WGA, Studios Plan More Talks; ABC Considers 'DWTS' Delay After Pickets; Amazon to Bring Ads to Prime Video; 'NCIS' Oral History; 'American Horror Story: Delicate' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( September 22, 2023 What's news: Veep star Matt Walsh has withdrawn from DWTS. Seth MacFarlane has donated $5m to the Entertainment Community Fund. Lizzo has been hit with a second lawsuit. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film is tracking to open above $75m. WBD is adding 10 soundstages to its production facilities in Leavesdon. Angus Cloud's cause of death has been revealed. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. WGA, Studios Plan More Talks Friday ►Negotiations continue. After a long day of bargaining on issues including AI and data transparency, Thursday’s meeting between the WGA and the AMPTP concluded in the evening. THR's [Katie Kilkenny]( and [Lesley Goldberg]( report that during Thursday's negotiations, viewership-based compensation and the size of writers' rooms were also top issues. The two sides are expected to meet again on Friday, with four top Hollywood executives also expected to be in attendance. [The story.]( —New leadership. The WGA East has re-elected a host of incumbents and two new leaders in film, television and streaming in its latest council election. After running unopposed, current vp for film/TV/streaming Lisa Takeuchi Cullen is ascending into the president’s seat after Michael Winship decided not to run for re-election. She will be joined by incumbent secretary-treasurer Christopher Kyle, who is retaining the role, and Erica Saleh, a siting council member who has been elected to the role of vp for film/TV/streaming. [The story.]( —"There aren’t enough words to express our tremendous gratitude." Seth MacFarlane, who donated $1m to Entertainment Community Fund in July, has committed another $5m. As part of the gift, ECF and MacFarlane have teamed to launch a $10m initiative in the hopes of attracting more donors during the work stoppage that has left thousands unemployed. As of Sept. 19, the ECF, previously known as the Actors Fund, has distributed more than $7.4m to more than 3,515 film and TV workers. [The story.]( ABC Considers 'DWTS' Delay After WGA Pickets ►Strike target. ABC may delay its scheduled premiere of Dancing With the Stars after striking writers targeted the show with pickets in recent days. In light of the pickets, Veep star Matt Walsh said he won’t take part in DWTS until the writers strike is over. Though it’s an unscripted show, DWTS is a signatory to the WGA’s minimum basic agreement and has in the past employed a union writer among its staff of 500 to script certain comments for the hosts. [The story.]( —"We support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations." As the WGA continues to picket DWTS rehearsals, SAG-AFTRA said its members on the production aren’t running afoul of its strike rules. The union also offered some context on members’ contractual obligations to the show. The “majority” of SAG-AFTRA members on the show, the union said, signed their deals prior to the strike. [The story.]( —"It’s just going to be unfair to a lot of people." After a dramatic day, DWTS dance pro Gleb Savchenko offered his thoughts on the possible delay of the show, and it's fair to say he's not best pleased. Speaking to THR's nicest man [Chris Gardner]( at the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS on Thursday, Savchenko said the pickets have put his partner Mira Sorvino, a union supporter, in a difficult situation. He added that he hoped that ABC bosses can figure out a resolution without Walsh. [The story.]( Amazon to Bring Commercials Into Prime Video ►Full circle. Amazon's Prime Video service will feature limited ads beginning in early 2024 (an exact date for the rollout is to be determined). What’s more, the ad tier will be the default option for Prime Video, which is included in an Amazon Prime membership along with free shipping on packages, Amazon Music and other perks. The company says the price of a regular Prime subscription won’t rise next year, but users who want to continue watching Prime Video without commercials will have to pay an extra $2.99 per month. [The story.]( —New home for DC. Warner Bros. Discovery is doubling down on one of its key production hubs, which will serve as the primary home for DC Studios projects once the expansion is completed on the lot just outside of London in Leavesden. Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden unveiled plans on Thursday to add 10 new soundstages and incorporate 400,000 additional square feet of production and support space. The project is expected to break ground in the second quarter of 2024 and finish in 2027. [The story.]( —Swifties step up. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film officially came on tracking Thursday, three weeks ahead of its launch in theaters on Oct. 13. The National Research Group shows the film opening to $75m domestically with plenty of upside, according to sources with access to data. Many believe the movie will approach or cross $100m in its launch — one source even suggests $125m — and note that tracking an offering like this is difficult since concert films aren’t the norm. [The box office report.]