- Sep 20, 2006
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ya couch potatoes, which TV show are you all broken up over? 
UPDATE 11/9/07: celebs walking the picket line
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Since it started Nov. 5, the writers strike has walloped TV, knocking more than a dozen shows out of primetime and late-night lineups. The following shows announced they will go on hiatus until the Writers Guild of America comes to an agreement with the broadcasters and movie studios.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertai...tory?id=3837276&page=1
UPDATE 11/9/07: celebs walking the picket line
UPDATE: Nov 26, 2007:
NEW YORK ? The writers strike is in its fourth week, with chilly prospects for viewing ahead.
During December, the schedule will be dominated by holiday specials and series repeats (not unlike any other year).
But come January, a prolonged strike could be all too obvious to viewers, with continuing episodic reruns interspersed with new reality shows.
Even so, a few scripted dramas and comedies are warming up the schedule:
A FEW TO GO:
Fox airs a fresh ?House? Tuesday. After that, only three more new episodes remain, slotted for January ? one of them following Fox's Super Bowl broadcast.
ABC's new hit comedy ?Samantha Who?? has six more episodes in the can.
Fox's ?Family Guy? has scheduled a normal mix of new and repeat episodes at least through January.
The ?Crime Scene Investigation? trio, ?NCIS,? ?Criminal Minds,? ?Without a Trace? and ?Cold Case? are down to four or fewer new episodes apiece on CBS.
END IN SIGHT:
ABC's ?Ugly Betty,? ?Pushing Daisies? and ?Grey's Anatomy? each have two new episodes to go.
ABC's ?Desperate Housewives? airs the last of its current stock of new episodes Sunday.
The final new episode of NBC's ?Heroes? airs Dec. 3.
Fox's ?K-Ville? has two new episodes left, with dim prospects for production to resume on this low-rated freshman drama.
STUCK IN REPEATS:
NBC's ?The Office? is closed for business until the strike's end, with only reruns on deck.
CBS' new hit sitcom ?Big Bang Theory? has similarly run dry, along with ?How I Met Your Mother,? ?Two And a Half Men? and ?Rules of Engagement.?
WHO KNOWS WHEN?:
The planned January return of Fox's ?24? has been postponed indefinitely. Since only some of the series' 24 episodes have been shot, Fox didn't want to risk beginning a new season that might be interrupted.
MIDSEASON RELIEF:
Fox's ?Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? will have a two-night premiere Jan. 13-14. This new drama, a reinvention of the ?Terminator? film franchise, arrives with 13 episodes completed.
Also in January, NBC's ?Medium? will return with nine episodes in the can.
?The New Adventures of Old Christine? will be back with at least eight episodes of this CBS sitcom, and the apocalyptic drama ?Jericho? returns with seven episodes.
?Cashmere Mafia,? ABC's new comedy-drama starring Lucy Liu, will arrive with seven episodes completed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...JRWLNfElPryrsHksURr7sF
UPDATE: Nov 29, 2007:
Hollywood studios presented a sweetened contract offer to striking film and TV writers Thursday, and negotiators requested a four-day recess to consider it, the producers' organization said.
The talks will resume Tuesday, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said in a statement.
*******REST OF ARTICLE IS SNIPPED*********
To read entire article:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertai...tory?id=3933852&page=1
UPDATE: Dec 4, 2007:
LOS ANGELES - The TV industry braced Tuesday for what could become a long strike by writers, even as both sides returned to the bargaining table.
Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS Corp., told an investor conference in New York that he was hopeful, but ?not terribly optimistic.?
The two sides conceded there was likely to be ratings shortfalls if the five-week strike dragged on, Moonves said. Programming costs would fall as well, resulting in no significant financial impact to the network in the short to medium term, Moonves said.
Bargaining resumed in Los Angeles after a four-day recess, with a relatively scant $21 million separating contract proposals by studios and striking Hollywood writers.
The more telling figure involves the $20,000-plus that writers now earn for a single network rerun of a TV episode and the $250 the studios are offering for a year?s online reuse of an hourlong show. That represents the chasm between the old business order and burgeoning new media faced by negotiators as they try to end the strike, now in its fifth week.
The strike has shut down production on dozens of prime-time and late-night shows, sending a number of programs into reruns.
Still, Moonves said CBS viewers will be served.
?We are prepared to have a full schedule? in the spring, he said. ?We?re certainly not going to go dark.?
He said the schedule will include programs from Showtime, the network?s sister cable channel that offers daring fare including ?Weeds? and ?Dexter,? a serial-killer drama.
The shows will be edited for network use, a CBS spokesman said.
*******REST OF ARTICLE IS SNIPPED*********
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22099747/
UPDATE: Dec 7, 2007:
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Hollywood producers said negotiations with striking writers broke down Friday after four consecutive days of talks.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers late announcement came after both sides traded barbs over the five-week strike that has sidelined many prime-time and late-night shows.
The alliance blamed the breakdown on what it called an ongoing union strategy to delay or derail talks.
The Writers Guild of America had no immediate comment.
In a letter sent to members and released earlier Friday, the Writers Guild of America accused the producers group of dragging its heels in putting new proposals on the table and cited possible schemes to sink the talks.
