by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
STRIKE - From Deadline: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike.
From Deadline: Disney, HBO/HBO Max, and CBS have sent letters to showrunners (the TV equivalent of film directors) instructing them to return to work, inspite of the writer's strike.
From Deadline: The WGA's chief negotiator, Ellen Stutzman, talks about the state of the writers' strike, including the lack of engagement on the part of the strike's other party, AMPTP.
From Deadline: What went wrong between the WGA and AMPTP? What could they not agree on that led to a strike?
From Deadline: The site explains the WGA strike: the issues, the stakes, movies and TV shows affected, and how long it might last.
SCANDAL - From the AP: The Labor Department has fined McDonald's restaurant franchisees in Louisville, Kentucky, a total $212,000 for illegally employing children. That includes two 10-year-olds who were not paid for their labor.
CELEBRITY - From Deadline: Oscar-winning actor and performer, Jamie Foxx, breaks silence for the first time since his hospitalization after a "medical emergency."
TELEVISION - From Deadline: Paramount Network's drama, "Yellowstone," will end after its upcoming fifth season. It will be replaced by a follow-up series starring Matthew McConaughey.
From ETOnline: Star Kevin Costner will not return to Paramount Network's television series, "Yellowstone," past this currently filming fifth season.
TONY AWARDS - From Deadline: The nominations for the 2023 / 76th Annual Tony Awards have been announced. The musical "Some Like It Hot" leads with 13 nominations. The winners will be announced Sunday, June 11th at 8pm Eastern on CBS.
ANIMATION - From Deadline: J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of the TV series, "Babylon 5," has announced that more information about the release date of the "Babylon 5" animated film is coming in a week.
MOVIES - From Deadline: In a first look, Oscar-nominated actor, Austin Butler ("Elvis") is bald and without eyebrows as the villain, Reyd-Rautha, in "Dune: Part Two."
OSCARS - From Deadline: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday its “most significant overhaul” of the campaign promotional regulation and awards rules for the upcoming 96th Oscars.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: Fox had opted not to renew its highest-rated scripted drama, "9-1-1," after its current sixth season, which has its season finale May 15th. However, the series will move to ABC for the 2023-24 season, its seventh season.
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 4/28 to 4/30/2023 weekend box office is Universal/Illumination Entertainment's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" with an estimated take of 40 million dollars.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Actor Ioan Gruffudd (2005's "Fantastic Four," and "San Andreas") has been added to Sony Pictures' "Bad Boys 4."
OBITS:
From Variety: Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and folk singer, Gordon Lightfoot, has died at the age of 84, May 1, 2023. He had a number one hit in the U.S. with the 1974 single, "Sundown." He also had huge success on the U.S. "Adult Contemporary" charts with such songs as "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Carefree" (1974), and "Rainy Day People" (1975), among others. His songs were covered by such artists as Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young, to name a few.
From Variety: Film and television editor, John Gordon Wright, has died at the age of 79, Thursday, April 20, 2023. Wright was nominated for the "Best Editing" Oscar twice, for "The Hunt for Red October" (1990) and "Speed" (1994). He won a Primetime Emmy Award for editing the 1991 CBS television film, "Sarah, Plain and Tall." He edited two films for director Mel Gibson, "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) and "Apocalypto" (2006). He also edited "X-Men" (2000) and Marvel Studios' "The Incredible Hulk" (2008).
