2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike

[sTIMPZ]

Long live The Office! Even if I can just see 1 new episode in the next 6 months that's enough for me...I've seen every episode they've got multiple times. And I didn't even get into the show until Christmas.

[Hurmoth]

Do you mean rehiring? Schweet!

Yeah :blush:

WRITERS, PRODUCERS REACH TENTATIVE DEAL

The Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

WGA West president Patric Verrone and WGA East president Michael Winship sent out an email to members at 3 a.m. Saturday alerting writers that a deal has been made that “protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery.”

All the deal points can be found at click here.

[Martyn]

What I want to know is, if the strike ends this Saturday, will we see more than eight episodes of Lost now it is back? I mean, the original plan was for it to air 8 and then stop, but is there the possibility that they might continue and air all 18 episodes?

Maybe I am being a bit optimistic.

[Hurmoth]

What I want to know is, if the strike ends this Saturday, will we see more than eight episodes of Lost now it is back? I mean, the original plan was for it to air 8 and then stop, but is there the possibility that they might continue and air all 18 episodes?

Maybe I am being a bit optimistic.

I think it is completely possible for them to get 8 more episodes filmed and aired, albeit there will have to be a break probably in the airing (two or three weeks possibly?).

It takes 8 days to film an episode of Lost, and then 3-4 days to edit. So you're looking around 12-15 days per episode, so if they started filming again on Monday (which they probably won't be able to), then they could get 1 more episode filmed this month (grant it, that's not working weekends).

Lost could also have two film crews to cut down on the amount of filming days required. I've read that they've done this before when the season end nears and they are rushed for time, so they could easily do that this time as well.

Of course adding another film crew increase costs and at this point, because of how much the strike has already cost the networks, who knows if ABC will be willing to spend more. But Lost is their biggest show, so they may do it.

[Mathachew Veteran]

Now all that has to be done is for the writers to vote yay and we can end this strike, and guarantee seeing most of our favorite shows this fall... bwahahahaha! :D

[bdsams Veteran]

finally!

[Rappy Veteran]

More Lost = Fine by me :D

[episode]

I think it is completely possible for them to get 8 more episodes filmed and aired, albeit there will have to be a break probably in the airing (two or three weeks possibly?).

It takes 8 days to film an episode of Lost, and then 3-4 days to edit. So you're looking around 12-15 days per episode, so if they started filming again on Monday (which they probably won't be able to), then they could get 1 more episode filmed this month (grant it, that's not working weekends).

Lost could also have two film crews to cut down on the amount of filming days required. I've read that they've done this before when the season end nears and they are rushed for time, so they could easily do that this time as well.

Of course adding another film crew increase costs and at this point, because of how much the strike has already cost the networks, who knows if ABC will be willing to spend more. But Lost is their biggest show, so they may do it.

You forgot the 'writing' period, which is another 8-10 days.

What I want to know is, if the strike ends this Saturday, will we see more than eight episodes of Lost now it is back? I mean, the original plan was for it to air 8 and then stop, but is there the possibility that they might continue and air all 18 episodes?

Maybe I am being a bit optimistic.

16 would be max, not 18.

Best case scenario, I would think, would be that we would end up with 12 episodes this season.

[Hurmoth]

You forgot the 'writing' period, which is another 8-10 days.

They could easily get scripts out in 4 days for Lost; plus from what I've read, they already have some scripts partially written, they just couldn't finish them in time of the strike.

They don't have the same writers for every episode anyway, so they could be working on multiple scripts at the same time as well.

[Rappy Veteran]

From TV Guide

At long last, a strike chart you can get excited about!

With an end to the three-month-old WGA strike imminent (yay!), the networks have quietly begun outlining plans to salvage what's left of the current TV season. At the same time, I've been quietly picking at my moles to get a preview of those plans ? the results of which appear in chart form below.

Keep in mind that the following information remains extremely tentative and is subject to change (and probably will). In other words, I strongly suggest you refresh your browser at least once an hour to ensure that you're getting the most up-to-date scoop possible.

