Scores of Boston University students turned their backs on the head of one of Hollywood's biggest studios, and some shouted “pay your writers,” as he gave the school's commencement address Sunday in a stadium where protesters supporting the Hollywood writers' strike picketed outside.
About 100 protesters chanted “No wages, no pages,” waved signs and were accompanied by an inflatable rat outside Nickerson Field as David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, gave his address inside the stadium. Thousands of graduating students, family members and educators attending the graduation ceremony had to walk by the protesters to enter the stadium.
Above the stadium, a small plane flew a banner that read, “David Zaslav — pay your writers.”
Kim Caramele, a writer and producer from North Stonington, Connecticut, said she hoped the protesters' presence at the graduation ceremony helped give students a different perspective on what they should value in life.
“The writers being here today can help show the students that wealth is different than good," said Caramele, a winner of Emmy and Peabody awards for work on her sister's show, “Inside Amy Schumer.”
Inside the stadium, scores of students wearing red graduation gowns stood up during Zaslav's speech and turned their backs on him. Other students booed during his speech and shouted in support of the striking writers.
Zaslav, a graduate of the university’s law school in the mid-1980s, was a contentious pick, with many alumni taking to social media with their objections.
In a statement after the event, Zaslav said, “I am grateful to my alma mater, Boston University, for inviting me to be part of today’s commencement and for giving me an honorary degree, and, as I have often said, I am immensely supportive of writers and hope the strike is resolved soon and in a way that they feel recognizes their value.”
Saying the rise of streaming has hurt their earning power, about 11,500 members of the Writers Guild for America walked off the job at the beginning of May, after talks on a new contract broke down, and they haven’t returned to the negotiating table since. It’s the first writers’ strike — and the first Hollywood strike of any kind — in 15 years.
The union is seeking higher minimum pay, more writers per show and shorter exclusive contracts, among other demands — all conditions it says have been diminished in the content boom driven by streaming.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has said that it had offered “generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals,” including the highest first-year wage increase in a WGA contract in more than 25 years, and the creation of a new category of rates that would mean a new, higher minimum for mid-level writers.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
