TV shows

Come on governator! fix it!

Moonlight was AWESOME. . It looks really good next week too! Man I hope they don't take it off.

Aerwin, you might want to "spoiler" your post since GE hasn't seen that episode yet.

But, you're right - it was awesome!! My fave new show of the season!!

I just read that Pushing Daisies had 9 episodes in the can. In anticipation of the strike they re-wrote episode 9 to serve as their season finale if needed. Oh man, only 9 PDs

Thanks for looking out for me FC. MAN, I really hope that the most dire predictions are untrue, because it woud totally SUCK if it comes to all that. Yuck.

I sympathize with the writers, I really do, but I have been reading a lot about what is happening to soooo many other people and now I think the strike was short sighted of them. So many innocent people are now being hurt by this. Maybe some other route could have been taken - true, I have no idea what, but I really feel for what is about to be thousands of people out of work who are not writers and didn't deserve this. Here is an example:

Quote :

NBC fires 102 workers from The Office

Excerpts from an e-mail from Dale Alexander, a key grip on NBC's "The Office":

"Our show was shut down and we were all laid off this week. I've been watching the news since the WGA strike was announced and I have yet to see any coverage dedicated to the effect that this strike will have on the below the line employees.

"I respect the WGA's position. They probably do deserve a larger percentage of profit participation, but a lengthy strike will affect more than just the writers and studios. On my show we had 14 writers. There were also 2 cameramen, 2 camera assistants, 4 hair stylists, 4 makeup artists, 7 wardrobe people, 4 grips, 4 electricians, 2 craft service, 4 props people, 6 construction, 1 medic, 3 art department, 5 set dressers, 3 sound men, 3 stand-ins, 2 set PAs, 4 assistant directors, 1 DGA trainee, 1 unit manager, 6 production office personnel, 3 casting people, 4 writers assistants, 1 script supervisor, 2 editors, 2 editors assistants, 3 post production personnel, 1 facilities manager, 8 drivers, 2 location managers, 3 accountants, 4 caterers and a producer who's not a writer. All 102 of us are now out of work.

"I have been in the motion picture business for 33 years and have survived three major strikes. None of which have been by any of the below the line unions. During the 1988 WGA strike many of my friends lost their homes, cars and even spouses. Many actors are publicly backing the writers, some have even said that they would find a way to help pay bills for the striking writers. When the networks run out of new shows and they air repeats the writers will be paid residuals. The lowest paid writer in television makes roughly twice the salary than the below the line crewmember makes. Everyone should be paid their fair share, but does it have to be at the expense of the other 90% of the crewmembers. Nobody ever recoups from a strike, lost wages are just that, lost.

"We all know that the strike will be resolved. Eventually both sides will return to the bargaining table and make a deal. The only uncertainty is how many of our houses, livelihoods, college educations and retirement funds will pay for it."

--Maria Elena Fernandez

Yes, it would have been wonderful if the writers were given what they wanted and avoided all this, but I still really hate that this has happened, and I am not saying this because I will miss my shows. It is just a horrible time of the year for these people to be without their livelihoods.

Plus, what I saw happen to Eva Langoria by the picketing writers yesterday was just awful. I felt so bad for her.

Regarding workers, like key grips, who are put out by strikes by writers/actors/directors...they too get a percentage as part of their health coverage and pension funds. So it really is in their long term interest to support what the writers are fighting for.

I think it is easier for people to sympathize with people like a key grip than a writer/director/actor, but in reality, anybody who works regularly in Hollywood knows that the work comes and goes, and that if you want a more steady job...depend on it to raise kids and own a nice home, you must have another place to go during the lean times, or forever

I have seen that key grip piece all over the place. It is well written. Too well written for a professional key grip guy.

I think it is a professional anti-union piece of propaganda.

