Hollywood is about to strike


JackFetch

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It's naive to think it would only last a week. My prediction: they will break after a few months and this season will be written off. Look for things like Heroes, Chuck and Journeyman to be gone next season. All new shows this season look to be burned from the get go. Something like Lost might benefit from this as they will just have a no-go or a late seaseon...season.
Man I'd hate to lose Heroes, Chuck and Journeyman. I'm sure Reaper will be gone to. This sucks.
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It sucks this happened in what I think was the best fall season in years.

I don't know why they would cancel any of the new shows though if they are a hit. Chuck will be back, strike or no strike. Some of them are still on only because of the strike...cough...Cavemen...and the fact that they need to air all the episodes to fill airtime.

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I think I'm most upset about The Office. Last night was brilliance as usual.

I think last season had a better fall debut. Lost and Heroes starting in the same week (if I remember correctly) beats anything this season has to offer.

As much as I love Lost it's lost some luster as 'the others' were displayed to be so uber in the first two seasons, and in the third they seemed quite human. It really bugs me. I like a good chunk of new shows Journeyman, chuck, Pushing daises and Reaper.

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Excerpts from an e-mail from Dale Alexander, a key grip on NBC's "The Office":

"Our show was shut down and we were all laid off this week. I've been watching the news since the WGA strike was announced and I have yet to see any coverage dedicated to the effect that this strike will have on the below the line employees.

"I respect the WGA's position. They probably do deserve a larger percentage of profit participation, but a lengthy strike will affect more than just the writers and studios. On my show we had 14 writers. There were also 2 cameramen, 2 camera assistants, 4 hair stylists, 4 makeup artists, 7 wardrobe people, 4 grips, 4 electricians, 2 craft service, 4 props people, 6 construction, 1 medic, 3 art department, 5 set dressers, 3 sound men, 3 stand-ins, 2 set PAs, 4 assistant directors, 1 DGA trainee, 1 unit manager, 6 production office personnel, 3 casting people, 4 writers assistants, 1 script supervisor, 2 editors, 2 editors assistants, 3 post production personnel, 1 facilities manager, 8 drivers, 2 location managers, 3 accountants, 4 caterers and a producer who's not a writer. All 102 of us are now out of work.

"I have been in the motion picture business for 33 years and have survived three major strikes. None of which have been by any of the below the line unions. During the 1988 WGA strike many of my friends lost their homes, cars and even spouses. Many actors are publicly backing the writers, some have even said that they would find a way to help pay bills for the striking writers. When the networks run out of new shows and they air repeats the writers will be paid residuals. The lowest paid writer in television makes roughly twice the salary than the below the line crewmember makes. Everyone should be paid their fair share, but does it have to be at the expense of the other 90% of the crewmembers. Nobody ever recoups from a strike, lost wages are just that, lost.

"We all know that the strike will be resolved. Eventually both sides will return to the bargaining table and make a deal. The only uncertainty is how many of our houses, livelihoods, college educations and retirement funds will pay for it."

--Maria Elena Fernandez

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracke...-until-rec.html

This is what I've been trying to explain to people who support the strike without knowing the consequences.

NBC informed the nonwriting staff of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that it will be laid off at the end of next week in the wake of the show shutting down for the writers’ strike.

Jay Leno

And with Leno still refusing to cross the picket line, the show is looking at coming back on the air Nov. 19 with guest hosts so that it can save the jobs of the nonwriters.

“All sorts of things are being discussed, including guest hosts,” Tonight Show executive producer Debbie Vickers said. “Our preference is that we return to production of The Tonight Show with Jay as host as soon as possible.”

B&C also learned that the same timetable has been given to the staff of NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien. That show's nonwriters also face layoffs at the end of the week of Nov. 12.

But Vickers also wants to save the jobs of her nonwriting staffers.

“We want to protect the staff, who have been loyal to this show for decades, in the same way that Johnny Carson reluctantly returned without his writers in 1988,” she said.

Late-night shows have gone into repeats since the strike began Monday as the hosts walked out in solidarity with their writing staffs.

With the shows shut down, networks can cut costs by laying off most of the rest of the staff.