The alliance denied the allegations and claimed the union has failed to respond to its proposals regarding key issues of new-media compensation, instead diverting attention to the proposed unionization of reality TV and animation.
Now in its fifth week, the strike has shut down production on dozens of prime-time and late-night shows, sending a number of programs into reruns, and it's begun to affect film production plans.
Residuals and jurisdiction for online streaming of TV shows and movies, along with other digital distribution, have been seen as the heart of the contract dispute.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22153232/
UPDATE: Dec 11, 2007:
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. television viewers looking to settle back into such favorite series as "Desperate Housewives," "CSI" and "The Office" will be in for a rude awakening after the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
Fresh episodes of those shows and many others will be replaced by a glut of reality programs and reruns headed to the major networks in January as the Hollywood writers strike begins to affect prime time after first hitting late-night TV.
The writers' walkout, now in its sixth week with no settlement in sight, has halted production on 50 to 60 scripted comedies and dramas, and the supply of new episodes is about to run dry. Broadcasters are getting through December with traditional Christmas-season specials, TV movies and sports.
The labor clash between major studios and writers could hardly come at a worse time for networks. Prime-time ratings are already down sharply this season compared to a year ago.
"The networks are really going to feel the heat when the new year begins," said Marc Berman, senior editor for the trade publication Media Week. "And it's going to be a completely different experience for the viewer."
http://www.reuters.com/article...tualBrandChannel=10002
UPDATE: Dec 13, 2007:
LOS ANGELES - Hollywood directors said Thursday they will hold off on contract negotiations with studios for now, but want to begin talks after New Year?s Day.
The decision could put added pressure on striking Hollywood writers to reach a new contract with studios and end their six-week walkout, which directors say is having a dire effect in Hollywood.
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Union officials representing striking Hollywood writers said Thursday they have filed an unfair labor practices complaint claiming studios violated federal law by breaking off negotiations.
The Writers Guild of America demanded in a statement that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers return to the bargaining so the six-week strike can be ended and thousands of workers idled by the walkout can return to their jobs.
Negotiations broke off Dec. 7 when the alliance refused to bargain further unless the union dropped a half dozen proposals that included the authority to unionize writers on reality shows and animation projects.
The producers alliance did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
The complaint was filed with the National Labor Relations Board, which did not immediately return a call to its Los Angeles office.
?It is a clear violation of federal law for the AMPTP to issue an ultimatum and break off negotiations if we fail to cave to their illegal demands,? the guild said in a statement. ?We are in the midst of the holiday season, with thousands of our members and the membership of other unions out of work.?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22246628/
UPDATE: Dec 14, 2007:
NBC early next week is expected to announce that the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien will return with new episodes in early January, nearly nine weeks after a writers strike shut down all late-night talk shows. CBS' David Letterman and Craig Ferguson are also mulling a January comeback but have not firmed up plans, USA TODAY's Gary Levin reports. Leno and O'Brien will return without the dozen or so writers on their staffs, and will dispense with monologues, opting for improvised material and more celebrity guests. NBC's Carson Daly returned two weeks ago and met with picketers; striking writers also heckled him from the studio audience.
ABC unveiled its post-holiday strike schedule late Friday, USA TODAY's Gary Levin reports. ABC is the last of the major networks to firm up its replacement-series plans. Lost will return for an eight-episode fourth season on a new night, Thursdays at 9 ET/PT, starting Jan. 31, replacing Grey's Anatomy, and will be followed by new legal drama Eli Stone. Cashmere Mafia, a new drama about Manhattan women starring Lucy Liu, is due Wednesday at 10 on Jan. 9, following a special preview on Jan. 3. And According to Jim and Carpoolers rejoin the schedule Tuesdays at 9 and 9:30 as of Jan. 8. Reality series include Oprah's Big Give, (Sunday at 9 ET/PT, starting March 2), Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, a Dancing with the Stars spinoff (Mondays at 8, Jan. 7); prank show Just for Laughs (Tuesdays at 8, Jan. 1), and Wife Swap and Supernanny (Wednesday at 8 and 9, Jan. 2).
http://blogs.usatoday.com/entertainment/
UPDATE: Dec 18, 2007:
LOS ANGELES - With "American Idol" and Jay Leno back on the air in January, it may seem that all is right with television. But the industry is facing its worst labor crisis in two decades, a crippling writers strike that's reshaping the business of TV and threatening to permanently shift the viewing habits of millions of Americans.
Now in its seventh week, the Writers Guild of America walkout has forced producers to reconsider how shows are developed, the type of shows produced and how they're sold to advertisers.
On the audience side of the equation, a flood of strike-induced reality series and truncated dramas may drive viewers toward alternate entertainment ? including Internet programming, which is at the heart of the contract dispute.
The walkout has halted production of most scripted and late-night shows, although Leno and Conan O'Brien are coming back to work next month on NBC, as is ABC's Jimmy Kimmel. CBS' David Letterman was considered likely to follow suit.
Talk of industry change is dismissed by some writers as spin designed to undermine union resolve on payment for streamed and downloaded distribution. But networks contend the strike has given a new urgency to the need to confront ballooning costs and an evolving marketplace.
"The strike is forcing us to look at the way we all do business and to make choices that were tough when business was as usual," said NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker. "This is allowing us to make the tougher choices."
