Argh! Do I speak in code sometimes?! I got to work on actually posting and not thinking aloud.

GREY'S ANATOMY has already stopped production.

LOL. I take that as a yes...

I found this article about the '88 writers strike

http://groups.google.co.nz/group/alt.fan.l...6569f82af58ed62

By ELEANOR BLAU

Published: April 21, 1988

As the writers' strike against television and movie producers

continues through its seventh week, nonunion people have begun taking

over some of the scriptwriting for daytime soap operas. And the soaps'

creators wait with trepidation - mindful of tales of disaster from

their 13-week walkout in 1981.

During that strike, said Claire Labine, co-creator of ''Ryan's Hope''

on ABC: ''There was a story line involving an older woman and a

younger man, and when we returned she had unaccountably murdered him.

Someone else got pregnant by a young man - whom I had never met. It's

a little as if you leave your children with a trusted sitter for the

weekend and return to find them all juvenile delinquents and in

jail.''

Another writer, Douglas Marland, told of ''an actor who shall be

nameless'' on ''Search for Tomorrow'' who knew his character would

soon be killed off and who volunteered to become head writer during

the strike. ''Not only did his character not die off, his character

became the lead,'' Mr. Marland said. And fellow cast members didn't

dare criticize someone ''who could have marked any one of them for

demolition.''

Unlike nighttime programs, many of which had all their scripts for the

season or went into reruns when the Writers Guild of America struck

the three major networks and the Alliance of Motion Picture and

Television Producers on March 7, daytime serials are expected to keep

taping new material no matter what. And while they may have story

outlines that were written before the strike, they have begun running

out of pre-strike scripts.

''As the World Turns,'' on CBS, has been sending its new scripts to

Mr. Marland, its head writer - for his edification, not his

commentary, since he is on strike. He said they ranged ''from very

awful to amazingly good'' and that ''actors are telling me they're

having a terrible time memorizing the bad ones because the flow isn't

natural.''

The networks won't say exactly who the temporary writers are or will

be; NBC says they are nonguild freelancers, CBS says only that

''actors are getting the scripts'' and ABC only that ''programming

will continue as usual.''

Why are they only picketing at NBC in NYC? CBS and ABC do have headquarters in NYC as well, and I haven't heard of picketing there.

There might be other picketing, but Rockefeller Center is a tourist attraction in its own right, and it makes sense to convene there. Radio City Music Hall, NBC and the skating rink are a part of the complex. If the strike goes on for a few more weeks, they can even capitalize on views of the big Christmas tree.

Can we stop the stupid bickering? A lot of us come to this topic wanting intelligent discussion about the possible ramifications this strike could have for soaps and other shows. But 2 or 3 of you are having a dumb argument nobody except you cares about.

Just make it a PM war... jeez louise.

Another writer, Douglas Marland, told of ''an actor who shall be

nameless'' on ''Search for Tomorrow'' who knew his character would

soon be killed off and who volunteered to become head writer during

the strike. ''Not only did his character not die off, his character

became the lead,'' Mr. Marland said. And fellow cast members didn't

dare criticize someone ''who could have marked any one of them for

demolition.''

I'd love to know who that was.

And this is cute, from Claire Labine:

...It's a little as if you leave your children with a trusted sitter for the

weekend and return to find them all juvenile delinquents and in

jail.''

Obama, Clinton, Edwards back WGA

WASHINGTON -- The three leading Democratic presidential candidates weighed in on the writers strike Monday, coming down on the side of the WGA.

"I stand with the writers," Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois said from his campaign headquarters in Chicago. "The guild's demand is a test of whether media corporations are going to give writers a fair share of the wealth their work creates or continue concentrating profits in the hands of their executives."

Said Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York: "I support the Writers Guild's pursuit of a fair contract that pay them for their work in all mediums. I hope the producers and writers will return to the bargaining table."

The latest campaign finance reports have Obama and Clinton neck-and-neck for Hollywood dollars. According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the Center of Responsive Politics, the Obama campaign had raised $2,073,325 through October from Hollywood, while the Clinton campaign raised $2,141,609 from the movie, music and TV industries.

Obama also pushed the two sides to get together and make a deal.

"I urge the producers to work with the writers so that everyone can get back to work," he said.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards also backed the strikers.

"These writers deserve to be compensated fairly for their work, and I commend their courage in standing up to big media conglomerates," he said. "As someone who has walked picket lines with workers all across America and as a strong believer in collective bargaining, I hope that both sides are able to quickly reach a just settlement."

Edited November 6, 200718 yr by Sylph

Be sure to check Leslie Nipkow on the 13th page.

That's awesome!! I hope we get to see more pictures of soap writers (collection for my database of course ).

I believe Toups is referring to the force majeure clause, as mentioned at the end of this Hollywood Reporter article. (Warning: Hollywood Reporter articles sometimes have annoying pop-up ads.)

I'd love to know who that was.

Me too, was there another strike in the 80's, other than the infamous one in 1988? I ask because Search was long canceled before the 5 month strike in 88.

That's awesome!! I hope we get to see more pictures of soap writers (collection for my database of course ).

Toups, are you going to update the photos of the writers in the Profiles subforum?

Me too, was there another strike in the 80's, other than the infamous one in 1988? I ask because Search was long canceled before the 5 month strike in 88.

Yes a shorter one in 1981 I believe.

The Ap is reporting that Desperate Housewives will go out of production tomorrow. They're already out of scripts.

Why are they only picketing at NBC in NYC? CBS and ABC do have headquarters in NYC as well, and I haven't heard of picketing there.

I believe in NYC, they're going to different locations each day. I think today was at Silvercup Studios and tomorrow they're going to the Time Warner location.

If people have time, go take pictures of soap writers!!

Toups, are you going to update the photos of the writers in the Profiles subforum?

I'll be adding the Leslie Nipkow picture her profile. As for updating, I don't have time to search for new pictures, so if you find any, please send them over and I'll add the pics.