24

Expected to return this fall or January '09.

30 Rock

Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

Back to You

Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future TBD*.

Bionic Woman

No new episodes expected. Ever.

Big Love

Expected to go into production on Season 3 in March. Airdate info is TBD.

Bones

Four pre-strike episodes left. Unclear whether additional episodes will be produced for this season.

Brothers & Sisters

Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May.

Chuck

No new episodes until fall.

Criminal Minds

Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

CSI

Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

CSI: Miami

Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

CSI: NY

Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Desperate Housewives

Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May.

Dirty Sexy Money

No new episodes planned until fall; three remaining pre-strike episodes will undergo some tweaking and kick off fall run.

ER

TBD.

Everybody Hates Chris

Twelve pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Friday Night Lights

No new episodes expected for this season. Future TBD.

Gossip Girl

Expected to shoot up to 9 new episodes to air in April/May/June.

Grey's Anatomy

Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May

Heroes

TBD.

House

Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

How I Met Your Mother

Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Jericho

Seven episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Las Vegas

Three pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Law & Order: SVU

TBD.

Life

No new episodes expected until fall.

Life Is Wild

No new episodes expected. Ever.

Lost

Six pre-strike episodes remain. Six additional episodes could air this season.

Medium

Six pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Men in Trees

Eleven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Moonlight

No new episodes expected until fall.

My Name Is Earl

Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

NCIS

Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes, only three of which may air this season.

The New Adventures of Old Christine

Seven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Numbers

Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes, only three of which may air this season.

October Road

Five pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

The Office

Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

One Tree Hill

Six pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Prison Break

Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Private Practice

Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May.

Pushing Daisies

No new episodes until fall.

Reaper

Three pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Samantha Who?

Three remaining pre-strike episodes could possibly surface this season, or be held until fall (see Dirty Sexy Money).

Scrubs

Four pre-strike episodes remain. Four additional episodes will likely be shot; unclear whether they'll air on NBC or go straight to DVD.

Smallville

Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 3 to 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Supernatural

Two pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 3 to 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Five pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Two and a Half Men

Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Ugly Betty

Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May.

Women's Murder Club

No additional episodes expected for this season. Future TBD, although one Club member admits, "We're terrified that it's over for us."

[Mathachew Veteran]

I'll be keeping a close eye on that list *crosses fingers for more Office and Lost*

[Lewism]

Damn, no more Chuck until fall :(

[Rappy Veteran]

Damn, no more Chuck until fall :(

Yeah but at least the strike will be over!

[Hurmoth]

Letter From The Presidents With Deal Summary

This was sent early this morning to membership. The delay in publishing the deal points, we've learned, was because the companies dragged their feet enshrining some of the final details in an attempt to renege on some of what they had promised. The last-minute fight to keep that from happening took until late last night.

To Our Fellow Members,

We have a tentative deal.

It is an agreement that protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery. It creates formulas for revenue-based residuals in new media, provides access to deals and financial data to help us evaluate and enforce those formulas, and establishes the principle that, "When they get paid, we get paid."

Specific terms of the agreement are described in the summary at the following link - http://mail.citrustudio.com/ct/1843160:203...6D8531C64503D7B and will be further discussed at our Saturday membership meetings on both coasts. At those meetings we will also discuss how we will proceed regarding ratification of this agreement and lifting the restraining order that ends the strike. Details of the Los Angeles meeting can be found at http://mail.citrustudio.com/ct/1843161:203...6D8531C64503D7B.

Less than six months ago, the AMPTP wanted to enact profit-based residuals, defer all Internet compensation in favor of a study, forever eliminate "distributor's gross" valuations, and enforce 39 pages of rollbacks to compensation, pension and health benefits, reacquisition, and separated rights. Today, thanks to three months of physical resolve, determination, and perseverance, we have a contract that includes WGA jurisdiction and separated rights in new media, residuals for Internet reuse, enforcement and auditing tools, expansion of fair market value and distributor's gross language, improvements to other traditional elements of the MBA, and no rollbacks.