And Leno’s chief writer doesn’t expect Leno back anytime soon.

“I talk to Jay every day, and he will not be the first [late-night host] to cross the picket line,” said Tonight Show head writer Joe Medeiros, also a strike captain for the Writers Guild of America. “So they are looking at guest hosts as one possibility so all those people don’t have to lose their jobs.”

Medeiros on Friday expressed anger at NBC for pulling the plug on the staff so quickly.

“This is the way that NBC treats the No. 1 late-night talk show that makes them $50 million a year and has been No. 1 for 12 years?” he said, noting that NBC even turned off his NBC e-mail account.

Even prior to the strike taking effect, many knew that the nonwriting late-night show staff members from all networks would probably begin to see layoffs within two to three weeks if their hosts did not resume their on-air duties.

The hosts are compelled to return without their writing staffs to save the jobs of all of the nonwriters, which can number more than 100 per show.

There is precedent for hosts to come back sans writers, as Johnny Carson and David Letterman both did during the 1988 strike.

Medeiros also spoke in animated fashion about NBC’s decision to replace Leno with Conan O’Brien in 2009.

“And all this after they already kicked the man out the door,” Medeiros said.

CBS has already said that The Late Show with David Letterman will remain in repeats the week of Nov. 12.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live continues to run in repeats, as its host has backed the writers not only by stepping aside, but even driving a taco truck around to picket sites in Los Angeles. Leno has also been a constant presence at picketing around town.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/CA6499587.html

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Studios and networks will resume negotiations with striking writers on Nov. 26.

The WGA remains on strike. The companies recently dropped their insistence that the strike had to stop, at least temporarily, as a condition of restarting negotiations.

The Friday night announcement came on the 12th day of the strike in the form of a joint statement from the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.

Both sides have agreed to a news blackout.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111797621...=1&nid=2562

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Thanks to the strike, we get these "gems" to watch.

ABC

•Duel (week-long event, Dec. 17-23, 8 ET/PT). Quiz show in which contestants win by bluffing.

•Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (Jan. 7, Mondays at 8 ET/PT). Dancing With the Stars' choreographers field their own teams in this live dance-off, which bridges the gap before DWTS returns in March. Drew Lachey hosts.

•Oprah's Big Give Winfrey bestows cash on needy families.

•Here Come the Newlyweds A six-episode comedic game pitting couples in marital tests.

•Wanna Bet? Celebrities wager (for charity) on whether contestants can perform outrageous stunts.

• Also: New seasons of Wife Swap and Supernanny, expanded episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home and possibly more Funniest Videos.

CBS

•Big Brother A first-time spring season of the summer staple will likely begin in February or March.

•Million-Dollar Password A high-stakes version of the game-show classic, hosted by Regis Philbin.

•Do You Trust Me? Tucker Carlson hosts a quiz show in which strangers bet on their mutual confidence in each other.

• Also: Additional cycles of Survivor and The Amazing Race, and a new season of Drew Carey game show Power of 10.

Fox

•The Moment of Truth (Jan. 23, Wednesdays at 9 ET/PT). Game show in which contestants are strapped to a lie detector and asked highly personal questions.

•When Women Rule the World (Mar. 3, Mondays at 8 ET/PT). Alpha women control "a group of unsuspecting men used to calling the shots."

• Also: American Idol (Jan. 15), Hell's Kitchen (Apr. 1), Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics, Cops and America's Most Wanted.

NBC

•Celebrity Apprentice Stars compete for Donald Trump's approval as hot-dog vendors and in other unlikely occupations.

•American Gladiators The 1990s series is revived, with stuntmen competing against amateurs in physical competitions. Hulk Hogan, Laila Ali host.

•Amnesia Dennis Miller hosts this quiz show that asks contestants to recall key moments of their lives.

•My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad Families compete in stunt challenges.

•Clash of the Choirs Celebrities establish amateur singing groups, which compete live in yet another Idol variation.

• Also: New season of 1 vs. 100, and Deal or No Deal continues.

