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The Writers Guild of America West’s annual financial report for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2024, shows the impact of the 2023 strikes.

Writer employment and earnings in calendar year 2023 showed writers in all fields reporting declines in employment and earnings.

A total of 5,501 writers reported employment in all work areas in 2023, a 19.5% decline from 2022. Total writer earnings reported for dues purposes declined 31.8%, to $1.29 billion.

Earnings of television and digital platform writers reported to the Wgaw for 2023 declined 35.0%, to $916.6 million. Total employment was down 22.1% from 2022, with 4,441 writers reporting income from television and digital platforms.

Screenwriter earnings declined 22.4% in 2023 to $373 million. Screenwriter employment declined by 15.8%, with 1,918 writers reporting screen earnings in 2023.

In 2023, the WGA collected $598.50 million in residuals, a 3.5% increase from the previous year. Television residuals reached $396.37 million, which accounted for 66.2% of the total, and saw a 15.9% increase year-over-year.

Television new media residuals continued their predominance with $134.33 million collected, up by...

The coming-of-age comedy “Primo” from author and journalist Shea Serrano has been canceled at Freevee after a single-season run. Serrano, who created the series and served as executive producer, shared the news on social media Tuesday, two days after the sitcom’s one-year anniversary at the Amazon AVOD streamer.

“A short but beautiful run — sadly we’re not gonna be making any more episodes of ‘Primo,'” Serrano said. “I will always be indebted to everyone who worked on the show to make it so great and I will always be thankful to everyone who watched and championed it — thank you for real — long live ‘Primo.'”

Per an official logline: “The coming-of-age, single-camera comedy, inspired by Serrano’s life growing up in San Antonio, Texas, follows Rafa Gonzales (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio), a wide-eyed 16-year-old being raised by his clever mother, Drea (Christina Vidal), and his five overbearing uncles Rollie (Johnny Rey Diaz...

Primo, the coming-of-age comedy inspired by the life of author/journalist/former teacher Shea Serrano, has been cancelled at Freevee after just one eight-episode season.

Serrano — who created the series and served as an executive producer alongside Michael Schur, David Miner, Morgan Sackett, Peter Murrieta and Lisa Muse Bryant — shared the sad news on social media, almost exactly one year after the show’s May 2023 binge release.

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WGA picket lines on the West Coast swelled Friday in response to the call from guild leaders for a strong turnout on the streets as labor and management negotiators gathered for a third consecutive day of talks aimed at ending the more than four-month-long strike.

In Hollywood, Netflix and Paramount saw big crowds of WGA and SAG-AFTRA pickets gathered by 9 a.m. The past week has been chock full of rumors spread by social media and private online and text channels that a deal is in the offing. In West Los Angeles, a typically large crowd made the rounds outside of Fox Studios.

Many WGA veterans urged caution at getting hopes too high for what may come out of the AMPTP negotiating room later today, after a third day of talks between labor and management that involved four CEOs.

“I’m a realist,” said Amy Berg, a showrunner...

“Velma” has been renewed for Season 2 at Max.

The announcement was made at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival by Suzanna Makkos, the executive vice president of original comedy and adult animation for Max and Adult Swim, during her “Share With” session.

“Velma” debuted its first season on what was then HBO Max in January. The adult animated comedy series tells the origin story of Velma Dinkley and the Mystery Inc. gang from “Scooby Doo.” Mindy Kaling voices Velma with the cast also including Glenn Howerton, Sam Richardson, Constance Wu, Jane Lynch, Ming-Na Wen, Wanda Sykes, and more. Charlie Grandy developed the series for television and serves as executive producer and showrunner. Kaling also executive produces along with Howard Klein and Sam Register.

“The series that we create at Max are art and voice driven, with character and comedy coming before anything else,” said Makkos. “We’re always looking for...

Image Source: Getty / Adam Rose / Disney Channel

More than a decade after the "Wizards of Waverly Place" series finale aired in 2012, showrunner Peter Murrieta validated one of Disney Channel's biggest ships: Alex Russo and Stevie Nichols. Speaking with former "Wizards" stars Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise on the "Wizards of Waverly Pod" on March 27, Murrieta confirmed that Alex, played by Selena Gomez, was bisexual and had romantic feelings for Stevie, played by Hayley Kiyoko.

"It was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was."

When asked if there was a storyline he would have liked to explore further in the series, Murrieta didn't hesitate to reference the obvious flirtations between the characters on screen. "I wish we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us: the relationship between Stevie and Alex," he said.

For anyone who needs a refresher on the pair's friendship,...

Fans were not wrong to pick up on queer undercurrents in “The Wizards of Waverly Place”.

On the “Wizards of Waverly Pod”, Peter Murrieta, showrunner on the Disney Channel series in its first three years, confirmed longtime theories about Alex Russo’s sexuality.

