Latest in John August

EXCLUSIVE: The debate has begun over a WGA referendum that would give screen credits to hundreds of feature film writers who currently aren't eligible to receive them. The referendum would authorize the use of an “Additional Literary Material” credit for all “participating writers” who work – sometimes for many months…

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Tony nominated director Alex Timbers is closed to direct a feature musical adaptation of the Harper Collins Michael Morpurgo book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros.. John August penned the script which is loosely based on the book, which tells the story of The Wiza…

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has made a deal with Ryan Reynolds and John August to co-write Upstate, an original feature comedy that is eyed as a star vehicle for Reynolds. The project reunites Reynolds and August, who last worked together on 2007's The Nines. They are keeping plot under wraps. Reynolds and August will be…

EXCLUSIVE: Aladdin screenwriter John August has been set to write Toto, an animated musical for the Warner Animation Group. Pic is based on the book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz, written by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Emma Chichester. Jared Stern's A Stern Talking To is attached to…

As the WGA prepares for its upcoming negotiations for a new film and TV contract, a possible writers' strike is on a lot of people's minds. Given the guild's ongoing dispute with Hollywood's talent agencies, which is now in its eighth month, many industry observers feel that a strike is all but certain. On their latest…

The WGA remains committed to reaching a deal with the Big 4 talent agencies, separate and apart from the Association of Talent Agents, according to John August, a member of the guild’s negotiating committee and an outgoing member of the WGA West’s board of directors. "Negotiations with the Big 4 agencies remains a…

John August, a member of the WGA's agency negotiating committee, says it's going to be a “slog" before the guild reaches a new franchise agreement with the major agencies – a standoff, now in its 115th day, that's already a long slog. On his latest blog, he also takes on the naysayers who claim the WGA hasn't been…

WGA West vice president candidate Craig Mazin has said that the guild needs a strategy shift and new leadership to resolve its ongoing feud with the talent agencies, but on his latest Scriptnotes podcast, he said there's not much “daylight” between him and the guild's current leadership on the issue. "I wish I weren't…

Chernobyl writer-creator Craig Mazin says he's "disappointed" with the WGA's rejection of the Association of Talent Agents' offer to share the backend profits of packaged TV shows with writers, and that he doesn't see the guild's three-month-long standoff ending without a change in leadership. The guild's election of…

Big Fish scribe and WGA activist John August has just signed with Verve. August had been with UTA most of his career. He has just tweeted out that despite expressing the sentiment he would give his agent his kidney and still would, he still made the move. August’s most recent credit is the Disney event film Aladdin; …

Packaging of TV shows has gotten most of the ink in the WGA's ongoing battle with Hollywood's talent agencies. But in a new video, Michele Mulroney and John August, members of the guild's negotiating committee, contend that agency affiliation to production companies through vertically integrated parent corporations is…

Screenwriter John August, a member of the WGA's negotiating committee, says he's hopeful that the guild and the talent agencies will resume discussions in the next few weeks to break their impasse over a new franchise agreement. Formal negotiations broke off Friday, after which the guild ordered all of its members to…