Showbiz Sandbox 440: Why The Writers Guild Battle With Agents Needs A Rewrite!
March 11, 2019
The showdown between the Writers Guild of America and talent agents is growing ever more heated. The WGA wants to upend the way business has been done in Hollywood for decades while agents continue to increase their conflicts of interest through lucrative television packaging fees. Thankfully we have Jonathan Handel, an entertainment attorney and a contributing editor at the Hollywood Reporter, to help figure out what all the bickering is about.
Actually, the WGA has been quite busy lately, making headlines after filing an arbitration claim against Netflix over how the streamer calculates (or more specifically, doesn’t calculate) residuals on residuals. Apparently Netflix has a conflict of interest too.
Meanwhile, the MoviePass rival Sinemia has jettisoned it’s one-movie-per-day subscription plan and replaced it with a buffet of options that are harder to explain but perhaps easier on the bottom line.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why the creators of the hit 1970s TV show “Columbo” are taking Universal Studios to court, Amazon Prime gets serious about India and the nominees for this year’s Olivier Awards.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Comscore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of March 10, 2019
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-march-10-2019-300809680.html
WGA Files Arbitration Claim Against Netflix Over Residuals From 33 Original Films
https://deadline.com/2019/03/wga-files-arbitration-claim-against-netflix-over-residuals-from-original-films-1202570957/
‘Columbo’ Creators Win First Phase of $135M Profits Trial Against Universal
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/columbo-creators-win-first-phase-135-million-profits-trial-universal-1193685
Hozier Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart With ‘Wasteland, Baby!’
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8501829/hozier-debuts-no-1-billboard-200-chart-wasteland-baby
Come From Away, Company & The Inheritance Lead 2019 Olivier Award Nominations
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/195046/come-from-away-company-the-inheritance-lead-2019-olivier-award-nominations/
DVR Viewing Collapses After Three Day Window
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/dvr-viewing-falls-a-lot-3-days-1193462
‘Mockingbird’ Play Publisher Demands $500,000 From Harper Lee Estate
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/theater/mockingbird-broadway-harper-lee-dispute.html
Entertainment Lawyers Nervous After Meeting With Writers Guild Over Agent Feud
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/entertainment-lawyers-nervous-meeting-writers-guild-agent-feud-1191975
Writers Guild, Agencies to Meet Tuesday as WGA Continues to Blast Agency Practices (Exclusive)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/writers-guild-agencies-meet-wga-blasts-agencies-1193648
Writers Guild Stumbles as It Attempts to Enlist Managers in Fight Against Agents
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/writers-guild-stumbles-enlist-managers-fight-agents-1191890
Jan-Michael Vincent, Star of ‘The Mechanic’ and ‘Airwolf,’ Dies at 73
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sid-sheinberg-dead-universal-longtime-831936
Sid Sheinberg Dies At 84, Powerful Universal Exec
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sid-sheinberg-dead-universal-longtime-831936
Ken Nordine, Surreal Poet With A Jazz Beat, Dies At 98
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/obituaries/ken-nordine-dead.html
Comments