Dispatches From The Picket Lines: Striking Writers & Actors Hit NYC Streets Amid Glum News About Contract Talks

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Barbie” has conquered North America, and now, the world. Greta Gerwig’s fantasy-comedy has generated $1.36 billion at the global box office, overtaking Universal and Illumination’s animated adventure “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.35 billion globally) as the highest-grossing worldwide movie of the year.

Despite bad weather conditions, the crew of Warner Bros. series The Winchesters was instructed to keep filming. Shortly thereafter, lightning struck a crew member.

Disney has hit back at claims by Charter Communications execs that the media company declined to pursue innovative carriage deals and instead just wanted to ram through price increases.

Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer 3 will not let this summer go out quietly in what’s expected to be a $30M-$40M 4-day opening weekend; poised to be the second-best ever for the holiday after Shang-Chi ($94.6M). Last night from showtimes that began at 3PM, the Sony threequel clocked $3.8M at 3,241 locations.

If the debate a few years ago was the streaming glut age created an era of #TooMuchContent, we’ve got some good news for you: things are slowing down and the current SAG and WGA strikes likely aren’t helping. But the streaming age, and the Wall Street downturn that arrived last year have definitely caused a new epoch of disruption we’re still experiencing and aren’t sure where things will land.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Mexico’s foremost animation forum, Pixelatl, kicks off Sept. 5 in Guadalajara with an array of activities that includes screenings, conferences, panels, works-in-progress sessions, master classes and pitches amid a myriad of sections.

It is possible that in his search for CNN’s next boss, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav simply checked back through the news network’s archives. 

Glen Powell teamed up with his “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Devotion” co-stars on Wednesday as they hit the picket lines outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California in support of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

This Harry Potter star doesn’t feel her role was quite as magical as it should’ve been!

Max is adding an on-screen top 10 ranking of trending titles, joining Netflix and other streaming rivals that offer the feature.

California Treasurer Fiona Ma has sent letters to the CEOs of seven Hollywood studios urging a return to the bargaining table with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA to end a months-long double strike that’s shut down much of the entertainment industry and is taking a major toll on the California economy.

A swarm of Supernatural fans joined the picket line at Warner Bros. in Los Angeles on Thursday to catch a glimpse of series creator Eric Kripke as well as the cast and other writers who had reunited in solidarity with the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The CW and Sinclair Broadcast Group have reached an affiliate renewal deal spanning 35 markets, including the launch of the broadcast network on stations in Seattle and Pittsburgh.

Mortal Kombat fighters are in a Mortal Kombat 11 trailer that reveals his long-time love for the abundantly bloody series.This is one of two promotional trailers that Bautista appears in for the forthcoming game. The other features the actor recruiting students, baristas, musicians and more to answer the call of “Mortal Kombat” in anticipation of the reboot.“Obviously, my voice is gone now from screaming ‘Mortal Kombat‘ all day,” said Bautista in the second trailer while playing the game, with shots from the sets of the first trailer.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Production is under way on season two of “The Twelve,” a crime drama which follows a controversial murder trial as seen through the lens of the 12 jury members, ordinary members of the public with their own realities and struggles. On completion, it will screen on Foxtel’s Binge streaming service.

ongoing Writers Guild Of America (WGA) strike took place.Speaking on the newly launched Strike Force Five podcast on Spotify – featuring Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver – Kimmel spoke of his initial plans to retire from hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this year, though his perspective on the matter has since changed due to the ongoing writers’ strike.“I was very intent on retiring right around the time where the strike started,” Kimmel said on the premiere episode of the Strike Force Five podcast. “And now, I realize, Oh yeah, it’s kind of nice to work.”Seth Meyers quipped in response: “Kimmel, c’mon, you are the Tom Brady of late night… you have feigned retirement.” However, Kimmel insisted that he was serious about retiring: “I was serious, I was very, very serious.”In early May, the WGA announced that it was going on strike; Hollywood’s first in 15 years.

Selena Gomez has deleted an Instagram post about Only Murders In The Building after being accused of breaking strike rules.The singer and actor appears in the recently-released third season of the Hulu/Disney+ show alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short.Earlier today (August 30), a post appeared on the singer’s official Instagram account which tagged the show’s official account. As part of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, members aren’t allowed to promote their work via interviews or social media posts.The post has now ben deleted, and it hasn’t been confirmed whether the post in question constituted rule-breaking, but some online have accused the post of being “tone deaf” amid the ongoing strikes.Following a break down in negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), the latter’s national board of directors voted unanimously on July 13 to join writers by going on strike.It will mark the first time in more than 60 years that actors and writers have gone on strike simultaneously.SAG-AFTRA – Hollywood’s largest union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers – and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are seeking an increase in base pay and residuals in the age of streaming, while other negotiations relate to safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.The WGA strike, which began on May 2, occurred following unsuccessful negotiations with AMPTP, who represent major Hollywood studios like Netflix, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Paramount, Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: Amid growing speculation of internal divisions within the C-suites and a lack of any apparent path forward to end the writers and actors strikes, the chiefs of Hollywood’s biggest studios are set to gather today.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director On the latest episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s “Inside of You” podcast (via Insider), “Harry Potter” actor Bonnie Wright admitted that her character’s lack of screen time in the Warner Bros. film franchise was “a little bit disappointing.” Wright played Ginny Weasley across the eight “Harry Potter” movies, and she was just 9 years old when she filmed “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Little did she know then that Ginny Weasley would become a prominent supporting character and the wife of Harry Potter in the books.

James Corden is to give his first industry interview since leaving the Late Late Show and returning to the UK at the RTS Cambridge Convention next month.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery is widely expected to name Mark Thompson, the former New York Times Co. and BBC leader who has demonstrated a knack for guiding media into digital realms, as the latest executive to oversee CNN, according to a person familiar with the matter, putting in place the fifth executive structure around the news giant since early 2022.