2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike

[Rappy Veteran]

Dear Friend,

Please go to the below link to see a video I made in support of the writer's strike.

Many of you have asked about the fate of the final episodes of Scrubs. If the strike goes on too much longer there is a good chance they will never be written or shot and the series finale will remain in the mind of our show's creator, Bill Lawrence...

hope this finds you well,

peace and love,

zb

[Hurmoth]

Hollywood Suffers, Viacom Spas

Finally, a solid and completely understandable explanation has emerged for why certain members of the AMPTP are unable to return to the negotiating table.

It turns out that next Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, the hardworking heads of all Viacom, CBS, and Paramount Entertainment Divisions will be enjoying "award-winning accommodations," "world-renowned" spa treatments," "AAA Five Diamond" gourmet dining, and round after exhilarating round of "championship quality" golf during an executive retreat at The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa.

Oh, and anybody wanna guess where Boulders is located?

No really, go ahead and guess. Because even if we weren't three months into a painful strike, pounding the pavement of our picket-lines, fighting for a fair deal, struggling to make our rent and feed our families...you definitely still can't write this kind of thing.

Ready?

Carefree, Arizona.

That's right. CAREFREE. Maybe you've heard of it? It's a little town somewhere between Footloose and ****em.

Now, hopefully, as soon as Sumner, Les and the gang are finished luxuriating in a cucumber sea-grass body wash, using some of their Internet profits to pay for foie gras, or just telling writer jokes at the spa -- they'll find time in their busy schedules and be relaxed enough to come back to the negotiating table. All of those in the entertainment industry put out of work and hurt by the strike sure would appreciate it.

Of course, if you'd like to leave a personal message at the front desk so the staff can pass that along, beginning Sunday, January 13, they can be reached toll-free at:

The Boulders Resort

34631 N. Tom Darlington Dr.

Carefree, AZ 85377

(866) 397-6520

Enjoy your stay, folks.

[Hurmoth]

Writers strike is war

We get the impression, in this third month of the Hollywood writers strike, that morale on the picket lines and in the coffee shops isn't so hot. That's odd, given how strong the writers are looking right now.

With the downfall of the Golden Globe Awards, the Writers Guild of America has drawn blood. Now is not the time to go wobbly. If the writers want to win, they need to understand the grim logic of their situation. Good public relations are fine, as are pious press releases, shows of support from the Screen Actors Guild and crocodile tears for lost awards shows. But to win, the writers need to get serious about demolishing fall schedules and annihilating Christmas release dates. Yes, the guild's leadership is full of high sentence about getting everybody back to work and doing what's best for all the peoples of planet Earth, but let's be honest: Strike is war.

And frankly, we're having a hard time understanding how it helps the guild's position to have the troops making separate peace agreements. After deals were cut allowing writers to go back to work for David Letterman and for Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner, guild leaders Patric M. Verrone and Michael Winship sent out a memo bragging that these agreements feature "all the proposals we were preparing to make when the conglomerates left the bargaining table." That's nice, but both deals will be superseded by whatever terms the guild and the Assn. of Motion Picture and Television Producers ultimately agree to. Moreover, the deals mean some small amounts of revenue are again flowing for, respectively, CBS and MGM. As a result, those organizations have incrementally less incentive to give in.

The guild's argument seems to be that the independent deals will be a Trojan horse to get the writers' demands inside the producers' camp. But the Trojan horse is a made-up story. It doesn't work in an actual fight. The math of a strike is so simple even English majors can grasp it: If money is changing hands, that's bad for the strikers. This is true even if it's relative chump change, and even if independent producers cut sympathetic figures.

The writers strike has had a real, and lamentable, effect on the industry and on the Los Angeles economy. It is for this reason that we've repeatedly urged both sides to return to the table. But an essential truth seems to be getting lost here. Pain isn't a byproduct of the walkout; it's the whole point of it, and it should be what compels the negotiations to resume.

[Rappy Veteran]

LOS ANGELES ? The Weinstein Company, one of Hollywood?s biggest independent film companies, is expected to formally announce an agreement with striking writers as early as Thursday, according to Harvey Weinstein, the company?s co-founder.

Speaking at a breakfast interview here, Mr. Weinstein said the company had come to terms with writers on a deal similar to that reached last week by United Artists, the first independent movie company to reach an interim contract with the writers, who have been on strike since Nov. 5.