( —"There was just a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on at Lucasfilm at the time." David S. Goyer revealed that Guillermo del Toro nearly directed a Star Wars film. In a new interview, the screenwriter was asked which major franchise he would love to have the opportunity to be involved with and in response Goyer shared that he actually "wrote an unproduced Star Wars movie" that GDT was going to direct about four years ago. GDT later confirmed the story on X. [The story.]( 'NCIS' Turns 20: Oral History on Cast Exits, Surprise Success ►"A streaming show would never go 21 years." THR newshound [Ryan Gajewski]( performs the Herculean task of wrangling the key creative players behind NCIS, CBS' long-running ratings juggernaut. There's input from creators Don Bellisario and Don McGill, executive producers Charles Floyd Johnson and Mark Horowitz and others who discuss losing Mark Harmon, Pauley Perrette and others; the tough casting process (Harrison Ford as Gibbs?); and finding its audience after a slow start. [The oral history.]( —America's got spinoffs. NBC's next iteration of America’s Got Talent has been revealed. Hosted by Terry Crews, AGT: Fantasy League is set to premiere in early 2024. Mel B will return to the judges’ table for Fantasy League, joining Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. Like The Voice, the show’s judges will have a stake in which acts advance through the competition. Fantasy League will take the midseason spot occupied by AGT: All-Stars last season. [The story.]( —Strong debut. Ahsoka, the newest Star Wars series on Disney+, delivered a sizable viewing audience during its opening week, however, Suits continued its summer-long run as the top overall title on Nielsen's streaming rankings. The first two episodes of Ahsoka had 829m minutes of viewing in the U.S. for the week of Aug. 21-27. With a total running time of 100 minutes over the two installments, that translates to about 8.29m complete showings of the two episodes of Ahsoka. [The streaming rankings.]( Lizzo Sued by Stylist Over Hostile Work Environment Claim ►Second complaint. Lizzo has been sued again for overseeing a hostile work environment, this time by a stylist who says she was subjected to a “culture of racism and bullying” while on tour with the artist. THR's [Winston Cho]( reports that the lawsuit accuses Lizzo and supervisors of Big Grrl Big Touring of sexual and racial harassment, disability discrimination, retaliation and assault. It builds upon allegations from a trio of former tour dancers suing Lizzo for claims of interrogating them about their weight and pressuring them to engage in sexually explicit acts at sex shows. [The story.]( —"I really needed this right now." Just hours after being hit with the second lawsuit, Lizzo accepted the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the Black Music Action Coalition gala in Los Angeles. After skipping the red carpet portion of the evening, Lizzo took the stage at the Beverly Hilton hotel following an introduction by a group of her Big Grrrl dancers. Wiping away tears, she told the crowd, "I really needed this right now. God’s timing is on time." [The story.]( —Golden era. Will Smith is set to host Wondery and Audible’s new limited series podcast, Class of ’88. The podcast collaboration takes a look back at the year that helped launch the global cultural phenomenon of hip-hop. During each episode, Smith will sit down with some of the era’s most influential artists, including Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels, Rakim, Fab 5 Freddy, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Chuck D, J.J. Fad and DJ Red Alert, to celebrate the landmark year for music. [The story.]( —New Batman just dropped. Rustin star Colman Domingo will voice Batman in the Spotify limited series The Riddler: Secrets In The Dark. Hasan Minhaj will voice The Riddler, the comedian had previously voiced the Batman villain in Spotify’s Batman: Unburied. The new series, which bows Oct. 10, forces Batman to team with Edward Nygma (The Riddler) to stop a mysterious vigilante who is killing Gotham’s villains — including The Riddler. [The story.]( —Cause of death revealed. Angus Cloud, the Euphoria actor who passed away at age 25 in July, died of an accidental overdose, a spokesperson for the Alameda County Coroner confirmed. The actor’s cause of death was cited as the result of intoxication due to the combined effects of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and benzodiazepines. [The story.]( 'Winning Time' Co-creator on Abrupt HBO Cancellation ►"I know there are a lot of people who want me to say, 'F*** HBO.'" In a guest column for THR, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty co-creator Jim Hecht reflects on the shock cancellation of the sports drama. Hecht writes that "HBO paid big money and gave us a ton of freedom to make our dream show. It just happens to not be the right show for their platform at this time." [The column.]( —"Releasing a movie during Covid was already so weird and strange." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to director Brian Duffield about his new film No One Will Save You. The filmmaker also discusses some of his other unproduced screenplays, before detailing his frustration with Spontaneous’ pandemic release. [The interview.]