Read More: Selena Gomez Shares Throwback From Blonde Era, Teases ‘Exciting Things’

@jenniferlstone

We know you wanted Stalex…we wanted it too. #wizardspod #wizardsofwaverlyplace #disneytok

♬ original sound – Jennifer Stone

Since the show aired, many fans have speculated about the strong chemistry between the lead character, played by Selena Gomez, and her friend on the show, Stevie Nichols, played by Hayley Kiyoko.

“I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us, which was the relationship between Stevie and Alex,” Murrieta told podcast host, and former “Wizards” star Jennifer Stone.

“We weren’t able to in that time, but it was...

Peter Murrieta served as an executive producer and the head writer of Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” for its first three seasons, and he confirmed on the latest episode of the “Wizards of Waverly Pod” podcast that it was the creative team’s intention to make Selena Gomez’s main character openly bisexual. Gomez’s Alex had several male love interests during the show’s run, including Mason (Gregg Sulkin) and Dean Moriarty (Daniel Samonas), but Murrieta wishes she would’ve had a female love interest with the introduction of Stevie Nichols (Hayley Kiyoko) in Season 3.

“Easy, easy, easy, easy,” Murrieta said when asked what storyline he wished he could’ve explored. “I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us was the relationship between Stevie and Alex. But we weren’t able to in that time…it was pretty...

Wizards of Waverly Place showrunner Peter Murrieta, has commented on a long-standing fan rumour regarding the sexuality of Selena Gomez’s character.

Gomez rose to fame on the Disney Channel sitcom about a magical family, which aired from 2007 to 2012.

In 2010, Hayley Kiyoko made a guest appearance as Stevie Nichols, an evil wizard. Throughout the four episodes she was in, fans theorised that there was romantic chemistry between Stevie and Gomez’s character Alex Russo.

Appearing on the Wizards of Waverly Pod recap podcast on Monday (27 March), writer Murrieta confirmed the rumours when asked â€.â€.if there were any storylines on the show he wished he’d been able to explore further.

“Easy, easy, easy,” Murrietta replied. “I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us, which was the relationship between Stevie and Alex.”

“We weren’t able to in that time,...

No disrespect to Alex Russo’s star-crossed romance with werewolf Mason, but the original showrunner of Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place had a much more interesting pairing in mind for Selena Gomez‘s character, one fans never got to see.

During his appearance on the March 27 episode of rewatch podcast Wizards of Waverly Pod, Peter Murrieta, who ran Wizards for its first three seasons (2007–2010), was asked to share a storyline he wishes he could have explored further. And it’s a biggie.

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Realm, the audio entertainment company with more than 30 fiction podcasts in the top charts, just released Realm Original Blood & Gold starring Emmy-nominated, Richard Cabral, and is co-written by producer Peter Murrieta and award-winning author, Jeff Mariotte (“Empty Rooms” and “The Slab).

This edge-of-your-seat action thriller transports you back in time to a place where only the strong survive, and only the purest of loves create hope for a better future. To some, he was a hero. To others, a villain. He stained 19th-century California with the blood of his enemies. He was a desperado, a leader, an avenger for his people… and inspiration for Hollywood’s Zorro. Written by one of his descendants, this is the story of how Joaquin Murrieta becomes a legend.

Cabral said: “I’m truly excited to release this project to the world. The Realm team has created an immersive listening experience that weaves together the...

Hollywood veterans Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Peter Murrieta are optimistic that “so much is possible” in the future as Hollywood and the entertainment industry at large expands to make room for more diverse stories and perspectives across the board.

Murrieta and Boone Isaacs spoke Thursday at an event to herald the recent launch of Arizona State University’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School, a program that launched earlier this year in downtown Los Angeles in the famed former Los Angeles Herald Examiner building at Broadway and 11th. Boone Isaacs is founding director of the Poitier school while Murrieta serves as deputy director and professor of practice. The two joined several other faculty members to discuss how Hollywood can grow its business and audience base by making strides toward inclusion and representation.

Boone Isaacs and Murrieta emphasized the importance of film education being hands-on enough to set students up to...

Exclusive: In a competitive situation, HBO Max has landed for development Uptown Bodega, an adult animation comedy series.

Written by Oz Rodriguez (Saturday Night Live) and Lemon Andersen (She’s Gotta Have It), Uptown Bodega centers on Tati Cruz who has inherited her father’s old Bodega and vows to keep the business booming in a fast-changing Nueva York with the help of her husband, three kids, and Rocky the bodega cat.

Veteran comedy showrunner Peter Murrieta, who is supervising the script, Rodriguez and 3 Arts’ Greg Walter executive produce the project, which is a co-production between HBO Max and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, where Rodriguez is under an overall deal.

Rodriguez won an Emmy for his directing work on Saturday Night Live. He started off by directing Digital Shorts, went on to become head of the film unit, and won an Emmy for his behind-the-scenes series Creating SNL.

