Writer's Strike Thread

[Sylph]

From United Hollywood

[Toups]

Thanks for the link!

So hypothetically, if GH's demos tank to say 1.2 and is in 6th place after November sweeps, Brian Frons can decide not to bring back Bob Guza after the strike is over? Hmm.......

[Ryan]

[Angela]

I would have passed by if I knew (I'm 6-8 walking minutes away from the Silvercup studios). Just took a look at the news and saw the protesting over there, it was a pretty small group.

[Khan]

Thank you, Snark.

As promised, I stand corrected.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Writers strike! Are you lonely tonight?

By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer

49 minutes ago

NEW YORK - The writers strike only began Monday, and already you're falling behind.

Sure, the impact of the strike so far has been limited to late night, instantly banishing comedy-and-talk shows into rerun purgatory. But how are you supposed to know what's happening in the world without Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show" mocking current events? How will you keep your grip on contemporary life deprived of David Letterman's nightly Top Ten List?

The prospect of a strike was a wake-up call for viewers. Last Friday, "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien dispelled the popular belief "that I make the whole show up." Not true, viewers learned. "Believe it or not," confided Conan, "some of the show is scripted."

But that was then. On Monday, writers who once scripted "Late Night" and so many other shows (and movies, too) were picketing outside NBC's Rockefeller Center headquarters.

"Hey, hey, ho, ho, management can't write the show," they chanted, demonstrating that their own writing skills don't include poetry.

The dispute between Writers Guild of America members and the networks and studios that employ them centers on issues like Internet royalties for TV shows. But it's you caught in the middle. As a pitch for "Jimmy Kimmel Live" put it so vividly, "The more I Jimmy, the better I feel." With the strike going on, you just can't Jimmy like you used to.

And things could get worse. If the strike drags on (and the last one, in 1988, went for 22 weeks), the reservoir of new scripted shows could run dry.

Of course, the networks have ways of finessing this problem.

On Friday's "Tonight" show, Jay Leno joked that NBC is readying "a new show for male viewers (with) no stupid writing — just explosions! Three full hours of nonstop, heart-pounding explosions!"

Why not? The networks are expected to augment the inevitable reruns with brand-new fare that doesn't need a script from anybody (at least, not a WGA writer). News programs will likely swell in number. Look for new game shows. And an explosion, so to speak, of reality shows.

Is there a silver lining?

Well, in the short term, you'll be grateful for the chance to get through all the shows you've stockpiled on your TiVo.

Another plus? Once your favorite series are mired in rerun mode, you'll be freed up to sample other programming you never saw before. Think of them like those random magazines in your doctor's waiting room: They may be old, but they'll be new to you.

Meanwhile, long-term speculation on the fallout from the strike is running rampant.

According to one theory, all those reruns and reality the networks plan to air might chase you onto the Web for your entertainment binges. Some of you (this theory predicts) will be so pleased with what you find online, you'll never watch TV the same way again.

A more certain outcome: If the strike lasts too long, it will be very costly to the networks and studios, as well as the writers. And that would serve them right, you may find yourself seething.

Strike back if you must. But the absence of writers from TV right now might be a good time to surmount your wounded feelings, and take measure of what writers bring to television.

Consider: At the heart of nearly every complaint you've ever lodged against TV is what the writer did. You spend little time beefing about an actor you might not like. You don't worry too much about whether a shot is framed artistically enough.

What you really notice about a TV show, especially when you object to it, mostly boils down to how it's written. That's how fundamental the writers are.

It doesn't mean you should automatically support them in a strike that, already, is making TV less fun for you to watch. But to give yourself a fresh perspective on their value, picture those writers not on a picket line, their keyboards forsaken, but instead, for a moment, dropped into a MasterCard commercial:

Bottled water, candy bars and pencils for the Writer's Room: $37.

Average WGA writer's annual income (at least, according to the studios and networks): About $200,000.

The script for a top-notch TV show, one that makes you laugh or cry and talk about it afterward for days: Priceless.

[bellcurve]

This is so cute!

[Sylph]

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/dhd-...g-strike-story/

[Scotty]

I ran across this little tidbit while reading the tv section of the newspaper this morning concerning the writer's strike and soaps:

Hopefully, the strike will be over by then.

[Toups]

Picture taken from TvGuide.com

The woman on the right is the fabulous Courtney Simon (ATWT writer).

[NeoAngelicLiz]

Thanks for the news!

Glad to hear that at least.

I really hope Grey's Anatomy also has enough scripts/episodes to last well into the next year.

[dawn9476]

They aren't only picketing NBC. They are picketing inother locations around NY including SilverCup studios where 30 Rock is filmed. Some of Gossip Girl's interior shots are filmed there as well.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

There is a lot of information floating around on this. According to many GH insiders, Guza hasn't finished writing all of November sweeps yet, so I fail to see how they could have finished episodes well into the first week of January.

There was also another article that started that the CBS soaps have scripts finished up to the first week of January as well. Again, I don't know how accurate all this information is.

[stenbeck212]

Also known as Dr. Lynn Michaels, the most sane person in Oakdale.

[Toups]

That's not possible. Soaps are written months in advance, not 3-4 weeks.