According to what sounds like a reliable source from Deadline Hollywood Daily, today’s resumption fo contact talks between writers and studios could end up being a highly positive thing. In fact, “a very reliable source tells me that there appears to be a deal seemingly in place between both sides“.
The insider revealed that thanks to the groundwork done during the past weeks by the Hollywood agents working the writers guild leadership on one side, and the studio and network moguls on the other, things could be wrapped up quite soon.
Don’t expect a deal and resolution to be announced today or even this week, but at this point it seems very possible that the strike could be settled before Christmas.
Not to raise any false hope, but if that were to happen that would be pretty fantastic ! For all the writers and everyone whose jobs have been affected by this whole thing, and also in a way more selfish way there may be hope for a real good season of Lost after all…
Both sides agreed that the negotiations - starting today - will have a news blackout, so don’t expect to learn anything (big) until they worked things out. But there seem to be a real possibility, if not probability, that things could end up for good this year. Of course, it would still be weeks before everything got back to normal, and most important nothing is done until both parties agreed and documents are signed, so let’s wait and see. And hope.
Now is the time to save ALL our shows. MAIL PENCILS pencils to the AMPTP and to any studios whose shows you enjoy…
Maybe we can help the studios see just how much support the WGA has. And maybe, just maybe, we can give them a graceful way out - not because they’re buckling under the writers’ demands, but because they care so much about their audience. Us. And isn’t that supposed to be their job?
– Nikki Finke
Here’s a little video that explains how you can use pencils to make a difference :
I feel like I want to give an award to one of the main networks, but an award that the network should not be willing to win. This award would be given by us, viewers, to the network ruining our TV experience the most. Now let’s put some pretty clear rules about this, I am not talking about the quality of the series they air or anything like that, every network have good series and bad ones, and I personally do watch and enjoy series on all of the big networks.
This award should be given to that network we hate the most, because whenever we’re watching one of their show it seems they’re trying to do their best to really ruin our experience of the show, by distracting us and showing those annoying invasive ads eating sometimes as much as half the screen, letting us know about those things we absolutely don’t care about.
In what in undeniably the bets news of the week, studios have finally agreed to back back to the negotiation table and talk with the writers. The meeting has been set to take place on November 26th, and we can only hope that the WGA and the AMPTP will be able to find an agreement and put an end to this strike as soon as possible.
WGA West President Patric Verrone hailed the breakthrough as a result of the union’s resolve as he wrote to the members : “This announcement is a direct result of your efforts“.
Here’s a message send to all strike captains:
The effort and energy and resolve of the strike captains and teams, on the line, in headquarters, on location, and out in the community including the blogosphere has had a tremendous impact, and been instrumental in bringing the companies back to the bargaining table. Congratulations! Of course, going back to the table is an important step; but we must not allow our effort and creativity to wane. The strike must continue and we must continue to increase our impact and message to get the best possible deal for writers and for others who will benefit from our struggle, including actors, directors, drivers, crew, etc.
Let’s hope that both sides can come to an agreement soon enough, so that everyone can have a good summer and 2008 start with a season coming back to life !
Yesterday I posted a video in which Sarah Silverman asked to hear about the other side, so let’s do this. Kind of. This video, attributed to the “Colbert Report” writers, portrays one of the studios exec explaining their side. As you could expect it, it was pretty damn hilarious !
“Very successful entertainment executive, who is also quite young for his position, on why scribes’ strike is asinine…”
Apparently the AMPTP tried to feed a bunch of lies to the public, using their fresh new billions made from new medias to buy ads in the Los Angeles Times and the New-York Times. In response the Writers Guild of America issued this statement in order to restore some truth :
Nice try, AMPTP. In the words of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. The AMPTP’s paid and patronizing advertisement in today’s New York Times and Los Angeles Times is guilty of what most charitably could be called sins of omission.
Here’s a pretty cool video with known faces from The Sarah Silverman Program, starting with Sarah Silverman herself, with everyone else on the picket line, wondering about the other side…
You’ve probably heard how studios claimed that they couldn’t pay the writers for the use of their work online because it was such a new media, and they didn’t make any money out of it, nor could they even be sure they ever will. All lies. You know it, I know it, writers know it, and they know it too.
Here’s a nice video provided by United Hollywood where people such as Viacom chairman, President and CEO of Walt Disney Company, CBS CEO, NBC chairman and others proudly declare how many millions, I mean billions they are making and intend to make from those new media, and how whether you watch shows on TV, on your iPod, on your computer or wherever you want, they’ll get paid the same.
Maybe that’s why they also tried to call full episodes you watch online or pay to download “promotion”…. And it’s because of those assholes we will get a shortened butchered season, and people are loosing their jobs! Sometimes I wish I could torture people to death with my mind…
* 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.”
By fred | November 26, 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.