renowned artist Salvador Dali resides. Dali’s influence on the chef spawns the rise of a new culinary genius. Produced by Roger Corbi and Yan Fisher-Romanovsky of FishCorb Films and David Ortiz of Arlong Productions who are re-teaming with Pujol on his next film, “Rehearsal for a Kiss.”
The latest from Robert Rodríguez, who crafts his own films at his Austin, Texas-based Troublemaker Studios, and shot to fame with his innovative debut feature, “El Mariachi.” Co-written by Rodriguez and Max Borenstein, the mystery thriller revolves around a detective whose child has been abducted. Ben Affleck plays the detective opposite Alice Braga.
“From You,” Shin Dong-min, South Korea
A Grand Prizewinner at the 24th Shonju Film Festival, this three-part drama turns on fashion design student Min-ju and her mother, Seung-ju, an aspiring actress preparing for an audition. In part three, director Shin Dong-min and his mother Kim Hye-jeong break the fourth wall, returning home to come to terms with the loss of Dong-min’s father.
“Matusalén,” by David Galán Galindo, Spain
University-set comedy where forty-something rapper Matusalen (Methuselah in English) goes back to college to prove to his parents that he can be a mature adult. He wins over his classmates, who were initially disdainful of him, with his rapping skills. “He was sent to college to change, but it was he who changed everyone else,” the synopsis goes.
Poignant documentary turns on celebrated Magnum photographer Thomas Hoepker, renowned for his iconic photos. When in 2017, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, he decides to fulfil one of his big dreams, going on a road trip across the across the U.S. with his wife. “Of course, I forget a lot, but not everything has to stay forever,” he says.
“Un mundo mejor,” Janett Juárez, Mexico
Starring Raúl Briones, recent winner of the best actor Ariel in Mexico, pic centers on Víctor who takes refuge in another country after surviving a violent kidnapping. Breaking the monotony of his life in exile is a seven-year-old neighbor who shows him that “when everything seems lost, the hope for a better world is what keeps us afloat.”
“The Rescue” (“El rapto”) Daniela Goggi, Argentina, U.S.
“Money Heist” star Rodrigo de la Serna plays Julio, who returns to Argentina after the collapse of the country’s dictatorship in the 1980s. But his brother is kidnapped and he finds himself leading negotiations with the criminals. A Paramount Television Int’l Studios presentation with Rei Cine, Infinity Hill, (“Argentina, 1985”), PTIS production.
“Sal Azul,” Alejandro Cervantes Polanco, Mexico
A toxic relationship on a Mexican beach comes to a head when Connie, isolated by language and cultural barriers, thinks she’s going crazy until she finds out that her Mexican partner, Vic, has been manipulating her and hides a dark secret from her. Produced by Complice Films.
Barcelona-born director Carla Simón, whose sophomore film “Alcarràs” clinched the 72nd Berlinale Golden Bear last year, received the 2023 National Cinematography Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by Spain’s Ministry of Culture.
On hand to present the award in a ceremony held at the San Sebastian Film Festival was Miguel Iceta, Spain’s Minister of Culture and Sports, who first addressed Simón in Catalan before switching to Spanish: “With only two feature films, you have left your mark on the recent history of cinema in our country: a short but undisputed trajectory in terms of its strength and personality, recognized both nationally and internationally. A career that is nothing but the promise of a much longer and fruitful one.”
“This award, if you’ll allow me the audacity, is also for all the women who accompany you, for all your professional colleagues and peers, for all those women who, with your example and your struggle, are making the world of cinema a more equal, diverse, and better place,” said Iceta, who as an aside, also pointed out that Spain’s women’s soccer team, recently crowned world champions, had just won in Sweden.
However, out of the more than 40 times the award has been given out, no more than 14 women in the film industry have received the award. “We have some way to go before we achieve gender parity,” he noted.
The prize, granted by the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Sports, comes with a prize of €30,000 ($31,800).
“Finally, there are more women involved in filmmaking, and we are witnessing a timid democratization of our profession. There are ways of working that are already considered obsolete and stories that had never been told before. However, at the same time, films and works are still being censored for political reasons, or we self-censor to be politically correct,” Simón stated in a highly applauded speech where she thanked her family, friends and all that have supported her in her brief but brilliant career.
Only 36 years old, Simón quickly caught the film world’s attention in 2017 with her autobiographical debut feature, “Summer 1993,” sweeping Berlin’s First Feature Award and Generation Kplus Grand Prix.
It went on to be selected to represent Spain in the Oscars, beating Pablo Berger’s “Abracadabra” and Salvador Calvo’s “1898, Our Last Men in the Philippines” for the honor.
In her speech, Simón stressed the need to safeguard independent cinema, which she described as having “heart and daring,” emphasizing that it necessitates “time, nurturing, contemplation and precision.” She expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the female filmmakers who blazed a trail in the industry, including notable figures such as the Belgian icons Agnès Varda and Chantal Akerman, as well as their Spanish counterparts Josefina Molina, Pilar Miró, Icíar Bollaín, and Isabel Coixet.
She is currently preparing to shoot “Romería,” the third part of the trilogy she begun with “Summer 1993,” by next summer. She is next planning a flamenco musical for her fourth feature.
The deal was announced Sunday, Sept. 24, 146 days after the writers strike began on May 2 and following five back-to-back days of negotiations that ran through the weekend.
In its message to members, the union’s negotiating committee asked for patience on details of the pact: “What remains now is for our staff to make sure everything we have agreed to is codified in final contract language. And though we are eager to share the details of what has been achieved with you, we cannot do that until the last ‘i’ is dotted.”
“SAG-AFTRA congratulates the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement with the AMPTP after 146 days of incredible strength, resiliency and solidarity on the picket lines. While we look forward to reviewing the WGA and AMPTP’s tentative agreement, we remain committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members,” said the actors union, which also is striking. “Since the day the WGA strike began, SAG-AFTRA members have stood alongside the writers on the picket lines. We remain on strike in our TV/Theatrical contract and continue to urge the studio and streamer CEOs and the AMPTP to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand.”
The DGA, which ratified its own new deal with the AMPTP in June, also issued a note of congratulations to the WGA. “Congratulations to the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement tonight on behalf of their members,” the directors guild said in its statement. “We have been proud to support the writers in their fight for a fair deal and look forward to reviewing the details of the agreement. Now it’s time for the AMPTP to get back to the table with SAG-AFTRA and address the needs of performers.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also released his own statement: “California’s entertainment industry would not be what is today without our world class writers. For over 100 days, 11,000 writers went on strike over existential threats to their careers and livelihoods — expressing real concerns over the stress and anxiety workers are feeling. I am grateful that the two sides have come together to reach an agreement that benefits all parties involved, and can put a major piece of California’s economy back to work.”
The two sides were close to reaching a deal for several days, according to studio-side sources, after returning to the table for the first time since May 2 in late-August. Lawyers have reportedly been working on contract language since Friday night and had moved to finer details on Saturday morning. One of the key issues that kept both sides at the table over the weekend was artificial intelligence.
The tentative agreement, which still must be ratified by the union’s membership of more than 11,500 writers, could mark the end of one of the longest strikes in Hollywood history, the third-longest in the WGA’s nearly 70 years and the first double strike alongside SAG-AFTRA since 1960.
Frequently labeled a turning-point negotiation for the entire industry, the strike has been centered on issues both recurring and emerging in entertainment’s expanded streaming age. Those include health care contributions and adjustments to the current structure of residuals, but also guardrails around the use of AI and transparency regarding streaming performance.
For writers both union, pre-WGA and nonunion who stood in solidarity, the last five months have proven challenging. Scribes have faced food insecurity, the loss of their homes, the end of first-look deals, and on the daily line, dangers like high temps and car traffic.
Now, with a tentative agreement locked down, Hollywood is celebrating what could not only usher in the end of the writers’ work stoppage but may encourage the AMPTP to return to the table with SAG-AFTRA to firm up a deal and end its more than two-month strike as well.
See some of the initial reactions below.
This has been one of the most stressful experiences of my life but at no point was it ever not worth it. I’m proud to have played a part, however small, in this chapter of the Guild’s history.
Very thankful to see a tentative agreement reached in the #wgastrike, and my immediate thought is to thank all the other unions – most especially those in IATSE and the Teamsters – who took it on the chin supporting this fight.
After 146 Days, white smoke is finally emitting from the Sherman Oaks Galleria signifying that the AMPTP and WGA have reached a tentative agreement! pic.twitter.com/qDUt2qmbee
THANK YOU TO THE NEGOTIATION COMMITTEE — to @ellenstutzman and David Goodman and Chris Keyser and all the other writers on that committee, I fucking love you all for doing this for us, I will never forget what you have had to shoulder to get us here!!!
Over the coming days, we’ll discuss and vote on it, together, as a democratic union. But today, I want to thank every single WGA member, and every fellow worker who stood with us in solidarity. You made this possible. Thank you. #WGAStrongpic.twitter.com/KfzVKoPMPz
I’m so happy for us all that this can be over. I’m looking forward to seeing the details of what we’ve won. I’m waiting to hear when @sagaftra will get their turn at the table. I’m happy that we can all look for work again, for those of us that don’t have it. And 1/
I’m so happy for us all that this can be over. I’m looking forward to seeing the details of what we’ve won. I’m waiting to hear when @sagaftra will get their turn at the table. I’m happy that we can all look for work again, for those of us that don’t have it. And 1/
If you picketed If you were a captain If you worked a different job to stay afloat and stay strong If you fought if you were scared if you were out there if you wish you could have been If you had our backs If you showed up If you retweeted, donated, helped
Just a heads up, please know that even after the end of the strike, if you are a writer still experiencing financial problems because of it, you can still access the WGA strike fund.
History will look back on the strike as among the most significant events in the #WGA’s history, as many #writers had long since become disillusioned w/the business side of our craft and stood up for real change.
It’s not over yet but the future of this industry is in our hands.
Katie Holmes must be exhausted. She, like many other famous people, seems to have been tasked with undertaking a never-ending walk around Manhattan. This is an observation informed by hundreds of paparazzi photos, which document the actor in near-constant transit. It’s pure speculation, but the same painstaking endeavor once caused Emily Ratajowski’s loafers to melt into the pavement.
There could be an ulterior motive behind all this, though. Dressed in merchandise from Taylor Swift’s tour, Holmes might have been trying to surreptitiously “bump into” the musician, who has spent the past fortnight moving between Via Carota and Zero Bond with Greta Gerwig and Zöe Kravitz and Sophie Turner and Blake Lively and Gigi Hadid and Laura Dern on her arm. (See the photo here.)
Taylor Swift during the Eras Tour
Kevin Winter/TAS23/Getty Images
That Katie Holmes is a card-carrying Swiftie is not actually all that surprising. The actor introduced Swift at iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball in 2017, and she might also have contributed to the 2.3 magnitude “seismic event” registered at Swift’s Seattle concert during her ongoing Eras Tour. But here’s the thing: If Holmes really wants to summon a Swiftian endorsement, she might need to start wearing friendship bracelets too.
Hollywood’s bitter, monthslong labor dispute has taken a big first step toward a resolution.
The Writers Guild of America, which represents more than 11,000 screenwriters, reached a tentative deal on a new contract with entertainment companies on Sunday night, all but ending a 146-day strike that has contributed to a shutdown of television and film production.
In the coming days, guild members will vote on whether to accept the deal, which has much of what they had demanded, including increases in compensation for streaming content, concessions from studios on minimum staffing for television shows, and guarantees that artificial intelligence technology will not encroach on writers’ credits and compensation.
“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the Writers Guild’s negotiating committee said in an email to members.
Conspicuously not doing a victory lap was the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of studios. “The W.G.A. and A.M.P.T.P. have reached a tentative agreement” was its only comment.
For an industry upended by the streaming revolution, which the pandemic sped up, the tentative accord represents a meaningful step toward stabilization.
But much of Hollywood will remain at a standstill: Tens of thousands of actors remain on strike, and no talks between the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, and the studios were scheduled.
The only productions that could restart in short order would be ones without actors, like the late-night shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert and daytime talk shows hosted by Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Hudson.
The upshot: In addition to actors, more than 100,000 behind-the-scenes workers (directors, camera operators, publicists, makeup artists, prop makers, set dressers, lighting technicians, hairstylists, cinematographers) in Los Angeles and New York will continue to stand idle, many with mounting financial hardship. California’s economy alone has lost more than $5 billion from the Hollywood shutdown, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14. Its demands exceed those of the Writers Guild and the studio alliance decided to prioritize talks with the Writers Guild, in part because of the hard line taken by Fran Drescher, the SAG-AFTRA’s leader. Among other things, the actors want 2 percent of the total revenue generated by streaming shows, something that studios have said is a nonstarter.
Even so, the deal with the Writers Guild could speed up negotiations with the actors’ union. Some of SAG-AFTRA’s concerns are similar to ones raised by the Writers Guild. Actors, for instance, worry that A.I. could be used to create digital replicas of their likenesses (or that performances could be digitally altered) without payment or approval.
The last sticking point between the Writers Guild and studios involved artificial intelligence. On Saturday, lawyers for the entertainment companies came up with language — a couple paragraphs inside a contract that runs hundreds of pages — that addressed a guild concern about A.I. and old scripts that studios own. The sides spent several hours on Sunday making additional tweaks.
The tentative deal came after several senior company leaders joined the talks directly — among them Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive; Donna Langley, chair of the NBCUniversal Studio Group; Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive; and David Zaslav, who runs Warner Bros. Discovery. Typically, talks took place between union negotiators and Carol Lombardini, who leads the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, an organization that bargains on behalf of the eight biggest Hollywood content companies.
Talks resumed on Wednesday after a hiatus of nearly a month, a period when each side insisted that the other was the one refusing to negotiate. Writers Guild leaders had come under intense pressure from some of its A-list members, including Ryan Murphy (“American Horror Story”), Kenya Barris (“black-ish”) and Noah Hawley (“Fargo”).
