The Writers Guild of America (WGA, the writers) has been on strike since early May when talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP, the networks, studios and streamers) hit a stalemate. Three key issues at stake are wages, protections against AI and an overdue reckoning on streaming residuals. Regarding residuals, the status quo has been that writers receive residual payments whenever a show or film is licensed. In the era of streaming, however, giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime have not been licensing their (massively popular) content, at least not on a comparable scale. Quelle surprise, the big guys don’t want to make changes for a (more) equitable system.

The unfair dynamics stacked against the writers are the same for directors (DGA) and actors (SAG), both of which have June deadlines to reach their own deals with AMPTP, and the big question was could there be a triple-guild strike that would be a real show of power against AMPTP. Well, those hopes were dashed when the DGA struck a deal rather quickly in early June. Now all eyes turn to SAG to see if they reach a deal by the end of the month, or move to strike with the WGA. Methinks the studios are behind this doom and gloom reporting on what would happen to summer movies if SAG were to go on strike:

What happens if SAG doesn’t reach a deal by June 30: If that date comes and goes without a new deal in place, then union members (which include every movie star you can name) could hit the picket lines. That means they will not be available nor willing to promote their latest films. Already, the Writers Guild of America strike has caused promotional headaches for TV and streaming shows looking to launch Emmy campaigns. It’s also created dilemmas for publicists hoping to score press for writer clients with movies opening in theaters or debuting at Cannes or Tribeca.
Barbie in the crosshairs: The life cycle of a movie marketing campaign can vary, but in the case of most summer tentpoles the hype can start as early as two years prior to release, sources said–think first-look posters and teaser trailers. About four to six months before opening weekend, studios will engage long-lead publications for splashy cover stories, as Warner Bros. did recently for Ryan Gosling (GQ Style) and Margot Robbie (Vogue) in support of “Barbie.” That film is also set to junket on July 7-8, putting it in the strike’s crosshairs. Some interviews are being completed pre-strike deadline for a later rollout, according to one individual familiar with cast schedules.
You simply MUST have a red carpet: “Your last month is all about moving the needle,” added another veteran film marketer. This includes global photo calls with cast, domestic and international talk show appearance, multi-city red carpet premieres and weekly magazine covers. One studio executive said that, thanks to the writers strike, the major late-night shows are dark, and therefore aren’t an option at the moment. But, “not having a big red carpet the week the movie premieres? That will absolutely hurt.”
This is asinine: The executive, like many of those on the side of the studios and producers in the current guild faceoffs, is baffled by the idea of a work stoppage. “The union is fighting for wages. A strike is going to hurt box office grosses, which affects actors’ compensation. If I were someone like Margot Robbie, as a producer and star of ‘Barbie,’ I wouldn’t be happy,” they said. One publicist was already bracing for a summer without booking in-depth profiles in magazines or appearances on morning TV shows. “I guess I’m going to be pitching press on a lot of documentaries,” they said.

[From Yahoo]

“The union is fighting for wages. A strike is going to hurt box office grosses, which affects actor’s compensation.” Which is why you should never ask for a raise, ever! Give me a break. In case it isn’t obvious by now, I, like our president, am pro-union and would love for the actors to stand with their writers (as they already have been). Barbie and Oppenheimer both have scheduled press junket and release dates in July, so if SAG does strike there’s the concern that the stars won’t cross the picket line to promote the films. Perhaps I’m being too Pollyanna, but I think the interest in these films is great enough that people would either a) go to see them even if they didn’t catch Cillian Murphy on the Tonight Show beforehand, or b) wait until post-strike to see them. Red (pink?) carpet or not, people are GOING to see Barbie!

Last thought: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 (the title just rolls off the tongue) is facing less of a conflict because its press junket will be completed in June. Did Xenu orchestrate all this to give Tom Cruise his frickin’ IMAX screens?

A judge will allow E. Jean Carroll to sue Donald Trump again because he defamed her again, after she won her first defamation suit. [Jezebel]
How many parties is Chanel gonna throw at the Tribeca Film Festival? [Go Fug Yourself]
Hailey Bieber wants her fans to stop leaving nasty comments on her behalf. Yes, this was yet another sub-tweet of Selena Gomez. [Dlisted]
Chinese people are mocking “white people’s food.” [Buzzfeed]
Bennifer hates Donald Trump. [LaineyGossip]
The “twist” of The Crowded Room was obvious in the trailer. [OMG Blog]
Whoopi Goldberg wants to host Wheel of Fortune. [Seriously OMG]
Scarlett Johansson & Colin Jost held hands last night. [Just Jared]
Elsa Hosk’s fashion line is selling out. [Egotastic]
Naomi Watts wore Oscar de la Renta for her wedding to Billy Crudup. [RCFA]
The backstory on Marinette Pichon. [Towleroad]

