Month: September 2023

The 148-day Writers Guild of America strike, the second longest in history, will conclude on 12:01 am PT Wednesday after a vote from guild leadership which officially authorized some 11,500 members to return to work. The union and the The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers finally announced the tentative agreement on a new three-year contract on Sunday night after a full weekend of work on the deal. Studios made changes to their position on issues like minimum staffing in television writers’ rooms and rewarding writers for the success of projects on streaming. Then on Tuesday, the WGA West Board and the WGA East Council approved the deal, which set in motion the vote to end the restraining order against AMPTP member companies.

The WGA negotiating committee stated after its WGA West Board and WGA East Council voted unanimously to lift the “restraining order” on Tuesday, saying in part: “This allows writers to return to work during the ratification process, but does not affect the membership’s right to make a final determination on contract approval.” What that means is, tasks that for months were prohibited by strike rules — pitching, selling scripts, taking meetings, responding to notes — will then be sanctioned, while writers’ rooms can reconvene.

Union members still need to vote to ratify the contract, a referendum that union leadership announced on Tuesday will take place between Oct. 2 and Oct. 9. Members are also being asked to attend informational meetings on the new deal that will take place in New York, Los Angeles and on Zoom in the coming days.

SAG-AFTRA still remains out on strike, and neither that union nor the AMPTP have announced any new bargaining dates. The two sides still remain deadlocked on multiple issues; so that even with the writers back at work, production cannot resume without principal performers.

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Taylor Swift announced on Tuesday, September 26, in an Instagram post that ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour’, a new film documenting her Eras tour, will screen in theaters worldwid — in addition to its North American release.  Swift posted: “The tour isn’t the only thing we’re taking worldwide…….. Been so excited to tell you all that The Eras Tour concert film is now officially coming to theaters WORLDWIDE on Oct 13! Tickets available now at www.TSTheErasTourFilm.com or on your local theaters website! 🩵”

The concert film about Swift’s record-setting Eras Tour will screen in more than 100 countries around the world. Countries scheduled to screen the film beginning on October 13 includes: Albania, Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Bermuda, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Fiji, Gibraltar, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Nicaragua, Peru, Poland, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, Venezuela, Zambia, and many others.

Additionally, the film will debut on November 3 in Brazil, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Macau, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Tickets for most of the international screenings outside North America went on sale Tues, September 26. For more information, visit Taylor Swift’s official website.

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Comedian Dane Cook and fitness instructor Kelsi Taylor were married at a private estate in O’ahu, Hawaii, over the weekend. The couple got engaged in July 2022 after five years together.

Cook told People Magazine: “We chose Hawaii because it has such a special place in our hearts and our relationship. It was one of the first trips we ever went on together and we continue to go back often.”

Cook later posted on X: “Last night I married the girl of my dreams here in Hawaii. The greatest feeling in the world is knowing you’ve got the strongest person you could ever imagine by your side and giving them all of your love in return. The years of laughs, adventures and accomplishments we’ve shared were solidified in front of some of our dearest friends and family during an emotional ceremony. I can’t wait to share more but for now just know this.. I’ve never felt this way. It’s so wonderful.”

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Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner have come to an agreement on the custody of their daughters in light of their recent breakup. Turner sued Jonas last week, alleging that Jonas was withholding their daughters passports despite her wishes to return to the UK with the children. According to Page Six, an interim consent order was signed by the former couple on Monday morning (September 25th) which bars either of them from removing their kids from New York. Jonas and Turner are scheduled to appear for a pretrial conference on October 3rd.

Turner claimed in her lawsuit that the “wrongful retention” of their two daughters began on September 20th and that she and Jonas had agreed over Christmas 2022 that the UK would be the “forever home” for the children. Turner also alleged that she found out about their divorce “through the media,” following an argument on Jonas’ birthday.  In response, Jonas issues a statement via his rep calling the lawsuit misleading:  “After multiple conversations with Sophie, Joe initiated divorce proceedings in Florida, as Florida is the appropriate jurisdiction for the case. Sophie was aware that Joe was going to file for divorce. Joe and Sophie had a cordial meeting this past Sunday in New York, when Sophie came to New York to be with the kid. They have been with her since that meeting. Joe’s impression of the meeting was that they had reached an understanding that they would work together towards an amicable co-parenting setup.”

The singer also alluded to the ongoing divorce battle at a Jonas Brothers show over the weekend when he gave a shout-out to parents.

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