* Apparently studios are really not willing to help the strike be over soon, they’re not even willing to negotiate. Instead, what they do is try to find other ways to get some shows back on. For instance, it’s been reported that NBC was looking for guest hosts to replace Leno starting on November 19th. It seems no one wants to be the one crossing the picket line, besides, what would they be saying ?? (I wonder if they asked Ellen though…)
* Rumors were that some networks (like Fox or CBS) had fired all of their showrunners, since they did not show up for work. This is not the case, but they did threaten to file lawsuits against their top show runners if they do not immediately go back to work and complete their non-writing duties. Showrunners have already explained that they were writers as well and supportive of the strike, and would not perform their non-writing duties as long as the strike was in effect, sending a clear message that they were all “united in the fight against corporate greed” and hoping it would make studios react.
They also said that if only one lawsuit was filed, none of them would return to work. All they’re asking is for the studios to come back to the negotiating table, so that a deal could be worked on. If the studios agreed, they would be willing to complete production on several already written episodes. Of course, studios are winning about money loss and other non-sense.
* There might be hope, a little, as it’s been reported that certain Hollywood agents were “really in the middle of this right now“. Read that those professionals whose job is to negotiate for writers and studios all the time are trying to speak to both sides and set up a meeting, so that negotiations can resume.
* And yes, while the Los Angeles Times might not find the strike worth mentioning, as illustrated above at least not everyone is keeping it silent. Entertainment Weekly’s cover features Grey’s Anatomy Katherine Heigl, Conan O’Brien and The Office’s Steve Carrel all three with ducktape on their mouths, as a symbol of the strike, asking “How Long Before The Writers’ Walkout Silences Your Favorite TV Shows ?
Damon Lindelof, co-creator and executive producer of Lost, wrote a very interesting piece in the New-York Times, in which he explains again what the strike is all about, why all writers are striking and why - as heartbreaking and hard that decision was - it was the only possible choice for them.
He first reminds that television as we know it is dying, and system such as TiVo were only a glimpse as to what the future of television is and where it will come from : the Internet.
Soon, “the rectangular screen in your living room won’t really be a television anymore, it’ll be a computer. And running into the back of that computer, the wire that delivers unto you everything you watch? It won’t be cable; it will be the Internet.”
Being the TVoholic that I ma I really do not like this strike, as you can imagine, and I urge every other TV fan or viewer to strike as well, in the common hope for this issue to be resolved sooner than later.
The strike is now entering its second week, and yet a couple of days back it still wasn’t big enough of a news for the Los Angeles Times to mention it. Just look at their front page, there are literally no mention of it whatsoever. And that after the WGA strike rally was a huge success with over 4 000 person showing up, making it the biggest in the guild’s history !!
Worst than that, the WGA march on Fox was reduced to a very brief story on page 2, in the Business section. And the paper used an unofficial estimate of 3 500 that one may wonder where they got it, because WGA’s estimate was of 4 000 while LAPD’s estimate was of no less than 5 000.
With the huge financial power the studios have thank to the incredible benefit they make off of DVD sales & on-line content, along with such misinformation, it’s hard to expect massive support for the writers by those who aren’t looking it up in the Internet, to get their facts right.
Whether you’re a TVoholic, a TV addict, obsessed with TV or only a (regular) TV viewer, whether there are dozens of series you watch every week and couldn’t live for, or you only follow a couple, as long as you do watch (and love) TV, I can only assume that you are supporting the writers.
Some people are trying to portray them as overly rich people demanding even more money, but the facts are very different. What they basically want is to be able to survive in the years to come, what this is about is all the writers who need residuals in order to make a living. A residual isn’t a handout or an allowance, it’s not a lottery or an annuity from a slip and fall accident at a casino.
A residual is a deferred payment against the lifetime value of a script. A residual is what allow writers to earn money for their work as long as the given work does generate money, a residual is what allow writers to earn money while unemployed at times, and at any given time many writers are unemployed, that’s how the job works.
Somehow studios seems to consider writers as close to nothing, but we viewers know they are of high importance, we know that Lost would be nowhere without his amazing writing staff, with know that the brilliance of Hugh Laurie’s acting on House couldn’t exists without writers, because acting a blank page doesn’t get you nowhere. We do know that The Office is not a documentary, and that it wouldn’t work or make us laugh as much without its writers, we do know that McDreamy would mean nothing without a writers.
