tv and movie writers on strike

[Thomas Veil]

-good news: the dga is close to an agreement

Actually, probably not good news. My understanding from articles I've read is that if the DGA takes a deal that is significantly less than what the writers want, it will essentially set the bar there, making it even harder for the WGA to negotiate for what they want and deserve.

Frankly, the producers' intransigence is really pissing me off. Not because I want to see more good TV and less reality; just on the basis of simple decency. If any industry needed a good anti-trust suit by the Justice Department, it's this one.

 

[furcalchick]

Actually, probably not good news. My understanding from articles I've read is that if the DGA takes a deal that is significantly less than what the writers want, it will essentially set the bar there, making it even harder for the WGA to negotiate for what they want and deserve.

Frankly, the producers' intransigence is really pissing me off. Not because I want to see more good TV and less reality; just on the basis of simple decency. If any industry needed a good anti-trust suit by the Justice Department, it's this one.

that's why i didn't say it was very good news, i was aware of the whole dga takes the low agreement thing, so this could wipe out all the good work the writers have been fighting for. the producers are disgusting and are greedy to the nth degree.

talking about that, here's some of their disgusting behavior.

What an incredible list of petty, mean-spirited and just spiteful behavior the Hollywood CEOs are compiling for themselves. Really, they're never going to be able to explain away this stuff when the strike eventually ends and they're held accountable by everyone else. I've been confirming episode after episode of the AMPTP's giant multimedia members retaliating in every way possible against anyone in Hollywood helping the WGA's side in this strike dragging on and on. I'll keep updating as more instances come in to me (so keep refreshing for the latest):

-->The latest is that Disney/ABC has rescinded offers to pay for tickets for TV show executive producers going to the SAG awards -- just two days after sending them emails saying ABC would provide four tickets per show. The exec producers are often hyphenates who also belong to the WGA.

-->Disney/ABC has decided not to pay for hair and make-up and even cars for its stars going to the SAG awards, something the studios and networks always do, since the actors have aligned themselves with the WGA and the SAG show received a Writers Guild waiver while it's increasingly unlikely that the Oscars televised by ABC will. "Their reasoning is that they don't want to pay for SAG actors to get all dressed up only to bad-mouth the studio on the Red Carpet," a source told me. Oh, like that couldn't happen at the Academy Awards, too, although ABC wouldn't air it.

-->Harvey Weinstein received a number of phone calls from the moguls warning him "You shouldn't do it," and "We can get this done with the DGA," when word leaked out that he was making a side deal with the WGA to be able to hire striking writers.

-->NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker has tried to bump both NBC 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan and NBC Celebrity Apprentice star Donald Trump from the recent guest rosters of The Late Show with David Letterman whose parent company Worldwide Pants did a side deal with the WGA to hire striking writers. Zucker's network minions tried to convince both men not to appear on the show. But Zucker allowed late night rival Jimmy Kimmel to guest on Leno and Leno to guest on Kimmel.

-->Zucker earlier bullied striking NBC comedy writers from Saturday Night Live not to appear on Letterman's first Late Show back from strike hiatus and announce the Top 10. The scribes were ordered by NBC to leave the Ed Sullivan Theater right before the taping. By doing so, they couldn't collect their personal appearance pay. But NBC found out too late that writers for Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Law & Order did the bit and Zucker wanted the names of everyone who participated and worked at NBC.

-->Zucker refused to allow the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to hold an untelevised Golden Globes awards ceremony even though it would have been unpicketed by the WGA and the actors, directors, writers as well as Hollywood studios and networks who won could have been celebrated.

-->NBC Entertainment co-czar Ben Silverman on Monday told his new best friend Ryan Seacrest, before the Golden Globes awards show was officially scrapped that, "Sadly, it feels like the nerdiest, ugliest, meanest kids in the high school are trying to cancel the prom. But NBC wants to try to keep that prom alive." (Now there's a T-shirt for sale benefitting the WGA strike fund that reads, "Nerdy. Ugly. Mean. Proud of it. WGA.")

-->AMPTP staffers, consultants and members (especially corporate publicity departments) are busily posting comments on WGA-friendly websites and blogs that Hollywood visits regularly and filling them with hate-filled rants against the WGA leadership, the A-list actors, and the companies who've made WGA side deals. The goal is to turn off readers and drive traffic away and in the process spread pro-AMPTP propaganda and make it look as if the strike is breaking apart.

-->News Corp. No. 2 Peter Chernin realized the AMPTP was losing the PR war and was most responsible for bringing in Fabiani and Lehane as the AMPTP's public affairs consultants since his company has a close relationship with them. Fabiani and Lehane were paid by News Corp. to orchestrate a 2004 campaign organizing advocacy groups by race and ethnicity to hammer Nielsen Media Research over its plans to modernize how it measures viewing habits.