?We need to get people back to work,? Mr. Weinstein said of the agreement. He said executives of the major film and television companies ? which broke off talks with the writers last month ? had reacted ?negatively? to his decision to reach independent terms. But Mr. Weinstein said he felt an obligation to help break the logjam that has shut down much of the entertainment industry.

According to Mr. Weinstein, the deal includes provisions that will allow it to be superseded by any deal ultimately reached with the major companies through their bargaining group, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

One project that will immediately benefit from the independent deal is ?Nine,? a planned film from Rob Marshall, who directed ?Chicago.? Anthony Minghella, who has worked with Mr. Weinstein on films like ?The English Patient? and ?Cold Mountain,? is expected to begin working on revisions of a script that was written by Michael Tolkin, Mr. Weinstein said.

A number of other companies are seeking independent agreements with the striking Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West. But no major production company has yet broken ranks to seek a separate arrangement with the guilds.

[Hurmoth]

Tom Hanks to AMPTP: Negotiate Seriously, Save the Oscars

According to Reuters, actor Tom Hanks has firmly spoken out in favor of a fair deal for the striking WGA. Read the whole article here.

"I just hope that the big guys who make big decisions up high in their corporate boardrooms and what not get down to honest bargaining and everyone can get back to work."

The star of box office hits "Forrest Gump" and "The Da Vinci Code", and twice a best actor Oscar winner, added that a shift in the way screenwriters were rewarded for their work was needed in the Internet age.

"The delivery systems, the revenue streams, just the very presentation media is now going to be a brand new place," he said in a brief interview on Thursday.

United Hollywood thanks Tom for stating the issue so simply and resolutely. Let us all hope he is heard.

[Piggy]

Damn, it's not over yet. The next few months are gonna suck ass. :no:

[Hurmoth]

NBC U Exec: $1 Billion in Digital Revenue By End of Year

Apparently some of the mega-corps that make up the AMPTP don't need the same three year study they offered the WGA in order to figure out how they can make money in the digital age. A lot of money.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, NBC Universal's president of Integrated Media Beth Comstock said she expects her company to hit $1 billion in digital revenue by the end of this year.

Yes, you read that correctly: one BILLION dollars. As in Dr. Evil money. A number not pulled out of a hat by some Wall Street analysts (as in the analysts who estimated NBC U made the paltry sum of $700 million in digital revenue in 2007) but an estimate of ONE BILLION DOLLARS straight from the mouth of the NBC U's president of Integrated Media.

All to be generated in a far off, distant time futurists call "this year."

But that's impossible, you say. It can't be. There's no money to be made on the Internet. Isn't that what Big Media keeps telling the Hollywood creative community?

Sure, that's what they're saying to some people (I'm talking to you, WGA). But according to the must-read Variety article linked above, shockingly, that might not be entirely true:

"The most high-profile bet NBC U has made is Hulu.com, the joint Internet vid venture with News Corp. that is still in beta mode but expected to be ready for primetime in the not-so-distant future. Hulu is stocked with ad supported, free web-streaming titles, from contempo NBC and Fox hits to scads of vintage product from both studios. (If you've just got to see the episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" where Les Nessman tries to end it all by jumping off a ledge, Hulu is where you outta be.)"

You know, ad supported "promotional" showings of past, "vintage" shows like WKRP in order to promote the current season of WK-- uh, never mind. The article continues:

"Feature film content so far pretty is limited, though it does include cult faves such as 'Weekend at Bernie's' and 'The Breakfast Club.'"

Again, I'm sure these are "promotional" showings promoting, uh, ad revenue for NBC U and its partners (but not those who created these movies). Is there more? You bet:

"Unlike past studio-backed 'Net efforts, the partners aren't banking so much on making Hulu.com a destination unto itself, but rather the hub from which to syndicate free, ad-embedded content through its formidable distrib partners including MSN, AOL, Yahoo and MySpace, among others. Hulu in October garnered a $100 million equity investment from a major player in the private equity world, Providence Equity Partners."

Gee, no wonder these giant media companies bolted from the negotiating table after offering writers $250 for their work on the Internet. It was probably out of embarrassment at being so greedy. That or they were simply having too hard a time trying keep a straight face.