Amazon’s Freevee has assembled the cast for its upcoming Shea Serrano Project, formerly titled Primo. Joining the comedy as series regulars will be Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Martin Martinez, Carlos Santos, Johnny Rey Diaz, Henri Esteve, Jonathan Medina, Nigel Siwabessy, Christina Vidal, Efrain Villa and Stakiah Washington. The project hails from Serrano and The Good Place creator Mike Schur.

The single-camera series, inspired by Serrano’s life growing up in San Antonio, follows a teenager balancing college aspirations, societal expectations, and a hectic home life, anchored by his single mom and five uncles.

Diaz-Silverio will portray Rafa, a 16-year-old high school junior who must balance his mom and five uncles’ opinions after finding out that he has the chance to be the first person in his family to ever attend college.

Rey Diaz will portray Rollie, one of Rafa’s uncles and the middle child of his brothers. He’s the wildman of the family.

Exclusive: Lifetime is already in the Christmas spirit, announcing three new movies for its annual It’s a Wonderful Lifetime holiday slate.

Patti Labelle and Keshia Knight Pulliam (Married at First Sight: Afterparty) will star in New Orleans Noel, which also features Tim Reid and Brad James, Pulliam’s real-life husband. Pulliam also executive produces alongside Whoopi Goldberg (Caught In His Web). Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer will star in and executive produce the dance-centric pic, Untitled Mario Lopez/Jana Kramer Holiday Movie (wt), which also stars comedian Cheri Oteri and Lopez’s wife, Courtney Lopez; and Drop Dead Diva alumna Brooke Elliott returns to Lifetime to headline and executive produce A Country Christmas Harmony with her Sweet Magnolias co-stars, Brandon Quinn and Danny Pintauro.

Here are complete details for the three films, provided by Lifetime.

A New Orleans Noel

Grace Hill (Pulliam) and Anthony Brown (James) could not be more different.

Exclusive: Two-time Emmy-winner Peter Murrieta, who recently signed a first-look deal with Universal Television, is teaming up with Russell Binder’s Striker Entertainment to option and adapt Jeffrey J. Mariotte’s forthcoming novel Blood And Gold: The Legend Of Joaquin Murrieta.

Set during the harsh and brutal but transformative era of the California Gold Rush, the book tells the story of real-life bandit Joaquin Murrieta, who was dubbed the ‘Robin Hood of the West’. It follows how Murrieta, a romantic, charismatic young Mexican who, overcome by fear that his beloved Rosita will be forced into an arranged marriage, persuades her to join him as he follows his brother Jesús to the California gold fields where they encounter prejudice, hatred, and explosive violence – transforming Joaquin from an honest, hardworking miner into a bandit and the very spirit of vengeance.

The team said the book blends historical facts with untold family stories from direct descendants of Murrieta.

A new collective of Latino actors, writers, directors and executives in Hollywood called “La Mesa” will host its inaugural “La Mesa Live Table Read” at the Latc Theater on Aug. 15.

The event will spotlight unproduced pilot scripts by three up-and-coming Latinx television writers who have been paired with seasoned Latinx television directors. Writers Linda Dillon Moya, Meredith Garcia-Painter and Spiro Skentzos have been workshopping their pilots with Linda Mendoza, Jon Huertas and Victor Gonzalez for the last few weeks, and the pairs will present the first 10 pages of their scripts at the event with casts of predominantly Latinx actors.

“La Mesa Table Read” is produced in partnership with Nosotros and the Latino Theater Co. The event and “La Mesa” itself work towards a goal of increasing visibility and opportunity for Latinx creatives in film and television. “La Mesa” was founded in early 2021 by “Mr. Iglesias” and “Wizards of Waverly Place” producer and writer Peter Murrieta,...

Peter Murrieta has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television, Variety has learned exclusively.

Under the deal, Murrieta will develop original content for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. He was previously an executive producer on “Mr. Iglesias” at Netflix and recently co-wrote the Lifetime movie “Feliz Navidad” with his wife Aliza, with Mario Lopez starring. He was also the showrunner and executive producer on the Disney Channel series “Wizards of Waverly Place.” His other credits include “Superior Donuts” and “One Day at a Time.”

“We couldn’t be happier to be working with Peter in this new way,” said Jim Donnelly, executive vice president of comedy development at Universal Television. “Besides being a hilarious writer and all-around great guy, he has an amazing track record of championing and supporting fellow LatinX voices and talent. We look forward to all the great projects we get to collaborate with him on.”

Murrieta...

Exclusive: Filmmaker Lissette Feliciano has inked with Verve following the success of her feature debut at SXSW, Women Is Losers, which she wrote, directed, and produced.