Showrunners like Mr. Murphy did not push Writers Guild leaders to take what was already on the table. Rather, they agitated for an immediate return to negotiations, and cited as a reason the increasing financial hardship on idled Hollywood workers.
Hollywood workers have taken more than $45 million in hardship withdrawals from the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan since Sept. 1, according to a document compiled by plan administrators that was viewed by The New York Times. Mr. Murphy set up a financial assistance fund for idled workers on his shows and committed $500,000 as a starting amount. Within days, he had $10 million in requests.
Studios have also been hurting. This month, Warner Bros. Discovery said that the dual strikes would reduce its adjusted earnings for the year by $300 million to $500 million. The stock prices for Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have taken a hit. Analysts have estimated that studios will forgo as much as $1.6 billion in global ticket sales for movies that were initially scheduled for release this fall but pushed to next year because of the actors’ strike.
Negotiations between the studios and the writers began over six months ago. Union leaders repeatedly called the moment “existential,” arguing that the rise of streaming had worsened both compensation levels for writers as well as their working conditions.
Over the last decade, the number of episodes for television series went down from the old broadcast network standard of more than 20 per season to as little as six or seven. Writers Guild officials said that fewer episodes often translated to lower income for writers, and left them scrambling to find multiple jobs in a year.
The writers also took particular aim at so-called minirooms, a streaming-era innovation where fewer writers were hired to help conceive of a show, and they were frequently paid less.
Putting guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence was an issue of some significance when negotiations began in late March, but it took on greater urgency to members as bargaining — and the strike — wore on.
Prominent members of the Writers Guild had framed the strike as being about something loftier than Hollywood — they were taking a stand, they argued, against the evils of capitalism. Some of that sentiment peppered the reaction to the denouement. In a post late Sunday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Billy Ray, whose credits include “Captain Phillips” and “Shattered Glass,” encouraged fellow writers to “stand with the actors” and workers everywhere. “That’s how we’ll save America.”
The strike was one of the longest in the history of the Writers Guild. The last time writers and actors were both on strike at the same time was in 1960.
With a tentative deal in hand, the Writers Guild suspended picketing. The union, however, encouraged members to join the striking actors’ picket lines, which will begin again on Tuesday.
Charlie Hunnam has been a long-time fancast for DC’s Green Arrow.
The poster envisions a movie based on the critically acclaimed storyline of Mike Grell’s Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, with Guy Ritchie as the director.
Hunnam’s previous roles have demonstrated his ability to embody Oliver Queen’s wit, charisma, and action-packed scenes, making him a perfect fit for the iconic DC superhero.
A new DC Universe fan poster imagines Charlie Hunnam as the perfect Green Arrow for a live-action movie. James Gunn and Peter Safran are working on their new DC Universe, which will be a new attempt for Warner Bros. Discovery to have their own interconnected franchise. One of the heroes that many have been wanting to see on the big screen for quite some time is Oliver Queen, a.k.a. Green Arrow, who has, to this point, only been portrayed in live-action through television shows such as Smallville and Arrow.
While Green Arrow was another character that the DCEU never appeared, Hunnam continues to be a hugely favored candidate for playing the Emerald Archer on the big screen, especially in the new DC Universe. Originally shared on Reddit, a detailed fan poster features the Sons of Anarchy veteran as Green Arrow, with Guy Ritchie pitched as the director.
The poster imagines Hunnam in a movie based on Mike Grell’s Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, which is one of the most critically acclaimed storylines for the DC icon. In this scenario, the DC Universe movie would also star Jason Statham, Jude Law, Aubrey Plaza, and Matthew McConaughey.
Why Charlie Hunnam & Guy Ritchie Are The Perfect Green Arrow Combo
The idea of Hunnam and Ritchie being brought together for a Green Arrow movie seems like a potential hit for the DC Universe. Hunnam has starred in both The Gentleman and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, with the latter being the film that sparked the interest online to see Ritchie direct a Green Arrow film. As a filmmaker, Ritchie has a compelling film technique, especially in the way he tackles action movies, including his Sherlock Holmes films, which would be perfect for someone like Green Arrow, who is one of DC’s most famous street-level heroes.
Looking at Hunnam as an actor, a lot of his body of work has proven that he has a lot of the witty and charismatic sides of Oliver while also easily being able to nail the action beats that would come with portraying Green Arrow. Obviously, Hunnam is also a spitting image of the beloved DC archer, from his blonde hair down to the goatee, which is what has inspired numerous fan art and trailers over the years. Whether it would be in his own Green Arrow film or by showing up in a DC Universe movie or TV show, casting Hunnam as Oliver after all these years would be a massive dream come true.
Hopefully, Hunnam will join Green Arrow’s adaptation history and star in Gunn’s DC Universe, especially as the new franchise aims to include characters who haven’t had their fair shot at the big screen yet. Someone like Green Arrow is also a perfect character to get a new live-action incarnation, especially as the Arrow TV show did a very gritty interpretation of the character. For now, time will tell if Green Arrow is anywhere near close to finally joining the DC Universe.
While the four John Wick movies may tell a complete story of the assassin played by Keanu Reeves (until they decide to make another film, of course), there’s so much about the world he operates in to explore. That’s where The Continental: From The World of John Wick comes in. The three-part streaming miniseries debuts Friday on Peacock, with two more installments on the next two Fridays.
While The Continental doesn’t actually feature Wick, it’s something of an origin story for the film franchise. It tells how Winston, played by Ian McShane in the films, came to be in control of the assassin-infested Continental hotel in the 1970s. By exploring not only his backstory but that of his most trusted employee in the films, Lance Reddick’s Charon, so much more context is given to the franchise–as well as a good dose of ’70s-flavored history, from the music and fashion to the culture awakening.
“You just get excited, because culturally what was going on [in New York City at that time]? You had Studio 54, you had the sanitation strikes, you had the life and flavor, the sounds, the smells, the culture,” Albert Hughes, who directed the first and third episodes, told GameSpot. “It’s one of the few cities in the world where you can say, ‘I don’t know any other city with that many cultures packed in like that, where you have no choice but to mix with other people. And it’s the promise of the premise of America is what that city is.”
And with three 90-minute installments to explore that world, the team behind The Continental was essentially given a trilogy of films to tell this one particular story, making room for the kind of character development that typically wouldn’t reach too far beyond the primary stars of a single movie.
“You have no choice but to introduce new characters outside of Winston and Charon–and reveal more mythology, mystery, [and] rules,” Hughes explained. “And the wonderful thing about the film series is they don’t give the audience all the answers. They can be quite vague. There may not even be logic to some of this stuff. And the audience kind of puts it all together themselves and have their own fan theories.”
And now, with The Continental, those same theorizing fans will have even more to discuss as they figure out the full timeline of this iconic hotel from the films. It’s not just the character development that stands out as different from the movies, though. As Hughes points out, the show also has a very different sense of humor.
After all, the John Wick movies are often very funny. However, the comedy is typically found in the action beats. While there still is some of that in The Continental, having the room to flesh out character and story leads to more dialogue than you might expect in a John Wick story. It’s there, though, that Hughes and the Continental team found their laughs.
“The TV series differs a little bit because some of the humor is more verbal,” he noted, while also pointing out the important role music plays in the series. It’s hard to understate the importance of the show’s soundtrack, given it’s filled with the type of ’70s needle drops that fit in perfectly well in this older and grungier version of New York City.
It goes a long way in helping viewers lose themselves in the retro look of the series, which stands in sharp contrast to the vaguely futuristic aesthetic of the John Wick films. Expect fewer neon lights and cell phones, more boxy, older cars and excellent vintage fashion.
Don’t worry, though. The show is still titled The Continental: From the World of John Wick and still has the kind of action set-pieces you expect from the films. It’s just not as chaotic a ride, with a fighting sequence being immediately followed by five more fights. It’s a welcome change before, assumedly, the Ballerina spin-off film debuts next year, bringing the world of Wick back to the big screen.
The Continental airs Fridays on Peacock.
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Latido Films is venturing yet more into the inspiring world of e-sports and viral fame with Goya Award winning producer-helmer Alvaro Longoria’s new doc-feature, “La vida de Brianeitor.” The film serves as a spin-off from Javier Fesser’s Spanish box office smash hit, “Championext,” which Latido is also selling.
The doc follows Brian Albacete, better known as Brianeitor2022. With millions of social media followers, an acting role in a top-charting Spanish film “Championext” and a spot on Team Heretics—one of Spain’s leading e-sport entities—Brian is redefining what it means to be a star. And he’s doing it all despite living with muscular dystrophy and spina bifida.
“Javier Fesser…told me Brian was an amazing subject for a doc. I wasn’t really sure until I met him in person,” recalled Alvaro Longoria, the film’s director, and the producer at Morena Films behind “Championext.” Brian’s popularity soared when he began streaming his gaming activities as Brianeitor2022, quickly amassing a dedicated fan base impressed by his skills and infectious personality.
Latido Films discovered Brian seeing images of his performance in “Championext,” and was impressed by his attitude and charisma. Longoria filled the sales company in with Albacete’s extraordinary story. and, recalled Latido head Antonio Saura.
“He also presented us with the documentary he was doing around him, his family, and the circumstances of his life and his dreams and, why not, his amazing achievements in the world of video gaming,” said Saura.
“We have had the luxury of working in Alvaro Longoria’s ‘Tequila, Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll’ and has been following his multi Goya Award career, both as a producer and most recently as one of the leading documentary directors in Spain, and we can very well say that ‘La vida de Brianeitor’ is one of his best films, touching, heart breaking, a lesson of life,” Saura added.
Longoria is no stranger to exploring hidden worlds, as evidenced by his 2015 North Korean documentary, “The Propaganda Game.” This time it’s a world of entertainment hidden from many over the age of 20. “I believe we need to normalize the new ways in which youngsters are entertaining themselves, and we must avoid demonizing all social media as it also offers opportunities for people who, like Brian, can excel only there.” said Longoria.
Diego Sora, chief strategy officer of Team Heretics, echoes this sentiment in the film, pointing out that its organization ranks as Spain’s fourth-largest sports property on social media, just behind giants like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
The documentary is set to close the Made in Spain section at San Sebastian Film Festival. “I believe this to be an inspirational movie, someone who seems to have nothing becomes an example and his life is an adventure, a unique but amazing adventure,” concluded Longoria.
After 146 days, the Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative agreement to end their work stoppage against the major Hollywood studios. WGA leadership emailed strike captains Sunday night informing them of the news, saying the agreement was “subject to drafting final contract language.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, the provisional three-year agreement still needs to be ratified by WGA members to take effect. Specifics of the deal have not been publicly shared yet.
Why Robert Rodriguez still loves “Spy Kids”
Representatives from both the WGA and AMPTP sat down for a series of talks over the past week that seemed to signal a potential end to the nearly five-month stalemate. The meetings were also attended by studio heads Bob Iger (Disney), David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery), Donna Langley (Universal), and Ted Sarandos (Netflix).
The WGA officially put their pencils down on May 2. This walkout marked the guild’s first large-scale work stoppage since the strike of 2007-2008, and now looks to clock in as its second longest,following a 154-day picket in 1988.
The strike has, in large part, surrounded writers’ concerns with protection from AI and declining residuals in the streaming era. As studios posted record profits, the artists behind those big bags of money experienced less job security and less cash flow. Since the last strike some 15 years ago, streaming has rapidly transformed the industry, while writers largely did not see a change to their contracts.
In a report by The A.V. Club, The Bear writer Alex O’Keefe detailed his experience working on a massively successful series, but still not having financial security. “I have friends who believe, ‘Oh, Alex worked on The Bear, Alex is rich now. Alex can buy a car.’ And you know, I’m not. I’m broke,” he said. “[When] I won the WGA Award for The Bear for Outstanding Comedy Series, I had a negative bank account. My suit was bought by my family and friends, and my bowtie was bought on credit. All that glitters is not gold.”
Writers have also sought changes to the extremely unpopular “mini room” model, which shrinks traditional writers’ rooms and employs fewer staffers for less time.
Still, Hollywood production is not just going to bounce back now that the WGA strike is over. SAG-AFTRA is still picketing. But the end of the writers strike could signal a willingness on the part of the studios to finally bring a painful moment in Hollywood to an end.
Hiding a sequel number in the title isn’t enough to make a film seem fresh. That’s the message audiences sent Millennium Films, which produced “Expend4bles” at a reported cost of $100 million. The franchise’s fourth film and the first since 2014 came in second place; it should have been an easy #1.
Lionsgate reports an estimated gross of $8.3 million, but studio estimates suggest it will be closer to $8 million. Pre-weekend projections had this in the range of $10 million or higher, but truly awful reviews (Metacritic has it at a rock-bottom 29) didn’t help.
Not every sequel bombs. “The Nun II” (Warner Bros.) repeated for a surprising third week at #1; last week it edged out Disney’s “A Haunting of Venice,” also unexpected. The New Line horror production, with a budget under $40 million, will head to a domestic total over $85 million. It’s a nice win for Warners, one that will put the film above DC Comics’ far more expensive “Blue Beetle” and “Shazam: Fury of the Gods.”
“The Nun II”Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Warners estimates $8.4 million for “The Nun II.” Last weekend, in another close decision, it guessed $200,000 over the actual result. This week, they have a margin of $100,000 to not be the lowest #1 for the year. Current title holder is Warners’ “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” which debuted to $8.3 million on the low-grossing Super Bowl weekend.
This weekend’s tentative total is around $52 million, the year’s lowest. Year to date, the box office is up 26 percent over last year.
Two other films made their top 10 debuts. Neon released “It Lives Inside,” the story of an Indian-American teen who confronts a demonic spirit who has possessed a classmate. It premiered at SXSW 2023 and received mixed reviews to open at #7.
