Entertainment Weekly Cancels Annual Comic-Con Bash Due to Potential SAG-AFTRA Strike

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Come on, Barbie, let’s go make (more) box office history. Greta Gerwig’s plastic, fantastic “Barbie” added $26 million on Monday, resulting in the best Monday gross in Warner Bros. history.

A paedophile magician subjected children as young as two to a catalogue of harrowing abuse, a court heard. Paul McKee lived in a Neverland-style ranch with monkeys, meerkats and a pig, and was working in a school in Thailand he was arrested.

Katie Price has told fans that she's not looking 'bad for 45' as she showed herself having her latest 'tweakments'. The former glamour model is no stranger to going under the knife or needle and isn't shy in telling her fans and followers what she's had done.

Coronation Street fans have been left divided as Aadi Alahan's affair with newcomer Courtney Vance heats up. Courtney quickly took a shine to Dev Alahan's son after he was sent to pick her up by her husband, and his new boss, Darren.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator and star Rachel Bloom will bring her one-woman musical comedy Death, Let Me Do My Show to Off Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre for a four-week engagement this fall.

Spotify had its best quarter ever for new additions but revenue fell short of expectations and the music streamer booked a wider loss on severance and other business charges for the three months ended in June.

Naman Ramachandran Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One” was the dominant force at the U.K. and Ireland box office with a mighty £10.3 million ($13.2 million), per numbers from Comscore. The Tom Cruise vehicle opened on Monday, July 10, instead of a traditional weekend slot. Even with just the July 14-16 weekend numbers, the seventh instalment in the franchise scored £6.3 million, comfortably making it the No. 1 film in the territory. In second place, Disney’s “Elemental” collected £2.4 million in its second weekend for a total of £6.6 million. Another Disney title, “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny,” whipped up £1.7 million in third place in its third weekend for a total of £16.3 million.

Sabbatical Entertainment Sets Distribution Partnership With V Channels Media

Naman Ramachandran TNT Sports went live on Tuesday across the U.K. and Ireland, replacing BT Sport. The rebrand was revealed earlier this year as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery joint venture. TNT Sports is already used as WBD’s sports brand in Latin America and the U.S. TNT Sports will present the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Heineken Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. In addition, the Olympic Games Paris 2024, grand slam tennis tournaments, including the Australian Open and Roland-Garros and cycling grand tours, including the Tour de France, will be available.

Sean Gunn, the actor who played the lovable townsman on the hit show, is calling out Netflix for his lack of residual pay. Sean, the 49-year-old brother of Marvel and DC director James Gunn, shared with on Friday that he was out on the picket line for the first day of the SAG-AFTRA strike to mainly «protest Netflix.» The streaming service currently streams all seven seasons of as well as the 2016 revival, . Sean played Kirk in all seven seasons of the show, as well as all four episodes of the revival, both of which star Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as the beloved mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore«I was on a television show called for a long time that has brought in massive profits for Netflix,» Sean told. «It has been one of their most popular shows for a very long time, over a decade.

Christopher Nolan has confirmed that he will “absolutely” not be working on more films until after the Hollywood strikes end.This week (July 13), the cast of Nolan’s new film Oppenheimer walked out of the UK premiere at the moment an actors’ strike began.The national board of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) – Hollywood’s largest union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers – voted unanimously to strike, according to The Los Angeles Times.SAG-AFTRA was seeking better pay and working conditions in the age of streaming, while other negotiations related to safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.Thousands of Hollywood productions are therefore currently paused, and Nolan discussed the meaning of the strike in an interview with BBC News, saying: “It’s not about me.”Asked whether he would be working on new films during the strike, he responded: “No, absolutely. It’s very important that everybody understands it is a very key moment in the relationship between working people and Hollywood.“This is not about me, this is not about the stars of my film.”The AMPTP said in a statement that “a strike is certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life”.“The Union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry,” it added.The separate WGA (Writers Guild Of America) 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.

Christopher Nolan sees the insistence by striking SAG-AFTRA and WGA members that studios and streamers limit the use of artificial intelligence stems directly from the explosion of streaming over the past decade-plus.

Joey King is on the picket lines to fight for a fair deal for all SAG-AFTRA members!

shared a heartfelt message to his 3.2 million Instagram followers on Thursday night citing that he won’t be able to promote the upcoming superhero film due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.“We had so much great stuff aligned and I really wish that we could get it to you guys but we need to stand on the right side of history and because of that we’re planting our feet in the ground,” Maridueña said. “With that being said, this is a fantastic movie and you know, it needs to be seen on the bigger screen.”Maridueña also asked fans to support the movie and he gave a shout out to the Blue Beetle Battalion which have posting viral content on social media about the movie.

