2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike

[MGS4-SS]

Too late to save the seasons.

[draklin]

Too late to save the seasons.

Yes, but soon enough to make sure that we get new shows in Fall 08. If it lasted longer, new episodes might not arrive until Spring 09, so think positive.

[Rappy Veteran]

Yes, but soon enough to make sure that we get new shows in Fall 08. If it lasted longer, new episodes might not arrive until Spring 09, so think positive.

Thats how I am thinking :)

[Hurmoth]

There's plenty of time for them to get out a hand full of new episodes to close out seasons though.

[Tel]

i am thankful this is nearing an end, as mentioned its too late to save this years seasons but roll on sept 08.

[Hurmoth]

TV season may be saved if strike ends

Your favorite TV shows could soon be back in production if striking writers okay a proposed new contract.

The Writers Guild of America expects to see a draft copy of the proposed deal with the studios by Friday. The writers bargaining committee, and the boards from both coasts, will review the proposal before sharing the details with writers Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium.

If members like the offer, some of the remaining TV season could be saved, as well as having the Academy Awards without pickets.

[Mathachew Veteran]

I will be checking the headlines come Saturday evening/Sunday morning.

[Hurmoth]

I will be checking the headlines come Saturday evening/Sunday morning.

The vote probably won't come in for all 10,000+ members until Sunday evening, so an official announcement may not be made until Monday. Just an FYI :)

[Mathachew Veteran]

The vote probably won't come in for all 10,000+ members until Sunday evening, so an official announcement may not be made until Monday. Just an FYI :)

Doesn't mean I can't spend hours and hours.... and hours waiting to hear something :|

:p

[Hurmoth]

WGA deal could hurt SAG

With the town now expecting the WGA strike to end as soon as next week, worries have been shifting toward the Screen Actors Guild and whether the WGA deal will be good enough for the actors.

That picture has been getting murkier in recent days. SAG, which has been the writers' biggest ally during their strike, has been signaling for the past year that it will take an assertive stance at the bargaining table -- particularly on new-media issues.

But the decision by the WGA to start its strike in November, rather than wait for SAG's contract to expire on June 30, may have undercut SAG's leverage. SAG members who work in TV have now been on a de facto strike for the past several months, making it potentially more difficult for SAG leaders to mount a convincing strike threat when negotiations start in the spring.

At the same time, some top stars have told SAG leadership that they would be reluctant to support a prolonged confrontation with management. At the Oscar nominees lunch on Monday, George Clooney said SAG should start negotiations as soon as possible and asserted that strike fatigue would weaken SAG's leverage.

SAG's also now scrambling to deal with AFTRA's recent moves to undermine SAG's clout by going it alone to negotiate a primetime TV deal with the majors. AFTRA's leadership recently declared that they would be aiming to start talks with the AMPTP in early March (Daily Variety, Feb. 4) and should AFTRA succeed at signing such a deal, it would diminish SAG's leverage from going on strike after its current contract expires on June 30 -- since producers could simply sign an AFTRA deal if SAG did go on strike.

SAG's responded by scheduling an emergency national board meeting for Saturday to deal with its deteriorating relationship with AFTRA. SAG refused to comment on the meeting Wednesday after notifying board members of the confab.

If primetime negotiations with AFTRA begin without SAG, the SAG-AFTRA divorce would become official in that it would unquestionably end the "Phase I" agreement on joint negotiations that's been in effect since 1981. And if AFTRA starts to sign more shows under its new deal, SAG could retaliate by telling its members not to work on AFTRA shows and starting to sign up shows in AFTRA's traditional jurisdiction such as soaps.

SAG has scheduled a referendum asking members to approve ending Phase I, with ballots to be sent out Feb. 22 and returned by March 14. But AFTRA toppers have said the vote's irrelevant since SAG's already violated Phase I by instituting bloc voting among its negotiating committee members.