People on Twitter often ask me when Prince William stopped being so close with his in-laws. I always go back to when I noticed the shift, and it was in 2021, all around the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace. William and Harry had started planning for the statue well before their big falling out, and Harry’s return to the UK for the unveiling was a major storyline for months in the British press. That’s when something curious happened: William banned Kate from the statue unveiling, and the Middletons absolutely lost their minds. I have no idea why William banned Kate from appearing, but I suspect that he didn’t want another repeat of the “Kate is the keen peacemaker/linchpin of the monarchy” storyline we got after Prince Philip’s funeral. Plus, William didn’t want his wife to keep staring longingly at his brother.

In any case, that was when I noticed a shift. The Middletons’ PR went into overdrive, friendly journalists were called and threats were issued. The Middletons were completely panicked that William was making a point of excluding Kate. Carole overplayed her hand in several ways, including briefing reporters that she was more of a mother to William than Diana ever was. After that, there definitely seemed to be a cooling off between William and the Middletons. It seemed like William and Kate were mostly living separately too.

Well, now that Carole Middleton has been outed as a morally and financially bankrupt scammer, it doesn’t look like William is doing much to help his in-laws. Not only that, but the Windsors writ large aren’t doing much to help out. I would even suggest that the Windsors are at least partially behind the reporting of just how badly Carole mismanaged Party Pieces. Which makes this little story in the Daily Express sort of interesting:

The Prince and Princess of Wales, who celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary in April this year, are known worldwide for being one of the most picture-perfect couples. A fairytale wedding, followed by three beautiful children, the future King and Queen appear to have a union of dreams. But, like any couple, their relationship hasn’t been without its rocky patches. In 2007, three years before their eventual engagement, Prince William and Princess Kate split up, a period well-documented as challenging for both of them.

Eventually, however, they found their way back together, and a royal expert has claimed that it wasn’t only Kate, but her close-knit family, who helped mend the divide.

Speaking in the Amazon Prime documentary William and Kate, Into The Future, released to celebrate their marriage in 2011, Andrew Morton — Princess Diana’s biographer — spoke of how William “yearned” for the stability the Middletons offered after his own parents’ divorce.
He said: “For a kid from a broken home which is, after all, what William is, he has always yearned towards the stable and towards the steady. It’s not just Kate he’s in love with — it’s the family.”

In the documentary, royal author and journalist Richard Kay spoke of how William seeks to avoid repeating old mistakes in his own marriage. He said: “Everything about William you can trace back to what happened to his parents. He lived through the bitter break up of their marriage. He knows that what happened to them destroyed their marriage and he is very careful not to make the same mistakes.”

[From The Daily Express]

While the Express and other British outlets reaggregate the same old news constantly, it’s curious that they decided to go with this right now, this week, as Party Pieces crashed and burned and the Times and Daily Mail are calling out Carole Middleton’s lies, debt and fraud. Perhaps we’re meant to reflect on just how badly William got played by the Middletons, how desperate he was to be mothered by Carole, what bad judgment he had about this whole family.

Note by CB: Get the Top 10 stories about the Middletons’ shady finances when you sign up for our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays after lunch.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

The Princess of Wales has not been seen since she was sent out to provide some counter-programming to Prince Harry’s two-day testimony in a London court last week. Kate stepped out on consecutive days to perform these half-assed skits at hastily thrown-together events, like “Kate wants to meet low-income moms in Windsor” and “something about mental health, early years and rugby!” Kate also hasn’t been seen since the extent and breadth of her mother’s financial catastrophe was revealed last week. Maybe that’s it – Kate is in hiding, Kate was told to simmer down and stay quiet.

Whatever happened, it looks like Kate wasn’t invited to last night’s screening. Instead, William brought along a blonde date: the Duchess of Edinburgh, his aunt. They attended the Royal Foundation’s screening of Rhino Man, a documentary about the wildlife rangers in South Africa, and the documentary is also about Anton Mzimba, a ranger who was murdered by wildlife traffickers. You can read more about the screening here. The screening was either co-hosted by United for Wildlife or the screening profited the NGO in some way.

Is this a new era in royal pairings? Perhaps. I have to say, Sophie is positively glowing in these photos, she was so pleased to be invited to this screening. She chose a great dress too – while the ruffle at the shoulder is tedious, the color and print of this Erdem dress is gorgeous. The dress retails for £1,350. She looks ten years younger standing next to William. This also makes me wonder if something is being left unsaid about Prince Edward, who seems to have lost some weight recently, and he’s been looking like he’s in poor health. Hm. A missing Edward and a missing Kate.

