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  • Why the mall is getting roasted on social
    A woman with light skin and straight black hair is wearing a blue T-shirt that reads "Writers Guild of America" while holding a sign, raising both arms and shouting with her mouth wide open. The words on the sign read "Writers Guild of America on Strike!" and behind her are more people picketing with the same sign.
    Writers Guild of America members and supporters picket in front of Warner Bros. Studio on the first day of the writers strike on May 2, 2023, in Burbank, California.

    Topline:

    The WGA and studios are meeting again on Sunday, continuing talks for a fifth day at a shopping mall.

    A mall, you say? The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group representing the studios and streamers, is based at the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

    What's new: As anticipation builds for a potential deal for Hollywood writers, the mall is getting some good-natured roasting.

    Go deeper: Selling Prized Possessions And Going Into Debt — How Angelenos Are Surviving The Hollywood Strikes

    AMPTP: A Dive Into The Hollywood Execs' Powerful Negotiations Group

    Hollywood writers and studios are back at the negotiating table on Sunday, the fifth straight day of a round of renewed talks.

    Anticipation has been building for a potential deal since negotiations restarted between the two sides last week.

    Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), as well as from the actors union, have been on strike for months to fight for better wages and AI protections. Pickets are a common sight at a number of locations, including at Amazon in Culver City, Warner Bros. in Burbank, and Netflix in Hollywood.

    But one place has been comparatively under the radar: The Sherman Oaks Galleria.

    The 250,000-square-foot open-air shopping center at the corner of Ventura and Sepulveda Boulevards boasts an array of contemporary consumer comforts — Starbucks, a Regal cinema, P.F. Chang, a Cheesecake Factory.

    As it happens, it also houses the headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), where the group representing studios and streamers have been bargaining with the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

    As Hollywood waits for word on a deal, some are having a little fun at the expense of the suburban mall.

    But what do you expect? Writers are gonna write, strike or no strike.

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