I think the reason they made it a key grip who supposedly wrote it (and probably paid the actual guy to be the frontman), is that ALL the other jobs, with the exception of writer/actors/directors, can go to non-entertainment places to work. The electricians can be electricians, the hair dressers can work in a salon, the caterers can do parties, etc. Camera operators have no options, either. Key grips move stuff around. yes they do it specially for film sets, but if they can do it there, they can get jobs as movers (and probably even get the high end ones moving fine art, antiques, etc.) So cry me a river, shills for management.

The asshole writers who taunted Eva Longoria are just that, assholes. And the other usions have blasted the WGA for allowing that to happen.

While I agree that they could have picked a different area to work in, I don't agree that it will be easy for them to find other positions. We recently and a male friend and a male cousin lose their jobs due to companies closing down and big layoffs. There are a lot of people in the field they specialize in looking for work, especially after the big layoffs, and both men were unemployed for over a year. Very stressful for them and their families. It will be for the key grips and hairdressers too.

I'm not a union person, never have been, and frankly striking always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They never care who all gets hurt by their actions. Living in Chicago suburbs I see thousands of kids hurt by teacher strikes every single year. It's like one of our seasons - we have winter, road repair, and teacher strikes. We wouldn't know it was September if we didn't have to hear about all the kids that can't go to school.

So, we come at things from different perspectives. Being a writer you see it from the writers standpoint and that is perfectly understandable. Being a non-union person who has been effected by union people striking - that is the perspective I come from.

All that said, I still totally agree that the writers have been getting the shaft for a long time and certainly deserve what they are asking for. I just wish there were a better way and a way that didn't hurt thousands of other people. What can I say, it bothers me.

ETA: What happened to Eva has happened to other actors also. Any actor continuing to work on their show (per their contract obligation) has been harassed. Jimmy Kimmel wanted to continue his show by "winging it" and was told no writer would ever work for him again - so he is not. Ellen didn't want to let her fans down who traveled from all over the country to see her - and she is vilified. Picketers have signs with private phone numbers so anyone can call and harass them. Mob mentality takes over in these situations and people do things to others they probably would never do under normal circumstances. It is ugly what is going on on the picket lines and it is going to get worse.

I've seen it happen on the Chicago news all the time. A few years ago a man was beaten to death in Chicago when the mob went crazy. These are probably people who never would have done something like that if not for how out of control things got with heated differences.

I'm not saying anyone is going to get beaten during this strike, but the crowds are getting huge and the anger is getting really ugly. It is fine to hurl their ugly words at the people they have their main grievances with, but they are going after anyone they feel is not supporting them by continuing to do their jobs, and that is just wrong in my book. If Ellen and Jimmy wanted to continue their shows for the sake of their fans and to try to keep others from losing their jobs also - they should have had that right without the threats and ugly verbal attacks. I don't go along with this "you better side with us or you'll pay for it" mentality that I am seeing. Completely rubs me the wrong way, and though I totally agree with what they are asking for, the way many of them are conducting themselves is just very difficult to watch and still sympathize with them. I truly am bothered by seeing people turn on each other like this. One day they are friendly and writing for Eva, they next they are standing in a mob so close behind this tiny lady screaming at her and making her cry WHILE she is giving a speech SUPPORTING them. Made me tear-up.

The studios could end the strike today if they wanted. If the writers end it by agreeing to be paid NOTHING for new media, everybody except the zillionaire corporations that own the studios will suffer.

I certainly understand not liking strikes, but what are workers supposed to do when the bosses are getting richer and richer and the workers are getting poorer and poorer?

I was not trying to suggest that the crew members will easily find jobs outside the entertainment industry...just that they can still do the same type of job elsewhere. Writer/actors/directors can get a job at Starbucks or MacDonald's, but no jobs exist outside the entertainment industry for them do do some form of what they already do.

My main point about the crew members, though, is that if they wanted steady employment they would not be working for the studios in the first place. All the jobs on a movie or TV show are subject to many periods of unemployment. This writers strike puts everybody out of business at once, but if there were no strike, a large percentage of the people involved would be unemployed at any given time anyway.