( —"I’m just happy that we saw Wick 4 after we shot." Brian also spoke to Albert Hughes about his new show The Continental: From the World of John Wick. The director discusses the late Lance Reddick, Mel Gibson’s casting and why he's happy he didn't know about the latest ending in the Keanu Reeves' blockbuster saga beforehand. [The interview.]( —"Everything was a first for me with this show." THR's Patrick Brzeski spoke to director Park In-je about the finale of Korean YA superhero drama Moving. Park discusses the global success of the show, Disney+ and Hulu’s most-watched Korean drama of all time after just seven days of release according to the companies, and the prospects of a second season. [The interview.]( TV Review: 'American Horror Story: Delicate' ►"A bit too delicate for its own good." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews FX's American Horror Story: Delicate. The latest season of the anthology — and the first not to have Ryan Murphy as showrunner — centers on an actress beset by unsettling events while trying to conceive via IVF, starring Kim Kardashian and Emma Roberts. [The review.]( —"Too much cuteness and not enough sizzle." Angie reviews Apple TV+'s Still Up. The series stars Antonia Thomas and Craig Roberts as two insomniacs who spend their evenings talking on the phone. [The review.]( —"More like the dispos4bles." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Scott Waugh's Expend4bles. Several newcomers, including Megan Fox, Andy Garcia, Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais, join the team led by Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone for the fourth installment of the action movie series. [The review.]( —"Close encounters of the malevolent kind." Frank reviews Brian Duffield's No One Will Save You. Kaitlyn Dever stars in this sci-fi movie about aliens breaking into a young woman's house from the director of Spontaneous. [The review.]( Thank Pod It's Friday ► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. —TV's Top 5. THR's [Lesley Goldberg]( and [Dan Fienberg]( break down the latest TV news. This week's episode is another strike special. There's a strike themed mailbag to kick things off and segments on all the major strike updates from this week. Barbara Davis, the chief operating officer of the Entertainment Community Fund, drops by for a chat. And finally, Dan reviews Max’s Young Love, Peacock’s The Continental , the final season of Netflix’s Sex Education and Fox’s Krapopolis. [Listen here.]( In other news... —Squid Game: The Challenge [teaser has players competing in real life for cash prizes]( —Disney characters [assemble in Once Upon a Studio trailer]( —All of Us Strangers trailer: [Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal go on an intimate journey of love]( —Hayao Miyazaki’s [The Boy and the Heron to open Animation Is Film Festival]( —THR names [Joe Shields president of business operations]( —Brooke Robertson [tapped to run global communications at Paramount Pictures]( —UTA hires [former ABC News talent vp Mary Noonan]( —Steven Yeun [signs with WME]( —Shirley MacLaine, Trace Lysette [to be honored at Outfest Legacy Awards]( What else we're reading... —Despite Rupert Murdoch announcing he is stepping down as Fox and News Corp. chair, Colin Kruger writes that we shouldn't fool ourselves, the mogul will still be calling the shots [[Sydney Morning Herald]( —Joshua Benton looks into Elon Musk’s anti-semitic, apartheid-loving grandfather who is dismissed as "quirky" in Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the tech oligarch [[Atlantic]( —In an in-depth interview with William J. Broad, James Cameron shares his views on the Titan submersible accident, the recovery of ocean wrecks and the Titanic’s future [[NYT]( —With the release of the fourth and final season of Sex Education, Nick Levine reflects on how the Netflix show changed the script for sex, both on and off the screen [[BBC]( —Here's your Friday list: "25 modern songs that sound like ’90s country" [[Vulture]( Today... ...in 1989, ABC debuted the half-hour spinoff comedy Family Matters, a series that eventually went on to run for nine seasons. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Tatiana Maslany (38), Teyonah Parris (36), Tom Felton (36), Will Sharpe (37), MyAnna Buring (44), Dina Shihabi (34), Ashley Eckstein (42), Mireille Enos (48), Bonnie Hunt (62), Laura Vandervoort (39), Billie Piper (41), Michael Rainey Jr. (23), Ruth Jones (57🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿), Joan Jett (65), Nick Cave (66), Toni Basil (80), Samantha Béart (39), Rupert Penry-Jones (53), Ukweli Roach (37), Juliette Goglia (28), [Lawrence Gilliard Jr.]( (52), Katie Lowes (41), Shari Belafonte (69), Catherine Oxenberg (62), Melvin Gregg (35) This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. Visit the [Preferences Center]( to update your profile and customize what email alerts and newsletters you receive. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90025 [View in Browser]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Your Privacy Rights]( | [Ad Choices]( | [Terms of Use]( | [Unsubscribe](