PS… I cannot WAIT for the dozens of stories about how William and Sophie are the new “power duo” of the monarchy and how they should be paired up for glitzy events all the time.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

In the beginning of May, Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce from Kevin Costner. They were together for 25 years and married for 19 years. They have three children together, all of them under the age of 18. Costner was reportedly “blindsided” by Christine’s divorce filing and “sources close to Costner” suggested that he wanted to forget this whole divorce thing and get back together with her. There were plenty of rumors about why Christine suddenly filed, but I’m not sure any of those rumors panned out. Or it’s possible that Costner simply has a very good damage-control crisis-management team in place. Speaking of, after Costner got hosed in his first divorce, he apparently made Christine sign a pretty strict prenup. The prenup has a clause which basically says that in the case of a divorce, all of their homes are solely owned by Costner, and Christine would have to vacate all of their residences. Well, guess who is refusing to vacate?

Kevin Costner says his estranged wife Christine is refusing to pack her stuff and leave their home despite the clear terms of their prenup … claiming he’s already given her well over a million bucks to find a new place.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kevin says according to their prenup, Christine had 30 days to vacate the home he owns when she filed for divorce on May 1, but she still hasn’t left.

The docs say Kevin’s now asking for the court to get her out, and adds she shouldn’t be able to stay in the house … only using her position as leverage to make Kevin agree to her “various financial demands.”

Kevin claims he’s already given her a whopping $1.2 million per his obligations under the prenup — and says overall, the amount he’s shelled out has grown to around $1.45 million … money she now has available to lock down a new place.

The docs even say he’d be open to contributing as part of his child support obligations $30K per month for a rental house and is willing to advance another $10K for her moving costs.

As we reported, Kevin insists he owns all 3 of their homes, and their long-standing prenup — signed back in 2004 — specifically stated she had to fully vacate upon filing for divorce. TMZ broke the story, sources familiar told us Christine’s filing last month was a huge shock to him — adding it was a pretty devastating move … so something like this might be giving Kevin an even bigger headache.

[From TMZ]

Yeah… methinks this is one of the many reasons why Christine filed for divorce. You’re going to spend 25 years with someone, you’re going to have three minor children with someone, and then when she files for divorce, you’re going to run to court to evict her from the family home where she has been raising your children for nearly two decades? Please. And as I said – Christine only filed in early May. Does Costner really expect her to be out of the house in six weeks? That’s unreasonable, especially given that Costner has multiple homes and he’s probably not even IN Los Angeles right now. It’s petty and vindictive.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Lisa Marie Presley passed away on January 12 of this year. Before January was even over, Priscilla Presley and her lawyers had moved to invalidate LM’s will, a will which would have given vast oversight of Lisa Marie’s estate to Riley Keough. Lisa Marie had made it clear for years that she wanted Riley and Ben (who passed away in 2020) to be the executors of her estate. But Priscilla was so mad, she marched to court just after she buried her daughter. It was extremely tacky, and it set off a months-long legal fight between Riley and Priscilla. A month ago, they managed to settle it, and the terms weren’t released… until now. Riley is now the sole trustee of her mother’s estate.

One month after Riley Keough and grandmother Priscilla Presley reached an agreement over the late Lisa Marie Presley’s estate, the Daisy Jones & the Six star has become its sole trustee, PEOPLE confirms. Riley, 34, petitioned the court to approve last month’s settlement agreement in documents filed Monday in Los Angeles and obtained by PEOPLE. Entertainment Tonight was first to report the news.

The actress’s lawyer Justin Gold writes that if the court approves the petition that Riley will not charge for her services as a trustee; therefore, “the beneficiaries all save money that would have gone to Priscilla who was going to charge a trustee fee.” In the documents, Gold adds: “In settling the claims pending in Priscilla’s Petition, the parties are saving significant legal fees by avoiding litigation, and they are likewise avoiding the spectacle of intra-family litigation that would have been inimical to Lisa’s wishes and not in the best interests of the family.”

Riley — who will be the sole trustee of her mother’s estate and of the sub-trusts for her 14-year-old twin sisters Harper and Finley Lockwood — will also safeguard and invest the money “in a manner consistent with the needs of the beneficiaries, and not influenced by the desire of a Trustee,” according to Gold.