With negotiations at a standstill, the impact is extending to the 2008-09 season, beginning with the typical first-quarter "pilot season" in which networks commission single episodes of potential series.
It's an unwieldy process that may have had its day, said two executives at a major network, speaking on condition of anonymity because their company had yet to officially detail its plans.
Pilots are more expensive than ever to produce, reaching $6 million or more for complex action dramas, but don't necessarily represent the series that are delivered, the executives said. This year's results were unimpressive, with a number of anticipated new series ? ranging from NBC's "Bionic Woman" to ABC's "Cavemen" ? failing to get ratings traction.
Instead, networks are considering taking pitches straight to series, especially when a show comes from road-tested producers. A prolonged strike would force the issue, pushing broadcasters up against the fall season production deadline.
To read entire article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22317516/
UPDATE: December 20, 2007:
The People's Choice Awards had the red carpet yanked out from under it Wednesday as fallout from the Hollywood writers strike grew. The ceremony, which typically airs live, will be taped for a Jan. 8 telecast on CBS, a spokeswoman for the show said. Queen Latifah, who previously was announced as host, will be part of the new format.
The Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike for seven weeks, already had flexed its muscle by refusing to participate in the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, the ceremonies that represent Hollywood's biggest promotional showcases.
"We realize there are pressing issues facing the entertainment industry, including the WGA strike, and out of respect for everyone involved this provided an opportunity to pilot a new format this year," awards spokeswoman Jeannie Tharrington told The Associated Press.
The show will include pre-recorded acceptance speeches by winners as well as their responses to questions sent in by fans, according to a People's Choice statement.
The "new approach will give fans a more personal glimpse into the lives of their favorite actors and musicians," awards President Fred Nelson said in a statement.
Full article: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertai...t/wireStory?id=4030404
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NEW YORK - Leaders of striking television writers plan to meet Friday with David Letterman's production company in an attempt to reach a separate deal that could make the "Late Show" the only late-night TV program on the air with a writing staff.
The union's announcement last week that it would negotiate separately with production companies was seen as an indication that writers would work out something with Worldwide Pants, the Letterman-owned company that produces his show and Craig Ferguson's CBS talker.
It has not worked out that way, a sign that some in the Writer's Guild may be having second thoughts. Meanwhile, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel have all said they would resume their programs on Jan. 2 without their writing staffs.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22343659/
UPDATE: December 28, 2007:
"Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" will be back with their writers airing joke-filled new hours starting Wednesday, the shows' production company, Worldwide Pants, announced Friday.
An interim agreement between the Letterman-owned company and the Writers Guild of America will allow the full writing staffs for both shows to return to work, even as the Hollywood writers strike continues to shutter much TV and movie production. Both of those CBS late-night shows have been airing reruns since the strike began eight weeks ago.
A WGA executive, Jeff Hermanson, told Reuters that talks between the union and Letterman?s company had produced a ?full, binding, independent agreement? that includes provisions for paying writers for work distributed over the Internet.
Compensation for Internet content has been the main sticking point in talks aimed at ending the WGA strike, now in its eighth week.
Several other late-night television hosts, including Jay Leno and Conan O?Brien of NBC and Jimmy Kimmel of ABC, are planning to resume broadcasts of new episodes on Jan. 2 without their writers.
"I am grateful to the WGA for granting us this agreement," Letterman said. "This is not a solution to the strike, which unfortunately continues to disrupt the lives of thousands. But I hope it will be seen as a step in the right direction."
The deal, which restores the two shows to business as usual, gives them an enormous advantage over their competition.
NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" as well as ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" had already announced they would resume Wednesday without benefit of their writing teams. Similarly, Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert" planned to return writer-less on Monday, Jan. 7.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22421779/
UPDATE: January 3, 2008:
NEW YORK ? The striking writers union told member Jay Leno on Thursday that he violated its rules by penning and delivering punch lines in his first "Tonight" show monologue in two months on NBC the night before.
The union did not immediately say what, if anything, it intended to do about it.
The scolding came despite Leno's own public support for the union, including delivering doughnuts to a picket line. Leno also paid his employees' salaries ? except for the writers ? while he was off the air and "Tonight" writers were pointedly absent from a picket line outside his studio Wednesday.
Much of Leno's first monologue discussed the strike that kept him absent, and he poked fun at NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker's "mansion." But there were also standard monologue jokes about Paul McCartney's divorce, the weather in Iowa and Britney Spears.
Leno said he wrote his own jokes and that he didn't turn to "outside guys."
"I'm doing what I did the day I started," he said. "I write jokes and wake my wife up in the middle of the night and say, `Honey, is this funny?' So if this monologue doesn't work it's my wife's fault."
He maintained: "We are following the guild thing. We can write for ourselves."
The East and West Coast chapters of the Writers Guild adopted strike rules that prohibit guild members from "performing any writing services during a strike for any and all struck companies." Leno's 19 writers remain on strike.
"This prohibition includes all writing by any guild member that would be performed on-air by that member, including monologues, characters and featured appearances, if any portion of that written material is customarily written by striking writers," the rules state.
Full article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,320074,00.html
UPDATE: January 4, 2008:
LOS ANGELES - Golden Globe-nominated actors are expected to snub the awards in support of striking Hollywood writers, the actors union said Friday, jeopardizing one of the entertainment industry's signature showcases.
owever, said it was sticking by its plans to air the Jan. 13 ceremony, despite the uncertainty about how much ? if any ? star power the Globes could muster.