Ellen, a WGA writer herself, did not handle her unwillingness to honor the strike very intelligently. She said she was supporting the writers, and then went on to do her show as both writer and performer. If her true concern was for the fans who traveled, she could certainly have done an unaired show just for them. I had not heard of Jimmy Kimmel wanting to break the strike, and am very surprised about that one.

Oh, I totally agree with all that! I actually think the writers deserve more than they are even asking for AND studio heads should certainly be the ones to put an end to this. I totally respect and understanding the picketers voicing their anger at the studio heads. I don't think for one second they should go after the actors fulfilling their contractual obligations or the talk show people who wanted to continue their shows as best they can. Their beef isn't with them and they don't deserve to be threatened or brought down.

My father was the vice president of a company "Leaseway" that had truckers. When they would strike my father and others in management received DEATH threats! It was horrible. My father left the company and took a lower level management job else where (still a good job, but still) because of the stress. To this day truck drivers scare the crap out of me!

Although we disagree about Ellen (and I tried to find info about Kimmel...did not find it), I agree about the horror of strong-arm tactics.

In this case, the WGA members going after Eva Longoria was absolutely wrong. No actor should be harassed. The WGA also informed their members that that was unacceptable.

Ellen, being a WGA writer, is in a different category.

Ellen is also a member of SAG and AFTRA, and she is breaking those contracts, too, which explicitly state that actors must not perform work otherwise done by WGA writers. In other words, actors are not allowed to write as actors. If they do write on a WGA show, they need to be paid as writers.

True, but she isn't just a writer. She knew that a ton of people in the audience (her fans which should be a very important consideration for any star) traveled far just to see her/her show. If it were me, I would really feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. Wanting to support fellow writers vs. not wanting to let down many people who traveled to see me. That is a tough choice. Personally, I think it was wonderful to choose her fans, at least for awhile, giving others who planned to travel to see her time to change their plans until after the strike and things are back to normal - which seems to be a very long time from now. What can I say, I admire people who give their fans appreciation. I know if I traveled from Illinois to Calif. to see Clay and he didn't do his show I would be horrible disappointed. She always seemed to have a big heart to me, but of course since she went ahead and did her show on Tues. now all these writers are calling her a mean bitch who treats her writers like crap. I guess she probably figured that would happen. I am just so glad I am self employed and never have to deal with issues like this Way too stressful!

The Kimmel info I read on a Clay fanboard - of interest to Clay fans because of his good friendship with Jimmy and fans thought Clay would be good on the show since they ad-lib so well with each other. So I really can't direct you to the info. Though most fans felt it would be a really bad decision on Jimmy's part because of the backlash and I agree. He probably would have taken an incredible about of grief from writers and they wouldn't want to work for him.

Quote :

She knew that a ton of people in the audience (her fans which should be a very important consideration for any star) traveled far just to see her/her show.

If her true priority was not disappointing the traveling fans, no union, no anybody, would have a problem with her putting on private shows not on TV.

That is the sort of thing that is squirrelly about what Ellen did. She says one things, but her actions say otherwise.

If she thinks her plight is special because she is competing against non WGA shows like Oprah and Dr. Phil, and that is more important to her than being in mainstream Hollywood entertainment, she can certainly quit the unions, hire non-union writers, technicians, etc. But she wants it both ways: the benefits of union talent, but not having to abide by its rules.

Well, I never thought about putting on a private show! Can I get Clay to put on a private show for me?? !!

I don't know, I always thought Ellen seemed like a good egg. Maybe I am wrong about that. Clearly you know more about this Hollywood union stuff than I do.

I think you can be a good egg and still come up with a short sighted solution to something.

I think you can be a good egg and still fuck yourself over in the long run.

I assume Ellen is a very good egg, but she needs some new advisors here, since her own judgement is not serving her.

I suspect that if Clay were in exactly Ellen's position he would put on a live (non televised) show for the audience that showed up, if not in the TV studio, then in a rented theater nearby.