Priscilla, meanwhile, will be Trustee of the sub-trust of her son (and Lisa Marie’s half-brother) Navarone Garibaldi, who will be granted 1/9 of the Trust, the documents reportedly state. The rest will be split among Riley, Finley and Harper, and Priscilla will also receive a one-time, lump sum payment from the Trust for an undisclosed amount. Per the documents, Priscilla, 78, was officially removed as Trustee of her late daughter’s estate on May 11, and that the change will remain in place whether Riley’s petition is approved or not, as Priscilla signed a settlement agreement.

Multiple sources said the legal proceedings caused Riley and Priscilla to stop speaking to each other. “They do not see eye to eye,” said a Presley family insider.

[From People]

While it’s much more complicated than I imagined, the basic gist is what I guessed: Riley threw money at her grandmother to get Priscilla to back down. Priscilla wanted as much control as possible over the estate and the trust, and Riley had to agree to a “one-time, lump sum payment from the Trust for an undisclosed amount” to get Priscilla to remove herself from the trust. What a tacky thing for Priscilla to do to Riley, my god. Riley gave birth to her first child in late 2022 as well – not only did Riley lose her mom soon after she gave birth, but she had to deal with her grandmother’s f–kery. I feel so bad for her.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Jake Gyllenhaal and his longtime girlfriend Jeanne Cadieu went to the French Open men’s singles final too. She’s 27 years old now, just FYI. [LaineyGossip]
The Idol is trainwreck television. [Pajiba]
Republicans tell young women: give up on your dreams & your birth control. [Jezebel]
Rest in peace, Treat Williams.[JustJared]
This just sounds unsanitary, not decadent. [Dlisted]
Jennifer Lopez stepped out in a funky dress. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Tony the Tiger went to the Tonys! [GFY]
What it’s really like to marry into a wealthy family. [Buzzfeed]
A lot of the Duggar kids have little to no education. [Starcasm]
Malibu Barbie cafes will pop up in cities ahead of the Barbie movie. [Towleroad]
Sienna Miller’s Erdem dress looks so stiff and uncomfortable. [RCFA]

I still think it’s kind of weird that Zooey Deschanel is with Jonathan Scott, one half of HGTV’s Property Brothers. Zooey is so twee and offbeat, it feels like she would only date banjo repairmen or professional chalk artists but here she is with a guy with a lifestyle brand and a popular show on cable. Zooey is also a mom of two and she runs a business with her ex-husband Jacob Pechenik. She was recently interviewed by the Wall Street Journal because she’s joining the cast of AppleTV’s Physical. She has a lot on her plate, but I think she’s just like that – she likes to stay busy and have a million side projects. Some highlights from her interview:

Whether she would ever reprise or reboot New Girl: “It kind of depends on the circumstance. I wouldn’t want to spend the rest of my life doing reboots, but I definitely had a wonderful time and would be very happy to revisit.”

What she consumes first in the morning: “I make a pot of coffee, and it’s all for me because Jonathan doesn’t drink coffee. I don’t really eat breakfast a lot. I snack around, snacky snack. It would be my dream for someone to make me an omelet, but that would never happen in my life.”

Her role in Physical: “I worked out pretty much five days a week and tried to eat pretty healthy because it’s a lot of leotards. I also play a figment of Rose Byrne’s character Sheila’s imagination, so I kind of have two characters. One’s a version of the sitcom character, and one’s the real person who’s an actor who has a little bit of a fitness empire. I have two different wigs and I get to wear all kinds of fun outfits.

On TikTok “twee core”: “I love it. I love twee. I love “twee core.” I consider myself an advocate of twee.

Jonathan build her a solarium in their new house: “I love the solarium, because it’s the most unusual room. It’s a big glass room that’s two stories high and I had had a dream of having one for a long time. When I first met Jonathan, I told him about how much I wanted a solarium. He made it happen. It feels like you’re indoors and outdoors at the same time—like you’re in Europe or something.

Her favorite thing to do with Jonathan: “Escape rooms, that’s our thing. We like to take the kids to family movies. We like to go to parties and have parties.

What she splurges on: “Clothes. I have a lot of vintage pieces. When I was pretty young, I bought a Courrèges collection at a vintage fashion expo. I still have that. I was really young and I didn’t have that much money and they were all my size. The lady kind of took, not pity, on me but she knew how much I wanted it so she gave me a really good deal. I think I bought four Courrèges pieces for $1,000 or something.

What piece of advice she’s gotten which helped her: “Just don’t go away. If you stick it out, even when it’s hard, that’s where you get the real value and that’s where you start seeing success. Sometimes it takes so much longer to see success than you think it’s going to. Especially in entertainment, there’s so many ups and downs. I’ve had that many times in my career. There’s always going to be good and bad and if you believe in what you’re doing—just stick with it.