Over these three difficult months, we shut down production of nearly all scripted content in TV and film and had a serious impact on the business of our employers in ways they did not expect and were hard pressed to deflect. Nevertheless, an ongoing struggle against seven, multinational media conglomerates, no matter how successful, is exhausting, taking an enormous personal toll on our members and countless others. As such, we believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks and that the time has come to accept this contract and settle the strike.

Much has been achieved, and while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice, our strike has been a success. We activated, engaged, and involved the membership of our Guilds with a solidarity that has never before occurred. We developed a captains system and a communications structure that used the Internet to build bonds within our membership and beyond. We earned the backing of other unions and their members worldwide, the respect of elected leaders and politicians throughout the nation, and the overwhelming support of fans and the general public. Our thanks to all of them, and to the staffs at both Guilds who have worked so long and patiently to help us all.

There is much yet to be done and we intend to use all the techniques and relationships we've developed in this strike to make it happen. We must support our brothers and sisters in SAG who, as their contract expires in less than five months, will be facing many of the same challenges we have just endured. We must further pursue new relationships we have established in Washington and in state and local governments so that we can maintain leverage against the consolidated multinational conglomerates with whom we bargain. We must be vigilant in monitoring the deals that are made in new media so that in the years ahead we can enforce and expand our contract. We must fight to get decent working conditions and benefits for writers of reality TV, animation, and any other genre in which writers do not have a WGA contract.

Most important, however, is to continue to use the new collective power we have generated for our collective benefit. More than ever, now and beyond, we are all in this together.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone

President, WGAW

Michael Winship

President, WGAE

[sTIMPZ]

That hurts for Dirty Sexy Money...the last episode left off at such a cliffhanger too...I honestly don't even remember what it was about now either, I just remember being sad that it was that kind of a cliffhanger.

[Rappy Veteran]

Shame Las Vegas ends in 3 eps and I hope it gets a new season because the ratings have actually been awesome for it.

[Rob2687]

The one bad thing about the strike end is and I think a lot of people will agree that Conan is even better without the writers.

[Hurmoth]

Strike Not Over Just Yet

The espresso is brewing and the laptops are heating up, but not everyone is click-clacking away just yet.

After announcing they had struck a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, Writers Guild of America leaders informed members during a briefing Saturday night that they will have 48 hours to vote on the new terms once the board has ratified the contract.

WGA officials will meet Sunday to officially endorse the agreement, and then, pending approval from the majority of the guild, the strike that began Nov. 5 and took down the Golden Globes?and perhaps a little bit of Hollywood's soul?will be formally, and finally, over.

The ins and outs of the proposed three-year deal were presented to hundreds of the WGA's East Coast members early Saturday evening at New York's Crowne Plaza hotel, and about 3,000 others were briefed at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles a few hours later, with Hollywood's response considered to be the real litmus test in gauging how close the light at the end of the tunnel really is.

There was no vote during the two-and-a-half-hour NYC session, which was described as largely informational, but it wasn't until the West Coast meeting that WGA leaders revealed their decision to hold off on officially lifting the strike until the membership vote.

"I am personally recommending that we ratify this deal," WGA West president Patric Verrone told the crowd at the Shrine. "It is the best deal the guild has bargained for in 30 years. Admittedly, the contract has some holes...The decision to lift the strike will be yours."

The board doesn't necessarily have to wait for the members to weigh in, but after all this time many were uneasy about pulling the plug on the strike without hearing from the 10,000 people who have been walking the picket lines, working on their novels, taking on odd jobs and otherwise not attending to business as usual.

Although this means scribes won't technically be back to work on Monday, plenty of people at the Shrine said they will be "unofficially" getting scripts and proposals ready for Take Ourselves to Work Day, which will likely be midweek.

"This is a historic moment for writers in this country," filmmaker Michael Moore told Daily Variety after the New York meeting. "There is a certain irony about the achievement. I would have thought it'd be autoworkers or ironworkers getting this victory, but instead it's the people who got beat up in school for writing in their journals."

