Yaaaay football/International soccer season! Don¹t need writers for Inside the NFL and Football Fone-In!
Also, this is a HUGE GO for podcast producers! No network, no problem! On 11/2/07 4:54 PM, "Brent Wodehouse" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2007/11/strike-its-a-re.html > > Strike could be a reality by Monday - so expect more reality TV > > Nov 2, 2007 > > by Lynette Rice > > A month ago, when Hollywood was in full hand-wringing mode over the > potential of a writer's strike, a William Morris agent confidently > declared that such a decision "would defy logic." No reasonable > professional would dare to strike in the midst of a television season, > right? > > Wrong. > > Less than 12 hours after their contract expired at midnight on Oct. 31, > some 2,000-plus writers assembled in the Los Angeles Convention Center to > hear union leaders declare that a strike will occur; the only question now > is when. Many believe the picket lines could begin forming as early as > this afternoon (at least, that's what some New York-based scribes were led > to believe based on an earlier meeting), but the common wisdom is that the > Writers Guild of America will inform writers to start waving the placards > Monday morning, unless, of course, an 11th-hour deal is hammered out over > the weekend. The goal now is to recruit some of the guild's more > recognizable faces to walk the picket line, though it seems unlikely the > WGA will drag Conan O'Brien out in front of 30 Rock in New York. They > might, however, be able to convince 30 Rock creator Tina Fey to wave a > sign or two. > > As dense as some of the negotiation-speak may seem (what's all this talk > about credit and separate rights, anyway?) the writers' complaints are > pretty simple: every time you catch an episode of Desperate Housewives on > ABC.com, creator/writer Marc Cherry (or his fellow DH scribe, who may have > written that particular epsiode) doesn't get paid for it. Every time a > series writer generates new content for his show's official Web page, he > doesn't get paid for it. The writers also want a bigger piece of DVD > profits (6 percent, up from 3 percent), so if you decide to, say, buy > season one of Heroes on DVD, the scribes would get more money in their > residual checks. That's what this dispute is about, give or take a few > disagreements over credit and pensions and such. > > So what does it mean for viewers if the strike begins Monday? Late night > shows could immediately go into reruns, if David Letterman and Jay Leno > decide not to write their own shows (though Letterman and Johnny Carson > did this back in 1988). Cable yakkers like The Daily Show and The Colbert > Report could also shut down. SNL may be forced to go black, airing repeats > instead. > > As for series television, most shows have about six-to-eight weeks worth > of episodes written and in the can waiting to be shot, which will carry > the networks through January, maybe early February. Writers who also hold > the title of producer can continue to come to the set, they just can't do > any kind of writing. For instance, if Jason Lee's joke falls flat during > the taping of My Name is Earl, creator Greg Garcia would have to just let > it go. The only sticking point that may interrupt ongoing production is if > the Teamsters (i.e., the folks who drive all those production trucks) live > up to their promise to not cross the picket line, which would force shows > to simply go dark. If that's the case, expect even more new reality shows > to debut in the next few months. "We'll be ready," says one Big Four > network executive. "This is what we get paid to do. We've anticipated this > for months, though honestly I thought they'd resolve it. How stupid can > they be?" > > As for the impact in daytime, soaps generally have about four weeks worth > of episodes in the can. Once the nets burn though those originals, expect > compilations of classic episodes (Victor and Nikki's first wedding! Luke > and Laura reconcile - for the second time!) News programs, as well as > syndicated shows like The Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy, will not be > affected. As for cable series, most shows, like The Shield and Nip/Tuck, > were shot months in advance so there will be no impact - unless the strike > is a long one. > > "It's emotion transcending logic," opines another network executive. > "Obviously, they're thinking they need to strike. But this isn't like the > striking garment workers. We work alongside these people every day. A lot > of us are friends. We golf together. It's so weird." > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