--> Warner Bros Chairman Barry Meyer has handpicked the AMPTP paid mouthpieces who have spread the AMPTP's insults and disinformation about the WGA leadership.

-->The other day, an AMPTP consultant tried to start a rumor that a WGA exec was connected to child pornography.

-->The AMPTP repeatedly lies that the WGA has "a $30 million PR fund" to spread public information about the strike when the reality is that the WGA's entire communications budget is several hundred thousand dollars.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.c...retaliate-against-hollywood-helping-strikers/

makes me think about the flaws of capitalism...

 

[furcalchick]

dga renews deal

for better or for worse, the dga has reached an agreement with the studios. the big factors left are if the deal is one the writers all like and if not, how much longer will the strike drag on?

variety story

dga contact details

 

[Rodimus Prime]

just wow. they Give the DGA pretty much exactly what they wanted more or less which seems to be a lot like the list the writers are demanding and yet they refuse to give in it to the writers. Well the studios sink even lower that i though was possible.

 

[MacNut]

'The Simpsons' Running Out of Episodes

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-simpsons/the-simpsons-running-out-of-ep-15783.aspx

FOX's long-running animated series is about to be stopped short on its tracks.

Due to the ongoing WGA strike, The Simpsons is in danger of not being able to complete its current season, as not enough episodes have been completed in order for the show to survive the strike.

Because each episode of The Simpsons takes a significant amount of time to make, show executives have been unable to create a backlog that will last them through the strike, which has caused several television shows – old or new, hit or miss – to shut down production.

"We don't usually have as many shows ahead as other animated series. We have about 10 episodes in the pipeline, in various stages of completion,” Yeardley Smith, who provides the voice for child protégé Lisa Simpson on the show, revealed. "The question is whether any of them will be ready in time to air before the season ends in May."

Despite the forthcoming trouble, Smith is convinced that this season, which happens to be The Simpsons' nineteenth, is the best yet.

"[They are] really strong,” Smith added. “Journalists were writing for a while that The Simpsons seemed to have lost its sass. I think in the last couple of seasons, we've gone back to what makes it so strong - the 'take no prisoners' attitude, the depth of character."

So far, only ten episodes of the show's current season has aired. The next new episode, “That 90's Show,” is scheduled to air next Sunday, January 27. It will feature guest stars singer-songwriter Weird Al Yankovic and Kurt Loder.

That last fresh Simpsons installment aired on January 6. The episode, "E. Pluribus Wiggum," featured The Daily Show host Jon Stewart and former CBS News anchor Dan Rather as guest stars. The two played themselves as part of a storyline that made Springfield the first in the country to hold primary elections.

Oscars producer confident show will go on
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A producer behind the annual Academy Awards telecast has said that despite the Writers Guild of America strike, the awards show will go on as planned.

Producer Gilbert Cates said that while the ongoing writer's strike managed to derail last weekend's Golden Globes award show, this year's Oscars would take place even if the Screen Actors Guild protests the annual celebration, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

"There are enough clips in 80 years of Oscar history to make up a very entertaining show," Cates said Friday. "We'd have a lot of people on stage."

Members of the Screen Actors Guild have threatened to boycott the annual event in support of the WGA, the Times said.

While ABC is intent on broadcasting the Oscars, some entertainment industry experts have predicted a significantly altered ceremony should the WGA strike still be going on Feb. 24.

"If the academy doesn't get a waiver, and the strike isn't settled, there may be a way to do some kind of show, but it won't be the Oscars we're accustomed to," former Oscars producer Laura Ziskin said.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entert...cars_producer_confident_show_will_go_on/9211/

 

[MacNut]

Guild sets up fund for non-WGA members

MUMBAI: The Writers Guild Foundation has established an Industry Support Fund to assist members of the industry who are in financial distress as a direct result of the Writers Guild of America strike against the AMPTP, which began 5 November, 2007.

The fund is designed to provide industry workers affected by the WGA strike with emergency assistance for food, housing, medical needs, and other expenses. The fund will not provide cash assistance, but where appropriate, may pay one or more bills on behalf of the applicant, as recommended by the staff of the Actors Fund, which is assisting us in the distribution.

To be eligible for assistance, a worker must have been employed in the industry for two of the past five years. The fund is intended exclusively for non-WGA members directly affected by the strike. WGA members in financial need are asked to seek assistance through existing Writers Guild support services.