Because we do watch TV, we do like it, and we do know better.
Here’s a open letter sent to the governor from the creator and executive producer of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters, Jon Robin “Robbie” Baitz, :
”
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:
I am writing to you on the fourth day of a strike by The Writers Guild of America, of which I am a member. I am also, as you know, the creator and one of the executive producers of the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters, a show you commended for its contributions to the economy of California during a memorable set visit some months back. I am reaching out to you to ask that you step into this very ugly minefield and do everything in your power to bring the two parties together. Before it becomes a quagmire. Without a quick resolution that nominally satisfies both parties, production will shut down, which is already starting to happen. The actors, the crews and the staff on TV shows are even now laid off. (I am especially agonized by the effect of this strike on the crews, who keep the entire business functioning and who work much harder than anyone else, period — which I am sure you know, given the fact that you’re an old hand.) And beyond the crews, the ill effects will seep into an entire economy at the mercy of this faulty, ugly, and unproductive negotiation.
Here’s just another little video from the picket lines, with Lost’s Damon Lindelof and Desperate Housewives‘ Marc Cherry explaining again what they’re asking for, why they’re asking for it, and I still find it so unbelievable that the studios would deny such a simple, easy and logical thing.
- Hey, can we get paid for our work ?
- No! Shut up & write some more, I need more billions I want to buy a new country for my wife!
Creator of Buffy amongst other things, Joss Whedon is outside on the picket line, with all of his writer friends, as well as other friends like Alyson Hannigan or Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother.
And during a little break, Whedon sent a little something from the front lines to all his fans, and others, about the strike and why it is so important :
If you still are unsure about what the strike is all about and what writers are asking for, here’s a nice little video where it’s all very well explained. Worth a look, but I should warn you : there’s a little background music, and it’s too loud, and it gets pretty annoying real fast. Other than that, it’s all good!
I’m not sure if you’ve heard about this, but Jerry Seinfeld has a new movie coming out, something about Bees I think. I’m not too sure, and now that all talk shows are in re-runs (due to the strike) it’s gonna be hard to promote it. Or does that mean we’ll see him promoting the movie every day over & over again ?
Anyways, Jerry went by CNN to talk to Larry King for a bit, and I’m not sure who that guy is but he’s obviously not a journalist. Hell, it doesn’t even take that much to know that Seinfeld was - and still is - the greatest sitcom of all time. And that no, Larry, he did not get canceled! WTF
Many people are commenting today on some difficult choice many people will have to make, being both writers and as such members of the WGA, but also either a producer, show-runner or actor.
Echoing to an article in Variety, many wonder what someone like B.J. Novak will do. Of course, you might know him as the douchebag from The Office, Ryan, but he is also a writer. So what will he do ? Obviously the writer part of the guy will be on strike, but what about his actor side, and more importantly what will he actually do, where will he go : outside, protesting, or inside, working.
Of course The Office is an effective example of such a dilemma, as B.J. Novak but also Mindy Kaling (Kelly) or Paul Lieberstein (Toby) are in such position. But in reality, many other shows are facing the same issue. Because of pretty much every show, you have writers who are also show-runners and producers, so what will they do ?
Obviously for the network, that’s a no-brainer : they have to show up for work. As said one senior network executive, “The official line on all of our shows is we expect you to show up. We’ve told them that it’s required under their contracts, and they’ll be in breach if they don’t show up.”
On the other hand, and while it might be heartbreaking, I think most of them stand the other way around. Some executive producers/show-runners are already predicting that most of them will not show up on Monday, or any other day.
By fred | November 12, 2007 
They also said that if only one lawsuit was filed, none of them would return to work. All they’re asking is for the studios to come back to the negotiating table, so that a deal could be worked on. If the studios agreed, they would be willing to complete production on several already written episodes. Of course, studios are winning about money loss and other non-sense.
Whether you’re a TVoholic, a TV addict, obsessed with TV or only a (regular) TV viewer, whether there are dozens of series you watch every week and couldn’t live for, or you only follow a couple, as long as you do watch (and love) TV, I can only assume that you are supporting the writers.
Many people are commenting today on some difficult choice many people will have to make, being both writers and as such members of the WGA, but also either a producer, show-runner or actor.