The Writers Guild of America West is taking a stance against Lala Kent’s ex-fiancé Randall Emmett and his new movie with Martin Scorsese.
“Emmett, the founder of Convergence, has been on the WGA Strike/Unfair List since 2020,” the West Coast affiliate of the union wrote via X on Wednesday, April 16. “Two companies he founded and co-owned failed to pay over $700,000 in compensation, P&H contributions and interest due to WGA writers.”
The post included a link to a Los Angeles Times article that reported on Wednesday that the WGA sent out an email forbidding its members from working on Wall of White, which is being produced by Emmett, 54, and Scorsese, 82.
“Emmett has a long history of refusing to honor obligations to writers and the Guild has filed numerous arbitration claims against companies owned by Emmett over the last decade,” the email claimed, per the outlet, adding that the guild prohibits “members from working for or selling literary material to companies or individuals who are on the Strike/Unfair List.”
The WGA previously accused Emmett of failing to pay more than $700,000 in pension and health contributions and interest to four writers who worked on the 2020 TV series Pump. Emmett’s firm reportedly received a court order mandating that it make those payments.
Emmett responded to the WGA’s stance on Wall of White in a statement to The Times.
Randall Emmett Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
“We are fully financing this movie, and we have every intention to settle this dispute in the coming weeks,” the statement read. “Our representatives will be reaching out to the Writers Guild so we can put this matter from six years ago behind us.”
Us Weekly has reached out to WGA, Scorsese and Emmett for comment.
Deadline reported last month that Scorsese and Emmett would be producing Wall of White alongside Convergence Entertainment. The film is an adaptation of a book by Jennifer Woodlief, which is based on a historical documentary by Jared Drake and Steven Sig.
Wall of White retells the tragedy of an avalanche that buried the Alpine Meadows ski resort outside of Lake Tahoe, California in 1982. The natural disaster trapped eight people, killing seven of them. The story is told from the perspective of the lone survivor, Anna Conrad, and the first responders who were involved in the severe search and rescue mission.
“Jared and Steven crafted an extraordinary documentary,” Emmett said of the project to the outlet. “That film along with Jennifer’s phenomenal book that vividly captured this unbelievable tragedy had a powerful impact on me. I was struck not only by the immense scale of the events, but by the deeply personal and emotional weight carried by those who lived it.”