This is from one of the writer/producers of The Office. Long, but so good I had to bring it here:

Quote :

Now that my job has shifted from writing jokes in a dumpy office in Van Nuys to walking in a circle for four hours a day, I find that I have a lot of time to think about “greed.” It’s sometimes hard to explain to people that we are not striking to make sure Aaron Sorkin doesn’t have to fall out of escrow on his eleventh vacation home, but rather for the vast majority of our union who work sporadically, who average $62,000 a year, and who often find themselves undesirable hirees around age 40 if they never managed to land a job on a hit show.

So how do we get our point across, to people who don’t understand why we’re doing this? The best way I have found, is to say: everything on the internet? We get zero. They get everything. They get millions and millions and eventually billions and billions, and we get zero. And the “they,” here, is basically six of the biggest baddest companies in the world, run by men who annually receive salaries and compensation well north of 50 million dollars.

This attempt on their part to lock down the internet for free... this is just good old-fashioned corporate greed, is what this is. This is old-timey Rockefeller union-busting land-grab stuff. In a weird way I admire it. It’s been a long time since something as potentially valuable as the internet was invented – in fact, it was probably television itself. And every time something like this comes along – railroads, oil drilling, oceanic shipping – a very small group of men get together and wring their hands with glee and plot and scheme, and try to squeeze out every single cent they can. The representatives of these six companies are only doing what their corporate fathers did before them – collude, wield power, screw workers, doubletalk, and hide behind lawyers. (I particularly admire the badass way they publicly announce to their shareholders how valuable the internet already is to their bottom lines, while pleading ignorance on the same subject at the negotiating table. It takes guts to be that disingenuous. God bless ’em.)

But I’m not just going to complain. I’m here to offer a solution. If they want to offer me absolutely nothing when they stream my show on-line, (NBC shows were streamed 50 million times in October alone, according to Jeff Zucker), and further offer the comically-low 0.3% residual rate on things like iTunes downloads (“The Office” was downloaded millions of times from iTunes, and then NBC pulled its content off iTunes because they wanted more money), well, over time they will end up reducing my salary by something like 85%. That seems like a pretty drastic paycut. But, according to these guys, there is simply no money to pay out, they’re not making anything! The cost of shows is rising, everything is so expensive now, and they honestly have no idea what we could possibly be thinking when we zzzzzzzzzz.

If they’re right, and there needs to be some belt-tightening, and we should take the 0.00% rate on everything we ever write or act in, then I say: sure. I will take that rate, as long as you take it with me. If every one of you studio mogul types takes the same 85% reduction in your salaries, I will accept your terms. The good news is, you will still be grossly rich. Sumner Redstone of Viacom made about $52 million in cash and stock last year, so he’d still have close to $8 million a year. Peter Chernin of Fox made about $61 million, so he’s good. Sadly, Les Moonves of CBS only made about $35.3 million, so taking the paycut barely leaves him $5 million a year. Maybe he can get a bridge loan or something.

Taking these reductions in pay would certainly send the message that you guys are trying so hard to send – that there is just no money to go around, and that we must all take pay cuts in order to keep television and movies a viable money-making industry. (A quick non sequitur-style congrats to Disney, by the way, who last week announced net profits of $877 million for their last fiscal quarter, on revenue of $8.93 billion.) And the good news is, if it doesn’t work out, and you’re fired, maybe you’ll get one of those sweet $190 million Mike Ovitz severance packages.

I say, let’s all make this sacrifice together. If you eight guys take 15% of what you make now, I will be back at work tomorrow. I will write like the wind, buoyed by the inspiring knowledge that my corporate brothers stand beside me in this crucial time of belt-tightening for our industry. We will all make the necessary economic sacrifices to keep the eleventy-trillion dollar entertainment industry afloat, while you have the crucial three years you claim you need to “study” the internet to see if anyone can make any money off this confusing new invention. Lord knows Google hasn’t figured it out yet.