"I think the meeting went very well," WGA East president Michael Winship told reporters at an impromptu press conference outside the hotel. "There was a frank discussion of ideas, and everyone who wanted to ask a question got to ask a question."

After meeting with 300 strike captains Friday afternoon to appraise them of the deal, and then continuing to negotiate until 2 a.m., Winship and Verrone sent an email to members early this morning informing them a deal had been made with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that "protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery.

"It creates formulas for revenue-based residuals in new media, provides access to deals and financial data to help us evaluate and enforce those formulas, and establishes the principle that ?When they get paid, we get paid.' "

"We believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks and that the time has come to accept this contract and settle the strike," they wrote, noting that it's high time to put an end to the Industry-debilitating work stoppage, whether or not they think the new three-year deal is one for the ages.

"Much has been achieved, and while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice, our strike has been a success."

The immediate winner, presuming the majority of the writers say yea, will be the 80th Annual Academy Awards, which will likely be free to roll out the red carpet for writer-supporting SAG members on Feb. 24 without the threat of star-deterring picket lines.

Other beneficiaries include fans of union-approved gags on Jay Leno's Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien's Late Night, Jon Stewart's Daily Show, Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report and Jimmy Kimmel Live. All of those had gone on without their regular staffs since shortly after the new year.

As Stewart reminded his audience Thursday night as he searched for the proper retort to a Mitt Romney snafu, "It's just me up here."

It was unclear how much of this TV season will or can be salvaged, but there's hope that the networks can get a hefty portion of their prime-time lineups back on track for spring. Most scripted series normally don't wrap production until around March, so some time presumably would remain to get cranking and resume shooting.

As for the terms that finally set pens a-scribblin' and hands a-shakin' this week, much of the proposed contract mirrors what the Directors Guild of America and the alliance were able to come up with several weeks ago?an agreement that highlighted new-media jurisdiction and increased compensation for downloads and content streamed online.

The WGA's deal would also give the writers jurisdiction over material produced expressly for new-media channnels whose budgets either topped $15,000 per minute, $300,000 per program or $500,000 per series.

Like directors, writers will receive a $1,200 flat fee for the first year that content (one-hour shows) is streamed online, as well as a percentage of distributors' revenue. Residuals for downloads will effectively double.

As an added feather in the writers' caps, in the third year of their contract they will be entitled to residuals equal to 2 percent of distributors' revenue. The WGA had been pushing for a variable residual that would compensate for growth in Internet usage over the next few years.

They will also receive what's being referred to as a separated-rights provision, meaning additional compensation for Web shows that backpedal onto TV, like Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz's serial MySpace drama Quarterlife, which has been picked up by NBC.

A sticking point among WGA members, however, could be the "promotional window" that cuts into their residuals from ad-supported content streamed online. For the first 17 days that episodes are available, and 24 days for freshman series, no residuals will be paid.

Just in case, there's still a picketing event scheduled for Wednesday in front of Viacom Inc.'s New York headquarters. Should the strike end, the WGA East will promptly cancel.

[yisman]

:p

[shakey]

not completely over, but its very close.

[dreamz Veteran]

threads merged

[Hurmoth]

not completely over, but its very close.

It's over. They vote on Tuesday to lift the strike and then 10 days after that they vote to except the new deal and every indication is that they'll approve both.

A writer who just left the confab told me: "There was cheering for everything and standing ovation after standing ovation for all the leadership. There is no question in my mind that because of the atmosphere in that room this strike will be called off. There is no gearing for a fight. It's over." --Deadline Hollywood Daily

[episode]

Right. The reason that the WGA West President said that it wasn't over and it was up to the members is because thats what he has to say. He has to make it seem as the members are deciding it, not the leaders.

[Rappy Veteran]

Welcome back WGA. Here's your pink slips.