“Dumb Money” (Sony) expanded to 616 theaters from last week’s eight for 8th place. It grossed $2.5 million ahead of the much wider expansion. The slower release is intended to elevate word of mouth; next week we’ll see if it worked. Its per-theater $4,058 average is a bit below what “Bottoms” (MGM) achieved in its second weekend with 715 theaters. With an estimated budget of $11 million, the MGM title will gross around $12 million. The reported “Dumb Money” budget is around $30 million.
“A Haunting in Venice” dropped to third, off 56 percent in its second weekend. It’s faring better overseas, where it’s grossed $46.2 million, but it’s much below hopes.
“Barbie” (WB), boosted by some first-time IMAX dates, had the best hold. It remains #5, off only 16 percent even with home PVOD access as an alternative. “Oppenheimer” is in a virtual tie for 10th place with a 22 percent drop. (Paramount’s estimate for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is only $5,000 lower).
A limited IMAX-centered reissue of Talking Heads’ classic concert film “Stop Making Sense” (on screens often shared with “Barbie”) grossed $800,000 for the weekend and over $1.4 million including Thursday shows. Prior to the A24 re-release, the 1984 Jonathan Demme film has grossed approximately $20 million (adjusted).
3. A Haunting in Venice (Disney) Week 2; Last weekend #2
$6,300,000 (-56%) in 3,305 (no change) theaters; PTA: $1,215; Cumulative: $25,353,000
4. The Equalizer 3 (Sony) Week 4; Last weekend #3
$4,725,000 (-35%) in 3,270 (-258) theaters; PTA: $1,445; Cumulative: $81,261,000
5. Barbie (Warner Bros.) Week 10; Last weekend #6; also on PVOD
$3,200,000 (-19%) in 2,634 (-378) theaters; PTA: $1,215; Cumulative: $630,450,000
6. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (Focus) Week 3; Last weekend #4
$3,000,000 (-37%) in 3,078 (-600) theaters; PTA: $975; Cumulative: $23,800,000
7. It Lives Inside (Neon) NEW – Metacritic: 50
$2,630,000 in 1,985 theaters; PTA: $1,312; Cumulative: $2,630,000
8. Dumb Money (Sony) Week 2; Last weekend #20
$2,500,000 (+1,031%) in 616 (+608) theaters; PTA: $4,058; Cumulative: $2,810,000
9. Blue Beetle (Warner Bros.) Week 6; Last week #7
$1,810,000 (-28%) in 1,953 (-433) theaters; PTA: $1,910; Cumulative: $69,823,000
10. (tie) Oppenheimer (Universal) Week 10; Last weekend #9
$1,630,000 (-22%) in 1,459 (-340) theaters; PTA: $1,117; Cumulative: $321,213,000
10. (tie) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount) Week 8; Last weekend #10; also on PVOD
$1,625,000 (-20%) in 1,751 (-315) theaters; PTA: $928; Cumulative: $116,261,000
Other specialized titles
Films (limited, expansions of limited, as well as awards-oriented releases) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed.Metacritic scores and film festivals lists as listed.
Stop Making Sense (A24) (reissue) NEW
$800,637 in 264 theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $1,429,000 (reissue only)
My Sailor, My Love NEW – Festivals include: Toronto 2022
$27,419 in 35 theaters; PTA: $798
What Doesn’t Float (Circle Collective) NEW
$5,029 in 1 theater; PTA: $5,029
The Origin of Evil (IFC) NEW – Metacritic: 59; Festivals include: Venice, Toronto 2022
$45,950 in 206 theaters; PTA: $223
Camp Hideout (Roadside) Week 2 848
$229,265 in theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $869,533
Rebel (Yellow Veil) Week 2
$4,000 in 1 (no change) theater; PTA: $4,000; Cumulative: $(est.) 8,000
Amerikatsi (Variance) Week 3
$82,014 in 39 (+20) theaters; PTA: $2,103; Cumulative: $279.799
Bottoms (MGM) Week 5; also on PVOD
$607,940 in 645 (-537) theaters; Cumulative: $11,046,000
Golda (Bleecker Street) Week 5
$94,425 in 141 (-55) theaters; Cumulative: $4,597,000
Fremont (Music Box) Week 5
$27,995 in 34 (+6) theaters; Cumulative: $219,899
Jules (Bleecker Street) Week 7
$12,970 in 28 (+5) theaters; Cumulative: $1,909,000
Talk to Me (A24) Week 9; also on PVOD
$447,530 in 420 (-150) theaters; Cumulative: $47,641,000
Theater Camp (Searchlight) Week 11; also on PVOD and streaming
$12,000 in 45 (no change) theaters; Cumulative: $3,994,000
Created by Barbara Hall, Madam Secretary is a political thriller that aired on CBS from 2014 to 2019. The series follows Bess Adams McCord (Téa Leoni), the Secretary of State for the United States who does her best to balance her political responsibilities and her personal life as a wife and mother of three. By the sixth and final season, McCord became the first elected female President in the United States.
Although Leoni is best known for her comedic movie performances, her presence in Madam Secretary proves what a superb dramatic TV actor she is as well. Much of that concerns the supporting cast of characters and the talented performers who portray them in the gripping political thriller. As such, it’s time to meet the cast of Madam Secretary.
Téa Leoni as Elizabeth “Bess” Adams McCord
CBS
As mentioned, Téa Leoni plays Elizabeth “Bess” Adams McCord. Bess is a career public servant who spent 20 years in the CIA as an intelligence analyst before becoming a professor of political science in Virginia. When the Secretary of State dies in a plane crash, Bess is appointed to be his replacement. Bess accepts the role and quickly learns that she must navigate her new political role while continuing to take care of her three children.
Leoni is a supremely versatile actor who has played action, comedy, and drama with equally convincing results. Her first big breakout role came in A League of Their Own in 1992 before going on to star in the smash buddy cop action movie Bad Boys and the TV show The Naked Truth in 1995.
Leoni’s most notable movie credits include Flirting with Disaster, Jurassic Park III, and Fun with Dick and Jane. Now that her most-lasting role as Bess Adams has wrapped, Leoni is set to voice a role in the upcoming animated film Endangered.
Tim Daly as Henry McCord
CBS
Tim Daly portrays Henry McCord in the underrated political thriller. Henry is Bess’ husband of 25 years and the father of their three children. Henry served in the Marines as a flight captain in Operation Desert Storm before becoming a theology professor. In addition to being the First Gentleman of the United States, Henry is appointed as the leader of the CIA’s Special Activities Division as the series progresses.
Daly brings a wealth of experience to the tole of Henry McCord. He is best known for portraying the lead character Joe Hackett in the popular NBC sitcom, Wings, in which he starred for eight seasons and 172 episodes. In 2004, Daly joined the cast of The Sopranos, playing the drug-addled screenwriter J.T. Dolan. When his arc as Dolan wrapped in 2007, Daly went on to star as Dr. Pete Wilder in the hit medical drama Private Practice.
Wallis Curry-Wood as Stephanie “Stevie” McCord
CBS
Wallis Curry-Wood adds domestic drama to the show as Stephanie “Stevie” McCord. Stevie is the daughter and eldest child of Bess and Henry who aspires to become a professional lawyer. As such, she applied to Harvard Law after graduating from Georgetown University. When her mother becomes POTUS, Stevie begins interning with Chief of Staff, Russell Jackson. Meanwhile, her illicit affair with undercover agent Dmitri Petrov puts her in danger later in the series.
Curry-Wood is a relative newcomer with two additional credits. In 2015, she played an interviewer in The Intern opposite Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. In 2016, Curry-Wood appeared in an episode of the Prime Video original reality TV series The Fashion Fund. Considering her lack of experience prior to Madam Secretary, Curry-Wood’s presence in 118 episodes of the show is bound to pay dividends in the next project she is cast in.
Evan Roe as Jason McCord
CBS
Evan Roe portrays Jason McCord in the heart-racing political thriller. Jason is the teenage son of Bess and Henry and the youngest of their three children. Despite his parents’ high-ranking government positions, Jason is an overt anarchist who wants to dismantle the corrupt political system in America. Jason is also a troublemaker who gets expelled from school after punching a student who made fun of his mother.
Roe began his career in 2012 and has amassed a handful of credits in the past decade. He can be seen in the Disney Channel TV series Jessie and the Nickelodeon show Sam & Cat. Roe has also appeared in such movies as Time Toys and Selah and the Spades. While Madam Secretary has provided Roe with his most visible role to date, he can be seen next in the star-studded 2023 miniseries A Man in Full.
Željko Ivanek as Russell Jackson
CBS
Željko Ivanek plays Russell Jackson. Russell is the White House Chief of Staff appointed by President Adams three months into her tenure. Russell’s role is to ensure that the President remains safe and secure and organizes the daily operations within the White House. Russell also takes Stevie under his wing and uses his connections as a Harvard Law alum to recommend Stevie for admission.
Ivanek is a chameleonic character actor with an outstanding filmography. He’s worked with some of the best all-time directors, including Ridley Scott in Hannibal and The Last Duel, Martin McDonagh in Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards, Lars von Trier in Dogville and Manderlay, and more. Ivanek can currently be seen in The Walking Dead: Dead City, which recently concluded its first season.
Patina Miller as Daisy Grant
CBS
Patina Millerplays Daisy Grant. Daisy is President Adam’s press secretary responsible for speaking on behalf of the office in public. While Daisy is good at her job, she often dates co-workers in the White House, which complicates her personal and professional life. Whether dating speechwriter Matt or undercover CIA operative Kevin, Daisy adds a lot of romantic drama to the proceedings.
Miller began her career on the TV soap All My Children in 2007. After appearing in both The Hunger Games: Mockingjay movies, Miller went on to star in the TV series Mercy Street and Word Party. Most recently, Miller gave a standout turn in the acclaimed Starz original TV show, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and is poised to play a Witch in the upcoming fairytale horror movie Into the Woods.
Erich Bergen as Blake Moran
CBS
Erich Bergen depicts Blake Moran. Blake is Bess’ personal assistant and close confidant. Unlike the other staffers that she inherited from the former President, Bess personally chose Blake to be her helper based on their days attending college together. After trying his hand at Wall Street financing, Blake hated his job and vowed to make a difference in the political sector.
Although Madam Secretary marks Bergen’s most famous role of his young career, he’s appeared in many memorable projects as well. His TV credits include single appearances in Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, and The Good Fight, Bergen also notably starred as Bob Gaudio in Clint Eastwood’s musical drama Jersey Boys.
Geoffrey Arend as Matt Mahoney
CBS
Geoffrey Arend stars as Matt Mahoney. Matt is Bess’s speechwriter who is responsible for carefully wording the President’s messages to the public. Matt’s main storylines involve dating his co-worker Daisy and being forced to spy on the former President by Russell Jackson. The latter subplot puts Matt in direct peril that has severe consequences as the series advances.
Arend began his career by starring in such popular movies as Super Troopers and Garden State before going on to appear in 500 Days of Summer. By 2010, Arend began working more on television after landing a recurring role in Body of Proof. While Madam Secretary marks his biggest TV role, Arend can also be seen in such recent shows as Goliath and Physical.
Keith Carradine as Conrad Dalton
CBS
Keith Carradine plays Conrad Dalton, the 45th President of the United States. Before leading the highest office in the land, Conrad served as the Director of the CIA and was a gubernatorial candidate in California. Due to their time as friends and classmates at Harvard Law, Conrad appointed Bess to the role of Secretary of State and even considered for the Vice Presidency during his reelection campaign.
A veteran movie actor who began his career working with Robert Altman, Carradine is best known for his iconic performance in Nashville, for which he won an Oscar for writing and performing the Best Original Song, “I’m Easy.” Yet, despite appearing in roughly 100 movies in his career, Carradine has given standout turns in the most popular TV shows of the past 20 years. For instance, Carradine has participated in the great 21st-century crime shows, Deadwood, Dexter, Fargo, and most recently, Fear the Walking Dead.
Bebe Neuwirth as Nadine Tolliver
CBS
Bebe Neuwirth portrays Nadine Tolliver. Nadine serves as Bess’ personal Chief of Staff who harbors deep resentments stemming from her time under the previous Secretary of State, Vincent Marsh. Nadine had a six-year affair with Marsh before his tragic death, and Nadine is deeply suspicious of Bess when she assumes the office. Over time, Bess and Nadine earn each other’s mutual trust and begin to cooperate.
Neuwirth has built an impressive resume since her career commenced in the mid-80s. While perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Lilith Sternin in the hit sitcom Cheers, for which she won two Primetime Emmys as a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Neuwirth has made her mark in everything from Jumanji and Summer of Sam to Law & Order and the recent Max original series Julia.
Sophia Loren underwent emergency surgery Sunday after suffering several fractures, including one to her femur, after a bad fall at her Swiss home.
The Italian acting icon, who turned 89 on Sept. 20, fell in her bathroom and sustained several fractures to her hip, and a serious fracture to her femur which needed surgery, a source close to the actress told The Hollywood Reporter. The source added that there is cautious optimism about the outcome of the operation and Loren’s recovery, which will include a short convalescence and then a long rehabilitation.
News of Loren’s fall was broken by a restaurant she was set to open in the Italian city of Bari on Sept. 26 — the fourth such restaurant bearing her name. The actress was also set to receive honorary citizenship from the city, but now all her engagements for the foreseeable future have been canceled.
Sources say the actress’ sons Carlo and Edoardo are by her side at the hospital. Edoardo directed Loren in her most recent feature film, the 2020 Netflix feature The Life Ahead, which won her a David di Donatello Award for best actress. In 2021, she was the subject of the Netflix documentary What Would Sophia Loren Do?
Loren’s last public appearance was at the Armani fashion show in Venice on Sept. 2, held during the 80th Venice Film Festival.
Union leaders and Hollywood studios reached a tentative agreement Sunday to end a historic screenwriters strike after nearly five months, though no deal is yet in the works for striking actors.