SAG's beef with AFTRA stems from the latter's refusal to reduce its 50-50 participation on the negotiating committees for film-TV and on commercials -- despite accounting for less than 10% of the earnings. SAG's complained that AFTRA has been offering producers cheaper contracts in basic cable while AFTRA has accused SAG leaders of being radical and inflexible, asserting that its "one size fits all" approach to contracts results in fewer union jobs.

SAG engaged in saber-rattling last week by insisting it would not automatically accept the terms of the WGA and DGA deals through the traditional "pattern" bargaining. That's a signal that the negotiations will probably require the involvement of moguls such as News Corp.'s Peter Chernin and Disney's Robert Iger -- as was the case in the DGA and WGA talks.

SAG has about 120,000 members while AFTRA has 70,000; about 40,000 thesps are dual cardholders.

Meanwhile, the WGA continued to picket Wednesday at the usual eight major studio lots in Los Angeles with WGA board members and negotiating committee members briefing pickets. More than 60 members and supporters turned out at CBS Television City, where board member Ron Bass was on the line during the late morning.

Strike captain Michael Russnow, who served on the board during the 1990s, said he could not help but start thinking about the next negotiations while he was supervising the CBS lines. He's hoping that the strike's legacy will be a continued spirit of activism and involvement by rank-and-file members.

"What we've shown the companies is that we're not going to sit still -- like we did for 20 years on DVD and cable as Internet revenues accelerate," he added. "We've clearly made an impact in areas like Wall Street and the Golden Globes. And staying on top of where the business is going has to be part of the 2011 negotiations."

The WGA West has asked that all pickets come to Disney Studios in Burbank today except for those who regularly picket at NBC Burbank.

Signs that the strike's expected to end soon have emerged this week, and execs are discussing production restart dates for scripted TV series within two to four weeks once there's a back-to-work order, according to Steve MacDonald, president of the Film LA permitting agency.

"We're usually hearing they plan to shoot between four and 10 additional episodes," he added. "Of course, there are still going to be episodes that were planned that won't ever get shot."

Film LA figures show off-lot shooting since the strike started has plunged 65% in dramas to 91 permits and 69% in sitcoms to 18, compared with the year-ago 14-week period. Feature permits are up 13% to 238 as studios stockpile against an actors strike.

Reality TV production is up 8% during the strike to 165 permits.

That's not good... can you imagine, we get our writers back and the actors go on strike :laugh:

Television gearing up for post-strike return

With a deal taking shape to end a three-month walkout by Hollywood writers, the strike-hobbled television industry is scrambling to get back on its feet and salvage what remains of the broadcast season.

Churning out fresh episodes of hit dramas and comedies after a lengthy production shutdown is more complicated than simply hitting the "power-on" button of a remote control.

Industry executives say it will likely take eight weeks to restore favorite shows like "House," "CSI," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Desperate Housewives" to prime time once the strike ends.

Even if the labor dispute were settled by next week, as some have anticipated, viewers would be unlikely to see original episodes of returning hourlong dramas before early April. The same is true for single-camera comedies such as "The Office" or "Scrubs," which like dramas, are shot more like a film and without live audiences.

Multi-camera sitcoms like "Two and a Half Men" and "Back to You" take less time to make -- three to four weeks from start to finish -- and could be on the air before mid-March.

The film industry, which operates on a production cycle of months or years, has seen a handful of projects put on hold by the strike but otherwise has so far been relatively unscathed.

The television industry has been harder hit since 10,500 members of the Writers Guild of America walked off the job on November 5. Studio executives and WGA leaders are said to have agreed on the outlines of a settlement, raising hopes the strike could be lifted as early as next week.

The immediacy of TV makes it more vulnerable to a work stoppage, and with most dramas and comedies halted since mid-December, productions must be ramped up from a standstill.

"The writing process itself tends to take a couple of weeks for a script to be ready to shoot, and that's just the beginning. Then you have to get it out to directors, scout locations, cast it and build sets," said one studio executive.

Filming a drama generally takes about eight days, with another week and a half needed for editing and other post-production work, he said.

ONLY HITS WILL RETURN

Not all of the roughly 65 scripted series bumped off prime time by the writers' strike will come back this year.