"The network plans to move forward with the broadcast at this point," NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks said, adding that it has yet to be determined which actors will participate.
Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg made the announcement after canvassing nominees during the past several weeks.
"There appears to be unanimous agreement that these actors will not cross" the picket lines to present or accept an award, he said in a prepared statement.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organizes the awards, said it was wrestling with the "unfortunate predicament."
"We are making every effort to work out a solution that will permit the Golden Globes to take place with the creative community present to participate," Jorge Camara, the group's president, said in a statement.
The association hoped to announce a resolution Monday, Camara said.
Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200..._en_tv/hollywood_labor
UPDATE: January 7, 2008:
NEW YORK - The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and NBC engaged in 11th-hour sessions Sunday to try to save the boycott-stricken Golden Globes, but the network apparently is poised to pull the telecast as a result of the Hollywood writers strike.
A source close to NBC told msnbc.com that the network has already made its decision to pull the Golden Globes telecast, and to expect an announcement confirming the telecast cancellation on Tuesday or Wednesday.
?NBC feels that it?s better to have an awards show with no one watching than have a show where no one shows up,? the source told msnbc.com. ?They decided this over the weekend, despite saying that they?re still negotiating. Now, what hasn?t been decided is what they?re going to do with all that airtime, and that?s why they haven?t made an announcement yet.?
The HFPA, whose 100-odd members organize the ceremony, is pushing NBC to pull the plug on the broadcast because that will prompt the Writers Guild of America to lift its pickets and enable stars to attend the January 13 event. On Friday, the Screen Actors Guild said its members would not cross picket lines to attend.
NBC and its chief Jeff Zucker had through the weekend maintained that it will broadcast the event. But one person with knowledge of the situation described NBC as trying to find ?a middle ground,? potentially including a scaled-back event or a postponement. As of late Sunday, NBC was said to be close to yielding to the HFPA?s request for the Globes to be taken off the air.
Were a postponement agreed upon, the Globes would likely have to occur before Oscar nominations are announced on January 22, which buy only a week or two, a very small amount of time for an interim agreement or larger strike resolution to take place. The Beverly Hilton may also not be available for the following Sunday, January 20.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22537641/
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Roger Friedman of Fox News reports:
On Monday morning, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, desperate to retain an ounce of dignity but equally hard up for their $6 million fee from NBC, will make some kind of announcement about Sunday night?s Golden Globes telecast.
The latest I?ve heard is that the HFPA would give NBC a "clip" show with elements from past shows and currently nominated movies.
If, at the same time, they put on a non-televised event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, I suppose they could break in with the names of the winners in each category.
The prospect of a non-televised Globes dinner, meanwhile, is tantalizing to some actors.
"That will be some party," one of them laughed Sunday night. "Everyone will be drunk."
The Globes are already famous for supplying the dinner tables with magnums of Champagne and all the liquor that?s requested.
In any case, it?s a lose-lose situation. The Writers Guild of America is not going to permit a televised show or Internet Webcast or taped show to be broadcast at a future date. The Globes are seriously in trouble. And that $6 million fee, as I?ve discussed in prior columns, is making them sweat.
Meantime, other awards ceremonies are going forward. On Sunday night, the New York Film Critics ? a far more prestigious and reasonable group ? gave out their awards at a dinner at Spotlight restaurant in Times Square.
Full article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,320567,00.html
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**HOTTTTTTTTT OFF THE PRESS**
NEW YORK - The Golden Globes, the ceremony known for getting Hollywood?s awards season off to a rollicking start, will be reduced to a news conference Sunday by the writers strike and will likely draw picket lines and lack star power.
Despite the revamped ceremony announced Monday by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Screen Actors Guild said it was encouraging its members to skip the show in support of the two-month walkout by the Writers Guild of America.
?The WGA informed us they will picket the event on Sunday,? the actors guild said in a statement.
The writers guild said it would not have an immediate comment on whether it would call off its pickets because of the new approach.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22537641/
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LOS ANGELES - Striking Hollywood writers have reached a deal with Tom Cruise?s production outfit United Artists Films to resume working while the strike continues against other studios.
The deal announced Monday was the first reached with big-screen producers by the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike since Nov. 5. Terms were not disclosed.
?United Artists has lived up to its name. UA and the writers guild came together and negotiated seriously. The end result is that we have a deal that will put people back to work,? said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West.
The guild said the agreement addresses key issues of writers, who walked off the job over their cut of potential profits from programming on the Internet and other new media.
The deal does not include MGM, the main parent company of United Artists.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22529376/
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NEW YORK - For one night, Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel will solve the problem of booking guests during the writers? strike by appearing on each other?s show.
The swap comes Thursday, with Kimmel traveling to Leno?s studio in Burbank, Calif., and Leno returning the favor in Hollywood. Both shows are taped on the same day they air.
?There are only a few people in the world that know how tough this job is,? Leno said Sunday. ?Jimmy is one of them. It will be fun to discuss who?s a good guest, who?s a difficult guest and everything else that comes with sitting behind these desks.?
