LOS ANGELES
'Get Out,' 'Call Me By Your Name' win Writers Guild Awards
Jordan Peele's social satire horror "Get Out" and James Ivory's adaptation of the coming-of-age novel "Call Me By Your Name" have won the top honors from the Writers Guild of America.
Peele won the prize for best original screenplay and Ivory for adapted at the Writers Guild Awards held in Los Angeles and New York Sunday night.
"Get Out" and "Call Me By Your Name" are also nominated for original and adapted screenplay Oscars.
The Writers Guild also gave Brett Morgen the best documentary screenplay award for "Jane."
In television, "The Handmaid's Tale" won best drama series and best new series, "Veep" got best comedy series.
"Big Little Lies" won best adapted long form.
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
Southern California weather turns showery with mountain snow
Southern California weather has done an about-face, with scattered showers and mountain snow replacing dry, gusty winds and unseasonably warm temperatures.
The National Weather Service says the wet and much cooler conditions will persist from Monday through midweek.
Forecasters say high temperatures will be anywhere from 10 degrees to 25 degrees cooler than Sunday's highs and highest rainfall totals will range from a quarter inch to a half inch (0.64 centimeter to 1.27 centimeter).
In Santa Barbara County, officials are monitoring the system but do not anticipate a need for evacuations in areas at risk for debris flows like the one that hit Montecito last month.
Despite that deluge, Southern California is seeing drought conditions with rainfall totals well below normal.
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
'Peter Rabbit' team apologizes for making light of allergies
"Peter Rabbit" filmmakers and the studio behind it are apologizing for insensitively depicting a character's allergy in the film that has prompted backlash online.
Sony Pictures says Sunday in a joint statement with the filmmakers that "food allergies and are a serious issue" and the film "should not have made light" of a character being allergic to blackberries "even in a cartoonish, slapstick way."
In "Peter Rabbit" which was released this weekend, the character of Mr. McGregor is allergic to blackberries. The rabbits fling the fruit at him in a scene and he is forced to use an EpiPen.
The charity group Kids with Food Allergies posted a warning about the scene on its Facebook page Friday prompting some on Twitter to start using the hashtag #boycottpeterrabbit. The group said that allergy jokes are harmful to their community and that making light of the condition "encourages the public not to take the risk of allergic reactions seriously."
Kenneth Mendez, the president and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, wrote an open letter to the studio Saturday asking for the opportunity to educate the company and the film's cast on the realities of food allergies and urged the studio to "examine your portrayal of bullying in your films geared toward a young audience."
The studio and filmmakers say that they, "Sincerely regret not being more aware and sensitive to this issue, and we truly apologize."
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
SAG-AFTRA union sets code of conduct on sexual harassment
The entertainment industry union SAG-AFTRA has issued a code of conduct in an effort to protect its members from sexual harassment in the workplace.
The code published Saturday says that employers are obligated to provide a harassment-free workplace and must have mechanisms for reporting it without fear of retaliation.
SAG-AFTRA also says members acting as producers or supervisors are also subject to the same laws and rules as employers. It also encourages members to act as active bystanders and stop any misconduct witnessed, support those who speak up and report violations.
The union has given a number of resources and information in its code of conduct including its 24-hour hotline for members witnessing sexual harassment.
"To truly change the culture we must be courageous and willing," said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris in a statement. "At its most basic, this Code will ultimately help better define what harassment is, and what members' rights are in real world situations."
SAG-AFTRA represents some 160,000 entertainment industry professions, from actors to broadcast journalists.
Associated Press
