Author: Staff

After an historic strike of 118 days, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) – the union that represents performers on film and television – announced on Wednesday that they have reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP). The strike will officially come to an end at 12:01am on Thursday, November 9th. The last strike of this nature was in 1980, and it lasted for three months.

SAG-AFTRA said in a statement provided to Entertainment Weekly: “We are thrilled and proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. As of 12:01am PT on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended and all picket locations are closed. We will be in touch in the coming days with information about celebration gatherings around the country.”. SAG-AFTRA says that its tentative agreement with the studios is worth more than $1 billion over three years and added that it has “extraordinary scope” and “unprecedented provisions”, but added that the full details of the agreement will not be provided until it is reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board on Friday.

The AMPTP shared in their own statement that the agreement is, “the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union” and one that represents a “new paradigm”… It gives SAG-AFTRA the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years; a brand new residual for streaming programs; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizable contract increases on items across the board. The AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.”

SAG-AFTRA joined the Writers’ Guild of America on the picket lines, as the WGA had been on strike since May. Actors were on strike since July 14, after the guild’s national board voted unanimously to launch the work stoppage. Following the expiration of their contract on June 30 and a 12-day extension period, the union and the AMPTP failed to reach an agreement. The strike of both SAG-AFTRA and WGA marked a historic moment in the Hollywood labor movement, as the first concurrent strike between the guilds since 1960.

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Patrick Dempsey was revealed as People’s Sexiest Man Alive 2023 during the Nov. 7 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where the actor made an appearance via Proto hologram.

People also posted on social media: “#PatrickDempsey has been crowned PEOPLE’s 2023 #SexiestManAlive. Read the cover story in our bio link, and don’t forget to grab your issue on newsstands this week! | : @ericlongden; : @carterbedloesmith”

Dempsey, who’s best known for playing Derek Shepherd on more than 200 episodes of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, earns the title more than 30 years after he began his career in Hollywood. The 57-year-old told People in his cover story that he was shocked to officially land the honor: “I started laughing, like, this is a joke, right? I’ve always been the bridesmaid! I’d completely forgotten about it and never even contemplated being in this position. So my ego is good.” Dempsey added: “I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life. It’s nice to have the recognition, and certainly my ego takes a little bump, but it gives me the platform to use it for something positive.”

Patrick shares kids Talula, 21, and Darby and Sullivan, 16, with wife Jillian Fink. Dempsey will return to the big screen this year in the Michael Mann-directed biopic Ferrari, playing Piero Taruffi, an Italian Formula One driver. Said Dempsey: “I’d been following the movie for years, so I called Michael and said, ‘I want to discuss being a part of this.’ That taught me if you really want something, you have to do it yourself.”

Dempsey also founded the Dempsey Center, in honor of his late mother. The center supports cancer patients and their loved ones.

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Billy Joel shared the final date for his long-running residency at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden, taking place on July 25, 2024. A message to Joel’s social media accounts read: “JUST ANNOUNCED: Billy Joel adds the final show of his record-breaking monthly residency at The Garden on Jul 25, 2024, marking his 150th lifetime show at The World’s Most Famous Arena. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Fri, Nov 10 at 10am.”

Joel’s final concert at MSG will be his 150th show overall at the legendary arena and his 104th there since he launched the residency in 2014. This past June, Joel held a press conference at MSG to announce his intentions to end the residency:  “To our audience, I want to thank them for coming to our shows for this long. It’s hard to end, even at 150 lifetime shows. I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful thing that’s happened here.”

Joel’s next scheduled concert is a November 10 co-headlining performance with Stevie Nicks in Minneapolis. He has shows scheduled at Madison Square Garden on November 22, December 19, January 11, February 9, March 28, April 26, May 9, and June 8, all of which are sold out. At the May 9 concert, Joel will celebrate his 75th birthday.

Joel has two other shows lined up with Nicks, on December 8 in Phoenix and March 9, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. His tour schedule also includes a New Year’s Eve concert in Elmont, New York; a January 24 performance in Tokyo; and co-headlining dates with Sting on February 24 in Tampa, Florida, and April 13 in San Diego.

Tickets for the July 25 MGS event will go on sale to the general public on Friday, November 10, at 10 a.m.

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Saturday Night Live tweeted that Timothée Chalamet will make his second stint as host of the long-running late night NBC series on November 11. Chalamet made his Saturday Night Live hosting debut on December 12, 2020.

Boygenius — the indie supergroup comprised of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus — will serve as musical guests on the November 11th episode of SNL. 

Chalamet’s next movie is Wonka, which opens Dec. 8; his film Dune 2, originally scheduled to drop this November, had its premiere date delayed to March 2024 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. While there has been momentum for a deal to be reached between the studios and the actors’ union, it is unclear whether the SAG-AFTRA strike will be over by Nov. 11.

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Netflix announced that Matt Rife‘s upcoming comedy special, Natural Selection, will premiere on Nov. 15. The streaming service shared the news alongside a teaser that shows the 28-year-old Rife declare that he “can’t stand social media.” Rife is a comedian and TikTok star with more than 17.6 million followers

Netflix’s official synopsis of Natural Selection reads: “From his problem with protection crystals to his beef with social media trolls, comedian Matt Rife holds nothing back in this rollicking stand-up special.” The hour-long special will mark Rife’s first comedy special with Netflix.

Rife spoke with Deadline to share what fans can look forward to seeing in his upcoming comedy special: “The first half of it is so silly and ridiculous and fun, and the second half is some stuff I actually got to pour some thought into, which, if you’ve watched either of my previous specials, I kind of like to end the last of it with something people can think about, and put some thought behind, and give some real perspective on something I genuinely am passionate about, as well as making it funny with a fun story. I’d say it’s my most fun hour yet. I think people are really going to like it. There’s something in there for everybody.”

Rife previously released the self-produced comedy specials Only Fans (2021), Matthew Steven Rife (2023) and Walking Red Flag (2023). As an actor, Rife has appeared on Wild ‘n Out, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Fresh Off the Boat.

Matt Rife Special ‘Natural Selection’ Sets Netflix Premiere Date, Unveils Teaser – Update

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