The Writers Guild of America announced the deal in a joint statement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents studios, streaming services and production companies in negotiations.
“WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP,” the guild said in an email to members. “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 three-year contract agreement — settled on after five marathon days of renewed talks by WGA and AMPTP negotiators that was joined at times by studio executives — must be approved by the guild’s board and members before the strike officially ends.
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Hollywood strike: Writers, studios on cusp of deal
In a longer message from the guild shared by members on social media, the writers were told the strike is not over and no one was to return to work until hearing otherwise, but picketing is to be suspended immediately.
The terms of the deal were not immediately announced. The tentative deal to end the last writers strike, in 2008, was approved by more than 90% of members.
The agreement comes just five days before the strike would’ve become the longest in the guild’s history, and the longest Hollywood strike more than 70 years.
As a result of the agreement, nightly network shows including NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” could return to the air within days.
Businesses concerned over impact of Hollywood strike on TIFF
But as writers prepare to potentially crack open their laptops again, it’s far from back to business as usual in Hollywood, as talks have not yet resumed between studios and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Crew members left with no work by the stoppage will remain unemployed for now.
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“SAG-AFTRA congratulates the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement with the AMPTP after 146 days of incredible strength, resiliency and solidarity on the picket lines,” the actors union said in a statement. “While we look forward to reviewing the WGA and AMPTP’s tentative agreement, we remain committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members.”
The statement said the guild continues “to urge the studio and streamer CEOs and the AMPTP to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand.”
The proposed solution to the writers strike came after talks resumed on Wednesday for the first time in a month. Chief executives including Bob Iger of Disney, Ted Sarandos of Netflix, David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery and Donna Langley of NBCUniversal reportedly took part in the negotiations directly.
It was reached without the intervention of federal mediators or other government officials, which had been necessary in previous strikes.
ACTRA to show support for striking film actors and writers
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement congratulating the two sides on the deal and said she is hopeful the same can happen soon with actors.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom did the same, saying writers “went on strike over existential threats to their careers and livelihoods — expressing real concerns over the stress and anxiety workers are feeling. I am grateful that the two sides have come together.”
About 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America walked off the job May 2 over issues of pay, the size of writing staffs on shows and the use of artificial intelligence in the creation of scripts. Actors, who joined the writers on strike in July, have their own issues but there have been no discussions about resuming negotiations with their union yet.
The writers strike immediately sent late-night talk shows and “Saturday Night Live” into hiatus, and has since sent dozens of scripted shows and other productions into limbo, including forthcoming seasons of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” HBO’s “The Last of Us,” and ABC’s “Abbot Elementary,” and films including “Deadpool 3” and “Superman: Legacy.” The Emmy Awards were also pushed from September to January.
More recently, writers had been targeting talk shows that were working around strike rules to return to air, including “ The Drew Barrymore Show,” “ Real Time With Bill Maher ” and “The Talk.” All reversed course in the face of picketing and pressure, and are likely to quickly return now.
Drew Barrymore pauses return of daytime talk show amid ongoing strikes in Hollywood
The combined strikes made for a pivotal moment in Hollywood as creative labor faced off against executives in a business transformed and torn by technology, from the seismic shift to streaming in recent years to the potentially paradigm-shifting emergence of AI in the years to come.
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Screenwriters had traditionally gone on strike more than any other segment of the industry, but had enjoyed a relatively long stretch of labor peace until spring negotiations for a new contract fell apart. The walkout was their first since 2007 and their longest since 1988.
On July 14, more than two months into the strike, the writers got a dose of solidarity and star power — along with a whole lot of new picketing partners — when they were joined by 65,000 striking film and television actors.
It was the first time the two groups had been on strike together since 1960. In that walkout, the writers strike started first and ended second. This time, studios opted to deal with the writers first.
The AMPTP first reached out to suggest renewing negotiations in August. The meetings were short, infrequent, and not productive, and talks went silent for another month.
This story was first published by Andrew Dalton on Sunday for The Associated Press.
They will likely mark the first tranche of shows able to return, along with daytime talk shows.
The late-night shows have been dark since the beginning of May when the writers walked out, becoming one of the first subsects of the TV industry to close down as a result of the labor action.
Sources told Deadline that the shows will likely return a few days after the strike is officially over, once it’s been ratified, time to give the writers the chance to return and the crew to get the production process going again.
They do not need to wait until the SAG-AFTRA strike is over as they are not struck shows, although don’t expect a phalanx of actors to turn up as guests as they are still on strike and won’t be promoting struck work.
While The Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show and Late Night will be able to return with their hosts, as will weekly show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Daily Show, however, is in a slightly different situation. The Comedy Central series had rotating guest hosts when the strike began, as a result of Trevor Noah’s departure.
CBS will have to work out plans for its 12:30 a.m. slot after James Corden stepped down from The Late Late Show just before the strike and the network decided to replace it with a reboot of @midnight. That show currently does not have a host.
Bill Maher, who controversially announced that he was planning to return to HBO’s Real Time on September 22, before reversing course after the WGA and AMPTP restarted talks.
It will be a boon for the thousands of people who work on these shows, who have been off work, and largely unpaid, for months.
It’s likely that Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon and Meyers will all return on the same night, particularly as they’ve been incredibly close during the strikes. The group has been hosting a podcast – Strike Force Five – which has so far released six episodes on Spotify.
During the last strike, Jay Leno, who hosted The Tonight Show, David Letterman, who hosted The Late Show, Craig Ferguson, who hosted The Late Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel and Late Night host Conan O’Brien all returned to the air on January 2, 2008, after nearly two months off-air. They were followed by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report on January 7.
Kimmel revealed on Strike Force Five that the other late-night hosts were “mad” that Letterman and Ferguson were able to go back with their writers before the other shows.
“Would it be fair to say that in 2008 the hosts didn’t get along quite as well as we do?,” asked Oliver. “I know it’s an incredibly low bar but that was a sequence of dying marriages that they were engaged in.”
Now that we’re almost over the excitement of the iPhone 15 launch, we can turn our attention to the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro – and a couple of new leaks reveal more about what we can expect when these flagship phones make an appearance.
First up are some official-looking renders obtained by MySmartPrice (via Android Authority). Google has published its own shots of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, but these leaked images show off more angles and more colors.
The colors to expect are, according to this source, Peony Rose, Grey, and Obsidian Black for the Pixel 8, and Sky Blue, Porcelain, and Black Obsidian for the Pixel 8 Pro. It seems like only the black shade will be carried over from the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
You can also see the camera bumps, and just how much they stick out from the main chassis, in the renders supplied by MySmartPrice. They match up with the images published by Google so there’s a good chance that they’re accurate.
Camera features
Our second Pixel 8 leak concerns some of the camera features coming to the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro. We already know that photo and video capture will be a crucial part of what these phones offer, and now more details have emerged.
As per a video sourced by 91mobiles (via Android Police), the features heading our way with these phones include Video Boost, Night Sight for video, Audio Eraser for reducing background noise, and Magic Editor – including being able to create composite images where everyone in the family is smiling at the same time.
We’d heard about some of these features before, but this newly leaked video looks like it was produced by Google to accompany the launch of the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro, and it shows all of these tools in action. What remains to be seen is which features, if any, will be Pro exclusives – that phone will have a more advanced camera setup.
There’s also a breakdown of the camera specs here: a dual-lens 50MP+12MP ultrawide camera on the back of the Pixel 8, and a triple lens 50MP+48MP ultrawide+48MP telephoto on the Pixel 8 Pro. Both handsets are due to appear on Wednesday, October 4.
Doja Cat’s arachnidemonic no-features rap album would like a word with anyone who ever said that she’s not really a rapper. Scarlet asserts Doja’s ability to rap, and her right to be multi-talented and difficult—“difficult art” is high praise. If only anything about Scarlet were difficult. It’s reactive and repetitive, pairing unsurprising takes on traditionalist hip-hop with sharp retorts to last season’s insults. Conceptually, the album is pitched somewhere between Rico Nasty’s Anger Management and Taylor Swift’s Reputation, a razor-edged heel turn that has always something to prove. It’s probably the biggest album to be so concerned with posting, which doesn’t give it the blockbuster quality it deserves.
Doja Cat has answered doubters before, once saying that “it’s fine if people think that I can’t rap,” but Scarlet—working title First of All—implies maybe it isn’t anymore. In one of many spring-summer 2023 tweets later deleted, but not before they made headlines, Doja wrote, “i also agree with everyone who said the majority of my rap verses are mid and corny…. I just enjoy making music but I’m getting tired of hearing yall say that i can’t so I will.” Scarlet’s relatively straight-ahead approach to hip-hop sounds like ’90s boom-bap retrofitted with an eye to contemporary sample drill, rage, and cloud rap. Frequent Lil Yachty collaborator Earl on the Beat has a hand in four tracks including singles “Paint the Town Red” and the dreamy love song “Agora Hills”; Jay Versace is behind the most California-sounding beats, channeling West Coast old school on “97” and L.A. beat scene on “Often.” A generous sample budget pays for classic material like the Ric Flair soundbite on “Balut” and Earl’s Dionne Warwick sample, the first sound on the album: a dove of peace over Evil Doja’s shoulder in “Paint the Town Red,” the No. 1 hit that’s an exact fit for her fake-bloodied, take-no-prisoners horrorcore persona.
After the opening “Red” and “Demons,” Scarlet is a purgatorial run of similarly paced songs that play like progressively shallower echoes of the singles’ pride and bluster. Moment to moment Doja’s performance is dynamic—sweet falsetto, thick nasal drawl—but her writing can make her sound like a sore winner bringing playground taunts to a flame war (“You look like a butter face”) and flatlining on “Love Life” as she congratulates her business team. Remy Ma, who last year reported that the Doja Cat fanbase “came for my life” after she’d said she didn’t think of Doja as a rapper, merits a subtle dig hidden in a stream of punning wordplay on “Ouchies,” and Doja spends not a little time beefing with those same “extremist” superfans on her own behalf, commentating on minor controversies and reminding them that every hate click counts.
The Writers Guild of America and the major Hollywood studios on Sunday night reached a tentative deal on a new film and TV contract that would end a strike that has lasted nearly five months.
The writers have been on strike since May 2, seeking protections from the ways in which streaming and other industry shifts have threatened their livelihoods.
But the deal does not mean that the strike is immediately over or that the entertainment industry can return to work right away.
Here are five things to know about what comes next:
What does the WGA-AMPTP deal mean?
It’s an agreement on a new three-year film and TV contract, which includes key gains demanded by screenwriters. They’ve been fighting for better pay from streaming shows, language governing the use of artificial intelligence and other protections.
But it’s only a proposal at this point.
In order to take effect, the contract must be ratified by a majority of the guild’s 11,500 film and television writer members. Ratification is expected, given the strong support WGA leaders have received from the rank-and-file. Guild members voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing leaders to call the strike, which began on May 2.
What’s the next step now that an agreement has been reached?
Guild leaders said in a message to members on Sunday night that WGA staff will now comb through the contract to make sure that “the last ‘i’ is dotted” before sending the full proposal to members.
The union’s negotiating committee will vote on whether to recommend the contract and send it to the WGA West board and the council for the WGA East for approval. Those votes are expected to take place Tuesday.
How soon can writers go back to work?
WGA members will be able to return to work before the ratification vote, but they must first wait for the guild’s authorization. The strike is still in effect until the guild gives the OK to pick up pen and paper again, but picketing will be suspended.
When will Hollywood return to production?
That’s hard to say. Scripted productions won’t resume immediately because they also need actors, who’ve been on strike since July 14. Also, a number of TV series have already been canceled and film shoots pushed back in 2024 so it will be some time before production activity picks up to pre-strike levels. As the industry saw following COVID-19 lockdowns, ramping up takes more than a simple flip of a switch.
Will this tentative deal help end the actors’ strike?
Like the writers, actors have stressed that they won’t be governed by other unions’ contract deals, a practice known as pattern bargaining. Nonetheless, the tentative WGA deal could provide a framework to help resolve the actors’ strike because it addresses many of the same concerns actors have raised regarding low pay, streaming residuals, AI and other issues.
SAG-AFTRA leaders and A-listers frequently joined writers on picket lines in a show of solidarity. If approved, the WGA deal could put pressure on the 160,000-member performers union to resume bargaining with the studios as the work stoppage has taken a mounting toll on out-of-work members and below-the-line crew.
Many people know of Wes Bentley through his outstanding role as Jamie Dutton in the powerhouse Yellowstone, managing to deliver a wonderfully distinct performance in a show with so many great actors. As well as Yellowstone, Bentley has starred in multiple blockbusters and classic films that led him to land his role as Dutton.
Delivering so many standout performances throughout his career, it’s safe to say that he’s definitely underrated in the industry. From romance to sci-fi epics, here are his best movies, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.
10 Pioneer – 55%
Nordisk Film
The first film on this list is a Norwegian thriller directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg named Pioneer.In one of Bentley’s roles as a protagonist, he more than delivers in his role to create a tense, suspenseful thriller set deep in the ocean.
A film where your interpretation of events could go in any direction, the plot follows a diver during his mission to reach the bottom of the Norwegian Sea, who quickly realizes his way out of his depths. Alongside the non-stop intensity the film’s story creates, the movie is also a technical marvel at times, especially in the underwater sequences.
9 Weirdsville – 58%
Magnolia Pictures
In a much different type of movie compared to Pioneer,Weirdsvillesees Bentley star in a quirky comedy with some pretty twisted motives. Most critics agree that the film nails the nonsensical comedy, not taking itself too seriously which can easily let these types of comedies down. Bentley plays one of the two main characters, named Royce.
The movie follows two stoners who try to dump the body of a girlfriend who overdosed in an abandoned drive-in movie theater. While attempting to keep it on the low, they run into a cult of Satanists performing a ritual sacrifice. Across the board, the performances are what make this film shine compared to other dark comedy films in the 2000s.
