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A viral tweet from a WGA member picketing outside of Universal’s lot in Los Angeles included a photo of trees trimmed along the street near the SAG-AFTRA/WGA picket lines. The member pointed the timing of the trimming, which appeared to coincide with the protests and the day’s 90 degree weather.

Following the post on Monday, some guild members accused the studio of attempting to interfere with the ongoing strike’s picket lines by removing shade during the intense heat in Burbank.

Quick shoutout to the good people at...

The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board against NBCUniversal, accusing the studio of blocking pedestrian access to one of its main gates to interfere with picket lines.

In the complaints, the writers and actors’ guilds accuse the studio of blocking access to sidewalks next to its Lankershim Blvd. gate with fences erected for a construction project adjacent to the street.

In doing so, the WGA says NBCUniversal has “forc[ed] picketers to patrol in busy streets with significant car traffic where two picketers have already been struck by a car and by refusing to provide K-rail barriers to establish pedestrian walkways for picketers to use after Los Angeles Police Department advised the employer weeks ago in the interest of public safety to do so.”

In the process, WGA alleges, the studio has “interfered with, coerced, and restrained employees” from taking part in legally protected strike actions.

Things are getting heated between the studios, actors, and writers, figuratively and literally.

A minor controversy began brewing on the picket lines when a viral tweet from a WGA member protesting outside of Universal’s lot in Los Angeles noted that the studio trimmed the trees along the street near demonstrations, all when temperatures are hitting over 90 degrees up in Burbank.

Quick shoutout to the good people at @UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week. pic.twitter.com/aZvvPYQ23i

— Chris Stephens (@ChrisStephensMD) July 17, 2023

Deadline, which first reported on the controversy, even spoke with a WGA member outside Universal who called the tree trimming “very suspect,” wondering why branches were cut back on one side of the street near the studio gate and not the other.

When reached for comment by IndieWire, an NBCUniversal spokesperson said that the trimming is done annually for safety reasons,...

A row of previously bushy Ficus trees on Barham Boulevard that were inexplicably pruned over the hot weekend has only heightened the frustration of WGA strikers at Universal — especially since construction on the Lankershim Boulevard side has made it challenging to walk the picket line.

On Monday, strikers who chose to walk the line outside of Gate 8 were surprised to see how the parkland trees next to the gate, which previously offered a shady respite to protesters, were completely cut back. Pine trees on the opposite side of Barham weren’t touched, as were a row of pepper trees behind the fence near the production gate.

“It’s just been very frustrating, trying to get people to come out here and picket these gates,” admits on-site striker Deric A. Hughes, a co-executive producer on Quantum Leap who is also on the WGA Board of Directors. “It’s just very suspect.

America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill will debut online July 10th through 19th aspart of the 20th annual St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase. This historical documentary traces the roots of the venerable St. Louis neighborhood known as “The Hill.”. Check out the trailer:

America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill tells the story of this unique Italian-American neighborhood by looking at its past, present, and future. In the late 1800s, Italians immigrated to south St. Louis to work in the many clay mines there. These enterprising immigrants quickly took over the area and began to make it their own, building their own church, starting their own businesses and creating a self sufficient “city within a city.” The Hill has a vibrant athletic tradition, home to baseball royalty Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola, and multiple players on the 1950 U.S. soccer team that defeated England in what is referred to by many as...

Join our newsletter to get more stories like this Chris Stephens is part of a three-man hit team of hope in a series called Garage Rehab, now back for season two on Discovery. The experience Chris has running a real garage is invaluable to the people who seek out the show star Richard Rawlings in a bid to up their bottom line. Stephens is a garage owner himself, running Eurotech Classics in Fredricksburg, Maryland with his brother. Fans of the show know that Rawlings has built an empire as the owner of Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas, TX, and his […]

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