The Writers Guild of America may find out very soon that even if its members "won," they also lost. And even viewers who have managed to get through the writers strike with a minimum of entertainment interruptus will likely feel the fallout as well.

Why? Because change is coming. And for the next year, it probably won't be good for writers or viewers.

Even with Writers Guild of America members starting to return to work today the landscape for both this season and next is irrevocably altered. Sources within the industry say there's no rule book on how networks will get back to business - nothing that can be predicted accurately because studios and networks will make decisions independent of each other and strategies for series will vary.

But here's what's likely:

-- Several writers will probably get pink slips. That's because certain series - and not only those that premiered this season - are going to be canceled. The cost of firing back up the machine to crank out shows that are in the middle of the ratings pack - or worse - could be prohibitive to networks. Momentum has been lost. Viewers have forgotten plenty of middling (particularly freshmen) series. The idea of relaunching them seems daunting, not to mention expensive.

-- Some of those slots will be lost to reality programming that's already in the pipeline.

-- There seems to be resistance among most networks to extend the season beyond its traditional end in May. If that doesn't change, look for virtually all shows to have a truncated season - shorter episodes, unfinished story lines.

-- Although the math at each network differs, the numbers most mentioned are "four to six weeks" to get anything on the air, which means late March - but some are saying April. That would significantly cut down the season totals of most series.

-- And already writers are looking at a bleaker picture for next season, with the networks deciding that the development season (which typically begins with scripts being submitted in the fall and then shot as pilots in the winter and spring after a winnowing process) has been damaged during the strike and the only way to survive is to cut back on orders. So instead of having, say, each network develop 20 series - choosing the best of the bunch for next season's schedule - the number could be half that (or even less). Any equation you look at ends with reduced work, lost opportunities.

-- For viewers - who, by the way, barely have any working knowledge of the way the industry runs and so may be alarmed by the fallout - the immediate impact is a drastically reduced season. That may not hurt closed-ended series quite so much - procedurals such as "CSI" and "Law & Order" that tell a story in one hour and then end. But serialized dramas are going to cause a lot of confusion. How about no season of "24"? That scenario is on the table. The action-packed Fox thriller could be shelved until fall at the earliest, or even held until its normal slot - January (of 2009).

-- What's to become of "Lost," which has eight episodes in the can? That arc, according to the show's producers, has a beginning and end. Will ABC try to get four or six more episodes out of the writers - and will those episodes also follow a clean arc or leave viewers hanging until January 2009 as well? That's the kind of gamble networks haven't properly sussed out.

-- In all likelihood, series that were doing well before the strike started in November - such as "Pushing Daisies" on ABC - will be spared the ax. What's not clear is the network thinking for each of these series. Even if, for example, ABC decides to hang onto "Pushing Daisies," that doesn't automatically mean it will ramp up for more episodes this season. Some series will undoubtedly be put on hiatus until next fall - even if they are safe. Others may be allowed to crank out as many episodes as they can before the end of May. But even then, some of those series will have to be auditioning for their lives. If the audience doesn't come back, adios. It may not be fair, but it's life in the strike-shortened 2007-08 season.

Read More...

[Hurmoth]

Local L.A. economy lost $2 Billion during WGA strike

The writers strike appears that it will end tomorrow when the members of the WGA vote on whether or not to accept the offer from the studios. So now it is time to reflect.

The strike began November 5, 2007 and has appeared to have cost the local economy $2 billion, nearly four times more than the 1988 strike that lasted six weeks longer, according to hollywoodreporter.com.

But while most would think the most effected would be the studios or production workers without jobs, this is not the case. The parties most effected by the strike, experts say, are the independent contractors, small-business owners and others that had acquired TV production crews as their most dependable customers.

The Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. estimates that $733 million in production has been lost during the strike, another $1.3 billion worth of losses from caterers, florists, valets, hotel operators, restaurant workers, costume-house employees and other workers at the grassroots level.

It is apparent that diversification is the best preparation for small-business owners in Los Angeles if, heaven forbid, there was another production stoppage.