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Exclusive: Fia Perera has wrapped production on her first narrative feature, Mermaid, an expansion of her 2020 short film of the same name, which she wrote and directed.

The cast includes Devyn McDowell (Jerry and Marge Go Large), Arturo Luíz Soria (Found), Nat Faxon (The Way Way Back), Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live), Mary Birdsong (Succession), Tom Kiesche (Breaking Bad) and Missi Pyle (Harlan Coben’s Shelter).

In Mermaid, a 10-year-old boy wanting desperately to be a mermaid crosses paths with a grief-stricken, unraveling drag queen, and a deep connection is forged… One that they will risk everything for.

Shot in Cape Cod and Los Angeles, the film’s producers are Ryan Lacen, Jenica Bergere, Hilliard Guess, Tyler Musikanth, Toni Long and Mary Vernieu. Jeffrey Sobrato, Sheri Sobrato, Safe Space and Perera Picture are the executive producers, and Findley Davidson handled casting.

A passionate LGBTQ+ advocate committed to amplifying the voices...

The WGA West will host a Juneteenth panel discussion on Friday, June 19. “Though this day historically commemorates Black liberation and community,” the guild said, “members of all backgrounds are encouraged to join this important conversation on race and racism in America.”

The virtual panel, “Juneteenth 2020: From Pandemic to Protests,” will be moderated by Ali Le Roi, creator of Everybody Hates Chris and Are We There Yet? It starts at 2 Pm. Guild members can register here to take part.

Panelists include:

• Melody Cooper

• Berwick Mahdi Davenport

• Charles Murray (writer-producer)

• Janine Sherman-Barrois

• Rashad Robinson

The 90-minute panel is being presented by Shonda Rhimes and Glen Mazzara, co-chairs of the guild’s Inclusion and Equity Group, and by Committee of Black Writers co-chairs Michelle Amor and Hilliard Guess, and vice chair Bianca Sams.

The Inclusion...

In an open letter to Hollywood, the co-chairs of the WGA West’s Committee of Black Writers said today that they are grieving, angry and “unapologetically demanding systemic change” throughout the industry in the wake of nationwide protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“We need to revolutionize the way our industry hires writers,” – Michelle Amor, Hilliard Guess and Bianca Sams wrote. “The entertainment industry needs to implement forward-looking project development and staffing practices, including attracting, developing, mentoring, hiring, and retaining the next generations of diverse writers, directors, producers and executives, at all levels.”

Calling for action, not words, they told industry leaders that “either you commit to a new, institutionalized system of accountability with and to Black writers, or you prove that you’re putting on just another strategic, virtue-signaling performance deemed necessary to survive the times.”

Here is the letter in its entirety:

Dear Hollywood,

As Black Americans,...

The Writers Guild of America West has issued an open letter from its committee of black writers, the first time the guild has released a statement specifically from one of its committees, that calls on Hollywood and the studios to do more than just issue statements of support and actually prioritize the hiring of black writers.

The three-page letter penned by Wgaw Committee of Black Writers co-chairs Michelle Amor, Hilliard Guess and vice chair of the committee Bianca Sams invokes “The Birth of a Nation” as a symbol of generations of oppression in Hollywood and cites a 2020 UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report that says black writers received only 5.6% of all the writing jobs among 2019 films.

“Some have tried to blame this on a shortage of Black writers, yet there are at least 808 self-identified Black writers in the Guild; we have been here, ready to work,” the letter reads. “We need to...

Here's a little comedy to start your weekend. Written by Penelope Lowder and directed by Hilliard Guess, 4Closure spends a day in the life of an off-beat couple deciding whether to part ways. The 15-minute short is executive produced by Guess and Alisa Banks. From the film's website: It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, birds singing, sun shining, by all accounts it should be a perfect day... but for this couple, it'll be one they'll never forget. Sheila Robinson, the ever-loving devoted wife who's at her wits end, has some big decisions to make.  But unbeknownst to her oblivious husband Leonard Robinson, he won't be a part of the decision making.  Over the course...