With dramas and single-camera comedies unlikely to get more than six weeks on the air from the time they return until the end of the broadcast season in late May, network programmers have some tough choices to make.

Hits like "CSI," "House" and "Grey's Anatomy," are "no-brainers" to bring back this spring, one network executive told Reuters.

Lower-rated shows whose futures already were in doubt will either be placed on hold for possible relaunch in the future or be canceled altogether, in part because networks lack the time to build up marketing campaigns for them, he said.

Scripted series that come back will share the airwaves with many of the reality TV and game shows that have flooded the networks in recent weeks as strike-proof programming.

There is little for networks and studios to do until the strike actually ends, but planning which shows should return and how to schedule them is well under way.

"Those conversations are happening," one insider said.

The strike also has cut into networks' winter-spring development cycle for new shows, when dozens of "pilot" episodes of potential prime-time offerings for the fall are traditionally put into production.

Top executives from the corporate parents of NBC, ABC and Fox have already said they plan to order far fewer pilots this year. Instead, networks will choose more new shows from scripts or video presentations, and that is one change that may carry into future years as networks search for ways to curb costs.

[Rappy Veteran]

A deal has been struck between the major media companies and the Writers Guild of America to end the writers' strike, former Walt Disney chief executive Michael Eisner revealed on CNBC.

"It's over," Eisner said. "They made the deal, they shook hands on the deal. It's going on Saturday to the writers in general."

Eisner, speaking live on CNBC's "Fast Money," seemed to hesitate initially about whether it was possible that the writers could still reject the agreement, but finally suggested the deal's acceptance was inevitable.

"A deal has been made, and they'll be back to work very soon," Eisner said, adding, "I know a deal's been made. I know it's over."

Eisner did not elaborate on terms of the agreement. He said he expects most of the media companies affected by the strike to have "small" write-downs as a result of the deal. Eisner said the deal was struck last Friday.

As a result of studio cutbacks, however, many of the writers who went on strike are unlikely to return to the same big-money contracts they'd had as individuals with the studios, Eisner said.

Shares of Walt Disney and CBS were both up in extended electronic trading Thursday.

[Hurmoth]

Fantastic news (Y)

Although, I would find it absolutely hilarious if they decided to vote against the proposal just to spite him :laugh: I can't stand Eisner, he's a joke IMO and I would love to see the writers kick him in the nuts!

[yisman]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/23057002

"It's over," Michael Eisner said. "They made the deal, they shook hands on the deal. It's going on Saturday to the writers in general."

[Mathachew Veteran]

All updates have been posted here. Until the contracts are signed, I won't cheer, but that's just the pessimist in me.

[+.Vamp Subscriber²]

I hope the deal goes through! I want more Lost, Scrubs, Family Guy and South Park!

[Hurmoth]

Getting Ready for Saturday Night

The WGAw's general membership meeting will be held at the Shrine Auditoriumat at 7pm (NOT 6:30pm as we reported earlier) on Saturday night.

As of Thursday afternoon, we are all still waiting on specific contract language. Lawyer and blogger Jonathan Handel has pulled together media reports of alleged WGA deal points on his Digital Media Law blog. But none of the rumors or media reports mean much. If it's not in the contract language, it's not real.

We've been emphasizing all week that a strong showing on the picket lines would give the WGA's lawyers and negotiators the maximum leverage to make sure the contract language is in keeping with what the companies pledged during informal talks. And the numbers this week have been great. WGA staff estimate that over 1500 turned out for today's mass picket at Disney.

But there's another bit of leverage at the WGA negotiators' disposal: the possibility of writers all going back to work quickly. For that reason, the prospect of ending the strike quickly is very valuable. If the contract language isn?t finished in good faith, that possibility would be destroyed.As we wrote here earlier today, the WGA constitution lays out a few timelines for when the strike could be called off. One permissible timeline would have a ratification vote completed by Wednesday.b>

In light of that option, many members have contacted U.H. privately or posted comments stating the importance of having time to digest the deal points and make up their minds in a responsible way. Keenly aware that there are pilots, tv shows, movies, jobs and a popular ceremony hanging in the balance, they are not asking for weeks, but rather days. When weighed against the three-year life of this contract (or possibly twenty-year life, if DVDs are any indication) 72 hours seems a very reasonable request.