The Writers Guild Foundation is actively seeking contributions for this new fund. Initial contributions have already been made by Tom Smuts, creator of Founders Media Group and StrikeSwag.com; James L. Brooks; Red Clay Trust; Rene Balcer, on behalf of the staff writers on Law and Order; the Laugh Factory; and by Marti Noxon, Dawn Prestwich, and Nicole Yorkin, from the proceeds of December's Write Aid event.

http://www.businessofcinema.com/boc/?file=story&id=6615

 

[furcalchick]

about time they started talking

WGA Writers Strike: Sides will meet possibly as early as Tuesday -- The communications impasse between the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood's majors has finally ended.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979360?categoryid=2821&cs=1&nid=4056

somehow i think the strike doesn't end until after valentine's day. but do you think that all the shows will just be done until fall, or will some writers attempt to write more shows for the spring and possibly summer?

 

[MacNut]

Not sure how much turn around they will have. I think we are getting to the writing deadline right about now. I doubt 24 could return at this point unless they go for a summer launch.

 

[furcalchick]

no more tv shows in production

In LA, TV now completely dark
Local feature production amped up as result

By DAVE MCNARY

The writers strike has brought scripted TV production in Los Angeles to a halt, while fears of an actors strike have amped up local feature production.

All 52 skeins in active production before the scribes walkout began in November are dark, according to permitting agency Film LA. And fourth-quarter stats, released Friday, show declines of 37% in sitcoms to 419 days and 6% in scripted dramas to 1,733; meanwhile reality TV activity jumped 34% to 2,478 days.

Local feature production, however, is on the rise with a 31% gain over the same period last year since the strike began on Nov. 5, according to Film LA.

"While reality TV bolstered overall television production numbers, the rise in reality production does not generate the same benefit to the local economy as an increase in scripted television production, since reality-based productions usually employ fewer people and pump far less money into the economy through production-related spending," said agency chief Steve MacDonald.

Los Angeles-based TV production has soared in recent years, thanks partly to the boom in reality and the growth of cable. The past five quarters have all seen well over 5,000 permit days of off-lot production, with a record 6,478 days in the first quarter of this year.

But with the strike leading to production shutdowns as shows began running out of scripts, overall TV production declined from 5,950 days in the third quarter to 5,500 days in the fourth.

As for features, MacDonald noted, activity has been driven by this year's ramped-up pace of greenlighting in anticipation of a possible actors strike in July. But that's still not been enough to prevent year-to-year declines with overall 2007 days falling 4% to 8,247.

"The 2007 data is in line with the decade-long downward trend in local feature film production that has occurred as other locales lure production with attractive economic incentives," MacDonald said.

The final scripted TV production in Los Angeles closed down earlier this month with ABC's "October Road" stopping production. A total of 62 skeins have been shuttered due to the strike, with a direct economic impact of $160 million per week.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979609?categoryid=2821&cs=1&nid=4056

 

[mac 2005]

just wow. they Give the DGA pretty much exactly what they wanted more or less which seems to be a lot like the list the writers are demanding and yet they refuse to give in it to the writers. Well the studios sink even lower that i though was possible.

It's not quite that simple. The WGA is asking for contract provisions that extend beyond the largely financial issues that were at stake in negotiations with the DGA. The WGA, for example, wants to unionize "writers" for reality shows, a request the producers asked be taken off the table so they could focus on the core issues.

 

[furcalchick]

NBC Cancels Pilot Season... Forever?

NBC has announced that it is doing away with pilot season. The New York Times reported Wednesday that NBC Universal chief executive officer Jeff Zucker made the announcement during a videoconference from London with the company's international employees. Zucker's decision to eliminate pilot season is an effort to cut costs due to the writers strike and a slowdown in the economy. According to Zucker the cuts will reportedly save the company as much as $50 million a year. Zucker went on to say that may still occasionally produce a pilot or two each year, just not on a regular schedule.

This comes on the heels of rumors that GE may be looking to divest itself of NBC Universal during this year's second quarter.

http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/2008/01/nbc-cancels-pilot-season-forever.html

also, not mentioned in the article, will the other networks follow suit by cutting down or out the pilot season to save money? are scripted shows on network tv becoming a thing of the past? because i doubt everyone will go to network tv just to watch reality tv all the time.

 

[MacNut]

My guess is that they will buy shows blind without pilots. How much does Zucker make anyways, take away his salary and they can free up some money and his bad ideas.

 

[Marble]

Wow... how will NBC execs commission shows if not by viewing figures?

 

[Thomas Veil]

No pilots. That's idiotic. So much of what goes into a show is the visual style (think 24 or Las Vegas), the music, and other elements. You can't "get" that reading a script. Not that I'm convinced Hollywood executives can grasp much of anything.