[From WSJ]

I think the “stick it out” advice is particular to actors and artists, as in – keep following your dreams, keep trying to book jobs, stay with it. It’s not a general piece of advice to “stick it out” everywhere, all the time, in every situation. There are plenty of times when people should walk away and do something else, professionally and personally. And yes, Zooey does love twee core and everything twee and vintage. It’s her style, it’s what she enjoys, and so be it. It’s not for me! I do think it’s funny that the twee stuff has not only gone mainstream, but the “vintage look” which is part of Zooey’s celebrity brand is basically the same 1950s-housewife look fetishized and adopted by “trad wives” on TikTok.

Photo courtesy of Avalon Red.

A month ago, Taylor Swift and Matt Healy were chugging along and Taylor’s boyfriend rollout was going full-throttle. Healy had joined her in Nashville for her Eras concert, and they were seen together by Nashville-based paparazzi (?). Then, they moved along to New York, where Matt was seen going in and out of Taylor’s Tribeca condo. Around that same one-week period, Taylor and Matt were seen and photographed at Casa Cipriani, a private, members-only club. Someone sold these photos to the tabloids/photo agencies:

Taylor Swift and Matty Healy spotted out for dinner with Jack Antonoff. pic.twitter.com/PCgOQToxav

— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 11, 2023

As you can see, Taylor and Matt were holding hands and it was like one more big confirmation to the Snake Fam that Swealy was really happening. Less than a month after those photos were taken, Swealy was over. But for Taylor, there was still a betrayal to be dealt with – Casa Cipriani has specific policies in place to ensure their A-list clientele will not be bothered or photographed within their establishment. Those policies were breached. So Taylor canceled her membership:

A source tells Page Six that Taylor Swift has pulled her membership from NYC’s swanky members-only club Casa Cipriani after some guests posted photos of her on a date Matt Healy last month. The club has a no-pic policy and bounced the offending members for snapping the photos of Swift and the 1975 rocker, Healy. When reached for comment, the club denied that Swift bailed on being a member.

Page Six reported at the time, “at least three members got kicked out for taking pictures of Taylor,” according to a source. The same source added at the time, “Taylor came knowing the policy, and then had to leave” because of the intrusive snappers. “They are cracking down now like crazy.”

The private club also sent out a memo telling its members, “It has come to our attention that images have been captured at the club in recent days that have infringed upon the privacy of our members.”

The email, seen by Page Six, had added, “It is important to note that any member who violates these policies will face immediate revocation of their membership.”

We now hear that two members were permanently banned, while one was put on suspension, and now has to reapply for membership.

A rep for the club tells us that it “is absolutely not true,” that Swift has canceled her membership, but confirmed that, “Casa Cipriani revoked memberships to a few members for infringing our club rules.”

The luxe club, which opened in August 2021, has become a favorite for top celebs like Leonardo DiCaprio and Naomi Campbell.

[From Page Six]

I hate basically everything about this. While I’m no Swiftie, Taylor should be able to have quiet dates with her garbage boyfriends without worrying about being photographed. Of course, I also just hate the fact that all of these private clubs are popping up all over the place in New York and LA. I blame the expatriate Brits in America – they brought their classism and their “private members-only clubs are cool” mentality to our shores. It’s America – just go to a f–king bar or a regular nightclub. Anyway, I bet Taylor did drop her membership and I bet Casa Cipriani is sh-tting itself.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Prince William was out and about today in London, for the opening of Centrepoint’s Reuben House. Reuben House is part of Centrepoint’s independent-living initiative, to help homeless or unhoused youths in South London find a way to get back on their feet. It’s meant as a transitional place for young people to stay before they hopefully move on to their own apartments or homes.

William has been a patron of Centrepoint for decades, and to his credit (I rarely say this), he tends to do a lot of “work” with Centrepoint, especially compared to his other patronages. He believes homelessness is one of his core issues, an issue for which he can make change. Unfortunately, William does all of these Centrepoint events and then returns to one of his four mansions and palaces and continues to have access to the most vast real estate empire in the UK, through the Duchy of Cornwall. William used to have big plans for how he was going to allow homeless people to live in royal properties. Notice we haven’t heard much about that since he became Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall.

Incidentally, William’s “meeting” with Labour leader Keir Starmer last week flew under the radar with most royal reporters. I theorized that William wanted to look like he could do something “political” too, just like Harry. But I’ve also seen some reporting that William was actually meeting Starmer to talk about homelessness? Per the Express, William had official meetings with Starmer and Michael Gove to tell them about a “new project” he will launch in a few weeks. It sounds like he’s specifically timing an announcement of a new project for his 41st birthday on June 21. Why would… Starmer and Gove need a briefing about it and not the prime minister? Hm.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.