WGA presidents Patric Verrone and Michael Winship have stated that no action will be taken until some consensus emerges among the membership. We have faith that they will do that. When they say they will let the membership decide, we take them at their word.

Should it become clear on Saturday night that the memberships in New York and LA need a day or two to digest the deal points, we think they will respect that. Likewise, if it's clear that the majority of members strongly supports the contractwe could be back at work on Mondayb>.

The WGA is a democratic union. We argue, we criticize, we make one another crazy. But during this strike, we have stood together with unprecedented and historic unity. We can make it a few more days if necessary.

No one inside or outside the union has forced us into anything, and that won't change now.

[Mathachew Veteran]

*crosses fingers*

[Rappy Veteran]

*crosses fingers*

*crosses toes*!!!

Lets hope this is it!

[MGS4-SS]

I really hope Scrubs gets to come back. *crosses every limb of own body*

[Rappy Veteran]

I really hope Scrubs gets to come back. *crosses every limb of own body*

Theres a chance that they will just release the last few eps on dvd.

[Hurmoth]

Writers' Strike: The End? (Almost)

Michael Eisner, former chief executive of The Walt Disney Co., may have said on CNBC's "Fast Money" that "The strike is over" -- but it's not QUITE there yet.

Almost, but not quite.

And Eisner's optimism definitely reflects the hopeful mood in Hollywood. If the final stretch of negotiations and ratification go well, Friday could have been the last day of picketing, and Monday, writers could be headed back to work. The studios would quickly ramp up production to get some episodes of the most popular shows on air this spring. And the Academy would hustle to throw together the Oscars.

But not so quick -- here's what has to happen for the strike to be over by Monday:

- Sometime Friday the WGA leadership is expected to complete the language of the deal it has made with the AMPTP. (The wording is key as the devil is always in the details on these things).

- Then, the WGA leadership is expected to e-mail the proposal around, or post it on their Web site, so the writers can absorb it.

- Then on Saturday, the membership of the WGA West and East are meeting with their respective leadership in L.A. and New York. The leadership will present the terms, and gauge their reaction.

- Then Sunday, the leadership will meet to vote on whether or not to approve a deal. Before it goes to a membership vote the leadership could very well decide to call off the strike, based on the perception of support at the Saturday meetings.

So, if it's back to work Monday, what then?

The TV industry has certainly been hit the hardest, and no, your favorite shows won't be ready for you to channel-surf to them next week. Sorry. But, I can say that if the networks can have writers back at their desks next week, a dozen-plus of the most popular primetime shows should make it back on the air this spring.

The first shows to return will be comedies, like "The Office" (on CNBC's sister network, NBC -- both owned by General Electric) or "Back to You," on News Corp.'s Fox. You'll also probably see the high-rated shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives." (They're each shot on a contained set, so it won't be so hard to get things back up and running).

You won't see the more complicated, expensive shows until the fall -- the likes of NBC's "Heroes" and Fox's "24" just involve so much production, I won't expect to see any new episodes this spring.

Now, the crunch time. People throughout Hollywood's various industries are hoping there will be reason to celebrate this weekend.

[Mathachew Veteran]

*kept fingers crossed since last post mentioning it*

The great part about the Office is that several scripts are already done, so they could continue production when the strike is over. However, the production crew was laid off, and they'd have to rehire them, and so I'd imagine this wouldn't happen immediately or within a day or two of the strike ending. Still, I want more Office :D

[Hurmoth]

I've been reading that networks are already in the process of rehiring. That's how confident they are the strike is over :D

Edited February 9, 2008 by Hurmoth

[Mathachew Veteran]

Do you mean rehiring? Schweet!

[Gamerhomie]

Sweet. I haven't checked up on this the past week. Glad to see everyone will be returning to work.