Damn, it's not over yet. The next few months are gonna suck ass. :no:

Not necessarily, if you are a Lost fan you'll have that. You've got new episodes of Monk and Psych. Three more episodes of House. Law & Order is all new, and also a new season of Law & Order: CI is coming to NBC. There's still a lot of new episodes for dramas. Comedies are done for the most part, but it isn't desperate yet. The worst part will be if this runs into the summer and affects the 08-09 TV season.

[sTIMPZ]

I'm really disappointed about losing Big Shots, Brothers and Sisters, House (for a little bit at least), and especially The Office. I've found it hard to keep on top of this strike but I do support the WGA and I hope everything works out well for them...but I still want The Office back.

[Mathachew Veteran]

$1 billion this year in internet revenue alone, and yet, they don't want to let go of a what? $150 million over the next three years? Who's still supporting these greedy guys?

[Hurmoth]

$1 billion this year in internet revenue alone, and yet, they don't want to let go of a what? $150 million over the next three years? Who's still supporting these greedy guys?

Exactly!!! All they would have to give up is an estimated $150 million over the next three years and some of you support these greedy bastards? This is just one company making $1 billion, imagine what CBS, Fox, and ABC will make as well.

[Rappy Veteran]

Wow a $1b thats some amount.

I have Las Vegas until the end of Feb but I would love to see some new Heroes one day.

[Hurmoth]

"Why We Write"

"Today’s piece is written by Damon Lindelof, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of Lost.

I was listening to the news on NPR the other day and two things occurred to me. First, only ###### feel the constant need to tell you they listen to NPR (does anyone ever say, “So I was watching the CW last night…”?) and I guess that makes me an *******. The second was that in the midst of listening to the story in question, I had finally figured out how to succinctly sum up why I write. It goes a little something like this --There’s this ninety-year old woman named Rose who, after honking her horn repeatedly at the school bus idling in front of her, decides she has much more important things to do and guns her Honda Civic around the bus. Before she realizes that the bus was stopped for a very good reason indeed, Rose finds herself watching a freight train bear down on her and almost instantly, it smashes into the passenger side of the Civic and pushes it a good hundred feet before screeching to a stop. Forgoing all the gory details, Rose is pronounced dead at the local hospital and the attending doctor in the ER is tasked with notifying next of kin. Turns out Rose’s husband has been dead for decades, but she has a couple sons and a daughter. The doctor calls one of her sons and his wife answers the phone. The son isn’t home, but the wife offers to take a message. The notification ethics, however, forbid the hospital from telling anyone but next of kin about Rose’s death and so they ask when the son will be home so they can call back.And the wife responds “He won’t be back for two months.” And the hospital says, “Well… do you have a number where we could reach him?” And the wife says no, she doesn’t. And why not?–

Because he’s in space.

As in outer space. As in orbit. As in one of a handful of human beings who have the unique distinction of not being on the ****ing planet.

The son, Richard, is working on the International Space Station doing repair work. And as he floats in Zero-G, he is blissfully unaware that his ninety-year old mother has just been flattened by a train.

I **** you not. This really happened.

And what does this family’s personal tragedy have to do with why I write?

Because to me, this is an amazing story. And as soon as I hear it, my brain is already hammering out the scene where Rose’s other kids debate as to whether or not to even tell Richard. The daughter, Christine, insists on telling him that mom died peacefully in her sleep and holding the grisly truth for when he’s back on Earth. Richard’s brother Michael, however, demands they tell Richard all the gory details. Why? Because it was Richard’s fault she was still driving at ninety. Michael’s been trying to get her into assisted living for over five years now and if stupid ****ing Richard had just ****ing listened to him, she’d still be ****ing alive!

Fortunately, I think, the decision is not up to Richard’s siblings. He is, after all, a member of the military, so this would be a NASA issue. And it turns out in their guidelines there’s this thing called the Dual Plume Protocol. The Dual Plume Protocol, or DPP, was officially incorporated into NASA’s Psychological Charter this year. Let me back up --

In September of 2001, the space station was manned by three people -- an American and Two Russians. As they were orbiting over the Northeastern United States, the American called Mission Control to report that he could see (with his naked eye) two massive pillars of black smoke rising up through the atmosphere. When they answered back, explaining that the black smoke was all that remained of the Towers, the American took a long, sorrowful pause and responded – “I wish you hadn’t told me that.”

