David has been covering the entertainment industry for more than 30 years. He was the chief labor, legal and investigative reporter at Daily Variety for 10 years, and served in that same capacity at The Hollywood Reporter for another 10 years. He has written for numerous newspapers and magazines and is the author of three books: "Operation Hollywood," "The Gumshoe and the Shrink," and "The Stuntwoman." Nominated for three Pulitzer Prizes, he is the recipient of an NAACP Image Award for his coverage of African Americans in the entertainment industry. Among several other awards, he was honored by the WGA for his work that restored the writing credits to blacklisted writers of more than 30 films. He joined Deadline in 2014 and lives in Los Angeles
Friday's scheduled hearing on the Big 3 talent agencies' motions to dismiss the WGA's antitrust suit against them has been rescheduled for January 24. U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte Jr. gave no reason for the one-week postponement.
Earlier this month, the judge denied the WGA's motion to dismiss the agencies'…
Oscar-winning screenwriter Charles Randolph will receive the WGA West's Paul Selvin Award in recognition of his script for Bombshell, the dramatic retelling of the sexual harassment scandal that brought down Fox News chief Roger Ailes. It will be presented at the 72nd annual Writers Guild Awards’ L.A. ceremony on…
Rita Vennari has been elected president of the Association of Talent Agents, which has been locked in a battle with the Writers Guild for the past nine months. Vennari, who is president of the Sutton Barth Vennari talent agency, had been the ATA's 2nd vice president.
She is the first female president of the ATA…
UPDATED with SAG-AFTRA and Carteris statements: After a lengthy investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor has found no basis for setting aside the recent SAG-AFTRA presidential election, in which Gabrielle Carterisdefeated Matthew Modine and three other candidates.
The DOL's ruling thus ends one of the most…
UPDATED, 12:55 PM: SAG-AFTRA has gotten the all-clear from law enforcement after evacuating their offices on both coasts today for the second time in three days. “Earlier today, SAG-AFTRA received a telephone threat targeting both Los Angeles and New York national offices,” a spokesperson for the union said. “We…
Anita Hill is appearing in a public service announcement urging entertainment industry workers to take part in a survey to gauge the extent of harassment, abuse and discrimination in the workplace. Watch it above.
The survey, which was launched in November, was originally supposed to last only four weeks, but has been…
2ND UPDATE, 11:20 AM: The SAG-AFTRA offices in Los Angeles and New York reopened today after a search of the offices by law enforcement turned up nothing suspicious. “Nothing was found,” an LAPD spokesperson said.
UPDATED with nothing suspicious found at LA office, 3:22 PM: SAG-AFTRA’s offices in Los Angeles and New…
Brad Falchuk, co-creator of Glee, American Horror Story, Scream Queens and Pose, will be the recipient of the WGA West's Valentine Davies Award. The honor will be presented February 1 at the 72nd annual WGA Awards in recognition of his “positive impact on young writers through his work and efforts to improve literacy…
Women made "unprecedented gains" as protagonists in the top-grossing films of 2019, according to the latest installment of “It's a Man's (Celluloid) World,” an annual report out of San Diego State University, which found that women achieved "recent historic highs" as lead characters in last year's biggest hits.
The…
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen will receive the WGA East's Richard B. Jablow Award at the New York edition of 72nd annual Writers Guild Awards on February 1 at the Edison Ballroom. The award, which was established in 1978 to recognize devoted service to the guild, is named after the guild's first counsel, who helped found the…
UPDATED with WGA and agencies’ statements, more info: A federal judge has denied the WGA’s motion to dismiss antitrust lawsuits filed by Hollywood agencies CAA, WME and UTA against the guild.
The ruling (read it here) by U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte Jr. formally denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, or…
Trustees of the American Federation of Musicians' troubled Pension Plan have asked the U.S. Treasury Department for permission to reduce thousands of musicians' monthly pension benefits in order to keep the "critical and declining" Fund from becoming insolvent within the next 20 years.
The Plan is in trouble because…