Set during the 1960s in San Francisco, Women Is Losers follows bright and talented Catholic school girl Celina Guerrera (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Lorenza Izzo) survives a difficult home life by following the rules. That is until an indiscretion creates a series of devastating consequences. As Celina faces the compounded obstacles of being young and alone, she sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in a future that sets new precedents for the time. The pic is inspired by real women and the Janis Joplin song of the same title. Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Chrissie Fit (Pitch Perfect 2 & 3) and Liza Weil (How to Get Away With Murder) also star.

A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts,...

Exclusive: Rapper Snoop Dogg is to voice and exec produce an animated comedy for Amazon with Vince Vaughn also exec producing.

The streamer is developing Oaklandia, which is written by Daniel Dominguez (right), head writer and exec producer for season two of HBO Max’s Michael B. Jordan animated series Gen:Lock, and Chris “Comedian Cp” Powell (left), who starred in Comedy Central’s Detroiters and created Adult Swim special Ole Bud’s Anu Football Weekly.

The animated series is set in Oakland, California. Produced by Amazon Studios, Snoop Dogg and his manager and business partner Ted Chung exec produce alongside Vaughn, Victoria Vaughn and Peter Billingsley for Wild West Picture Show Productions and Dominguez and Powell.

It is the streamer’s latest move into adult animation. Earlier this year, it ordered Fairfax, a series based on the strange phenomenon of Los Angeles hypebeast culture, from Matt Hausfater, Aaron Buchsbaum, and...

Class will soon be back in session for Mr. Iglesias. Netflix has set June 17 for Mr. Iglesias Part 2, starring stand-up favorite Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias.

In the series created by Kevin Hench, Iglesias stars as Gabe, a good-natured public high school teacher in Long Beach, CA who works at his alma mater. Gabe takes on teaching gifted but misfit kids to not only save them from being “counseled out” by a bully bureaucrat assistant principal (Oscar Nuñez) but also to help them unlock their full potential. Sherri Shepherd co-stars as the school’s principal, Paula.

Love is in the air for Part 2 of the series as Mr. Iglesias convinces his star student, Marisol (Cree Cicchino), and fellow student, Mikey (Fabrizio Guido), to go out for the school play of Romeo and Juliet while, unbeknownst to Gabe, Principal Paula plays Cupid to find him the girl of his dreams.

Cast also includes Jacob Vargas,...

Exclusive: Amazon has put in development Ricky & Cricket, an animated comedy from Mr. Iglesias writer-producers Peter Murrieta and Isaac Gonzalez and Erik Rivera (Super White).

Written by Murrieta, Gonzalez and Rivera, Ricky & Cricket revolves around nice guy Ricky, a down on his luck Mexican-American actor, who starts taking control of his life with the help of Cricket — a brash, foul-mouthed guardian angel from the east side of heaven.

Murrieta, Gonzalez and Rivera executive produce, along with David Miner of 3 Arts.

Murrieta is co-executive producer on Netflix comedy series Mr. Iglesias, which will premiere its second season this year. The 2018 recipient of the Norman Lear Writer’s Award at the Imagen Awards, Murrieta shared in two Emmy awards as showrunner of Wizards of Waverly Place, and has served as a Co-ep on multiple series, including One Day At A Time for Netflix and Superior Donuts for CBS. Murrieta created the autobiographical...

Leaders of the Writers Guild of America have told members that they may need to extend to current contract beyond its current May 1 expiration due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Members received the message on Tuesday afternoon, a day after Variety reported that the WGA was evaluating its options for conducting contract talks with Hollywood’s major studios that were to have started on March 23. The coronavirus prevention measures appear to have made it untenable for the sides to hold a face-to-face bargaining session.

The WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are trying to come to terms on an extension date for the guild’s existing Minimum Basic Agreement that covers most film and TV work. The current pact is set to expire May 1. But given the upheaval to regular business brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the sides need more time to negotiate what is sure to...

The Writers Guild of America on Friday tapped more than 30 members to serve on the guild’s negotiating committee for the upcoming contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The current three-year collective bargaining agreement, which covers most of the work done by WGA writers, is set to expire on May 1, 2020.

The looming contract negotiations have been a source of much anxiety in Hollywood as fears of a potential strike have bubbled in recent months. The negotiations are especially interesting for the WGA, which is still in a stand off with Hollywood talent agencies over how they are represented and the packaging fees agents collect for bundling talent together for networks and studios.

Also Read: How Hollywood's Guilds Are Bracing for Crucial Negotiations in 2020

Prominent names appointed to the WGA’s negotiating committee include “Aladdin” screenwriter John August, Patti Carr, Adele Lim (“Crazy Rich Asians”), Meredith Stiehm...

The WGA has appointed the members to its negotiating committee in the run-up to its talks with management’s Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for a new film and TV contract. See the list below.

The current pact expires on May 1. No date has been set for the talks to begin, and it’s not clear whether the WGA will begin bargaining before the Directors Guild, whose contract doesn’t expire until two months later. In years past, the DGA has gone first, reaching deals that have set the pattern of bargaining for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA to follow.