Joked Kimmel: ?If Jay and I can come together and guest on each other?s shows, then surely there is hope for peace in the Middle East.?
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22528186/
UPDATE: Jan 10, 2008:
the *cliffhangers* we're stuck with until this whole writers' strike is resolved.
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LONDON - Actor Tom Hanks is keen to see the Oscar ceremony held as usual, and urged studios to return to the negotiating table to end a writers? strike that threatens to disrupt the climax of Hollywood?s awards season.
The Golden Globe ceremony scheduled for Sunday has already been scrapped, and will be replaced by a news conference few stars are likely to attend. The People?s Choice Awards were also scaled back and subsequently bombed in the television ratings.
Now all eyes are on the Academy Awards, the movie world?s biggest night, which are due to take place on February 24.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22594671/
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LOS ANGELES - The Weinstein Co., one of Hollywood's largest independent film producers, says it expects to reach a deal with striking Hollywood writers that will allow the company to resume production.
The company was anticipating that an agreement with the Writers Guild of America would be signed by the end of Thursday, Weinstein Co. spokesman Matthew Frankel said.
The deal would be the second reached with big-screen producers. United Artists reached an agreement with the guild Monday to resume production.
The guild previously agreed to a deal with Worldwide Pants, the company that makes David Letterman's late-night TV show.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22596535/
UPDATE: Jan 12, 2008:
LOS ANGELES - Striking Hollywood writers said Friday they had decided not to picket the Golden Globe Awards because organizers of Sunday?s event changed it from an exclusive NBC broadcast to an event open to all media.
The Writers Guild of America issued a brief statement saying it had given the Hollywood Foreign Press Association its assurance that writers would not protest outside the news conference where winners will be announced.
The association announced the expanded media access earlier in the day, marking a reversal of NBC?s intent to cover the strike-affected event exclusively for television.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22613256/
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LOS ANGELES (AP) ? When the union representing Hollywood directors begins contract talks Saturday, striking TV and film writers will likely be calculating how a deal might affect them.
A quick resolution with directors could undercut the bargaining power of writers by serving as an industry template for the central issue of new media compensation, observers said.
The Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild issued a joint statement Friday saying they hoped directors reach a fair deal that "incorporates principles that will benefit all creative artists."
Full article
UPDATE: Jan 13, 2008:
**first part of article snipped**
"What's really caused the impasse," said Kennedy, "are some additional demands that the Writers Guild have made. They'd like to cover our reality programming or animated programming. And they'd like the power to go out on sympathy strikes if other unions are having a dispute."
"Well, those are issues that are on the table at the moment," said Shawn Ryan. Ryan is the producer of such popular shows as "The Shield" and "The Unit," and he's on the Writers Guild negotiating team. He says those issues aren't the real reason the producers left the bargaining table. "The companies have other issues unrelated to the Internet that are on the table that maybe we don't agree with.
"What they are, are the excuses that the companies have given to strategically pull themselves out of the negotiating room," Ryan said. "They've not talked with us the last month and they're using the excuse of 'Oh, there's a few issues that we just don't agree with.'"
The writers' contract was the first to expire. Directors' and actors' contracts are up this spring and some of the same issues - especially carving up the new media revenues - are sure to come up. Everybody wants a bigger share of the pie.
The fight escalated with the writers' plan to picket the Golden Globes, and if need be, the Oscars. Cancelling the Globes could cost the local economy $70 million, the Oscars as much as $130 million.
Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories...nday/main3705547.shtml
UPDATE: Jan 15, 2008:
LOS ANGELES - Four major studios have canceled dozens of writers? contracts in a possible concession that the current television season cannot be saved, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
The move means the 2-month old writers strike may also endanger next season?s new shows, the Times said.
January is usually the beginning of pilot season, when networks order new scripted shows. But the strike leaves networks without a pool of comedy and drama scripts from which to choose.
20th Century Fox Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television told the Times they have terminated development and production agreements.
Studios typically pay $500,000 to $2 million a year per writer for them and their staffs to develop new show concepts.
?I didn?t see it coming,? Barbara Hall, a writer and producer whose credits include former CBS series ?Joan of Arcadia? and ?Judging Amy,? told the Times, which said ABC executives gave her the news Friday. ?I am not entirely sure what their strategy is, all I know was that I was a casualty of it.?
The newspaper said more than 65 deals with writers have been eliminated since Friday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22665291/
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LOS ANGELES - Producers of the Grammy Awards have requested an interim agreement that would allow striking Hollywood writers to work on next month?s telecast, The Recording Academy said Tuesday.
Writers Guild of America spokesman Gregg Mitchell said the request was referred to the board of the union?s West Coast branch for a decision. He said earlier in the day, however, that a deal ?is unlikely to be granted.?
He noted that Grammys producer John Cossette Prods. is on the WGA?s list of ?struck companies.?
Should the WGA decide to picket the awards show ? which conveniently takes place in Los Angeles where most writers are based ? celebrity attendance would certainly be affected. It was the refusal of Screen Actors Guild members to cross the picket line at the Globes that ultimately derailed that show.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22670159/
UPDATE: Jan 16, 2008:
UPDATE: Jan 17, 2008:LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Director John Singleton is among the latest casualties of the Hollywood writers strike, losing his production deal at Warner Bros. TV as part of a sweeping cost-cutting action by major studios.
