WHY ARE SCREENWRITERS FIGHTING WITH HOLLYWOOD TALENT AGENCIES?

(Starts at 1:00)

The image that many of us have of talent agents– perhaps thanks to shows like "Entourage"– is that they are ruthless in their pursuit of money and on behalf of their clients' careers. In Hollywood these days the actual relationship between screenwriters and their talent agencies are being questioned. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is in negotiations right now with the Association of Talent Agents (ATA) over a number of issues, including certain fees that were not previously made transparent that go to agencies and, at times, take money out of TV budgets.

John Horn talks with Chris Keyser, former WGA President and current co-chair of the WGA negotiating committee. Horn also talks with Karen Stuart, Executive Director of the ATA.

"GIRL" IS THE LATEST TRANS STORY THAT FEATURES A CIS-GENDER ACTOR

(Starts at 13:43)

When filmmaker Lukas Dhont set out to tell a story of a transgender ballet dancer based on the life of Nora Monsecour, he didn’t anticipate the backlash his film would receive. He was inspired by an article Monsecour wrote in 2008 about transitioning while maintaining a dance career. The film sheds light on the conservative atmosphere within ballet schools. But Dhont’s choice to cast a cis-male dancer to portray Monsecour drew criticism from the LGBTQ community and organizations like GLAAD.

John Horn spoke with the Belgian filmmaker recently about his new film “Girl” which premieres on Netflix March 15th.