In the upcoming WGA talks, WGA West executive director David Young will serve as the guild’s chief negotiator, with Michele Mulroney, Shawn Ryan and Betsy Thomas serving as co-chairs. Ex-officio members of the negotiating committee include WGA West president David A. Goodman, WGA East president Beau Willimon,...

With Hollywood already fearing a strike, the Writers Guild of America has appointed more than two dozen members to serve on its negotiating committee for upcoming negotiations on its master contract.

The current three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires on May 1. The guild’s seven-month standoff with agencies has heightened worries that the WGA will go on strike after the contract expires.

The WGA is required to seek approval of its “pattern of demands” before meeting with the companies. WGA West executive director David Young, who orchestrated the bitter 2007-08 strike, will serve as chief negotiator. Michele Mulroney, Shawn Ryan and Betsy Thomas are the co-chairs.

Notable names on the committee include “Crazy Rich Asians” writer Adele Lim; Meredith Stiehm, one of the plaintiffs in the WGA’s suit over the legality of CAA, UTA and Wme charging packaging fees; Patric Verrone, who...

Producer and actress Luisa Leschin will be honored with the Norman Lear Writer’s Award at the 34th Annual Imagen Awards, which will be held August 10 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Leschin is an industry vet having produced such shows as George Lopez, Everybody Hates Chris and East Los High. She currently is the co-executive producer of the Netflix original series Mr. Iglesias starring Gabriel Iglesias and Sherri Shepherd.

“Norman Lear is a towering legend in the entertainment industry having create some of Hollywood’s most ground-breaking sitcoms,” said Leschin. “He has inspired every writer to think beyond the norm and is someone I have always looked up to. I’m beyond honored.”

Keschin has had her hand in nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry. She began her career as a ballet dancer then turned to acting, having appeared in many iconic TV series including Beverly Hills 90210, Love Boat,...

Luisa Leschin is this year’s recipient of the Imagen Awards’ annual Norman Lear Writer’s Award.

“Luisa Leschin’s work with her-highly successful play, “Latins Anonymous,” to her success as co-executive producer for beloved shows such as “George Lopez,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “East Los High,” and now “Mr. Iglesias,” serve as examples of her creative talent and leadership,” said Helen Hernandez, president and founder of the Imagen Foundation.

Leschin executive-produced the Netflix original show “Mr. Iglesias” — a multi cam series that follows a public high school teacher who works at his alma mater — and has appeared in a number of film and television shows including “Saturday Night Fever,” “True Confessions,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Love Boat,” “ER,” “Quincy,” “Falcon Crest” and “Hill St. Blues.”

“Norman Lear is a towering legend in the entertainment industry having created some of Hollywood’s most ground-breaking sitcoms,” Leschin said. “He has inspired every writer to...

ABC has put in development Americanized, a half-hour comedy inspired by Sara Saedi’s memoir Americanized: Rebel Without A Green Card, from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and ABC Studios, where Hello Sunshine has a broadcast overall deal.

Written by Saedi (iZombie), Americanized tells the story of a loving and off-beat Iranian family who’s been living with a huge secret: they’re undocumented immigrants. Told through an irreverent, heartfelt and a-political lens, the series will give viewers a window into the life of a Middle-Eastern household while exploring the universal truths that bond every type of “American” family.

In the book, Saedi shares her story of growing up in San Jose, California in a loving Iranian family and her shock when she discovers she and the rest of her family are undocumented.

Saidi executive produces with Hello Sunshine’s Witherspoon and Lauren Levy Neustadter. ABC Studios is the studio.

ABC has put in development Food & Familia, a multi-camera multi-generational Latinx family comedy starring Danny Trejo, from sitcom veteran Peter Murrieta, Will Smith and James Lassiter’s Overbrook Entertainment and ABC Studios.

Written by Murrieta, Food & Familia is a comedy about second chances, inspired by Trejo’s life. When the matriarch of the family passes away, she leaves her restaurant to her son, Danny — who’s about to get out of prison — and her granddaughter, Michelle, who hates her father for abandoning her. This gift from beyond the grave might heal the father and daughter and get them back together but, it’s gonna be rocky as the two of them work their differences out while trying to operate a restaurant, live together, and become a real family again.

Murrieta executive produces with Overbrook’s Caleeb Pinkett, Smith and Lassiter. ABC Studios is the studio.

Trejo, born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents,...

While the theme song for “Coco” may be “Remember Me,” the outpouring of love for the Pixar film was certainly hard to forget at the 33rd annual Imagen Awards held at the Jw Marriott in Downtown Los Angeles.

“‘Coco’ was just so beautifully conceived, I loved it. And wasn’t that abuela marvelous? With that enormous head of hers,” Rita Moreno, who was nominated for her work on “One Day at a Time,” said of the film that took home the awards for creative achievement, best picture, and best director on Saturday.

