The ratings at Y&R are as good or better without LML and her group of plot driven hacks. If SONY has the stupidity to keep them on...Dear God....Oh Precious God!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22968561/

Source says settlement could be reached early next week

LOS ANGELES - A breakthrough in contract talks has been reached between Hollywood studios and striking writers and could lead to a tentative deal as early as next week, a person close to the ongoing negotiations said Saturday.

The two sides breached the gap Friday on the thorniest issues, those concerning compensation for projects distributed via the Internet, said the person, who requested anonymity because he were not authorized to speak publicly.

A second person familiar with the talks, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment publicly, said that significant progress had been made and a deal might be announced within a week.

The people did not provide specific details on the possible agreement. Major points of contention include how much and when writers are paid for projects delivered online after they've been broadcast on TV.

The studios have been insisting that programs be streamed online for a certain period, deemed promotional, during which writers would forgo residuals. When payment kicked in, the companies sought to limit it to a flat $1,200 fee, while the guild wanted a percentage of a distributor's revenue.

The Writers Guild of America did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade group representing the studios, declined comment, citing a news blackout agreed to by both sides during the talks.

Guild leaders have said they are fighting for a piece of the future, reflecting the widespread belief that Internet-delivered entertainment fare would inevitably claim an increasing and perhaps even dominant market share.

Although work remains to be done on elements of the agreement, prospects for a deal appeared solid, said those close to the situation. The tentative agreement would have to be approved by a majority of guild members.

The guild, whose 3-month-old strike has brought the entertainment industry to a standstill, began informal talks with top media company executives Jan. 23 in an attempt to reach a new deal covering governing work for film, TV and digital media.

Negotiations between the guild and alliance negotiators collapsed Dec. 7 after the alliance demanded that proposals for unionization of animation and reality shows be taken off the table. The guild refused.

During the negotiations impasse, the Directors Guild of America began its own talks with studio chiefs and swiftly reached a tentative deal that was announced Jan. 17 and covered some of the digital media issues key to the writers guild.

Major studio executives called on the writers guild to begin informal talks, which essentially are standing in for formal negotiations, according to those familiar with the situation.

The guild extended its own olive branch before the informal talks started by withdrawing the reality-animation unionization proposal and by deciding to keep pickets away from the Grammy Awards. It has since decided to allow the music ceremony to proceed with full union support.

However, the fate of the Feb. 24 Academy Awards has remained in question, with the guild so far declining to grant its blessing to the show. A union refusal to cooperate with the Golden Globes decimated the ceremony, which was boycotted by supportive actors.

Oscar organizers and producers have vowed they will stage some type of show, with or without union support — but a writers guild deal would allow this ceremony to proceed in its full, star-studded glory, providing an invaluable promotional showcase for movie studios and their films

Just like Zucker said.

I guess it's good that it looks like the strike is coming to an end, but it looks like most of those f-u-c-k-i-n-g hack morons are on their way back...

I have a question, sorry if this is the wrong thread to ask, but how do writer's contract's work. Is it 13 week cycles like actors?

I'm wondering, cause if B&E are fired by some chance, wouldn't it be May before the show could legally fire them, if the strike does end soon?

A moderator may want to move this to the Entertainment board, but LA Times is reporting the writers strike may be settled as early as Monday or Tuesday.

Probably too late to save Hogan, but it'll be interesting to see the effect it has on all the programming.

I'm curious to see how pilot season has been affected by this. You know the slate of new programs next fall for each of the networks is going to be mighty slim, lol.

ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's striking writers and its major studios made "significant progress" in recent talks aimed at ending their labor dispute, a source briefed on the discussions said on Saturday, raising hopes a settlement may be near.

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Word of a breakthrough came as the Writers Guild of America strike neared its three-month mark and after 11 days of low-key contract talks that followed a separate labor deal between the studios and Hollywood directors.

The current writers' talks were initially conceived as "informal discussions" designed to sketch the outlines of a potential settlement and to lay a foundation for the resumption of full-scale bargaining that collapsed in acrimony on December 7.

But the latest sessions proved more fruitful than expected, evolving into substantive negotiations now expected to lead straight to a deal that would put the 10,500 striking writers back to work, the source said.

The person who was briefed on the talks but spoke on condition of anonymity because the individual was not authorized to talk on the record, told Reuters, "I know they made significant progress" on Friday. The source declined to give further details.

Any deal would have to be endorsed by the governing boards of the WGA's East and West Coast branches and ratified by the union's rank and file.

The chief sticking point in the labor dispute has been the question of how much writers should be compensated for work distributed over the Internet and other digital media.

The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported on Saturday the last major roadblocks to a deal had been eliminated and that a tentative accord could come as early as next week.

According to the Times, Friday's breakthrough was an agreement on payment of "residual" fees for the advertising-supported online streaming of television shows.

CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

Hollywood's leading trade magazine, Daily Variety, reported that talks since Friday had been productive enough to generate cautious optimism a settlement may soon be at hand.