"Force majeure" -- or act of God -- provisions in the contracts allow studios to cancel deals with writers and producers idled by the strike, which is now in its third month. These deals usually involve the supply of offices and staffers on the studio lot, and can be both costly and unproductive.
Warner Bros. TV, along with CBS Paramount Network TV, Universal Media Studios and 20th Century Fox TV, sent termination letters to a total of 45-50 writers and producers on Monday. ABC Studios dropped 25-30 producers last Friday.
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NEW YORK - Despite the Hollywood writers' strike, the big TV networks have more than a hundred episodes of scripted series ready to roll out over the next few months.
The bad news for viewers: Few are fan favorites.
"Desperate Housewives" is done, the dust barely settled from a tornado that hit Wisteria Lane. "Grey's Anatomy" has no more episodes left, as does Thursday competitor "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." No more laughs are coming from "Two and a Half Men," "30 Rock" and "The Office." "Heroes" is also done.
Several other shows are down to a precious few, the networks carefully rationing new material like a hiker lost in the desert with a half-empty canteen. One of the three remaining "House" episodes, for example, is set aside for maximum impact right after the Super Bowl.
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Looking ahead, CBS' stockpile of original programming is the shortest. "CSI: Miami," "NCIS," "Criminal Minds," "Cold Case," "Shark" and "Numb3rs" are among the series down to only one fresh show apiece. Two series set for a midseason return, "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Jericho," have two months' worth of episodes.
One advantage for CBS is that its procedural dramas do much better in reruns than serials like "Desperate Housewives." CBS also announced this week that it has ordered three new reality series, including one called "Game Show In My Head" from the "Punk'd" team of Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg.
Some analysts pick Fox as the network that will be least damaged by the strike, and not just because "American Idol" is back. It was the most improved network in ratings this fall, with growth from shows like "Prison Break" and "Bones," and both these shows have at least a month's worth of new episodes still unseen.
Because they are animated and needed to be produced well in advance, Fox's popular Sunday night lineup with "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" all have a season's worth of shows done. The midseason drama "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" had the strongest debut of any new series this season.
"Fox has a well-planned midseason," said Shari Anne Brill, programming director at the Madison Avenue firm Carat. "The other networks are dealing with strike contingency plans."
Fox and ABC are taking different approaches with popular midseason entries. Eight episodes each are already in the can for Fox's "24" and ABC's "Lost," but Fox is keeping Jack Bauer on the sidelines until a full season can be done. The new "Lost" episodes begin airing Jan. 31, even though their creators have complained they'd prefer that ABC wait until all 16 were done before risking that viewers are left hanging.
CBS and NBC are also taking the unprecedented steps of rerunning drama series that were originally aired on sister cable stations ? Showtime's "Dexter" on CBS and USA's "Monk" and "Psych" on NBC.
"Law & Order" and "Medium" are set for two or three months on NBC. The network is also pleased with how its "American Gladiators" game is doing.
ABC has "Dancing With the Stars" and "The Bachelor" ready to return. And "Cashmere Mafia," "Eli Stone," "Notes From the Underbelly" and "Men in Trees" all have two or three months of new episodes available for ABC.
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LOS ANGELES - Hollywood directors reached a tentative contract deal Thursday with studios, a development that could turn up the pressure on striking writers to settle their 2-month-old walkout that has idled production on dozens of TV shows.
?Two words describe this agreement ? groundbreaking and substantial,? said Gil Cates, chairman of the Directors Guild of America?s negotiations committee. ?There are no rollbacks of any kind.?
Among other things, the three-year agreement establishes key provisions involving compensation for programs offered on the Internet.
That issue has also been a key sticking point between striking writers and the studios, which broke off talks on Dec. 7.
The Writers Guild of America said it would evaluate the terms of the directors? deal. It also reiterated that it has been calling on the studios to resume negotiations.
?We hope that the DGA?s tentative agreement will be a step forward in our effort to negotiate an agreement that is in the best interests of all writers,? the writers guild said in a statement.
Writers previously said directors do not represent their interests.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22716097/
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NEW YORK - If David Letterman hoped a deal with striking writers would help him in his battle for late-night supremacy with Jay Leno, it hasn?t happened yet.
Leno?s NBC ?Tonight? show averaged 5.17 million viewers last week, despite its writers being on strike and big-name celebrities being encouraged not to cross the picket line.
Letterman, who made a separate deal to bring writers back to his CBS ?Late Show,? had 4.08 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Leno has a 27 percent advantage over Letterman, compared to 33 percent prior to the writers going on strike.
Leno?s victory margin of nearly 1 million viewers comes despite Letterman actually winning last Monday, when Tom Hanks visited to watch Letterman shave the beard he grew during two months off the air.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22716358/
UPDATE: Jan 18, 2008:
NEW YORK - The Recording Academy has asked its members to sign a petition urging the Writers Guild of America to accept an agreement that would grant a waiver for writers to work on the upcoming Grammys, The Associated Press has learned.
The fate of the Feb. 10 telecast is in doubt after the WGA announced that it was unlikely to grant a waiver for music?s biggest night. If a waiver is not granted, its members could picket the event, set to be broadcast live by CBS.