CW

•Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (Dec. 12, Wednesdays at 8 ET/PT). Mother-daughter teams compete for a beauty pageant title while shacking up in bunk beds in a Hollywood mansion.

•Farmer Wants a Wife A dating series in which a yokel selects a city beauty.

• Also: New seasons of Pussycat Dolls, Beauty and the Geek and America's Next Top Model.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/ne...ws_N.htm?csp=34

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WGA, AMPTP talk but don't comment

The sound of silence gripped Hollywood for a second straight day as striking writers negotiated with studios and nets behind closed doors to end the 23-day work stoppage.

Both sides agreed early Tuesday evening to return for more talks this morning. Neither the Writers Guild of America nor the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers issued a comment, as part of a joint news blackout.

And with talks under way, many of TV's top showrunners headed back to the office this week, resuming their nonwriting chores (such as editing, supervising post-production, etc.). One studio exec said "more than half" of his series' showrunners were back at work, both on the comedy and drama side.

That follows through on an arrangement proposed by many showrunners earlier this month in which the multihyphenates agreed to return to work only if the studios agreed to return to the negotiating table.

The united front by TV's showrunners to halt their work forced several series to stop production sooner than expected, and is seen by many as having helped the WGA's cause -- serving as a catalyst to jumpstart talks.

With those negotiations back on, several showrunners were itching to return to work to finish already written and produced episodes that nonetheless needed some supervision before completion. Also convincing some showrunners to return was the round of legal letters sent out to many showrunners warning them that by withholding their producing duties, they were in breach of contract.

Some exec producers had already returned to work to oversee nonwriting production, including Carlton Cuse of "Lost." Many more hit the office following the Thanksgiving holiday. But most of the returning showrunners are hoping to keep a low profile to avoid the appearance of picket crossing.

Rumors again percolated Tuesday of a possible tentative deal, although most observers cautioned that the complexity of issues on the table -- particularly in new media -- precludes quick solutions.

Negotiators have already been planning to meet today at an unidentified hotel in Los Angeles, having set aside a three-day block for the first formal bargaining sessions since the WGA went on strike. But that period could easily be extended if leaders believe significant progress is being achieved.

The news blackout -- first announced Nov. 16 as part of the agreement to restart talks -- is a first for these negotiations, which were marked by acrimony right up to the start of the strike. The WGA and AMPTP operated under similar blackouts during most of the contract talks in 2001 and 2004, under the theory that negotiations could proceed more smoothly without the distraction of dealing with each other's carping and sniping.

Along with the usual picketing of major Hollywood lots Tuesday, the guild members continued to create -- and view -- dozens of videos on the Internet, designed to bolster support among the 12,000 guild members along with the general public.

Four of the most popular videos -- "The Office Is Closed," "Not the Daily Show With Some Writer," "Why We Fight" and "Voices of Uncertainty" -- have now been viewed approximately 1.5 million times.

"The Office Is Closed" had generated more than 532,000 views on YouTube.com as of midday Tuesday. The three-minute video, consisting mostly of picket line footage from the strike's second day, features "The Office" showrunner Greg Daniels, B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling and others explaining why the skein was being shuttered and noting that the writers and actors who collaborated on the"Office Webisodes" haven't received revenues from it.

The WGA also took issue late Tuesday with latenight host Carson Daly's decision to return to work at NBC and his efforts to seek comedy material for the skein. "Mr. Daly is not a writer and not a member of the WGA, unlike other latenight hosts Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who have all resisted network pressure and honored our writers' picket lines," the WGA said.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111797663...=1&nid=2562

I really wish they would leave people alone that aren't part of this. Carson Daly isn't a member of the WGA, and yet they are mad that he went back to work. Have they even seen his show? It's horrible. It's not worth them getting mad about.

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Hollywood producers make offer

Hollywood studios presented a new contract offer to striking film and TV writers Thursday that the studios said would pay writers millions of dollars extra for shows created for the Internet.

But writers said some of the proposals amounted to rollbacks and said studios should adopt their counteroffer.

The Writers Guild of America said it asked for a recess in the talks until Tuesday to consider its options, but it called on members to continue picketing Friday and Monday.