8 Stars in Shorts – 60%
Shorts HD
Although Bentley isn’t at the center of this film, his performance still holds up with the rest of the star-studded cast in Stars in Shorts. The film isn’t very well known, which is quite surprising considering the names in the film, including Colin Firth, Judi Dench, and Kiera Knightley.
The structure of this film is definitely the most unique on this list, with the run time being a collection of seven short films, all with their own story. Each short film is directed by someone different, providing a personalized spin for each of them. This film is also credited for making short films more attractive to viewers.
7 The Claim – 62%
Pathé Distribution
The Claimsees Bentley take on the Western genre in this slow-burn, emotion-led drama. He’s back in the main character’s seat as the surveyor Donald Daglish, yet again delivering in his role as the young, savvy businessman in town.
The film follows Dillon (Peter Mullan), a pioneer who overcame the harshness of winter in search of rumored gold. After gaining a massive fortune, he runs a thriving mining town. However, the greed and ambition that led him to the success he’s seeing soon catch up to him, with the arrival of 3 strangers who all threaten Dillon’s livelihood as he knows.
6 Welcome to Me – 73%
Alchemy
Welcome to Me sees Bentley back in the comedy genre, playing the character of Gabe in a unique film in its genre. Gabe is the love interest of the main character Alice (Kristen Wiig), with Wiig’s performance being a key factor in the film’s success. The awkward humor of her character works perfectly with the more tame, down-to-earth characters like Gabe.
The film follows Alice, a mentally unbalanced woman who ends up winning the lottery. Instead of enjoying her new fortune, she goes off her medication and buys a talk show to broadcast her bizarre opinions on so many different topics. We watch her as everything happening around her begins to take a toll on almost every aspect of her life.
5 Interstellar – 73%
Paramount Pictures
Without a doubt, one of the most well-known and highly-appraised films in Bentley’s filmography is the sci-fi epic drama Interstellar. Directed by Christopher Nolan, this film is seen by many as one of his best, which in itself is no small feat. Thought-provoking, eye-opening, and visually stunning are only a few ways to describe one of the best films of the decade within its genre.
Bentley plays geographer and astronaut Doyle in the film, who ventures across the galaxy on a mission to save humanity after a crop blight and second Dust Bowl renders Earth essentially uninhabitable. NASA physicist Professor Brand (Michael Caine) has the plan to use a wormhole to find a new home for humanity, but first Doyle along with Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and Amelia (Anne Hathaway) must study the planets on the other side of the wormhole, to see if any can sustain life.
4 The Hunger Games – 84%
Lionsgate
Another massively popular sci-fi film that Bentley stars in is The Hunger Games. Although only starring in the first film of the series, his character Seneca Crane won the hearts of viewers in his rather tragic story. Crane is the Head Gamemaker of the 74th Hunger Games.
Praised so heavily for capturing the essence of the books by Suzanne Collins, the film is set in the Capitol of Panem with its control over 12 districts. Every year, a boy and a girl are selected from each district to compete in a televised event called the Hunger Games. Every citizen must watch as the youth fight to the death, with District 12’s Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) having to rely on her instincts to come out alive.
3 American Beauty – 87%
Dreamworks Pictures
Going back to the comedy/drama hybrid genre that Bentley has found himself in on multiple occasions, none had quite as much of an impact as American Beauty. One of the defining films of the late ’90s, the film is no doubt carried by its phenomenal cast and direction.
Following Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) living in a suburban neighborhood with his family, he decides to reinvent himself as a weed-smoking, responsibility-avoiding teen. As you’d expect, what follows is a mixture of comedy, hysteria, and tragedy. Bentley plays Ricky, an artistic, obsessive character who at times makes audiences sympathize with him.
2 Pete’s Dragon – 88%
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The only fantasy/adventure film in Wes Bentley’s top 10 films on Rotten Tomatoes, Pete’s Dragonis just as good as any iconic live-action adventure film from Disney. Full of charm, excitement, and friendship, this film is perfect for family viewing. Bentley plays Jack, the owner of the local lumber mill, who continues to develop as one of the most likable characters in the film.
Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford), a woodcarver, spends his free time telling stories to the local children about a mysterious dragon that lives deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. His daughter Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) believes the stories to be simply tall tales, until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley), a 10-year-old orphan who says he lives with a giant, friendly dragon deep in said woods.
1 Mission Impossible: Fallout – 97%
Paramount Pictures
The Highest ranked film of Bentley’s on Rotten Tomatoes is none other than Mission Impossible: Fallout, the sixth installment in the action-packed series led by Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. Bentley plays the character of Erik, the husband of Julia Meade-Hunt (Michelle Monaghan) after she and Ethan had to split for her own safety.
Widely regarded as one of the best in the series, Ethan and the IMF join forces with CIA assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill) to prevent a large-scale disaster from wreaking havoc on the planet. With a group of terrorists known as the Apostles planning a triple nuclear attack on the Vatican, Jerusalem, and Mecca, it’s a race against time to stop the group from detonating the bombs, killing millions.
Although Yellowstone’s future is a massive topic right now with lead actor Kevin Costner leaving the show, one element of the show that everyone can agree on is the memorable performance of Bentley that brings so much character to the show. Each film in this list sees him do the same in his different roles, solidifying himself as one of the most underrated working actors today.
Digital Foundry – The new 2.0 edition of Cyberpunk 2077 features the latest and most advanced DLSS ray reconstruction technology – but what is it and how does it work? Alex explains what denoising is, why we need it, and the tremendous image quality benefits it delivers. At the same time this is what you might call a ‘1.0’ version, and there are clearly improvements it requires. Beyond that, we take a look at the 2.0 game itself, including how heavy it is on the CPU compared to the prior version. 26 minutes of Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 content? Let’s do this.
The race by the AMPTP and the WGA to get a deal done by sundown had plenty of folks thinking back to a very memorable episode of Entourage — Doug Ellin, included.
The creator of the HBO comedy was reminded Sunday on X about how the weekend negotiations between the AMPTP and the WGA sounded “like an Entourage storyline.”
Not sure what he’s talking about? Think back 16 years ago to the season 3 episode dubbed “The Return of the King.” The 2007 episode kicks off with the boys at the race track while Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is arriving at temple before the start of Yom Kippur. That’s when he runs into Nick Rubenstein (Adam Goldberg), the neurotic son of movie producer Phil Rubenstein who is making the movie Medellin with Paul Haggis.
The rub: Benecio Del Toro has walked away from the film so the Rubensteins want Vince (Adrian Grenier) to take over the lead role. The trouble is, studio head Arthur Gatoff (Harris Yulin) has given Nick until sundown to hire Vince or the movie dies. And Ari no longer reps Vince; Amanda Daniels (Carla Gugino) is his agent now.
That doesn’t stop Ari and Nick from trying to make the deal.
“Jesus Christ, it’s Yom Kippur,” Ari’s wife (Perrey Reeves) shouts at him in temple.
After a comical attempt by Ari and Nick to confront Gatoff at his own temple, sundown comes with no deal for Vince (though he later ends up joining that hot-mess-of-a-movie that goes straight to DVD).
Fortunately, life didn’t imitate Entourage art on Sunday because the WGA got its deal.
Washing your hair might seem pretty straightforward, but not knowing how to use conditioner is one of the most common hair care mistakes you can make, according to hairstylists.
Isn’t conditioner sort of self-explanatory? Well, not really, seeing as multiple top stylists from across the country cite improper conditioning as the biggest hair care no-no their clients are guilty of. First things first: Yes, you really should be regularly conditioning your hair, so make sure not to skip it after you shampoo.
“I would never skip the conditioner when shampooing my hair,” says Jenna Spino, hairstylist at Chicago’s Maxine Salon. “Many people think conditioner will make their hair flat, but even those with fine hair need a little conditioner, even if it’s just on the the ends.”
In fact, conditioner helps restore your hair after cleansing. “Shampoo removes grease and dirt, but it also strips the hair of its natural oils that keep the hair moisturized,” Spino says.
Read on for exactly how (and where) to use conditioner when you shower.
Wring out hair before conditioning.
A big conditioning mistake is using product on hair that’s still too wet. “Another hair care no-no is applying conditioner onto hair lengths without squeezing out water first,” says hairstylist and L’Oréal Professionnel global ambassador Min Kim. “Hair is a fiber; squeezing out the excess water before applying conditioner allows the conditioner to penetrate instead of rolling off hair that’s saturated with water.”
Translation? Just like with a sponge—or beauty blender—your hair won’t properly absorb what’s being applied if it’s still soaking wet.
Apply conditioner to midlengths and ends.
Now, onto technique: After wringing out your hair, be sure not to put any conditioner on your roots but instead to focus on your midlengths and ends. “Applying to the roots is unnecessary as this is newer hair that doesn’t require conditioning, unless you’re naturally curly, and can leave hair feeling flat especially if you’re on the fine side,” Kim explains.
Celebrity hairstylist Marc Mena agrees, sharing that built-up conditioner is not great for direct contact with skin. “It makes your hair and scalp greasy, and let’s say you’re using a conditioner that has silicone in it, it starts to drip into your skin, clogs your pores, and can cause breakouts on your back and skin,” he says. “And after a while, using too much conditioner in the scalp increases buildup, clogs your hair follicles, and can cause hair loss.”
This is an especially important rule to follow if your hair is naturally fine or limp, adds New York City hairstylist Dan Williams. “This will only cause your hair to get flat and greasy,” he says. So if you’re looking for volume, avoid the roots at all costs.
Rinse out all of the product.
On that note, another common mistake is not rinsing conditioner thoroughly enough once you’re done. “Be sure to rinse well,” Spino says; otherwise, your hair could dry feeling greasy and flat. A good way to measure whether the product is out of your hair is when the slippery texture and feeling of conditioner has completely gone away.
Shower conditioner isn’t always enough.
Sometimes the product you use in the shower isn’t enough to keep your hair adequately hydrated. “I think leave-in conditioners are often forgotten,” says Bronwen Robinson, senior stylist at New York City’s Suite Caroline Salon. “Traditional conditioners and hair masks are great and do add moisture and protection for the hair; however, much of it is still rinsed away in the shower. Leave-in conditioners come in spray, lotion, serum, or cream form to suit the needs of different textures.”
In the lawless land of Gando, fierce bandits will stop at nothing to fight for their precious homeland and loved ones — even if it means life or death.
Certificate:TV-MA For Mature Audiences.
Year: 2023
Duration: 9 Episodes
Available Seasons: Season 1 (9 Ep)
Audio: German, English, Spanish, French, Korean – Audio Description, Korean [Original]
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
Status: Ended”Song of the Bandits” is a TV show produced by Studio Dragon, Baram Pictures and Urban Works Entertainment. The show was originally broadcast on Netflix and premiered on September 22nd 2023. “Song of the Bandits” ended after 1 seasons and a total of 9 episodes.
“Congratulations to the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement tonight on behalf of their members,” according to the statement. “We have been proud to support the writers in their fight for a fair deal and look forward to reviewing the details of the agreement. Now it’s time for the AMPTP to get back to the table with SAG-AFTRA and address the needs of performers.”
A month after the WGA hit the picket line earlier this summer, the DGA reached a three-year contract with the studios that included wage increases and “a 76% increase in foreign residuals for the largest platforms.” At the time, the DGA said the new deal with the AMPTP “achieves major breakthroughs in addressing the international growth of the entertainment industry and makes significant gains across key economic and creative rights while reaffirming the critical role of DGA directors and their teams.”
“We have concluded a truly historic deal,” said Jon Avnet, chair of the DGA’s Negotiations Committee said at the time. “It provides significant improvements for every Director, Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, Associate Director and Stage Manager in our Guild. In these negotiations we made advances on wages, streaming residuals, safety, creative rights and diversity, as well as securing essential protections for our members on new key issues like artificial intelligence – ensuring DGA members will not be replaced by technological advances. This deal would not have been possible without the unity of the DGA membership, and we are grateful for the strong support of union members across the industry.”
Details of the WGA’s tentative agreement haven’t been released, but will be revealed by the guild in advance of the membership ratification votes.
Next steps in process will see the WGA negotiating committee vote on “whether to recommend the agreement and send it on to the WGAW Board and WGAE Council for approval” in votes tentatively scheduled for Tuesday.
Kylie Jenner recently showed off an easy styling trick that can upgrade even the plainest little black dress in under five minutes. Naturally, she did so at the Prada fashion show in Milan, where season after season fantastic fashion moments are created not only on the runway but also by the high-profile star guests sitting front row.
Which brings us back to Jenner: Her look for this year’s show is the perfect styling inspiration to elevate what could otherwise be a rather plain and boring black dress. Whether it’s through her recent campaign for Acne Studios, her relationship with Timothée Chalamet, or her ever-changing style, she keeps on making headlines as of late. As for the latter, her style has noticeably evolved in recent months away from very bold outfits to a more relaxed, one might even say “quiet luxury,” aesthetic.
Though the youngest sister of the Kardashian-Jenner clan always attracts attention, it wasn’t easy to stand out at the Prada show. From Emma Watson to Rosalía and Hunter Schafer, there were a number of A-list celebrities present in Milan for the event. But we’re here to talk about Jenner’s look in particular, which was nonchalantly cool—and so easily to style at home ourselves.
For the occasion, the entrepreneur chose a black turtleneck minidress that at first glance looked extremely simple. The real highlight of the look, however, was the net miniskirt decorated all over with Swarovski crystals Jenner wore over her dress. Incidentally, this comes from the fashion house’s archives and was first shown on the runway at the spring-summer 2010 show.
Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
The skirt is also the styling trick we keep teasing—a layering piece like this enhances any dress in no time. It’s also ideal for day-to-night dressing. A black turtleneck dress, in a mini length à la Kylie Jenner or in a midi or maxi version, can be worn with a blazer to the office during the day. When you leave, layer a fun net skirt over it for a going-out look. And of course, it doesn’t have to be this exact Prada version: Skirts sparkling with rhinestones or crystals are available in every price range right now. Shop the look, below:
Kody Brown declares that he’s convinced that Janelle Brown is no longer “in love” with him in the September 24 episode of Sister Wives. Kody, 54, continues to not address his own issues that have caused the fracture in his relationship with Janelle, 54.
