WGA West Alerts Members to Non-Compliant Producer

In an apparent attempt to forestall future problems and up the ante on non-compliant producers the WGA West notified members Friday about several companies "owned by or related to" strike-listed producer Courtney Solomon, even though the companies are not themselves on the strike list.The companies in the advisory are After Dark Films, LLC; Autonomous Acquisitions, LLC; and Autonomous Films, LLC. The email describes them as "dominated by or related to an individual who is on the Strike List and who has engaged in unfair business practices against Guild members."Attempts to reach Solomon Friday night were unsuccessful. The Strike List is the WGA's way of informing members about producers that do not comply with the guild agreement or arbitration awards. Members are prohibited from working for companies on the list.According to the WGA, the listing of Solomon and several of his Sweetpea companies resulted from their noncompliance with a federal court judgment totaling more than $500,000. The email says that the judgment resulted from the failure of Solomon and the Sweetpea companies to pay residuals to the writers of the 2000 film "Dungeons & Dragons."The carefully worded email alert is an apparent first. It acknowledges that members are permitted to work for companies not on the strike list (so long as they are signatories to the guild agreement), but says the advisory was sent in order to "provide members with information, which they may take into account as they see fit."The email reflects a policy established within the last year, according to a source by the guild's board of directors. The email says the policy will be to issue "periodic advisories notifying WGAW members of companies or individuals who have engaged in employment practices detrimental to writers."Of course, the effect will be to warn writers of the risks of working for such companies or selling spec scripts to them and, probably, to discourage some writers from doing so.Also listed in the advisory are Solomon himself, Sweetpea Entertainment Corporation, Sweetpea Entertainment, Inc., and Sweetpea (BVI) Limited. All four appear on the strike list, which bars WGA members from working for them.Solomon produced and directed "Dungeons & Dragons," a 2000 film that was distributed by New Line and grossed about $15 million domestically, according to IMDb, and almost $34 million worldwide. The WGA describes Solomon as primarily a horror producer, and IMDb lists 23 producer or executive producer credits for him.The publicly-accessible WGA web page relating to the Strike List references no parallel list of companies owned by or related to strike-listed producers, although it could not be determined whether such a list is posted in a members-only area. The Hollywood Reporter

VIDEO: Barbra Streisand Shares Memories from Hit Song

Barbra Streisand Barbra Streisand is celebrating her friends and collaborators on her newest album, What Matters Most. In the video below, Streisand recalls her first memory of meeting Alan and Marilyn Bergman, the duo behind many of her hit songs and covers such as "'The Way We Were," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," and "Papa Can You Hear Me?" Streisand, 69, says it took a long time before she understood the lyrics to their song "The Windmills of Your Mind." "When I first heard "The Windmills of Your Mind" it was so complex and I probably never took the time to analyze it ... It became really interesting to me and I love it now," she says. What Matters Most, Streisand's first new album since 2009, will be available Aug. 22. Watch the video of Streisand and Marilyn Bergman below:

Here's Every Single Death From The 'Final Destination' Series

Have you ever thought to yourself, Boy, I really want to see people killed in absolutely awful ways for 11 minutes straight? If you answered yes, then this video is for you! The folks over at Screened have decided to put together a montage of every single death in the last four 'Final Destination' films, and it is not pretty. If you have any thought of watching this at work, you may want to think twice. There's lots and lots and lots and lots and LOTS of gruesome stuff going on in this video. Seriously, viewer discretion is advised. But, for fans of the franchise, watch away! [via Screened and /Film]

WGAE inks Onion News writers pact

The writers on the Onion News Network have reached their first-ever collective bargaining agreement covering the show.The Writers Guild of America East, which repped the Onion News scribes, made the announcement Tuesday''The ONN writers stood together and won real improvements,'' said WGA East Executive Director Lowell Peterson. ''We welcome them into the WGAE and we look forward to a productive relationship with the company.'' The WGA said the agreement will increase minimum weekly compensation and provide pension and health contributions, retroactive to the start of writing earlier this summer. The producers also agreed to add writers and writing weeks.The ONN's second season begins on Sept. 30 with 10 weekly episodes.Peterson said more than 70 Guild members from other New York-based comedy shows signed a letter supporting the ONN writers and hundreds of guild members sent emails to the producers.The deal covers the upcoming season and any renewals. There are currently seven writers in the unit. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com