Character designer on the film Alonso Martinez noted that “We began ‘Coco’ with a simple thing: a love note to Mexico, for all the beauty of the people, the traditions, and the depth of love that is inside Mexico.”

Anthony Gonzalez, who voiced young guitar-strummer Miguel in the film, shared his hopes that the story of “Coco” will...

The CBS action tech drama Scorpion and the multi-camera comedy Superior Donuts are the latest in the mass cancellations happening across TV networks. Actors took to Twitter to express their gratitude for having worked on their respective shows.

Upon hearing the news that Scorpion was canceled after four seasons, Katharine McPhee said on Twitter: “Thank you so much to [CBS] for this journey, to my awesome castmates and crew whom I learned from every day and to all the wonderful [Scorpion] fans for being so passionate about what we created. we’ll always be a family. #TeamScorpion”

Her co-star Robert Patrick added to that sentiment saying, “Thank you to all the fans! The writers, the crew, the cast, and [CBS] it’s been a great story to tell and a hell of a run! On to the next! #loveya #TeamScorpion.”

Actor and comedian Maz Jobrani, who stars as Fawz on Superior Donuts...

CBS’s “Superior Donuts” is tackling immigration issues in what may be the series’ most relevant episode ever. Monday night’s episode, “The ICEmen Cometh,” was inspired by star Diane Guerrero’s own experience with her family and deportation.

“We learned about Diane’s story when we first talked to her about joining the show, and we were struck by how brutal it was to see this hot-button political issue play out on a personal level, where a family gets torn apart and there’s nothing they can do about it,” said executive producer Bob Daily.

In the episode, Guerrero’s character, Sofia, enlists her pal Franco (Jermaine Fowler) to help hide her undocumented brother Rafael (Erik Rivera) when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement starts conducting raids in their uptown Chicago neighborhood. The Ice presence has everyone on edge, including donut shop owner Arthur (Judd Hirsch), whose store is where Franco secretly hides Rafael,...

Fox has given a script commitment plus penalty to Bell Heights, a single-camera family comedy from former Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, David Miner’s 3 Arts Entertainment, ABC Studios and 20th Century Fox TV. Bell Heights was developed at ABC last season and 20th Century Fox TV has boarded the ABC Studios project to co-finance the project for re-development at Fox. Written by Bobby Bowman (My Name Is Earl) and Peter Murrieta (Superior Donuts), Bell Heights is…...

ABC has put in development a single-camera sibling comedy from veterans Peter Murrieta and Bobby Bowman. The project, starring Latino comedians Felipe Esparza and Dustin Ybarra, is produced by 3 Arts and ABC Studios. Written by Murrieta and Bowman, the untitled single-camera project centers on three very different adult siblings — two of them played by Esparza and Ybarra — who live under one roof in Boyle Heights, a working-class, predominantly Mexican-American…...

Updated With Corrected Membership Figures: TV writer and producer Shawn Ryan was the top vote-getter in the WGA West’s board election, which saw a turnout of 22.4% of the guild’s members casting ballots. Ryan, creator and showrunner of The Shield and The Chicago Code, got more votes than all of the incumbents in the race, with his name appearing on nearly 67% of the 1,835 ballots cast. The guild has more than 21,000 members, according to its latest filing with the Department of Labor. The guild said there were about 8,200 members eligible to vote.

All five incumbents — Chip Johannessen, Scott Alexander, Michael Oates Palmer, Katherine Fugate and Marjorie David — won re-election to two-year terms on the board. Fugate finished second in the voting, with her name appearing on 1,124 ballots (61.3%), followed by Johannessen (1,071, 58.4%); Alexander (965, 52.6%); Aaron Mendelsohn (964, 52.5%); David (952, 51.9%); Palmer (817, 44.5%); Jonathan Fernandez (722, 39.3%); and Peter Lefcourt, who was elected to a one-year term (648, 35.3%), filling the vacancy...

The WGA West has issued its final list of 18 candidates, including five incumbents, who will be competing for eight seats on the its board of directors in the September election. Incumbents Chip Johannessen, Scott Alexander, Michael Oates Palmer, Katherine Fugate and Marjorie David will square off against challengers Shawn Ryan, Chris Derrick, Cynthia Riddle, Peter Lefcourt, Shernold Edwards, Peter Murrieta, Doug Atchison, Stan Chervin, Jonathan Fernandez, Courtney Ellinger, Mark Amato, Aaron Mendelsohn, and Aaron Fullerton. The guild will host its annual Candidates Night forum, where members can grill the candidates, on September 3 at the guild’s La headquarters. Ballots […]...