“Janelle’s not in love with me. I think she thinks I’m hot. I got nice pecks and a great six-pack abs, but that’s all she’s interested in,” Kody says in the episode. Janelle doesn’t see things that way. “There’s way more to a marriage than just physical attraction, and I feel like we’re in big danger here,” she admits.
Kody Brown addresses his relationship with Janelle. (TLC)
Kody and Janelle sit down for their first conversation since their intense showdown before Christmas. They have lunch together and discuss their massive fight.
During their talk, Kody continues to claim that he was blindsided by Christine Brown leaving him. Janelle is baffled that Kody is trying to use that excuse. “So when Kody talks about Christine and him splitting up, it always shocks me that he purports that he never saw this coming,” Janelle says. “He’s been telling me for years that he wasn’t attracted to Christine, they were struggling in their marriage. I would have left his ass the first time he said that to me. I would have.”
Janelle Brown talks with Kody about their future. (TLC)
Janelle tells Kody that she’s willing to go to counseling to save their relationship, but she wants to stay “separated” for the time being. Janelle fully admits that she doesn’t think she’s getting what she deserves from Kody. Despite everything that’s happened recently, Janelle still has a lot of love for her husband.
“I do miss Kody. We are very best friends. We have a lot of conversations,” Janelle reveals. “I miss him in my bed. I miss him in my house. I miss him. But I am not being treated the way I deserve to be treated here.” New episodes of Sister Wives air Sundays on TLC and Max.
Country-bluegrass-blues songwriter and instrumentalist Mike Henderson, who won Grammy and CMA awards as a collaborator of country superstar Chris Stapleton, died Friday at age 70. His wife of nearly 45 years, Janet, said in a post on the musician’s website that he had been in “very good health” before dying peacefully in his sleep.
The Missouri native’s death was initially confirmed in a Facebook post by his former band, the SteelDrivers, which he cofounded with Stapleton and several other players in 2006. Stapleton left the group in 2010 and Henderson followed a year later, although the band continues with an evolving lineup today.
Even though he released solo albums before and after his tenure in the SteelDrivers, Henderson ultimately found his greatest renown as a songwriting partner of Stapleton’s.
The first Stapleton song to go to No 1 on the country airplay chart, “Broken Halos,” was a Stapleton-Henderson cowrite; it won the 2018 Grammy for country song of the year and a CMA Award the same year for song of the year. The songwriting comrades returned to the CMA winners’ circle in 2021 when another country chart-topper, “Starting Over,” was named song of the year. He was also nominated for three Grammys with the SteelDrivers in 2009-2011.
“It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of Mike,” his wife, Janet, wrote in a statement. “He was a wonderful husband, father, and the love of my life for almost 45 years. We followed his dreams, and colleagues, friends and fans allowed him to achieve a level of success we never imagined. He most valued his friends who meant everything. Although Mike was in very good health, he died peacefully in his sleep yesterday morning. Myself and our daughters are devastated but we know we can get through this with all your love for Mike that we are are basking in. Thank you. We couldn’t be prouder.”
Other cowrites between Henderson and Stapleton that appeared on the latter star’s wildly successful solo albums in recent years included “Second One to Know,” “Without Your Love,” “Death Row,” “Nobody’s Lonely Tonight” and “Midnight Train to Memphis.”
One of their vintage SteelDrivers writing collaborations, “If It Hadn’t Been for Love,” was covered by Adele on her 2011 “Live at the Royal Albert Hall” live album and video release.
Stapleton invited Henderson to join him on stage last year at the star’s biggest gig ever. “On July 23, 2022,” Henderson wrote, “I had the honor of playing with Chris Stapleton at Wrigley Field. Being a die-hard Cubs fan, getting to roam Wrigley Field that day and night was a dream come true. Thank you Chris for the privilege.” They performed “Midnight Train to Memphis” together, and the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Stapleton referred to Henderson as his “hero.”
Henderson was at least as well-regarded as a player as he was as a songwriter. No less a guitarist than Mark Knopfler hired him as an accompanist for his 2001 solo tour. “Mike was an extraordinary talent,” Knopfler wrote upon hearing of the death, “as at home with bluegrass and old time fiddle music as he was with the blues. He was a superb blues harp player too.”
The list of artists he recorded with — playing mandolin, guitar, slide guitar and harmonica — included the Dixie Chicks, Lucinda Williams, Sting, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Albert King, Tim McGraw, Hank Williams Jr., Faith Hill, Guy Clark, Bob Seger, Patty Loveless, Blake Shelton, Kelly Willis and Martina McBride. Those recording his songs, besides Adele and Stapleton, included the Chicks, Loveless, Kenny Rogers, Travis Tritt, Trisha Yearwood, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Randy Travis and Marty Stuart. He also co-produced several of John Oates’ blues-based solo efforts.
Henderson had one major-label solo album, his debut, “Country Music Made Me Do It,” on the RCA label in 1994 before going independent. That same year, Henderson formed a label, Dead Reckoning Records, along with Kevin Welch, Kevin Kieran, Harry Stinson and a fellow future SteelDriver, Tammy Rogers. Besides those founders’ own solo albums, Dead Reckoning’s roster included roots figures like David Olney and the Fairfield Four. Henderson’s three solo releases for the imprint were 1996’s “Edge of Night,” 1996’s “First Blood” and 1999’s “Thicker Than Water.” Henderson was not a prolific lead recording artist after leaving the SteelDrivers, but the Mike Henderson Band issued “If You Think It’s Hot Here…” on Ellersound in 2015.
That last album was testament to a long-running residency: Henderson had been performing with his blues band every Monday night at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville for close to 40 years.
“I spent most of my Monday nights for the last 20+ years making music with Mike Henderson,” wrote band member Kevin McKendree. “It’s very hard to accept that last Monday was the last time. I admired him deeply for so many reasons. Being in his band was… and is… a point of pride for me.”
Wrote Kevin Welch, “I was incredibly blessed to get to play with Mike for many years, and he surprised me over and over. I listen to some of the older records and I’m still baffled by the parts he came up with, on the spot. You could not get him to play the same thing twice, so you either took it or tossed it. I almost always took it. … One moment I’ll never forget was when we went to see… Mark Knopfler’s band, at Red Rocks. Mark is an excellent human being, and he proved it when he gave Henderson the first solo of the night, on the first song. Henderson stepped up to the front of the stage and just absolutely tore it up. And Mark just stood there with a little smile, like ‘Look what I brought you…’ It choked me up.”
The Bluebird Cafe wrote in a statement: “It’s hard to imagine a Bluebird Cafe without Mike Henderson spearheading a Monday night, plugged-in, anti-SHHHH blues night. From the mid-’80s until today, Mike’s presence was as steadfast as his playing. He was one of the people who, over the years, became such a piece of the club’s fabric that his loss has truly taken our collective breath away. We were stunned at the news, disbelieving and now trying to find a way of accepting a loss so profound that it feels like the walls of the club might just crumble. Words just can’t cover the emptiness and pain. Sending love to Janet and Mike’s family as we share this heartbreak.”
Besides his wife, Henderson is survived by his daughters Lauren and Shannon.
A memorial service will be held in Nashville on Wednesday, with visitation 10-12 and service to follow at Woodmont Christian Church.
The Writers Guild of America’s announcement that it has reached a potentially strike-ending deal with Hollywood studios was met with cheers by entertainment union members, including the union that it shared picket lines with for months, SAG-AFTRA.
“SAG-AFTRA congratulates the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement with the AMPTP after 146 days of incredible strength, resiliency and solidarity on the picket lines,” the actors guild said in a statement.
A more barbed statement came from Lindsay Dougherty, Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 399, who praised the WGA for their resilience while swiping at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios in labor talks.
“The militancy of the writers holding the line and hitting the pavement exemplified their unwavering commitment to their core issues,” Dougherty wrote “Their fight has also inspired a renewed solidarity among Hollywood workers that will live long past this bargaining cycle.”
“Solidarity, however, does not come without sacrifice,” she continued. “The antiquated bargaining playbook of the AMPTP caused these negotiations to be intentionally dragged on longer than necessary. Their tactics have left many questioning the function, effectiveness and longevity of this multi-employer bargaining entity.”
On social media, the deal prompted several jokes, including from the parody account Americana on Brand Memes, which posted a picture of white smoke streaming from the Sherman Oaks Galleria, where the negotiations took place at the AMPTP offices.
After 146 Days, white smoke is finally emitting from the Sherman Oaks Galleria signifying that the AMPTP and WGA have reached a tentative agreement! pic.twitter.com/qDUt2qmbee
Kay Cannon, a member of the WGA negotiating committee, commemorated the moment by posting a picture of her with the team, which included chief negotiators Ellen Stutzman and committee co-chairs Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman.
The tentative deal was announced on Sunday after marathon negotiations that lasted for five days, with studio CEOs Bob Iger, Donna Langley, Ted Sarandos and David Zaslav present for the first three days of talks. Negotiations continued through the weekend largely to resolve contract language, with those final touches still continuing as of Sunday evening.
The WGA strike is still officially continuing until the guild authorizes members to return to work, but picket lines will be suspended. The Writers Guild is still encouraging its members to march in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA members in their picket lines, which began on July 14.
See more social media posts on the WGA deal below:
Day 146. It gives me great pleasure to say we will NOT be picketing Dancing With The Stars tomorrow! I really can’t wait to watch the premiere on Tuesday, because we did it! We won! #WGAStrongpic.twitter.com/R7p5aEHq6A
THANK YOU TO EVERY MEMBER OF THE WGA AND OUR NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE! I will still be on the picket line with my fellow SAG-AFTRA members to carry this over the finish line but tonight we celebrate! #WGAStrongpic.twitter.com/0tBY0kHP1O
Very thankful to see a tentative agreement reached in the #wgastrike, and my immediate thought is to thank all the other unions – most especially those in IATSE and the Teamsters – who took it on the chin supporting this fight.
Janelle Brown is a self-proclaimed “independent” woman — but she confessed on the latest Sister Wives episode that she does miss a few things about ex Kody Brown.
“I do miss Kody. We are very best friends. We have a lot of conversations,” Janelle, 54, told the cameras during the Sunday, September 24, episode of the TLC series. “I miss him in my bed. I miss him in my house. I miss him.”
Janelle doubled down on her comments, telling Kody, 54, directly, “I miss you honey. I just don’t know how to fix this. You and I have a tendency to be, like, you come back and forget all the hard stuff. I need something different this time.”
Sister Wives‘ Janelle Brown and Kody Brown’s plural marriage was anything but conventional ahead of their 2022 split. Janelle and Kody’s lives were intertwined well before they spiritually tied the knot in 1993. Janelle’s late mom, Sheryl Brown, and Kody’s dad, William Winn Brown, were married for years before William’s death in 2013, making the eventual […]
Kody, meanwhile, claimed during a confessional that Janelle is “not in love” with him, but rather lusts over his body. “I think she thinks I’m hot. I’ve got nice pecks and a great six pack abs, but that’s all she’s interested in,” he alleged.
TLC
Janelle denied his claims, telling the cameras, “I’m like, whoa buddy, you’re way missing the boat here. There’s way more to a marriage than just physical attraction, and I feel like we’re in big danger here.”
Proud parents! Sister Wives stars Janelle Brown and Kody Brown have documented themselves doting on their six children through the years. Janelle and Kody were spiritually married in 1993, three years after he legally wed Meri Brown. “Before Kody and I were really courting, I was actually friends with his family,” Janelle said during a 2013 episode of […]
“I am not being treated the way I deserve to be treated here,” Janelle said during Sunday’s episode, referring to Kody’s choice to stay away after their December argument.
TLC/YouTube
Throughout the episode, which filmed in the new year, Janelle and Kody tried once again to make amends and move past their problems. Although Janelle admitted their second chat “went better than I thought,” she revealed she wanted to stay “separated” a while longer.
“Well, it went better than Janelle expected. I kind of thought we would reconcile right here,” Kody said during a confessional. “She’s like, ‘No, I’m enjoying my independence, this freedom, too much, so I want to stay separated.’ More in my mind it went well because I am deeply committed to never triggering again. Or becoming angry.”
Kody Brown’s relationships with Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown and Robyn Brown have all had their ups and downs — but many Sister Wives viewers were shocked when nearly all his wives started to leave him. TLC fans were introduced to the Brown family in 2010 when he was legally married to Meri and […]
Janelle, for her part, told the cameras that her independence wasn’t behind her choice to live apart from Kody. It was his treatment of their kids — having ghosted their youngest daughter, Savanah, since early December — that caused her decision.
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“I don’t need a lot from him,” she said. “But when it comes down to [the fact that] he all of a sudden doesn’t want to be a father to my kids because they disagree with him … That sort of changes the cost benefit equation for me in this marriage.”
Jawan box office day 18: SRK film continues to rule the box office.
Jawan box office collection day 18: Shah Rukh Khan’s film eyes Rs 1000 crore club.
Jawan Box Office Collection Day 18: Shah Rukh Khan is all set to make history at the box office with Jawan. The film is eyeing the Rs 1000 crores club. The film, directed by Atlee, has collected Rs 954.10 crore gross worldwide in less than three weeks. If the film bridges the gap, Jawan will become SRK’s second film to surpass Rs 1000 crores. The first film was Pathaan, released earlier this year.
According to trade expert Manobala V, the film has collected a worldwide collection of Rs 954.10 crore as of Sunday. The film has already surpassed the Rs 500 crore club in India.
Jawan has not only received love from India but international as well. Speaking with Film Companion, Atlee revealed that he got calls from people working in Hollywood after they watched Jawan. He revealed that they were impressed by the massy approach, with many praising a scene featuring Shah Rukh Khan lighting his cigar with sparks from the road.
