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Post by beatie07 on Dec 8, 2007 22:03:41 GMT -5
Talks between Hollywood writers and studios have collapsed, dashing hopes of an imminent resolution to a 5-week-old strike that has upended the entertainment industry, sources close to the talks said on Saturday.
It comes after eight days of contentious negotiations that yielded very little, if any, progress, said the sources who refused to be named.
Both sides issued statements, accusing the other of stalling the negotiations.
At the talks, studio officials submitted additional proposals to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in hopes of ending the 33-day-old writers' strike.
In a letter to writers, Patric Verrone, president of WGA, West, and Michael Winship, president of WGA, East, said they want to see negotiations continue without interruption through Christmas and New Year's holidays, but the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) blocked progress of the talks.
"The Writers Guild will remain at the table every day, for as long as it takes, to make a fair deal," they wrote.
They also told guild members that producers were prolonging the strike by refusing to make any new offers.
"For one, we've heard that one or more of the companies are prepared to throw away the spring and fall TV season, plus features, and prolong the strike. Aside from the devastating effect this would have on the unions, workers and their families in this industry, it would certainly explain the AMPTP's refusal to put any new proposals, even a bad one, on the table," they wrote.
But the AMPTP insisted the guild letter contains a series of factual mistakes.
The AMPTP, which represents the studios, said it was "puzzled and disheartened by an ongoing WGA negotiating strategy that seems designed to delay or derail talks rather than facilitate an end to this strike."
"The producers did present a new proposal, the New Economic Partnership, which would increase the average working writer's salary to more than 230,000 dollars a year. The WGA's organizers have rejected the proposal, preferring instead to focus on jurisdictional issues in the areas of reality and animation television," according to the AMPTP's statement.
Producers also accused WGA organizers of spending "relatively little" time at the negotiating table.
The strike began Nov. 5, with the dispute focusing on how to split up new media revenues as digital technology and the Internet transform the way entertainment is delivered to viewers.
The WGA's chief negotiator, David Young, said in an interview: "What they want us to do is give up our future, particularly in new media .... The other side doesn't view us as partners, they just view us as someone they can play with."
If talks don't resume soon, the strike will have far-reaching consequences across Hollywood and for many businesses throughout the region that depend on the industry. So i think the palns to stop the strike has failied to make a resolution and both parties are not helping to end the strike
Movie on strike Angels and Demons - moved released date to May 15, 2009, however, a satisfactory script was not finished before the strike.
SHOW ON STRIKE The 101 Passions The DirectTV-exclusive soap opera (formerly aired on NBC) has an additional month of scripts, so they should air new episodes until February 2008
STARS IN SUPPORT Justine Bateman
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Post by Niemmy on Dec 9, 2007 0:37:50 GMT -5
Fight the power comrades "Go for gold" ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 9, 2007 23:12:38 GMT -5
WGA STRIKE WEEK 6 STARS ON STRIKE Morena Baccarin Nathan Fillion Nancy Lee Grahn Colin Ferguson Ron Glass Robin Williams J. August Richards Eliza Dushku Amy Acker Juliet Landau Felicia Day Nicholas Brendon Michael Fairman Raphael Feldman Yan Feldman Harry Groener Tom Lenk Camden Toy Alan Tudyk Keith Szarabajka
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 13, 2007 22:54:07 GMT -5
STRIKE NEWS The Oscars and the Golden Globes are in big trouble of delays if the strike wasn"t resolved in time. The SAGS are okay
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 15, 2007 22:48:08 GMT -5
STRIKE NEWS The Talk shows are planning a return on january due to the fact the rating were low and Soon Talkshow hosts like Jay leno, Conan O"brein, David Letterman and Co are planning a comeback
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 16, 2007 22:13:51 GMT -5
Idled television talk-show hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are likely to return to work in early January, even if the Hollywood writers strike is not settled by then, Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition. Most of the late-night shows have been airing reruns since the Writers Guild of America went out on strike for the first time in almost two decades on Nov 5. NBC stars Leno and O'Brien, along with CBS's David Letterman and Craig Ferguson, and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel refused to cross the picket lines in deference to their writers. But their ratings have suffered. The networks laid off the shows' production staff, although most of them are still receiving pay checks thanks to the personal largess of O'Brien, Letterman and Kimmel. Letterman's production company also produces Ferguson's show. With no end in sight to the strike, several hosts are nearing the conclusion that it's time to return, Daily Variety said, citing unidentified sources close to the situation. The trade paper said Leno, O'Brien, Letterman and Ferguson may all return around the same time, but that the NBC duo was "most likely to return in early January" no matter what Letterman decides. Some late-night observers believe Kimmel may also be preparing to go back soon, Daily Variety said. On the other hand, with none of the hosts eager to be the first to return to work and risk the union's ire, Daily Variety said the hosts may yet still decide to stay home. When the guild last went on strike, for 22 weeks in 1988, Leno's predecessor Johnny Carson returned to work about two months into the stoppage, and Letterman followed him more than a month later. Officials from the networks were not immediately available for comment
i hope if Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert was included in the Talkshows return ;D ;D ;D
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 17, 2007 22:43:03 GMT -5
STRIKE NEWS On January 2, 2008, The Tonight Show will air new episodes, along with Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Craig Fergusion ryc to return the air.
