Category: News

‘NCIS: New Orleans’ Producer Investigated Again, Even as CBS Renews Overall Deal

Normally, we wouldn’t be posting this news article because strictly speaking it isn’t about actually writing TV. But when we saw this on our Writing & Showbiz Newswatch, we did a double-take. Read on and, as writers, you’ll see how upsetting this situation is for those of us who toil in the fields of the Industry every day:

by Maureen Ryan

NCIS: New Orleans producer CBS Television Studios is hiring an outside investigator to look into allegations of harassment and misconduct against Brad Kern, the former executive producer and showrunner of the CBS procedural, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. At the same time, CBS Television Studios has inked a new two-year overall deal with Kern. read article

Meltdown on Set of South African Epic Series – Wow!

If you’ve been feeling sorry for yourself because your showbiz career isn’t going quite the way you want it to, we bring you this little news nugget in the hope that it will brighten your day.

Assuming, of course, that seeing a huge professional TV series staffed by major pros implode can be a day-brightener. In other words, we’ll understand if you pretend not to feel better about your own lot after  you read this news report from South Africa:

Don’t complain to us, folks. This is the pic that originally ran with this news story!

by Charl Blignaut – City Press

Johannesburg – It has been a week of high drama behind the scenes of an epic new Zulu historical series called Uselwa, which is intended for broadcast on SABC1 towards the end of the year. read article

“Cocky” Trademark Rescinded!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when we wrote about the author who trademarked the word “cocky” and demanded that all books that included it in the title be removed from the country’s bookshelves.  Here’s the latest on the situation and the furor it caused:

In other words, “Denied, denied, denied!”

Judge Denies Author Attempt to Trademark ‘Cocky’
by Jim Milliot

In a decision handed down late last week, Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York denied a motion by an author requesting that a preliminary injunction be issued to prevent publication a number of books that include the word “cocky” in the title.

This spring, author Faleena Hopkins obtained a trademark registration of the word “cocky” in connection with her series of self-published romance novels, each featuring one of her Cocker Brothers characters. Before filing suit, Hopkins sought to block the sale of other romance books that included “cocky” in their title, and sent letters to authors telling them to change the title of their books. Hopkins also asked Amazon to pull other books featuring “cocky” in their titles from sale. read article

Apple is Now a WGA Signatory Employer

by TVWriter™ Press Service

Late last week, the Writers Guild of America West made an important, even exciting announcement that has the potential of changing the balance of power in the electronic media industry.

Here it is in its entirety:

Writers Guild of America West June 2018 Calendar

Knowing what’s going on in the Writers Guild can be helpful in many, many ways, even if you aren’t a member. So, for your edification:

Sorry, this version is not clickable.