“People who worked on our film were from Hollywood. Action director Spiro Razatos worked with us. So, Spiro and other great director and technicians from Hollywood were at the same screening of Jawan. And Spiro said I have done action in this film. So, they asked who has done that scene where SRK is engulfed in flames. He said, ‘It was the director’s vision and he executed it,’” he revealed.
“So they immediately connected with me and told me, ‘If you want to work in Hollywood, let us know,’ so it isn’t a taste which is very desi. It is something superheroic and it has a very basic rhythm. I thought this idea only works for us but it is working globally,” Atlee added.
While Jawan has emerged as a success at the box office, SRK’s fans are now preparing for his third release this year. The actor will return on the big screen in Raju Hirani’s Dunki. The film marks Shah Rukh’s first collaboration with the filmmaker. It will also be the first time that he will share the screen with Taapsee Pannu. SRK has confirmed the film is on track and is set for a Christmas release.
Dishya Sharma, Chief Sub Editor, is part of the entertainment team at News18. She eats, sleeps, and drinks entertainment. While Indian films have fuel…Read More
One of the beautiful things about tabletop gaming is variety. A board game that matches your specific interests and preferred play style very likely exists. For example, if you like cooperative gameplay and you have a passion for Greek mythology, Ravensburger’s Horrified: Greek Monsters is for you. Structured around the same format as the game company’s first release in the Horrified series, Horrified: Universal Monsters, and this version is geared towards Greek legends and monsters. As we slide towards the release of Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series, Horrified: Greek Monsters is an ideal game to get in the mood.
Ravensburger
The premise is straightforward enough. You and your fellow players choose a hero to play. Each hero has a special ability, and one of the heroes is a Traveler—a crown-wearing pegasus. Yes, I absolutely chose to play the pegasus for obvious reasons. I also picked the pegasus because that particular hero has the most actions of the group. You’ll choose the monsters based on the difficulty level you desire. Horrified: Greek Monsters comes with Minotaur, Cerberus, Basilisk, Chimera, Medusa, and Siren. Working together, you and your fellow players have to stop the monsters before your horror level hits the max. You win or lose together. Along the way, you can guide legends such as Daedalus around the board to gain perks.
Ravensburger
Horrified: Greek Monsters is relatively simple to set up and get into, even if you haven’t played another Horrified game. And if you have played Universal Monsters or American Monsters before, you’ll find it even easier to start. You can use your heroes’ actions to choose from a long list of possibilities, and you and your cohorts will have to determine the optimal strategy. Will you try to collect as many items as possible to meet the requirements necessary to stop the monster(s)? Or will you try to focus on guiding legends to their destination in order to acquire more perk cards that could be handy later? The multi-tasking aspect of this game, like so many, is both a satisfying challenge and a frustration. It can be hard to choose what to focus on, especially when the monsters are coming at you after every turn.
In playing (and losing) a two-player game, I lost sight of the primary strategy: keeping the horror level from climbing. Well, that and we didn’t focus on stopping the more challenging monster first. Your mileage may vary, but I think if we would have turned our attention to stopping Cerberus sooner—his defeat requires precise dice rolls that can be challenging to achieve—we could have been in a stronger place.
Ravensburger
Even with losing to Cerberus, Horrified: Greek Monsters was an enjoyable romp of a game. Like its Horrified predecessors, the storytelling around the various monsters’ abilities connects well to what we know about their mythology. The monster miniatures are detailed and would be a blast to paint. Heroes have cardboard tokens, like with the other Horrified games, and I hope one day we’ll see minis offered for those characters as well. I need a miniature of the Traveler to paint.
Horrified: Greek Monsters is set to release on October 1.
Amazon has a half-off deal for Prime members on a Blink outdoor / indoor security camera bundle. The sale gives you a pair of Blink Outdoor 4 cameras, which launched last month, and a Blink Mini for only $117.49. Whether these are your first security cameras or you’re adding to an existing setup, this is a chance to save 50 percent off their usual cost.
Blink
Get this bundle including the new Blink Outdoor 4, Blink Mini and a Sync Module 2 for half off
The Blink Outdoor 4 is a wireless device that, despite its name, can work as an inside or outside camera. It supports person detection, which uses computer vision to alert you when it spots a human in its field of view (if you also subscribe to an optional Blink subscription). The camera offers 1080p HD video, infrared night vision, two-way audio and enhanced dual-zone motion detection. Its bundled AA batteries can last up to an estimated two years. Also included is the Blink Sync Module 2, required for offline storage (if you bring your own USB drive).
Meanwhile, the Blink Mini is the company’s classic entry-level indoor camera. The wired device also records and streams in 1080p. It includes motion detection, two-way audio and night vision. It also requires a Blink subscription to save clips in the cloud, but, like the Outdoor 4, the Blink Mini also supports offline storage if you connect a USB drive to the Sync Module 2.
Remember that the deal is only available for Amazon Prime members. And it only lasts until midnight Pacific time.
After 146 days of a strike, the WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement. Writers will vote on the deal soon, and we’ll update you when the details are released. If ratified, it will mark the end of the WGA strike and allow them to go back to work.
An email from the WGA sent to its members reads:
“We have reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 MBA, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language,” the message stated. “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”
It continued, “Immediately after those leadership votes, which are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday if the language is settled, we will provide a comprehensive summary of the deal points and the Memorandum of Agreement. We will also convene meetings where members will have the opportunity to learn more about and assess the deal before voting on ratification.”
No one will return to work until the guild specifically says so, but this is a huge moment.
The writers went on strike on May 2 and have been picketing for 145 days. The AMPTP did not seek out a resolution to this labor movement until over 100 days into the strike. Negotiations have been off and on since August, with the WGA restarting them this week.
SAG-AFTRA is still striking with the AMPTP, but you have to assume they’ll come back to the table next week in order to find a way through the quagmire as well.
We will fill you in on all the specifics as they become available.
Jamie Lee Curtis would like to play Doctor Kureha in an upcoming season of Netflix’s adaptation of One Piece.
Nearly five decades into her career, Jamie Lee Curtis can do just about anything she wants. And what Jamie Lee Curtis wants is to join the high-seas adventures of One Piece, the manga adaptation that premiered this summer and has already been renewed for a second season.
Posting on Instagram over the weekend amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike (now well into its second month), Jamie Lee Curtis picked her dream role for One Piece. “ONCE the STRIKE against the greed of the AMTPT is SETTLED with a FAIR CONTRACT, I will lobby along with the growing fan frenzy to become Doctor Kureha in @onepiecenetflix”. The post was accompanied with a series of photos, which you can see below:
So, what are the odds that Jamie Lee Curtis could join One Piece. Actually, it seems like as close to a guarantee as we can get without any contracts signed. Replying to the post, co-showrunner Matt Owens wrote, “Mommy dearest, that’s why we sent you that figure! No need to lobby. Once we get what we deserve and get back to work let’s talk!”
Jamie Lee Curtis has actually been lobbying for a role on One Piece for some time now, posting a manipulated image on X (back when it was called Twitter) that showed her as part of the team. That the official One Piece page posted a crying with laughter emoji got many excited that there was some sort of communication between the two.
Considering One Piece is based on the best-selling manga and comic book series ever, there was a lot of pressure for its success. Fortunately, reviews have been strong (OK, so our own Alex Maidy didn’t love it but did call it a “fun swashbuckler”) and viewership has been great, with nearly 300 million hours watched in its first two weeks.
For those who have yet to get acquainted with the comic or the show, here is the plot: “Monkey D. Luffy is a young adventurer who has longed for a life of freedom since he can remember. Luffy sets off from his small village on a perilous journey to find the legendary fabled treasure, ONE PIECE, to become King of the Pirates!”
What do you think? Could Jamie Lee Curtis be a good fit for One Piece in her desired role? Would she be a welcome addition or would her star power take away from the series? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!
The Tokyo International Film Festival revealed Monday that China’s Xiaogang Gu and Indonesia’s Mouly Surya will jointly receive the festival’s prestigious world cinema honor, the Kurosawa Akira Award, at the upcoming 36th edition of the event.
The award, which until last year had been on a 14-year hiatus, is presented to “filmmakers who have made waves in cinema and are expected to help guide the industry’s future.” The prize has been previously awarded to film luminaries such as Steven Spielberg, Yoji Yamada and Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-hsien. Last year’s recipients were Mexican auteur Alejandro González Iñárritu and Japan’s own Koji Fukada.
The 2023 honorees were chosen by a selection committee including director Yoji Yamada, veteran actress Fumi Dan, casting director and producer Yoko Narahashi, film critic Saburo Kawamoto and Tokyo Festival’s programming director Shozo Ichiyama.
Hailing from southern China, Gu’s debut feature, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, was shot over two years and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. The film was selected as the closing film of Cannes Critics’ Week and also won the Special Jury Prize at Tokyo Filmex in 2019.
Jakarta-born Surya made her filmmaking debut with Fiksi in 2008. Her followup feature, What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love, was screened in Tokyo in 2013 and was also the first Indonesian film to be selected for the Sundance Film Festival. She cemented her international reputation with her third feature, Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, which debuted in Cannes in 2017, and became only the fourth Indonesian film ever to make the official selection. The film would also go on to win the Grand Prize at Tokyo Filmex and was selected as Indonesia’s entry for the international feature category at the Academy Awards.
The Kurosawa Akira Award ceremony will be held Oct. 31, at the Imperial Hotel. The 36th Tokyo International Film Festival runs Oct. 23 to Nov. 1.
As the WGA strike draws to a close, first stop on the road to normalcy will be late night — where producers are already plotting a return to air within the next two to three weeks. “We want to come back ASAP,” said one late night insider. Added another: “I think everybody’s leaning forward, like they’re ready to go…. I would look for them to return on October 2 or October 9. I think that they are going to be very motivated to get their crews working again.”
According to insiders, some late night producers are already emailing staff members about coming back to work ASAP — perhaps as soon as Tuesday, depending on what happens next at the WGA.
Because talk shows fall under SAG-AFTRA’s network code deal, which isn’t a part of the talent guild’s current strike, that should allow the hosts (who are all on strike as members of the Writers Guild) to come back immediately, or at least after the WGA membership approves the new deal. Most insiders predict that the major network daily shows will coordinate an exact time to return at the same time — continuing the cooperation between competitors that has even led to the “Strike Force Five” podcast, featuring Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver. The hosts have been in close contact during the strike, and will likely want to maintain that spirit of cooperation.
The next step is to get back in touch with crew members (some of whom may have left the shows’ New York or Los Angeles home bases during the strike) in addition to their writing teams, who have likely been on the picket line and will quickly be available to return to work — once they have the all-clear from the WGA.
“I think that the calculation for all these shows is how quickly you can get your crew back to work,” said one insider. “There’s probably some conversations to be had with labor relations. We’re so close to the finish line that no one wants to step on a guild landmine. But from a production standpoint, I think you could turn it around pretty quickly.”
Although the late night shows — among them “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” — have been off the air since the end of April, many of those weeknight strips have continued to operate with a skeleton staff. That includes non-writing executive producers, digital teams, production managers and bookers.
“We’ve been keeping the wheels somewhat in motion,” one talk show staffer said. “So, it’s just sort of dusting off the studio, and getting it back up again… it’s not exactly a light switch, but as long as you can get everybody back in, the network just has to pull repeats and start putting new broadcast shows back on. It’s just about what goes into those shows. And that’s the part that you need a little lead time for, is to figure exactly what you’re coming back and doing.”
Some shows have been continuing to book their episodes, with the knowledge that eventually they’ll actually be back in production. Shows that kept their talent boards going have been plotting various versions of guest lists: Some with SAG-AFTRA guests (for when that strike ends), some with non-SAG-AFTRA guests, and in some cases, guest lists of SAG-AFTRA members who are allowed to promote a project that is either not SAG related, or has received a waiver from the guild. Then there are musicians, sports figures, politicians, reality stars, authors, celebrity chefs and other ways to fill the time.
“If you look at all of the shows that have been continuing to run, like ‘CBS Mornings’ or ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ or the ‘Today’ show, the bookings are good,” one insider noted. “Oprah and Matthew McConaughey and the like are promoting things that have nothing to do with a SAG project.”
The shows will likely need a few weeks to gin back up the marketing machine — to let audiences know that the talk shows are returning with originals. And producers will want a few weeks to bank material for the shows.
“I don’t think anyone’s interested in rushing to put a crappy first show together,” said one staffer.
At the same time, the start-and-stop nature of producing talk shows during the COVID-19 pandemic has already given the shows a template on how to quickly turn the engine back on.
“Most of those shows are pretty well-oiled machines. And it’s a lot of people that have been working together for a long time. Short of paperwork, I think they can get the operation going quite quickly,” said one exec with a late night background. “Those pivots happened multiple times through the pandemic, where you’re up, you’re down, you’re at home, you’re back in the studio. And so, everyone’s sharpened those skills quite a bit at rapid adjustment over the past few years. I think that they’re probably better suited to it.”
That’s on the broadcast side. In cable, “The Daily Show” had been running for months on guest hosts after the departure of Trevor Noah, and it will likely take longer to ramp back up with a new slate of hosts. At HBO, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” relies almost entirely on research and writing, and will probably take longer to prepare.
On the other hand, “Real Time with Bill Maher” was almost set to return this weekend, until Maher decided to put the show on hold as the WGA and AMPTP resumed negotiations. That probably means “Real Time” could be back this coming Friday, having just pushed back a week.
The daytime talk shows are in a similar situation: Because most of them had planned on returning last week — until a backlash led them to postpone their season premieres — it should be relatively easy for “The Drew Barrymore Show,” “The Jennifer Hudson Show” and “The Talk” to get on the air quickly. (“The Kelly Clarkson Show” is still building its new set in New York and hasn’t yet announced a premiere date.)