WGA strikers will not happy today
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 18, 2007 21:46:36 GMT -5
BIG NEWS FROM THE STRIKE David Letterman has been negotiating an "interim agreement" that would allow him and his writers to return to the air during the strike without involving CBS. It is uncertain as to whether or not WGA will grant Letterman's independent production company, Worldwide Pants, its request. Executive producer of The Late Show with David Letterman, Rob Burnett, who is also the President and CEO of Worldwide Pants, stated:
“ Worldwide Pants has always been a writer-friendly company. Dave has been a member of the WGA for more than 30 years, and I have been a member for more than 20. Because we are an independent production company, we are able to pursue an interim agreement with the Guild without involving CBS in that pursuit. Therefore, since the beginning of the strike, we have expressed our willingness to sign an interim agreement with the Guild consistent with its positions in this dispute. We're happy that the Guild has now adopted an approach that might make this possible. It is our strong desire to be back on the air with our writers and we hope that will happen as soon as possible. ”
Following this, CBS released a statement stating that while they respected Worldwide Pant's attempt to secure the interim agreement with the WGA, the network would remain unified with the AMPTP. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, which is also owned by Worldwide Pants, will also return with writers. There is no confirmed date for Letterman to return to air, but Burnett has declared their "only focus is on returning January 2nd with writers."
Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, who are both WGA members, announced nearly two months into the strike that they would be returning to air on Janauary 2 without their writers. Although both have pledged their support for the WGA, Leno and O'Brien have stated that with negotiations down and none further scheduled, The Tonight Show and Late Night would return to air, citing the sake of their non-writing staff as the main reason — as NBC informed the non-writing staff of the late-night shows that they would face layoffs at the end of the week if the show did not return. NBC admitted that the network's decision to bring back Leno and O'Brien back on air was "similar to 1988, when Johnny Carson brought back The Tonight Show two months into the writers' strike." WGA reminded hosts of any comedy/variety shows that the guild expected the hosts to adhere to the Strike Rules if they chose to go back on air without the writers. The Strike Rules prohibit writing "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 guild stated that it had no plans to single out Leno and O'Brien with similar protests that were aimed at Carson Daly, who was accused of setting up a joke hotline as a strike-breaking effort after returning to air, when he returned to air weeks ago. Unlike other late-night hosts — Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson, and Jimmy Kimmel — Daly is not a member of the WGA. Expressing sympathy for the hosts, the WGA accused NBC of "forcing Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien back on the air without writers
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 19, 2007 21:45:41 GMT -5
STRIKE NEWS The WGA has also announced that it will not issue waivers for the Golden Globes and Oscars award ceremonies, and SAG's president has suggested its members may skip the ceremonies as well
Jay leno and Conan o Brien will have no jokes on the monolouge on their shows as the Strike goes into it's 8th week.
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 20, 2007 22:10:34 GMT -5
STRIKE NEWS The Colbert Report + THE DALY SHOW JOINS JAY LENO AND COMPANY TO RETURN TO TV
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are the latest late-night hosts to announce that they are returning to the air.
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" will begin production Jan. 7 without the shows' writing staffs. The network will "continue to hold out hope for a swift resolution to the current stalemate that will enable the shows to be complete again," it said.