The online petition reads in part: ?As a member of The Recording Academy, I would like to express my strong support for the Grammy Awards, and to encourage the WGA to accept the interim agreement offered by the producers of the Grammys. ... During this important 50th anniversary year, I support the Grammys and strongly urge the guild to do the same.?
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22734315/
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - NBC Universal, hamstrung by the Hollywood writers' strike, is near a decision to cancel the glitzy presentation it holds every May to introduce new prime-time TV shows to advertisers, affiliates and the media.
NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker, whose company reported on Friday a 10 percent rise in operating profit and 8 percent revenue growth, said he would still hold meetings with the advertisers, but was reviewing whether to call off the showcase "upfront" event at Radio City Music Hall.
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LOS ANGELES - Striking Hollywood writers could begin informal talks with studio chiefs as early as next week in an effort to end a two-month walkout that has hobbled the entertainment industry, according to a person familiar with the bargaining strategy of the writers union.
Word of the possible break in the stalemate came Friday, a day after the Directors Guild of America announced a tentative contract deal, and studio heads urged the Writers Guild of America to join in talks that could lead to the resumption of formal negotiations that broke off Dec. 7.
The Writers Guild is prepared to sit down with executives such as Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., who participated in similar informal talks with directors, said the person who was not authorized to publicly comment and asked for anonymity.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, said it had no comment on the possible start of informal talks.
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UPDATE: Jan 21, 2008:
LOS ANGELES - Film fans finally will soon learn who's competing for this season's Academy Awards. Now all we need to know is whether any nominees will turn up for the big show amid a writers strike that has thrown the awards season into turmoil.
The list of Oscar nominees Tuesday is expected to include such luminaries as Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis and Angelina Jolie.
That smattering of talent alone would ensure that a lot of people at home would tune in to the Feb. 24 ceremony. But without the cooperation of the striking Writers Guild of America, celebrities might honor the union's picket lines and stay away from the Oscars, leaving the show's planners to either scrap the telecast or come up with some new form of Oscar ceremony unlike anything audiences have seen before.
The word around Hollywood is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a backup plan to put on the show without the blessing of writers and stars, but they declined to disclose details.
Gil Cates, producer of the Oscar telecast, has vowed the show will come off no matter what, hinting the program could be padded with clips from 80 years of Oscar history if writers and stars do not cooperate.
Officially, the academy says it is moving ahead with the red carpet and awards ceremony as usual.
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UPDATE: Jan 22, 2008:
LOS ANGELES - The striking Hollywood writers guild said Tuesday it will refrain from picketing the upcoming Grammy Awards, possibly allowing the music ceremony to escape the fate of the wrecked Golden Globes show.
The guild?s board of directors has yet to grant the music industry show a waiver that would allow union writers to work on the ceremony, but the Grammys typically depend more on performances than scripted lines or comedy.
The guild previously said it was unlikely to grant the Recording Academy a waiver for the Feb. 10 show, the music industry?s most important event, set to be broadcast live on CBS from Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22788210/
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LOS ANGELES - The Hollywood writers guild said Tuesday it has agreed to back off proposals to unionize writers of reality and animated shows, a key concession that came the same day the sides said they would begin informal talks.
The new strategy was disclosed in an e-mail from the union to its members that was later released publicly.
The message was sent after guild officials met with representatives of several Hollywood studios, according to a person familiar with the bargaining strategy who was not authorized to publicly comment and asked for anonymity.
The talks held Tuesday were intended to lay the foundation for the resumption of full negotiations, which broke down Dec. 7 after the studios demanded that the guild take the unionization issue off the table.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22791079/
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In the 80 years since the first Oscars were handed out, it has taken a war or a flood or an assassination to drastically alter or delay the celebration surrounding the film industry's highest honors.
Now Hollywood is wringing its hands over whether the 11-week-old strike by screenwriters against the major studios could, or should, be enough to postpone the Academy Awards this year.
More than a week after the writers strike yanked the red carpet out from under the Golden Globes, reducing that ceremony to a 30-minute news conference, Oscar organizers insisted on Tuesday their show will go on as scheduled on February 24.
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UPDATE: Jan 23, 2008:
WASHINGTON ? Missing some of your favorite political jokes because of the writers' strike?
The striking writers of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,The Colbert Report and The West Wing debuted some fresh ones Wednesday as the Writers Guild of America, East met with members of Congress in an attempt to raise awareness about the ongoing strike.
Using the format of a fake political debate between the writers and the movie studios, moderated by former White House spokeswoman Dee Dee Myers, the writers got in a couple of zingers on the gathered lawmakers.
_ On coming before Congress? "We saw Charlie Wilson's War last night and are a little disappointed by the lack of strippers that we've seen here."
_ On the writers strike? "It would cost Paramount a total of $4.6 million to give the writers everything they're asking for. That's half the amount it would take to get Reese Witherspoon into a movie. Now, I ask you, what's more important to a movie: a script or half of Reese Witherspoon?"
Another of the writers quipped: "Which half?"
The fake debate even had its own fake pink T-shirted protester disrupting the event, whose disruption was disrupted by a fake green T-shirted protester.
Lawmakers showed their own sense of humor, with Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., donning a long black beard before coming to the lectern, saying she was growing a beard in solidarity with the writers, as late night talk show host David Letterman did briefly.