#SAGAFTRA Picket Line Interview: #MCU Legend & #SAG, #WGA & #DGA member @ClarkGregg says "I feel like we're kind of fighting to keep the soul in the art form" pic.twitter.com/7SWpjbvqGbGregg wasn’t the only actor on the picket line concerned about AI. Christopher Clawson, another SAG member who also happens to have a master’s degree in innovation and technology from the University of San Diego, hopes to see the unions “come up with a very specific language that will protect performers.”“The thing that scares me is that the studio’s know more about what these capabilities are, than the union,” Clawson said. “Because they’re the ones who get pitched this stuff, you know? They’re the ones with the deep pockets.

San Diego Comic-Con had Hall H had been reserved two Saturdays from now for a presentation by Legendary, which I hear was to strut out Dune: Part Two and the studio’s next Monsterverse movie. However, that’s not happening now due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

William Earl During a press conference Thursday, SAG-AFTRA leadership announced that the union was going on strike, and picketing started up Friday. In New York, the four locations were announced as HBO / Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery / Netflix HQ, Paramount and NBC Universal. In Los Angeles, 8 sites were announced, including Warner Bros., Amazon / Culver Studios, Fox, Paramount, Netflix, Sunset / Gower, Disney and Sony. Corporate greed was at the center of messaging on day one of joint picketing from SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. When the bus carrying SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and the rest negotiating committee arrived outside of Netflix offices, they were mobbed by media and fellow protesters as they inched their way down the sidewalk along Sunset Boulevard.

Well, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav already put his foot in his mouth responding to the WGA writers’ strike, so now it’s Bob Iger‘s turn.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher will be on the picket lines Friday on the first day of the guild’s strike against the film and television industry. She’ll be joined by Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the guild’s national executive director and chief negotiator, and members of the guild’s negotiating committee.

Fortunately for HBO, “House Of The Dragon” is permitted to carry on with season two filming in the U.K., despite the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor A group of state legislators representing the California Legislative Black Caucus are calling on film studios to meet with them regarding the sudden removal of Black female executives over the past few weeks. A mass exodus of Black women from senior leadership posts — Vernā Myers (Netflix), LaTondra Newton (Disney), Jeanell English (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and Karen Horne and Terra Potts (Warner Bros. Discovery) — has raised questions about the depth of the film and television industry’s commitment to diversifying the top ranks of the entertainment industry. The CLBC held a press conference on Thursday, citing the executives’ resignations and removals after the State Legislature approved the $1.6 billion Film Tax Credit initiative to provide tax incentives for the film studios.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Jeff Zucker is not shopping for CNN, according to one of the backing partners of his new media venture. Gerry Cardinale, the private equity player and founder of RedBird Capital, partnered with International Media Investments last year to launch a $1 billion media acquisitions engine run by Zucker. Reports were rampant in June that Zucker was looking to take CNN off the hands of Warner Bros. Discovery, after running the news network for decades before resigning in 2022 over a consensual workplace affair. “No,” Cardinale said on Thursday when asked if he and Zucker were looking to buy CNN, speaking on stage at the Variety and Sportico Sports and Entertainment Summit in West Hollywood. “I would not have the longevity that I’ve had if I ran my business running around town talking about deals in a way that’s, frankly, disrespectful to David Zaslav. I’m kind of amused and irritated by it.”

The actors strike is “probably” going to last a while, according to SAG-AFTRA leadership.

The Los Angeles Times.It will mark the first time in more than 60 years that actors and writers have gone on strike simultaneously.Here is everything we know about why actors are poised to strike this week.SAG-AFTRA – is 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. and others.Since the strike was announced, a number of films and TV shows have shut down production in solidarity.

House of the Dragon” can continue filming in the U.K. despite the SAG-AFTRA actors strike, Variety can reveal. Just as the U.S. actors union announced a strike Thursday, sources confirmed that production is planned to proceed as scheduled on the second season of the “Game of Thrones” prequel. The HBO series’ cast is composed of primarily U.K. actors who are working under contracts governed by the local union, Equity. As such, the series is technically allowed to continue filming because Equity members aren’t legally allowed to strike in solidarity with the U.S. union.