Eva Longoria‘s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment has set up two more projects – a comedy at NBC and drama at Lifetime. The NBC project stars rising comedian Erik Rivera and is based on his life and standup. Comedy veteran Peter Murrieta will write the script and will executive produce with Scott Ellis, who is set to direct, and UnbeliEVAble’s Longoria and Ben Spector. The project stems from a deal UnbeliEVAble made with Rivera earlier this year to develop a vehicle based on his comedy. The setup is reminiscent of ABC’s The George Lopez Show, which also started with a well known actress, Sandra Bullock, championing a Latino comedian on the rise, Lopez, and partnering him with an established sitcom showrunner, Bruce Helford, for a comedy project starring Lopez and based on his standup. Rivera, repped by Ray Hughes Management and Loan Dang, is a familiar face to NBC brass — he...

Exclusive: ABC has put in development a multi-cam comedy from Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos‘ Milojo Prods. The untitled project, written by former General Hospital: Nightshift head writer Sri Rao, centers on a free-spirited single mom who’s raising two kids in Brooklyn and running a small design company with three of her best friends. Things take a turn when her conservative 16-year-old son starts interning at her company, intent on transforming the family business into a global empire. Ripa, Consuelos and Rao will executive produce for ABC Studios. Milojo has been actively developing for ABC, most recently selling a comedy written by Peter Murrieta last season. The company also has a non-scripted project in the early stages of series production, as well as digital projects in development. This marks the second network sale for Rao this season. He also is penning The Black Widow for NBC as part...

In his sophomore directorial effort, Jeff Garlin plays a comedian looking for inspiration for his next movie. Not much of a stretch. And judging by Dealin’ With Idiots, not much inspiration was found either. In this comedy described as being “fully improvised” despite a screenplay credit shared by Garlin and Peter Murrieta, the affable comedian/actor plays Max Morris, who decides that the neurotic, high-strung parents and coaches of his son’s Little League team would be the perfect subject for his next film project. The problem is, despite the fact that the cast is filled with a gallery of veteran

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Chicago – Jeff Garlin has created a good “character” in TV and films – a gruff but affable schlemiel that ambles through life as if distracted. He amplifies that role in his latest comedy, “Dealin’ with Idiots,’ but the loose improvisation style has too many unfunny stretches and an unpleasant spirit.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

The premise has potential – the overt weirdness and over competitiveness (from the parents) of kid’s sports, in this case baseball. Through a bevy of strange and overdone characters, kid’s baseball is shown to be pretty much what it is…a torturous showcase in which only the strong survive. The problem is that the situations strike only a couple notes once it establishes the weird coaches, overwrought parents and diffident kids. In the loose improvisational framework of the film, there obviously just wasn’t enough comic gold to be mined, although most of the funny people in the film...

Chicago – Jeff Garlin is what he is. He wants to emphasize that characteristic over any in the formation and development of his many characters – most famously as Jeff Greene on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and The Captain in the animated classic film “Wall-e.” Garlin also co-wrote and directed his latest film, “Dealin’ with Idiots.”

The film is a treatise on kid’s sports, in this case Little League baseball. Garlin portrays Max Morris, a “top twenty” comedian who simply wants his son to have fun playing the game. The other parents, the coaches and the rules conspire against that notion, and the Max character constantly fights against that system throughout the story. The film is off-beat and funny, using the same set-up and techniques as “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” with the actors improvising scenes based on an outline.

Jeff Garlin is Off Base in ‘Dealin’ with Idiots’

Photo credit: IFC Films

The...

For the unacquainted, Jeff Garlin is one of the funniest people around. Whether it’s on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, or any number of his other slew of credits, he’s always an absolute joy to watch. And you can be sure that his sophomore feature as writer-director, Dealin’ with Idiots, is going to be hilarious.

Hitting Us theatres next month, the film’s first trailer has debuted over on Yahoo Movies, with IFC giving us a great first look at Garlin’s upcoming comedy.

Faced with the absurd competitiveness surrounding his son’s youth league baseball team, Max Morris, a famous comedian, decides to get to know the colorful parents and coaches of the team better in an attempt to find the inspiration for his next movie.

Garlin takes the lead here as Max Morris. And he’s joined by a fantastic ensemble, led by Steve Agee, Gina Gershon,...

Comedian Jeff Garlin (Wall-e) is one of the more underrated talents in the comedy world. With a voice that's like a less cynical, more jovial Woody Allen, his directorial debut I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With was charming and unique. Now Garlin is back behind the camera (and in front of it) for Dealin' with Idiots, a somewhat meta story about a famous comedian (Garlin, not playing himself) who decides to use the rambunctious parents of his son's little league team as the inspiration for his next film. With a supporting cast that includes J.B. Smoove, Kerri Kenney and Timothy Olyphant, this looks like fun. Here's the first trailer for Jeff Garlin's Dealin' with Idiots from Yahoo: Dealin' with Idiots is directed by Jeff Garlin (director of I Want Someont to Eat Cheese With and star of Wall-e and "Curb Your Enthusiasm") who also wrote the script with...