But questions over the format of both shows -- which rely heavily on writers -- remained unanswered Thursday, with many segments of both thought to be off limits according to WGA strike rules. More than such returning shows as "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the Comedy Central series hosts could find themselves toeing a narrow line between guild acceptability and audience approval.
The "Daily Show" the opening segment, in which Stewart riffs on the day's headlines with a set of scripted jokes, is unlikely to pass muster with the WGA. Guest interviews, on the other hand, are thought to be fair game.
Another area of uncertainty is the material between those segments, particularly "Daily Show's" corespondent segments with such personalities as John Oliver and Samantha Bee. All correspondents are returning to the air, Comedy Central confirmed, but it was unclear whether their reports from the field would be part of the shows.
"We're in very uncharted waters here," one TV executive said. "If a host thinks of a joke and then writes it down on a piece of paper, will the WGA consider that writing?" Making things more complicated, both Stewart and Colbert are members of the WGA.
Observers pointed out that the guilds could look the other way if Stewart comments on the strike in support of the WGA, picking up on a routine he began before the show went on strike hiatus.
The Writers Guild has indicated their industrial action would be a "marathon". AMPTP negotiator Nick Counter has indicated that negotiations would not resume as long as strike action continues, stating, "We're not going to negotiate with a gun to our heads—that's just stupid."
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Post by Niemmy on Dec 20, 2007 23:07:21 GMT -5
Yer I like the The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, He tears the conservatives to pieces with there own stupidity ;D ;D ;D
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 22, 2007 22:35:21 GMT -5
STRIKE NEWS Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcasted live and unedited on February 23 on the Independent Film Channel, with actor Rainn Wilson, who is best known for playing Dwight Schrute in The Office, as its host.[37][39] An edited repeat will air on the same date later that evening on AMC.The WGA has also granted a waiver to the Screen Actors Guild for its awards show, Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will be broadcasted live by TNT and TBS on January 27. On the other hand, People's Choice Awards stated that it would have to revamp the format of the ceremony by releasing a taped ceremony for January 8 telecast on CBS, instead airing it live as usual.
MERRY CHRISTMAS WGA STRIKERS AND A 2008 STRIKING NEW YEAR
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 25, 2007 22:00:32 GMT -5
STRIKE NEWS Of the "Big Four" networks, CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox, NBC has had the most severe ad shortfall as its prime time ratings have been declining sharply; none of its new shows have achieved breakout success.Moreover, during 2007, NBC saw its prime time 18-to-49-year-old viewership drop by 11%. CBS dropped the same demographic by 10%, and ABC lost 5%.Fox executive Peter Chernin has suggested the strike is "probably a positive" for the network, expecting its non-WGA reality hit American Idol to do especially well given reduced competition
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Post by Niemmy on Dec 27, 2007 14:53:33 GMT -5
Hmmm dosen't look like the networks will cave in yet!
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Post by beatie07 on Dec 28, 2007 23:06:00 GMT -5
STRIKE NEWS David Letterman has secured a deal with the striking Writers Guild of America that will allow him to resume his late-night show on CBS next Wednesday with his team of writers on board, executives of several late-night shows said today.
Most of television’s late-night shows are scheduled to return to the air that night after being off for two months due to the strike, but it is likely that only Mr. Letterman, and the show that follows him on CBS hosted by Craig Ferguson, will be supported by material from writers.
The reason is that Mr. Letterman’s company World Wide Pants, owns both those shows. The company announced two weeks ago that it was seeking a separate deal with the guild that would permit the two World Wide Pants show to return to the air. The talks seemed to be at an impasse until today when the deal was completed.
A spokesman for Mr. Letterman’s company declined to comment.
Beyond the obvious advantage of having writers to supply comedy material that other shows will not have, Mr. Letterman’s and Mr. Ferguson’s shows will likely gain a benefit by being able to book guests who will not appear on shows still being struck by the Writers Guild.
Representatives of some of the other late-night shows have reported difficulty booking some the top-name actors in Hollywood, who have indicated reluctance to appear on shows whose networks are still among the entities the writers are striking against.
Numerous big-budget movies have opened during the holiday season without having opportunities for their stars to promote them on the late-night shows as they normally would. The World Wide Pants shows may now be able to book many of those stars, some of whom may still resist appearing on the other shows, like NBC’s “Tonight” with Jay Leno and “Late Night” with Conan O’Brien, and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
All three of those shows are scheduled to return Wednesday without writers.
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