AMPTP from the June 30 deadline through July 12, the actors guild formally called for a strike during a press conference on July 13 led by SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and lead negotiator Duncan Crabtree. With Hollywood already largely shut down this summer by the writers strike, which has been ongoing since May 2, the actors strike will complicate things even further. First and foremost, all production will now be forced to shut down completely. Prior to this, some projects had managed to stay up and running by working off of already completed scripts and simply not having any writers on set — including big-budget productions like the second season of HBO’s “House of the Dragon.” Amazon just recently wrapped filming on Season 2 of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” in the U.K., making it one of the priciest shows to come in under the wire. Variety has confirmed that “House of the Dragon” will remain in production, however.

The London premiere of Universal’s largely anticipated title Oppenheimer is set to go ahead this evening despite a possible SAG-AFTRA strike on the horizon. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Major Japanese studio Toho Co. has announced “Godzilla Minus One” as the title of the latest instalment in its “Godzilla” film franchise. The film will premiere in Japanese theaters on Nov. 4. A U.S. release is set a few weeks later, on Dec. 1. The company revealed an understated poster and a short but punchy teaser trailer. It suggests that an already-devastated postwar Japan faces a new threat in the form of Godzilla, an enormous, mutated kaiju. Directed by sci-fi and fantasy specialist Yamazaki Takashi, the picture is the first Japanese-produced “Godzilla” movie since 2016’s “Shin Godzilla.” The previous picture topped the Japanese box office, earning JPY25 billion ($181 million at current exchange rates).

Besides TV Academy Chairman and CEO Frank Scherma’s brief reference to “the ongoing guild negotiations” at the top of the nominations announcement, today has been mostly Emmy business as usual, with television industry types and fans celebrating the ones who landed nominations and lamenting those who were snubbed.

The upcoming “Barbie” movie has been approved a commercial release in the Philippines after the country conducted “two review sessions and consultations with relevant government agencies,” as per a statement from the country’s Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) via Variety. 

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA has agreed to a last-minute call for federal mediation of its contract, but indicated it will not extend its deadline for deciding whether to go on strike beyond Wednesday at midnight. That would appear to leave relatively little time for a mediator to avert a strike, which could begin as soon as Thursday morning. In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, the union emphasized that “time is running out” and made clear that relations between the two sides have become extremely strained. “The AMPTP has abused our trust and damaged the respect we have for them in this process,” the union said. “We will not be manipulated by this cynical ploy to engineer an extension when the companies have had more than enough time to make a fair deal.”

Last minute calls are being made by Hollywood chiefs to try and prevent an actors strike.

SAG-AFTRA strike, with just a day to go before the contract deadline. A group of CEOs and senior executives, including Disney chief Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, gathered by conference call Monday evening to discuss the urgent situation with SAG-AFTRA poised to go on strike as soon as Thursday. In addition to the executives discussing efforts to bring in a federal mediator, talent agency chieftains including Ari Emanuel of WME and Bryan Lourd of CAA have reached out to SAG-AFTRA leaders in recent days to offer assistance that could stave off a second Hollywood work stoppage this summer.

After debuting the first footage from Paul King’s Wonka at CinemaCon last year, Warner Bros today unwrapped the latest trailer for the prequel to Roald Dahl beloved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Timothée Chalamet stars as the enigmatic Willy Wonka in the pic that focuses on the candymaker’s origins.

Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley Conference is known for drawing an A-list roster of execs from across the media and tech realms, with a generous sprinkling of sports commissioners, politicos and other notables added to the mix.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor To collect ad dollars this year, the nation’s big TV networks did something they rarely do. They held a fire sale. U.S. media companies have largely closed out their “upfront” ad-sales process, according to four executives familiar with recent negotiations, and are likely to see a decline in volume for the first time since the 2020 coronavirus pandemic — and just the second since 2015. These executives said the volume of advertising commitments the networks were able to secure fell in nearly all areas, except sports. And to get there, the networks had to cut their rates. The numbers in 2023 are expected to be less robust than last year’s. In 2022, the five broadcast TV networks secured around $9.9 billion in primetime sales, up 6.4%, according to Media Dynamics Inc., a consultancy that tracks the marketplace. Cable networks sold $10.2 billion, representing an increase of 5.2%. In total, linear TV saw ad commitments last year increase 5.8% to $20.1 billion. NBCUniversal, Fox, Paramount Global, Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney declined to make executives available for comment. More details are likely to surface in the companies’ second-quarter earnings results, slated for release over the next few weeks.