‘House Of The Dragon’ Will Continue Production Amid Writers’ Strike

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amazon, in the midst of paring back its workforce, topped Wall Street forecasts with better-than-expected revenue growth for the first quarter of 2023. The company reported Q1 revenue of $127.4 billion, up 9% year over year, improving over a 7% rise in the year-earlier quarter but still off its historical pace of top-line growth. Net income was $3.2 billion, or 31 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $3.8 billion in Q1 2022 (which included a $7.8 billion loss on its stake in electric-vehicle maker Rivian). The results come as the ecommerce colossus is in the middle of laying off 9,000 workers, on top of the 18,000 job cuts announced in January. On Thursday, the company laid off about 100 employees at Amazon Studios and Prime Video.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Less than a month after parting ways with Warner Music, Brazilian superstar singer Anitta has signed with Republic Records in partnership with Universal Music Latin Entertainment, the companies officially announced today. Variety broke the news of the deal last week. (Photo IDs below.) About the signing, Anitta shared, “After being in this business for many years, I wanted to find partners that work like a family. After meeting with Monte, Wendy, their team at Republic, and Jesus Lopez I was blown away. Their passion, innovation, creativity and vision is incredible.  I not only felt so connected to them as an artist, but also on a human level. I knew immediately, I was home.”

Real dough. Real Housewives of Miami star Lisa Hochstein achieved a legal victory in her ongoing divorce battle with estranged husband Lenny Hochstein.

Lisa Vanderpump‘s husband Ken Todd just dropped a BOMB in the new teaser for Vanderpump Rules‘ next episode!

WXIA-TV, the flyers have been seen in the Candler Park and Lake Claire neighborhoods of eastern Atlanta. They have also been seen in the Kirkwood neighborhood, according to a tip the news station received from a viewer. Atlanta police said they are unaware of any criminal behavior related to the flyers but are increasing patrols in the neighborhoods where they have been distributed.The flyers are packaged inside plastic bags with corn kernels to weigh them down.

The American Federation of Musicians is the latest union to pledge solidarity with the WGA in its ongoing negotiations for a new film and scripted TV contract. Earlier this week, SAG-AFTRA, the DGA, IATSE and the Teamsters all expressed support for the WGA in its contract talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.

Taking a stand. Dwyane Wade decided to move his family out of Florida due to state legislation that negatively impacts the LGBTQ+ community.

. During on Rachel Nichols' show Headliners, —who was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame—revealed his reasoning for moving his family to Los Angeles, California after his retirement in 2019. "I have to make decisions for my family—not just personal, individual decisions," Wade explained. "I mean, obviously, the tax [situation] is great," he went on. But his primary motivation for moving his family out of the state was the political climate.

Beach House have announced a full release of their Record Store Day exclusive EP ‘Become’.Initially released in a limited run as a Record Store Day exclusive on crystal clear vinyl on Saturday (April 22), the EP will now see a wider release on black vinyl, CD and CS platforms on May 19 via Sub Pop/Bella Union.The dream-pop duo, consisting of Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, self-produced all tracks on the EP. The mixing was done by Alan Moulder, Trevor Spencer, and Caesar Edmunds with mastering done by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound.“The ‘Become’ EP is a collection of 5 songs from the ‘Once Twice Melody’ sessions.

The hits just keep coming. Scheana Shay offered a glimpse at what Vanderpump Rules viewers can expect now that Tom Sandoval‘s bond with Raquel Leviss is a major story line.

Dwyane Wade is opening up about his decision to flee Florida.

Disney is set to wrap up its second round of layoffs today. Because of the sheer volume of the cuts, impacting thousands of staffers in the past couple of days, information on departures from the last couple of days is still trickling out. We will update with more news as we get it.

It’s not hard to picture the team behind HBO’s “White House Plumbers” finishing work on an episode of “Veep” and picturing that stellar comedy’s tone being applied to the idiots behind the Watergate break-in. (The director of all five episodes here is David Mandel, showrunner on that massive critical darling.) And as the country once again goes through considerations of impeachment and general malfeasance in the highest offices of the United States, the timing seems just right for a scathing look at one of the key points in our continuing disillusionment with the government.

Fans have reacted with dismay after it was announced train drivers are to strike on the day Manchester City and Manchester United face each other in the FA Cup final.

Jada Pinkett Smith’s “Red Table Talk” has been cancelled.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Nick Bakay has had a 30-year career in TV and film, including writing on traditional network sitcoms like “Young Sheldon” and “The King of Queens.” But the industry has shifted in recent years. Now he’s working on “How to Be a Bookie,” an eight-episode series for Max. The show is scheduled to wrap production on April 28, getting in just under the wire before a possible strike by the Writers Guild of America. “The game has suddenly changed so drastically,” Bakay says. “If you’re going to go from 22 episodes and residuals to eight episodes and no residuals, that’s a body blow.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent AC Independent and The Veterans have teamed up on the film adaptation of William Sleator’s cult 1974 science fiction novel “House of Stairs.” The elevated genre movie will star Jacob Tremblay (“Room,” “Good Boys”) and will be directed by Wi Ding Ho, whose 2018 movie “Cities of Last Things” won a prize at Toronto in the competitive Platform section. “House of Stairs”‘s film adaptation is penned by Matthew McInerney-Lacombe (“ICBM”).  Set in a dystopian America in the near future, the high-concept film follows five 16-year-old orphans who wake up to find themselves in a strange building with no walls, no ceiling, and no floor: nothing but endless flights of stairs leading in every direction, seemingly infinite. To find an exit, the five teenagers must learn to deal with the others’ disparate personalities, the lack of privacy and comfort, their clear helplessness, and a machine that only feeds them under increasingly ominous situations.

A mother-son date night! Angelina Jolie stepped out for the White House State Dinner with eldest son Maddox Jolie-Pitt on her arm.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has issued a warning ahead of planned strike action in the coming days.

If the Writers Guild goes on strike next week, it will have plenty of picket signs ready to go, as seen in these photos and a video of picket signs being assembled at the WGA West’s headquarters in Los Angeles (see below). A strike, if it comes to that, could start as early as Monday night at midnight, when the WGA’s current film and scripted TV contract expires.

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