“Their productions would all be in shape,” an insider said. “They brought back their crew for those shows. They’d have everybody local and ready, and could probably get going pretty quickly when they decide they can.”
Bob Dylan made a surprise appearance on Saturday night at Farm Aid 2023 in Noblesville, Indiana. He played guitar and was joined by three members of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers—Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, and Steve Ferrone—for a performance of three songs from 1965: “Maggie’s Farm,” “Positively 4th Street,” and “Ballad of a Thin Man.” Watch it happen below.
The night also features performances from Neil Young, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Margo Price, Sturgill Simpson, and for some reason, Indiana Colts owner Jim Irsay. Dylan has been touring behind Rough and Rowdy Ways and has dates lined up across October. He recently announced The Complete Budokan 1978.
China’s remarkable box office recovery this year took a pause on a weekend with no new releases and the quietest attendance levels since January.
Next week’s crop of blockbuster holiday releases will show if the latest weekend was aberration attributable to timing.
Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway showed nationwide box office worth just $25 million – from a population of 1.3 billion people and some 100,000 commercial cinema screens. The figure was the second lowest of 2023 and only fractionally higher than the second week of January, which was a time when China’s post-COVID recovery was only just gearing up and major film releases were targeting the late-January Chinese New Year festivities.
Since that time, China’s box office has mostly been on a roll. The Chinese New Year period was worth $1 billion to cinemas. Hollywood films have been allowed to return in quantity. And the summer season was buoyed by a string of successful and genuinely popular Chinese-made movies.
These factors have allowed the film industry in China to defy the increasingly gloomy macro-economic picture, which is being held back by the property crisis, changing international trade patterns and only weak stimulus measures from central government.
Artisan Gateway shows the year-to-date box office total at $6.19 billion, up 75% on moribund 2022 and only 5% shy of pre-pandemic 2019.
The National Day – Golden Week holiday season may give a clue as to whether film is to be sucked into the economic vortex. As many as 9 Chinese-produced titles are expected to release on Thursday (Sept. 28) or Friday (Sept. 29) along with a couple of imported animation titles.
Among the anticipated leaders are rom-com “The Ex-Files 4,” sports comedy “Lose to Win,” animation titles “I Am Nezha 2” and “Kung Fu Tiger” and Zhang Yimou’s second film this year, crime action drama “Under the Light.”
Over the latest weekend, “Dust to Dust” bounced back to the top spot in its third week of release, as “Expendables 4” weakened in its second weekend. “Dust” earned $7.6 million (RMB54.5 million) for a cumulative of $57.1 million (RMB411 million). “Expendables 4” collected $4.3 million for a cumulative of $19.4 million.
Summer hit, “No More Bets” earned $2.7 million, for a cumulative of $532 million since releasing on Aug. 8. Surprise hit, “Oppenheimer” earned $2.5 million for a China cumulative of $58.1 million. And “Creation of the Gods 1” claimed $1.7 million of tribute, for a total of $364 million, since releasing on July 20.
Cooper Neill/Getty Images; David Eulitt/Getty Images
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were spotted together for the first time after the Kansas City Chiefs won their game against the Chicago Bears at the Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, September 24.
Swift, 33, was seen leaving the locker room with Kelce, also 33, after the game. While he was on the field, the singer was in his suite, watching the game alongside his mom, Donna Kelce. Swift seemed enthusiastic, cheering for the Chiefs, chest bumping one of her pals and even appearing to enthusiastically shout “Let’s f–king go” at one point.
She wore a Chiefs windbreaker over a white tank top and accessorized with red lipstick and matching red nail polish. When Swift left the venue with Kelce, per an Instagram video from sports reporter Payton Sun, the football player wore a matching white and blue jacket and pants, perfectly matching the color scheme of her upcoming 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album. Photos on social media showed them driving off together in a convertible.
The superstar’s presence at the NFL game wasn’t entirely unexpected. Kelce made it clear that Swift had been invited to cheer him on.
Taylor Swift is sparking the interest of the NFL’s biggest stars — and we’re not just talking about Travis Kelce. New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, for one, attended multiple dates of Swift’s Eras Tour when the show came through East Rutherford, NJ in May 2023. “I’m very proud of my dancing skills finally being […]
“I told her, ‘You know, I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead [Stadium], you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit,’” he said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday, September 21. “So, we’ll see what happens in the near future.”
A fan at the Chiefs game on September 24, 2023.Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Luckily, Swift saw the Chiefs on their A-game. The team won 41 to 10, and quarterback Patrick Mahomessaid the pressure was on to make sure Kelce looked good with his special guest in the stadium.
“Do you realize how much pressure there was on you from the Swifties to get Travis Kelce a touchdown with Taylor in the house tonight?” Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews asked Mahomes after the game.
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“I felt a little bit of pressure,” Mahomes admitted. “So I knew I had to get it to Trav. … I think he wanted to get in the end zone just as much as all the Swifties wanted him to.” (Mahomes also celebrated his 10-month-old son Bronze attending for the first time, but the pop star’s attendance just slightly overshadowed his little one’s first NFL game.)
Prior to connecting with Swift, Travis dated Kayla Nicole on and off for several years. The 12-time Grammy winner, for her part, has been single since May when Us Weekly confirmed she had ended her brief fling with Matty Healy. Swift split from her boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn, in April.
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer nudged near the $60 million mark in China during a somewhat downbeat weekend for moviegoing in the world’s second-largest theatrical territory.
The Universal Pictures-backed historical blockbuster added $2.5 million from Friday to Sunday, taking its total to $58.1 million, according to data from box office tracker Artisan Gateway. Oppenheimer came in fourth place for the frame behind local crime thriller Dust to Dust, Millennium Pictures’ action franchise misfire Expend4bles and Chinese comedy blockbuster No More Bets.
Oppenheimer has been huge on Imax in China. The film earned $740,000 this past weekend for a $17 million total in the format, which is a whopping 30 percent of its nationwide cume to date.
Oppenheimer opened in China nearly a month ago and its staying power has been considerable. Nolan has a strong following in China — a fact that Universal leveraged with a very well-received pre-release promotional visit to Beijing by the director in late August. Oppenheimer now sits near the middle of his filmography in terms of total box-office earnings in the country: Interstellar ($139 million), Inception ($68 million), Tenet ($66 million), Oppenheimer ($58.1 million), Dark Knight Rises ($52.7 million) and Dunkirk ($51 million).
Oppenheimer is also the fourth-biggest U.S. film release in China of 2023 behind Fast X ($139.5 million), Meg 2: The Trench ($116.5 million, but a China co-production) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($86.9 million).
Dust to Dust, the weekend’s top title, is the first feature from Jonathan Li, who cut his teeth as an assistant director on several Hong Kong crime classics, including Infernal Affairs 3, Dog Bite Dog and the Overheard series. The crime thriller earned $7.6 million for the weekend. Its total is $57.1 million.
Sylvester Stallone’s Expend4bles inched along with a $4.3 million weekend in second place. The film has been a disappointment both in China and globally. Its China total is now $19.4 million and Mayoyan projects it to top out at around $23 million. The first three Expendables films — released in 2010, 2012 and 2014 — earned $31.7 million, $53 million and $72.8 million, respectively.
Crime thriller sensation No More Bets came in third for the weekend, adding $2.7 million and lifting its enormous total to $531.7 million. The film, produced by Ning Hao, has been dominant at Chinese multiplexes since its Aug. 8 release.
20th Century’s A Haunting in Venice, the latest Hercule Poirot mystery starring Kenneth Branagh, also has underperformed in China. It didn’t manage to crack the top five in the country this past weekend and it has earned only about $5 million. Previous entries in the two franchises have generated mixed results but performed notably better than the new installment. Murder on the Orient Express earned $35 million in 2017, while Death on the Nile, released while China was still struggling under pandemic lockdowns, brought in $10.8 million.
Paramount’s PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie will be the only U.S. release hitting Chinese screens on Friday. It will face off against several new Chinese titles, including Herman Yau’s and Andy Lau’s action tentpole Operation Moscow.
After 146 days on the picket lines, the Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative agreement in principle with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on a new labor contract, potentially ending one of the two strikes that has shut down Hollywood through the summer.
“What we have won in this contract — most particularly, everything we have gained since May 2 — is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to walk side-by-side, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days,” the WGA said in a memo to members announcing the deal. “It is the leverage generated by your strike, in concert with the extraordinary support of our union siblings, that finally brought the companies back to the table to make a deal.”
As the agreement is in principle, the WGA says that the negotiating committee is still currently putting the final touches on contract language with the AMPTP before it is presented to the WGA West board and WGA East Council for approval. That board vote is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, assuming that the contract language is completed by then.
“Though we are eager to share the details of what has been achieved with you, we cannot do that until the last ‘i’ is dotted. To do so would complicate our ability to finish the job. So, as you have been patient with us before, we ask you to be patient again — one last time,” the guild’s memo read.
In the meantime, all WGA picket lines will be suspended, though writers are still officially on strike until authorized to return to work by the guild. In its memo, WGA encouraged members those who are able to join SAG-AFTRA’s strike picket lines in solidarity.
The tentative deal came after talks resumed between the guild and AMPTP on Wednesday, a restart that was preceded by nearly a month of stalled negotiations and finger-pointing between the two sides as to who should make the next counterproposal. AMPTP’s first counterproposal sent to the guild on Aug. 11 was described by the guild in a memo to members as “not nothing, nor nearly enough.”
But escalating financial pressure on the studios from months of production shutdowns along with urging from showrunners concerned about the financial insecurity of their writers and crew members brought the two sides back to the table for several days of talks that led to this deal, which the guild says contains “meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”
Four studio CEOs — Disney’s Bob Iger, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav — were present throughout the first three days of negotiations at the AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks headquarters.
With several key sticking points resolved during the week, including staffing requirements and further compensation for writers whose films and shows perform well on streaming, the talks continued through the weekend without the CEOs present, with lawyers on both sides negotiating the fine print details of the contract.
With the WGA deal now in place, the AMPTP’s attention will turn to SAG-AFTRA, which has been on strike since July 14. Studio insiders have told TheWrap that they expect negotiations with the actors guild to happen quickly, as studios are anxious to get productions up and running again and for actors to be once again available for awards and marketing campaigns.
In its own statement, SAG-AFTRA congratulated the Writers Guild for its deal and its “incredible strength, resiliency and solidarity on the picket lines.”
“While we look forward to reviewing the WGA and AMPTP’s tentative agreement, we remain committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members. Since the day the WGA strike began, SAG-AFTRA members have stood alongside the writers on the picket lines. We remain on strike in our TV/Theatrical contract and continue to urge the studio and streamer CEOs and the AMPTP to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand,” the actors’ guild wrote.
Striking Hollywood screenwriters reached a tentative new labor agreement with studios including Walt Disney Co. and Netflix Inc., settling one of two walkouts that have shut down film and TV production.
The Writers Guild of America, which represents more than 11,500 Hollywood scribes, said Sunday it reached the deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, the studios’ bargaining group. The agreement, if approved by the guild members, will end a strike that began on May 2.
The provisional three-year deal remains subject to the completion of contract language and recommendations from the union’s council and board, which could come as soon as Tuesday. Members would vote after that. The strike continues through that process.
“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the guild said in a statement.
The writers went on strike for the first time since 2007 to fight for higher pay from streaming services, which have reshaped how TV is made and how talent gets paid. The Screen Actors Guild joined them in July over similar concerns.
Details of the agreement won’t be announced for a few days, however people familiar with the matter said earlier that writers gained concessions on key points, including higher wages.
The studios have agreed to staff a certain number of writers on their TV shows, a figure that will increase with the number of episodes in a season, one of the people said. The two sides have also created a structure in which writers will receive bonuses for popular shows on streaming services.
And it appears they have also reached an agreement on the use of artificial intelligence, which writers feared could destroy jobs.
Production of hundreds of films and TV shows stopped as a result of the strikes, impacting not just writers and actors but directors, crew members and industries like catering and real estate. With less money coming in, talent agencies fired workers and studios suspended deals with major producers to cut costs. Awards shows have been delayed and film festivals held without stars. The walkout has delayed the return of new shows for the fall TV season, and many films scheduled to debut this year were pushed into 2024.
The studios and writers didn’t come close to a deal before the onset of the strike, and the studios and writers then didn’t negotiate for months, during which thousands of guild members protested outside the studios’ offices from New York to Los Angeles. While the economics of streaming remained the primary focus of the guilds, the threat of artificial intelligence also emerged as a growing concern.
The heads of the biggest media companies got more engaged with the dispute in late July and early August, after the actors joined the strike. The studios offered a new proposal in August that addressed many, but not all, of the writers’ concerns. The two sides negotiated for a couple of weeks before breaking off yet again.
The September negotiations came as a surprise. The two sides hadn’t been speaking — at least not officially — and many studio executives were debating whether it was time to engage with the actors instead.
But pressure on both sides to cut a deal had increased. Studios feared the impact of months more without the ability to produce new programming, and many writers began to push their union’s leadership to cut a deal so everyone could get back to work.
People who work in entertainment, be they writers or grips, were starting to leave Los Angeles due to the lack of progress. Prominent writers asked to meet with the leadership of the guild to discuss the state of the negotiations, and several talk shows said they would return, only to cancel plans under pressure from the unions.
When the latest talks began, four of the most powerful executives in entertainment — Netflix Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos, Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. CEO David Zaslav and NBCUniversal Chief Content Officer Donna Langley — joined their labor negotiators.
The studios and writers negotiated for several days. After months of public acrimony and finger-pointing, the two sides kept their public communications to a minimum as they hammered out a deal to get the industry back to work.
While the writers’ rooms may soon reopen, a return to production will have to await a deal with striking actors, who have been picketing from coast to coast, shutting down productions that tried to restart. This was the first time in more than 60 years that both writers and actors went on strike at the same time. The Directors Guild of America reached a new agreement with the studios in June.