Besides, pilots are some of the very best TV out there. They typically are given longer than six days to shoot, and they often have bigger budgets than individual episodes. (Of course I'm going way back, but the pilots of shows like Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel were absolutely stunning in their scope and special effects. Later episodes, not so much.)

just wow. they Give the DGA pretty much exactly what they wanted more or less which seems to be a lot like the list the writers are demanding and yet they refuse to give in it to the writers. Well the studios sink even lower that i though was possible.

Well, I've said it before, but writers are treated like ____ in Hollywood. Check out the post by NightShadow in the middle of this page. It's all too typical.

 

[furcalchick]

i think about the pilot thing at a different angle. i think less pilots will help everyone, as instead of having 50 pilots and only taking 5 of them, we'll have 10-15 and have half of them accepted. this gives people more focus on a few shows instead of spending money on 50.

but i think cutting pilots could be bad news for everyone. this means no development or seeing what sort of changes need to be made after the pilot.

i also think soon, the idea of tv season being october-may will be kaput as well, because back when this was established, most people were out all summer. now, people are watching tv every week of the year. i expect a rebuilding of the tv season within the decade.

my idea would be that there would be new shows of something every week. no 3 month dry spell of repeats. not all the shows on a networks lineup will be new at one time though, because of the staggered schedule the shows will have. the tv season would work in quarters, starting in winter, with serials and heavy hitters, and then the cult hits and other non-heavy hitters in spring, family friendly shows in the summer, and mostly returning shows and specials and mini-series in the fall due to all the holidays that mess up the schedule. seasons would be shorter for the most part, 10-14 episodes (which will mean consecutive running), but some shows can have two seasons in one year (one in spring and one in fall for example). this would allow people that want to work on two shows at one time to do it, and there will be less fighting when all the new shows come in at the same time. that's a good plan, if everything doesn't go online first.

 

[theBB]

Well, even if the network itself could decide which new TV show ideas are going to be successful, wouldn't the advertising agencies want to see these pilots instead of some dry description before committing a lot of money months before these shows actually hit the airwaves? I am pretty sure this is for this year only.

On the radio, they said the studios have to start working on pilots in January if they want to be ready to present them to advertising agencies in June when they sell about half of their advertising spots.

When directors signed their deal, I thought writers would sign one in a matter of days, but it is starting look less likely that it will be quick at all.

 

[MacNut]

The real good pilots are made as 2 hour movies, ER comes to mind as a show that started off as a Sunday night movie of the week.

 

[furcalchick]

Well, even if the network itself could decide which new TV show ideas are going to be successful, wouldn't the advertising agencies want to see these pilots instead of some dry description before committing a lot of money months before these shows actually hit the airwaves? I am pretty sure this is for this year only.

On the radio, they said the studios have to start working on pilots in January if they want to be ready to present them to advertising agencies in June when they sell about half of their advertising spots.

When directors signed their deal, I thought writers would sign one in a matter of days, but it is starting look less likely that it will be quick at all.

on the pilot issue, i think pilots should be shot, perhaps as tv movies like er so that at least everyone got to see the show and see if they liked it before the network committed to a full show order. it helps to weed out the total garbage shows much earlier if the ratings are totally bad.

and i never expected the writers strike to end within days of the directors signing (i heard that up to a month afterwards is a decent time for a wait), but the negotiation looks to be going nowhere now.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I believe there is now very intense pressure to end the strike on both sides, especially now a major critical issue--lumping in writing for reality programming and animated TV series as part of a deal--is off the table.

With potential financial losses threatening to run into several billion US dollars, the incentive is there is get a deal done. Expect a deal to be announced--with the help of a Federal negotiator--by the end of February 2008 at latest.

 

[Iscariot]

I miss House

 

[killerrobot]

I miss House

New episodes starting Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!

Too bad there are only 3 more new ones for this season until its over with 'til the strike ends.

 

[MacNut]

The WGA has given permission for the Grammy's to use writers.

 

[furcalchick]

with sweeps starting tomorrow, now is a good time to look at the list of episodes left for each show. i say that after march, it's going to be a big dropoff in new shows after that.

 

[MacNut]

Deal to End Hollywood Writers’ Strike May Be Near

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/business/media/02cnd-writers.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
LOS ANGELES — Informal talks between representatives of Hollywood’s striking writers and production companies have eliminated the major roadblocks to a new contract, which could lead to a tentative agreement as early as next week, according to people who were briefed on the situation but requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak.

A deal would end a crippling writers strike that is now entering its fourth month.

The agreement may come without renewed formal negotiations between the television and movie writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, though both sides still need to agree on specific language of key provisions. If that process goes smoothly, an agreement may be presented to the governing boards of the striking Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East by the end of next week, the people said.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Well that's good news.

And just in time, too.