Exclusive: ABC is finalizing a script deal for a comedy that will star Mark Consuelos and be executive produced by Consuelos and his wife, Live With Kelly & Michael host Kelly Ripa, through their Milojo Prods. Peter Murrieta will write the project based on an idea by Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment. Murrieta and Kaplan will executive produce with Consuelos and Ripa. The half-hour, produced by ABC Studios, centers on a blue-collar handyman from Queens (Consuelos) who enters the moneyed world of the Upper West Side, where he and his son become part of a non-traditional family unit. ABC Studios is producing. This is the second time ABC and ABC Studios are developing a comedy starring Consuelos and executive produced by him, Ripa and Kaplan. Two years ago, the network bought Port Love, a workplace comedy written by Jeffrey Hodes and Nastaran Dibai. All My Children alum Consuelos, repped by CAA,...

Exclusive: NBC has bought half-hour comedies from writer-actress Stephnie Weir and sitcom veteran Peter Murrieta. Coincidentally, the two were at Chicago’s Second City together. Weir’s Leisure Club, from Sony Pictures TV and studio-based Original Films, has received a script commitment with a sizable penalty from the network. It revolves around a group of younger Baby Boomers living in a 55+ retirement community who revert back to the archetypes they were in high school. Weir will executive produce with Original’s Neil Moritz and Vivian Cannon. Weir’s manager Meghan Schumacher will also produce. The project stems from the last of several blind script deals Weir had at Sony TV. The previous two resulted in two comedy pilot orders at ABC, for the Debra Messing starrer Wright vs. Wrong in 2010 and Counter Culture this past season. Weir is with UTA and attorney David Fox. Murrieta’s comedy is a multi-generational...

Sunday July 15th is the last day of Comic-Con 2012, and most of us will be completely worn out looking like Spider-Man in the image above. Chances are he's asleep under that mask. Sunday has always been a cool down day for us, we kind of just try to relax a little bit more and enjoy it. That doesn't mean their isn't anything to see or do though!

We've got a Fringe screening and Q&A, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer 20th Anniversary, Sons of Anarchy, the annual Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical screening, and more! I've always wanted to go the Buffy musical sing-a-long, but am usually trying to leave San Diego before it starts.

Just a little reminder, we will be having our annual GeekTyrant meet up this year to meet our readers, which is something we always enjoy doing! That will take place on Wednesday night, and...

The organizers of San Diego Comic-Con have released the official schedule of events for Sunday, July 15 which you can now view below.

San Diego Comic-Con – Sunday, July 15

10:00-11:00 Comic-Con How-to: Publishing Industry: From Manuscript to Industry — So you have the desire to write a book and get it published, but what does that really mean? Agents, editors, publishers, reviewers, self-publishing, traditional publishing, print on demand, ebooks, foreign language-the list goes on. What does it mean to “write for profit,” and what are the pitfalls to watch out for? Award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake gives you some insights into the real world that is the Publishing Industry. Warning: this seminar is not for the weak of spirit. Room 2

10:00-11:00 Spotlight on Jason Shiga — Comic-Con special guest Jason Shiga is best known for his interactive comics, including Meanwhile and Knock Knock. He will present a career retrospective detailing...

Press Release:

Cartoon Network Continues the Celebration at 2012 San Diego Comic-Con Network Announces Panels and Events Leading Up To 20th Birthday Bash in the Fall

At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Cartoon Network’s amplified Convention Center presence will include a fan-centric booth, buzzing with activity showcasing a life-sized, interactive re-creation of the living room from their hit series Regular Show, where lead characters Mordecai and Rigby spend a majority of their time. As the network prepares for its 20th Birthday celebration later this year, fans will have an opportunity to be filmed by Cartoon Network cameras in the Regular Show living room or in the Network’s 20th Birthday “confessional room” sharing some of their favorite Cartoon Network memories. Some lucky fans may even be featured on the Network during three upcoming marathon weekends! For fans and collectors alike, this year’s Comic-Con exclusive giveaways will include five...

Cartoon Network fans, clear your Comic-Con schedules, the network has announced their panels and events for San Diego this year. The shows that will be there include Adventure Time, Dreamworks Dragons, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and more.

Official Press Release:

Thursday, July 12

Dreamworks Dragons: Riders of Berk: (Room 6A) Picking up where the critically-acclaimed feature film, How to Train Your Dragon, left off, this weekly animated series follows the continuing adventures of master dragon trainer Hiccup, his faithful dragon Toothless and his friends on the island of Berk. Dragon training reaches new heights as our heroes unlock secrets about their dragons, explore wild frontiers and discover new dragon species, all while battling against fierce enemies they never dreamed existed. Come get a first look at the series, which premieres this fall on Cartoon Network, and hear from some of the talented dragon trainers who helped bring it to life.

Mad...