As a result of the DPP, NASA started actually asking the astronauts who are leaving the planet what their personal wishes are regarding notifications of earthbound tragedies. And this is like, a very detailed document because it covers everything from worldwide catastrophes (i.e. Katrina or a Tsunami) down to things that would only affect the astronaut him or herself (i.e. their mother’s Honda getting pulverized by a freight train) and it must be signed and notarized before launch. Why? Because the emotional state and focus of these guys is critical. They’re being sent up to perform missions on a space station and after spending millions to train them (Richard is one of three people alive who has the skill set to execute these specific repairs) it costs BILLIONS just to get them up there to perform them and the last thing NASA needs is for someone to go batshit with grief on the day they’re supposed to fix the thruster converter thigamajob.

So I’m sitting there thinking how Richard may have filled out his DPP Form…

And I realize there’s no such thing.

I made it up.

Yeah, I remember hearing about the astronauts on the space station having seen the carnage over Manhattan from orbit, but that’s got nothing to do with the story of Rose’s death. In fact, I don’t know how many kids she had or, for that matter, whether or not they can just send an email to Richard (can you get email in space?) and dispense with all the formality.

But where’s the drama in that?

So that’s why I write.

I write because I can’t help but make things up.

I write because I love to tell stories.

I write because my imagination compels me to do so.

I write because if I didn’t, I’d be branded a pathological liar.

Oh, and also because I’m still trying to make my dead father proud of me.

But that’s none of your goddamn business.

A nice little story from a writer to she he is a person too! If only the CEOs of these conglomerates had an ounce of the talent Lindelof had they would need writers, but they don't and they do and the writers need a fair deal.

Edited January 10, 2008 by Hurmoth

[Hurmoth]

Breaking News: Weinstein Co. signs interim pact with WGA

The Weinstein Co. has followed United Artists by inking a nearly identical interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America.

The pact, which also covers Dimension, will allow the pace of activity at the company to resume. The move had been expected earlier in the week (Daily Variety, Jan. 10).

Harvey Weinstein made no bones about his reasons for signing the deal, stressing his empathy for the striking writers and the hardships they've endured over the past 10 weeks.

He stressed that he supported a proposal from George Clooney that a blue-ribbon panel of actors and filmmakers be set up to mediate the dispute. The condition would be that no one would leave the room for 48 hours until a settlement was (theoretically) reached.

Clooney proposed that the panel include the likes of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and other top A-listers.

"If a deal with the writers can be hammered out, other guilds would follow," Weinstein said. In the absence of such a solution, "The price being paid by the community as a whole is unthinkable."

Terms of the TWC's interim deal were not disclosed. A company rep said it closely followed the UA pact. The WGA has said it reached out to indie companies in an effort to rack up enough deals to gain leverage in the overall struggle.

Dimension topper Bob Weinstein is plotting his own course with regard to the strike. The genre arm's summer hits "1408" and "Halloween" gave a much-needed boost to the 2-year-old company last year.

The TWC interim pact probably comes as a greater relief to Weinstein execs, filmmakers and investors than to the Gotham film community as a whole. Along with new scripts coming in, certain key projects in the pipeline will get some wind in their sails, such as "Nine," the Rob Marshall musical adaptation that Michael Tolkin originally scripted.

Anthony Minghella, whose Mirage Entertainment recently reupped at TWC, plans to work on rewrites of "Nine." Cast members attached include Javier Bardem, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz and Sophia Loren.

For the WGA, it's questionable whether the handful of interim deals inked in the past few weeks will be able to exert significant pressure on the majors.

During the 1988 writers strike, the guild strike 150 deals with companies of varying sizes, but to little gain. Then again, the revenue capabilities of indie companies are far greater 20 years later, so the incremental progress of interim dealmaking is something all of showbiz has had its eye on. Predictions that multiple mega-indies would follow UA's lead have yet to be realized.

There was no immediate response from the guild late Thursday, though it touted the UA deal with a message to members on Monday.

As for the AMPTP's reaction to the TWC pact, spokesman Jesse Hiestand reiterated Thursday his previous statement about the UA deal: "One-off deals do nothing to bring the WGA closer to a permanent solution for working writers. These interim agreements are sideshows and mean only that some writers will be employed at the same time other writers will be picketing. In the end, until the people in charge at WGA decide to focus on the main event rather than these sideshows, the economic harm being caused by the strike will continue."

