Hollywood directors have reached a four-year tentative contract agreement with studios and streaming services. The Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers struck the deal Tuesday after four weeks of talks. This is the first negotiation under new DGA President Christopher Nolan. Similar four-year deals have been ratified recently by unions representing writers and actors. This agreement adds to the likelihood of long-term labor peace in Hollywood despite industry upheavals. The collective bargaining agreement must still be approved by the guild’s national board and ratified by the guild membership.
IMAGE CAPTION: DiggyPOD's Parent Company Acquires Long Overdue Books | The parent company of DiggyPOD, Everbrook Holdings, announced the acquisition of Long Overdue Books, a Chicago-area publishing company known for guiding authors from first draft to finished book. The deal closed on May 15, 2026, and brings Long Overdue Books into the Everbrook family alongside DiggyPOD. DiggyPOD is a Tecumseh, Michigan-based book printer that became Everbrook's first portfolio company in June 2025.
“Schmigadoon!,” an adaptation of an Apple TV series that gently mocks big, brassy Broadway shows, danced away the best new musical Tony Award. The prize for the best new play at the Tony Awards went to “Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in 1970s Ohio, which earlier this year also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. “Ragtime,” a big, soaring musical that depicts an America being remade by immigration, racial violence, industrial wealth and political unrest, won the best musical revival on Sunday. John Lithgow won for best lead actor in a play for his role in “Giant.”
Television and movie actors have voted to ratify a four-year contract with studios and streaming services. This comes after union leaders negotiated protections against synthetic actors created by artificial intelligence. The ratification was widely expected, and a strike like the one in 2023 never seemed likely during the drama-free negotiations. More than 90% of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists members approved the agreement. The new deal, like on recently reached by Hollywood writers, is for four years instead of the usual three. This provides extra labor stability in the industry. The contract includes provisions to keep the use of AI actors minimal.
IMAGE CAPTION: 11 Exceptional Good Reads make the 2026 Q1 BOOKS TO BOOKMARK List: What to Read Next | Publishers Newswire (PNW), an online news publisher covering books, music, indie film, and software launched in 2004, today announced its latest semi-annual "books to bookmark" list for Q1 of 2026, noting 11 new and exceptional "good reads" from small publishers based in North America. These recently published books are often overlooked due to not coming from major traditional N.Y. book publishers.