The producers said the new offer, dubbed the "New Economic Partnership," included payments for work shown on the Internet, the key sticking points in the talks.

"The entire value of the New Economic Partnership will deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year," the statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said.

The $130 million sum was over the life of the proposed three-year deal, producers said. No further details of the terms were released in the first statement since both sides imposed a media blackout Monday.

The guild countered with a lengthier response, saying the producers' proposal only dealt with advertising-supported programs streamed for free and jurisdiction over shows created for the Web "and it amounts to a massive rollback."

The writers said their plan, presented Thursday, would cost producers $151 million over three years.

"That's a little over a 3 percent increase in writer earnings each year, while company revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 10 percent," the statement said. "We are falling behind."

The conflicting details and tone of the statements is confusing, said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment lawyer who served in the 1990s as an associate counsel for the writers guild.

"None of this computes," Handel said. "It's very difficult to analyze this in any rigorous way."

Handel noted that, on the surface, the two sides seems to be only $20 million apart if the producers' statement is read to mean $130 million over three years.

The tone of the writers' statement seems angry, Handel said, while the producers' statement seemed more upbeat.

Handel said both sides should end the confusion by publishing the full details of the proposals.

David Kidd, a screenwriter from Glendale, said he was hopeful but not overly optimistic about what he described as an apparent "sweet offer" from producers.

"I don't know what sweet is until I taste it," Kidd said. "Nobody wants to go in and accept a bad offer."

Meanwhile, protesting writers converged on NBC's studios in suburban Burbank to rally against restarted production of the late-night show "Last Call With Carson Daly."

Several people said Daly circled the Burbank lot before entering a gate with no pickets.

Adam Waring, who has written for the sitcom "Two and a Half Men," said he and two other writers dashed around a corner to intercept Daly.

"We stood in front of his car, and he told his driver to keep going," Waring said, adding that protesters had to move out of the way.

"Last Call" was the first late-night show to resume production since the strike began November 5. The walkout has also idled production on many scripted television series.

Daly has defended the move, saying he still supports the writers but did not want to see all 75 members of his staff and crew lose their jobs because of the work stoppage.

Protesters at NBC carried signs reading, "Carson Daly Please Don't Cross" and "Carson Daly Please Support Us."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/11/29/holl...r.ap/index.html

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The thing that is bothering me most about this, is that the writers don't seem to care about any of the other employees. Alot of workers who only make 1/10th what the writers make are losing their jobs, with alot of them not even promised to be rehired once the strike is over. Where as the writers are guranteed to keep their jobs while on strike, plus still getting paid their residuales from the repeats that are being shown now.

When asked if writers would object to working without them during the strike in order to save jobs, Medeiros said: "I can't answer that. The story to me is that the corporations are doing this in order to pit groups against each other and break the strike."

To me that is bullshit, blaming corporate tactics with out even offering a sincere thought on other's being laid off, hurts their cause in my eyes.

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Jay Leno's staff was laid off last week. Leno was the only late night host that won't pay the staff to avoid it. He gave them all their Christmas bonus of $100 x how ever many years they worked on the show.

So a lot of people got a check for 100 bucks, plus a pink slip on the same day. The memo they got said if they feel they need their services when the strike is over, they will contact them. Of course today he decided it might be a good idea to pay them, so he changed his mind.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Sources tell me the Writers Guild Of America is intending to grant David Letterman's independent production company Worldwide Pants an "interim agreement" not involving CBS that allows the Late Show host and his writers to return to the airwaves during the strike. This comes after Letterman's long-time executive producer Rob Burnett, who's also president/CEO of Dave's production company Worldwide Pants, has repeatedly tried to secure a WGA waiver for The Late Show.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/15/l...o-_n_76969.html

Also:

The WGA aims to change the dynamic in its stymied contract fight with Hollywood's majors by seeking talks with individual studios rather than through the umbrella Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers bargaining unit.

In a message sent to WGA members Saturday morning, the guild's negotiating committee said it would make the "legal demand" for negotiations with individual AMPTP member concerns on Monday.

