STUDIOS EXPECTED TO BEGIN TALKS WITH WGA THIS WEEK: Deadline reports that the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) is scheduled to resume talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on Friday (August 4th). This comes three months after the WGA first began striking on May 2nd. “We’ll be back in communication with you sometime after the meeting with further information. As we’ve said before, be wary of rumors. Whenever there is important news to share, you will hear it directly from us,” the guild said in a letter to its members Tuesday night (August 1st). On Wednesday (August 2nd), Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA‘s National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, told the outlet there hasn’t been any movement on their end. “We have not heard from the AMPTP since July 12 when they told us they would not be willing to continue talks for quite some time,” Crabtree-Ireland said.
MERYL STREEP, OPRAH WINFREY, GEORGE CLOONEY AND MORE STARS DONATE $1 MILLION TO SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION: Celebrities are showing up in droves to support their fellow actors amid the joint SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike. Deadline reports that, following in Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson‘s footsteps, the list of stars who have donated $1 million to the SAG-AFTRA foundation now includes Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, George and Amal Clooney, Luciana and Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Julia Roberts, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Thanks to the support of some of Hollywood’s top-earning stars, the Foundation is preparing to bring aid and hope to thousands of journeymen actors facing tremendous economic hardship,” the foundation said on Wednesday (August 2nd).
‘SUITS’ EXECUTIVE PRODUCER COMMENTS ON THE POSSIBILITY OF MEGHAN MARKLE APPEARING IN A REBOOT: With so many people tuning in to watch Suits since the series was released on Netflix in June, executive producer Gene Klein spoke with TVLine about the possibility of a reboot. Klein told the outlet he’s been in touch with Aaron Korsh, the creator of the show, and that they are “expecting a call at some point.” He added, “I’m not aware of any serious conversations. It’s just one of those things where, in this day and age, you wouldn’t be surprised if somebody called you someday. But so far, nothing that I’m aware of.” As for the possibility of Meghan Markle making an appearance, he said, “I would assume that’s just not possible.”