The next WGA interim deals could come from year-old Overture Films and Nu Image/Millennium. Overture's indicated it's open to such a pact, and Nu Image chief Avi Lerner confirmed that he's in discussions to make a WGA deal akin to those brokered with UA and TWC.

Edited January 11, 2008 by Hurmoth

[Hurmoth]

CBS Chief Moonves Wants to Get Back to Table With Writers

CBS head honcho Les Moonves hinted at an industry conference Thursday that the television giant is trying to restart negotiations with the striking Writers Guild of America, but offered no details as to what that those efforts entail.

Moonves, speaking at the Citigroup Entertainment, Media & Telecommunications conference in Phoenix, stressed that the writers strike is not having an adverse impact on the network so far.

?We sincerely hope that the talks begin shortly and that there is a resolution,? Moonves said. ?I can tell you there are some steps that are being taken to push that ahead, and we hope that reasonable people prevail and that we can make a go of it in the near future.?

But later in the conference Moonves said that he is ?guardedly optimistic that it [the strike] will be over in the next few months.?

The WGA went on strike on Nov. 5, and talks with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down in December. The dispute has centered on residuals for new media and the union?s bid to get jurisdiction over animation and reality shows.

In the meantime, Moonves said that the strike is not having an adverse effect on CBS? bottom line.

?We can finish this television season just fine,? Moonves said. ?The television season ends at the end of May, obviously revenue will be down somewhat because ratings will be down. We have some live football games left, the NCAA [March Madness] basketball tournament is coming up, we have reality programming that is available, we have some original programming. The CBS schedule repeats better than anybody else?s schedule, because our procedural dramas ? the CSI?s of the world ? repeat extremely well. Our revenue will be down somewhat, but the cost of producing original programming will be down more.?

[Rappy Veteran]

^^

I hope CBS does go back to the table not that I watch much on CBS.

[mattmatik]

I'm missing The Office and The Big Bang Theory. What's unfortunate is TBBT was gaining momentum and the shows were really improving. But, because it's a new IP, it won't be able to recover like The Office or other established shows.

I'm back to DVRing Frasier and watching Nick@Nite.

[Piggy]

Some good did come out of the strike.. I watched Dexter. Now that's my favourite show EVER! :D

[gigapixels Veteran]

^^

I hope CBS does go back to the table not that I watch much on CBS.

How I Met Your Mother. Enough said.

[Rappy Veteran]

How I Met Your Mother. Enough said.

Never seen it :p

[draklin]

Never seen it :p

That's it Rappy, time for you to Suit Up!

[sTIMPZ]

I'm missing The Office and The Big Bang Theory. What's unfortunate is TBBT was gaining momentum and the shows were really improving. But, because it's a new IP, it won't be able to recover like The Office or other established shows.

I'm back to DVRing Frasier and watching Nick@Nite.

When all of this is resolved, The Office will maintain its same writers correct? I'm still kind of unsure about what is going to happen to all of these shows and how this strike will be resolved.

[Hurmoth]

When all of this is resolved, The Office will maintain its same writers correct? I'm still kind of unsure about what is going to happen to all of these shows and how this strike will be resolved.

Yes, all of the current writers will return as they're hired by the showrunner which is a producer/creator/writer of the show. The vast majority of them are on the writers side, so I can't imagine they'd fire the people they hired if they agree with their cause. But anything's possible.

[sTIMPZ]

Yes, all of the current writers will return as they're hired by the showrunner which is a producer/creator/writer of the show. The vast majority of them are on the writers side, so I can't imagine they'd fire the people they hired if they agree with their cause. But anything's possible.

That's still good news for me I guess :)...I couldn't imagine The Office without the current cast and production that it has had. If you couldn't tell by now I'm an Office fanatic and can't wait for new episodes ^_^

off topic: today is my 3 year anniversary of registering for this site...weird :o

[Konstanov]

Holy **** thanks to this thread I found out Guy ****ing Ritchie is remaking The Dirty Dozen. I'm going to go orgasm now.

[metallithrax]

Holy **** thanks to this thread I found out Guy ****ing Ritchie is remaking The Dirty Dozen. I'm going to go orgasm now.

You gotta be ****ting me! :o

Better make a good job of it, and not include his missus in it either.