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US network NBC is to stop making pilot episodes of TV series - a move that could change how new US shows are made.
The networks spend millions of dollars each year turning scripts into single episodes to test audience reaction.
But NBC Universal chief executive Jeff Zucker thinks he can save $50m (£25.6m) each year by scrapping them.
"We will still market those scripted series. We are just going to go straight to air with them and cut out the pilots," he said.
The move has partly been prompted by the writers' strike, which has led studios to scale back on new productions because of a lack of scripts.
The cost of producing a pilot has soared over the last three years from $3m (£1.5m) to $7m (£3.6m).
Last year NBC commissioned eight new drama series after pilots were produced. The system is supposed to weed out failures.
Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7205118.stm
UPDATE: Jan 24, 2008:
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's red carpet will finally roll out for Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards in what could end up being the only big party in an awards season stripped of stars and marred by a bitter industry strike.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) hands out its annual movie and television awards at a ceremony packed with all the designer dresses and gushing thank-you speeches that have been missing so far in Hollywood's traditional three-month-long celebration of itself, leading to the Oscars on February 24.
Tom Cruise, Kate Hudson, Russell Crowe and John Travolta headline a list of presenters, while George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett are among the nominees expected to don bow-ties and ballgowns for SAG's red carpet parade into the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles.
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LOS ANGELES - Lionsgate studio is the latest company to sign an interim deal with the striking Writers Guild of America.
The deal announced Thursday follows separate guild pacts with other independent production companies such as United Artists, The Weinstein Co. and David Letterman's Worldwide Pants.
The guild said the agreement confirms it is possible for writers to be compensated fairly and for companies to operate profitably. Lionsgate's new projects include Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo" sequel, "Saw 5" and the TV show "Mad Men."
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ABC on Thursday became the latest network to trim its 2008-09 program development slate, citing the effects of the writers' strike on this year's pilot season.
The network went for a deep cut, releasing 35 to 40 scripts, roughly one-third of its slate and the most of any network, sources said. Most of the projects are said to hail from the network's sister studio, ABC Studios, and about 15 are believed to be comedy scripts.
ABC joins CBS, Fox and the CW, which have reduced their slates in the past week by dropping as many as two dozen scripts each. NBC, meanwhile, said Wednesday that it will stick with all of its scripts in development.
Disney has enforced some of the strongest cost-cutting measures on the TV side during the strike. Two weeks ago, ABC Studios terminated nearly 30 overall deals, the most of any TV studio.
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oh noooooooooo! nada episodes left for these 20 shows
the good news: the 47 shows unaffected by strike.
UPDATE: Jan 25, 2008:
RKO Pictures has signed an interim deal with the striking Writers Guild of America.
Details were not released, but the guild says the agreement announced Friday includes fair and respectful compensation for writers for work used on the Internet and other new media.
The agreement follows separate guild pacts reached with other independent production companies, including Lionsgate, Marvel and The Weinstein Co.
RKO's production schedule includes several new films. Its extensive library features "King Kong," "Citizen Kane" and "It's a Wonderful Life."
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UPDATE: Jan 28, 2008:
LOS ANGELES - The Grammy Awards will be in full voice next month, with the striking writers guild agreeing Monday to allow its members to work on the show.
The Writers Guild of America gave its blessing last week to a picket-free Grammys. Now that the guild's board of directors has decided to sign an interim agreement for the Feb. 10 ceremony, the Grammys will escape the fate that befell this month's Golden Globes.
The Globes were stripped of stars and pomp when the guild wouldn't agree to an interim deal and the Screen Actors Guild encouraged its members to boycott the ceremony, which was reduced to a news conference.
The agreement allowing guild-covered writing for the Grammys is in support of union musicians and also will help advance writers' own quest for "a fair contract," the guild said in a statement.
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UPDATE: Jan 29, 2008:
NEW YORK - Unionized CBS News staffers who are members of the Writers Guild of America have overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with the network.
The contract ? which received a 98 percent approval vote ? covers 500 employees who work in New York, Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago, in both TV and radio. Positions covered by the contract range from desk assistant to producer, with average base salary between $20,000 and $70,000.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's striking writers and major studios have narrowed their differences after a week of informal talks, raising hopes that a new contract is within reach, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.
The current talks are aimed at laying the groundwork for official bargaining to resume, and both parties have agreed to a media blackout while the negotiations are ongoing.
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UPDATE: Jan 30, 2008:
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Startup studio Overture Films has signed an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America to allow striking writers to work for the company.
Overture -- a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp. that produces, acquires, markets, and distributes theatrical films -- launched its inaugural slate this month with the release of Callie Khouri's "Mad Money" and will release several films in the coming months, including the comic drama "The Visitor" and "Sleepwalking," starring Charlize Theron.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 12-week-old Hollywood writers strike is taking a heavy toll on prime-time viewership with television production largely stopped and the major networks airing more repeats, game shows and reality shows.
The five top broadcast networks were down a collective 17 percent for the week ended January 27 in ratings among viewers aged 18 to 49, the audience most prized by advertisers compared with the same week last year, according to Nielsen Media Research.
That is a sharp drop from earlier this season, before networks' supply of original sitcom and drama episodes ran dry and year-to-year ratings declines were running closer to 10 percent, network executives said.
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LOS ANGELES - A conti
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