It's highly doubtful that any of the majors will be willing to engage in individual talks with the guild, given the unanimity of the CEOs' disdain for the guild's stance in the bargaining room and tactics

during the now six-week-old strike. Nor would the seven largest members -- CBS Corp., Disney, NBC Universal, News Corp., Sony Pictures, Time Warner and Viacom -- likely be willing to give up their collective leverage by bargaining individually.

Still, WGA said it believes the AMPTP's group structure "inhibits individual companies pursuing their self-interest in negotiations" and that "the internal dynamics of the AMPTP make it difficult for the conglomerates to reach consensus and negotiate on a give and take basis."

Details of WGA's request for individual negotiations were murky on Saturday. Guild said in its statement that each signatory member of AMPTP "is required to bargain with us individually if we make a legal demand that it do so." Guild is expected to hold a membership meeting to discuss the new tactic and state of the strike on Monday night, reportedly in Santa Monica.

AMPTP dismissed the WGA's effort as a ploy that will have no impact on the resolve of the org's key members.

"This is merely the latest indication that the WGA organizers are grasping for straws and have never had a coherent strategy for engaging in serious negotiations," AMPTP spokesman Jesse Hiestand said on Saturday. "The AMPTP may have different companies with different assets in different businesses, but they are all unified in one common goal -- to reach an agreement with writers that positions everyone in our industry for success in a rapidly changing marketplace."

Guild's move on Saturday comes after a week of maneuvering and a deepening of the divide between the WGA and studios. Developments of the past week included Thursday's filing of a charge against the AMPTP with the National Labor Relations Board claiming that the majors violated federal labor law in issuing the ultimatum for the guild to remove several of its demands as a condition of continued bargaining, which sparked the blowup on Dec. 7 of the most recent round of negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Directors Guild of America also formally put the biz on notice that it intends to sked its contract talks with the AMPTP after the first of the year if the WGA and majors haven't made any progress toward inking a deal.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111797779...=1&nid=2562

Basically, the studios are more united than they thought, so they want to chip away at them one studio at a time.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Even though they are the last to announce their return, it looks like Letterman and Ferguson will have the last laugh.

An interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America will allow the full writing staffs for "Late Show with David Letterman" as well as "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" to return to work next Wednesday, even as the Hollywood writers strike continues to shutter much TV and movie production. It could prove to be a huge advantage for both these CBS late-night shows, which are produced by the Letterman-owned Worldwide Pants.

"I am grateful to the WGA for granting us this agreement," Letterman said in a statement Friday. "This is not a solution to the strike, which unfortunately continues to disrupt the lives of thousands. But I hope it will be seen as a step in the right direction."

NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" as well as ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" had already announced they would resume Wednesday without benefit of their writing teams.

Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert" planned to return writer-less on Monday, Jan. 7.

Resisting such an arrangement, Rob Burnett, president and CEO of Worldwide Pants, had actively sought an interim deal. The guild has been discussing agreements with several small independent producers since talks between producers and the union broke down Dec. 7.

Guild leaders said in a letter to membership Friday that Worldwide Pants accepted "the very same proposals that the guild was prepared to present to the media conglomerates when they walked out of negotiations on December 7."

"We had no problems with the guild's demands," Burnett said.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=40441

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  • 3 weeks later...
Report: Studios cancel writers contracts

Four major studios have canceled dozens of writers' contracts in a possible concession that the current television season cannot be saved, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The move means the 2-month old writers strike may also endanger next season's new shows, the Times said.

January is usually the beginning of pilot season, when networks order new scripted shows. But the strike leaves networks without a pool of comedy and drama scripts from which to choose.

20th Century Fox Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television told the Times they have terminated development and production agreements.

Studios typically pay $500,000 to $2 million a year per writer for them and their staffs to develop new show concepts.

"I didn't see it coming," Barbara Hall, a writer and producer whose credits include former CBS series "Joan of Arcadia" and "Judging Amy," told the Times, which said ABC executives gave her the news Friday. "I am not entirely sure what their strategy is, all I know was that I was a casualty of it."

The newspaper said more than 65 deals with writers have been eliminated since Friday.

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