A representative for the studio's bargaining agent, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, declined to comment on the talks. Nor was there any comment from WGA spokesmen. Both sides have adhered to a strict media blackout since the latest round of talks began January 23.

WGA members walked off the job on November 5, four days after their old contract expired, shattering 20 years of Hollywood labor peace.

The work stoppage has thrown the U.S. television industry into turmoil, derailed several movie productions and idled thousands of entertainment workers, from actors and directors to hairstylists, set designers and clerks.

The Los Angeles Economic Development Corp has estimated the strike has cost the region's film and TV industry at least $650 million in wages, with over $1 billion more in lost earnings attributed to the ripple effect on the local economy.

The strike also has overshadowed the entertainment industry's annual awards season, even threatening to spoil the Oscars show later this month.

The last major strike to hit Hollywood, a walkout by screenwriters in 1988, lasted 22 weeks and delayed the start of that year's fall television season.

Jane Espenson:

I will be up at NBC Burbank tomorrow (mid-)morning, picketing my little heart out. If it's true that we're wrapping this thing up, this may be one of your last chances to see TV writers on the hoof! If we're not wrapping this thing up, well then, we could use your support. Come on out and heft a sign and say 'hi'!

Craig Mazin:

A lot of talk out there today, with multiple people from both sides of the “aisle” emailing me. There’s movement in the tree line, people. Let’s hope and pray.

...

Expect News Tomorrow or Monday

That is all.

John August:

As I write this on Sunday afternoon, I have no confirmation whether a deal has been reached to end the strike. Rumor and reality have been scrambled and beaten throughout this ordeal, so now seems a particularly bad time to be counting unhatched chickens. (To strain an egg metaphor.)

For any writer — WGA or otherwise — tomorrow would seem an especially important day to be on the picket lines. If the strike is ending, it’s your last chance to be part of the picket line. If it’s not ending, then a big showing on Monday will be important for the media who show up to cover the presumed resolution.

...

I don’t know if the strike is over. I don’t know if this pilot will amount to anything. But after 92 days, it feels good to stop hoping and start doing. Call time is 7 a.m.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/

Chernin Tells Super Pals "Strike Is Over"

So I've just been told that Peter Chernin did make it to Super Bowl XLII after all. (Heck, it's News Corp's Fox Sports televising it, and Phoenix is only an hour's corporate jet ride away.) And the mogul is telling Hollywood folk there that "the strike is over", according to emails coming fast and furious out of that venue.

Yay! Now lets hope that B&E and Dena Higley can't write anymore even though I doubt it, and that LML's firing from Y&R can be confirmed.

Even though Chernin says the strike is over, we still haven't heard from the WGA. So it's not over until the WGA says so.

I'm cautiously optimistic though.

Even though Chernin says the strike is over, we still haven't heard from the WGA. So it's not over until the WGA says so.

I'm cautiously optimistic though.

Yeah, I know. I'm trying to be optimistic too, because I trust that this might be ending.

http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Gelbart and Russnow: Be Skeptical of the Rumors and the Media

Tonight, I received a call from Larry Gelbart. Technically, it was Robot Larry Gelbart, via an automated call system. (During the strike authorization process, I received a call from Robot Stephen Gaghan.) Larry's message dealt with the rumors and media reports of the past 48 hours. His advice: "Lay them aside and pick up a picket sign."

We will try to bring you the full text of his message. (I'd transcribe it, but I'm too busy partying because the strike's totally over.)

On the same topic, Michael Russnow's latest has hit the HuffPo:

The press, in reporting on presumptions and generalities is acting irresponsibly, and we should sit back and hope for the best. We should make no noises to interrupt the deliberations, because to do so might impel the WGA Leadership to take a deal that it might have bettered were the AMPTP not to have heard too much passion -- read that hunger -- from a Membership whose fortitude they perceive is crumbling.

Also, here's my favorite report of the night: Nikki Finke writes that she's received lots of email claiming that Peter Chernin of Fox said "the strike is over" while at the Super Bowl. Which immediately makes me picture a catering dude standing behind the chafing dish of wings in the Fox skybox, madly thumbing away at his Blackberry.

UPDATE: Here's the transcript of Larry Gelbart's message:

This is Larry Gelbart. In all my decades as a member of the WGA I’ve learned a few lessons about strikes and negotiations, the most important being that it’s never over ’til it’s over, no matter how much the lady singer might weigh. As fellow and sister members of the Guild, you know how important the issues are for all of our futures, and for those to whom we will one day hand our pens. Over the coming days you will be getting calls asking you to join in to continue with the picketing. I ask you to set aside all the rumors, all the second-guessing, I ask you to set these aside and pick up a picket sign instead. I cannot stress how vital it is for all of us to show our commitment to our leadership during this current round of negotiations. Thank you.

IOW, it's not time to break out the champagne just yet.

Unless, it's for the Super Bore - I mean, Bowl.