Together, we will get through this. Together, writers, actors, and absurdly-paid businessmen will sacrifice our salaries in order to save American entertainment as we know it. Now who’s with me?

In solidarity,
Michael Schur

Yes, that is what Clay would do!

Well, I really like Ellen and I sure hope things work out so that there are not long term hard feelings toward her. I don't get to see her show often, but when I do, it and she are wonderful! She had a tough time back in the 1990s and I am happy things turned around for her. I hope she didn't just shoot herself in the foot or anything between the doggie business and this. It's been hard enough excepting that Rosie (who I used to just adore) has kinda gone off the deep end and become someone who people think poorly of.

ETA: Yes, that is very well written. I do think it is all absurd the amount of money the studio heads make compared to the writers etc. (but to be honest when I hear things about actors making 20 million a movie that seems almost as absurd to me, of course I know that is just the really big movie stars and TV stars making that kind of money) I just really cannot believe that the studio heads did not go along with the few pennies that the writers wanted and were willing to let all this mess happen

Rosie likes to be controversial. I think it took great effort for her to hide that back in the old days.

Ellen is a very different sort of personality. I believe she wants, more than anything, to be the good guy. Unfortunately, regarding the strike, she didn't look at the issues involved carefully enough to wind up the good guy.

If she had just shut down for even one week, to learn more about what the strike was for and where it was all headed, researched and discussed options not involving breaking her own WGA union's rules, no matter what she finally decided to do, she would not be in the pickle she is in now. She would not seem so absurdly naive and self serving.

If she chose to go completely non-union she would certainly get attacked by pro-union people, but she would get great support from non-union and anti-union people. It is that she wants everybody to be on her side, both union and non-union, just because she seems to be a nice person, that makes her doomed in this.

That is why I said the one thing I wish her is better advisors.

On the issue of 20 million paychecks for stars: the stars who get that sort of money are very few, and it irks me, too, especially when most of the supporting players get scale (something like $2000 a week. My friend Mark Lowenthal did 15 major movies one year, and still lost his SAG health insurance the next year. But is that the 20 million dollar star's fault? No. If the star said I will take 10 million if you give the other 10 to the other actors and crew members, the studio would keep the money anyway.

Such a shame about your friend losing his insurance. The acting business is sure a rough one unless you make it really big!

I mentioned the $20 million actors being absurd because to me being paid that kind of money for a few months work seems so unbelievable! Just like those insane baseball $120 million contracts! I think of cops and firefighters who risk their lives for people and make such little money and I just think "how nuts is it that a man who can hit a ball in a game can become so incredibly wealthy, but a man who walks into a burning building to save some stranger's child be so poorly paid?" It all seems so off kilter to me.

It is wildly off kilter. But the athletes and the stars are not the ones who can turn that around. The corporations or the government who employ the workers have to be willing to fairly compensate. If the athletes and stars take less money, it will not go into the hands of the other workers. It will just make the heads of the corporations even richer.

I really wish that capitalism worked better than it does.


To me it is horrifying that anybody should make over, say, say 2 million a year, when so many people make minimum wage, lose their insurance (I am not covered at this point...and can't afford to insure myself), work at vital jobs where they risk their lives, etc. But who else besides the corporations themselves can do anything about that, unless our government becomes socialist?

Well, I sure don't want socialism But I would like to see better wages for hard working people! I just don't have the answers. I sure wish I did. I hate to think of you or anybody out there without good health insurance or a decent place to live or good food to eat. I sure hope that job happens for you and you can get medical coverage

So, back on the topic of TV shows - I just read that The Ghost Whisperer (one of my fave shows) is getting higher ratings than Heroes!! So happy for J-Love and that gorgeous David Conrad!! May he be on my TV screen for many years to come!!

Damon And Marc Cherry talking about the strike;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1W-HHK6SS4

Quote :

TV fans are showing support for the striking writers of their favorite shows. There are all sorts of new websites by them, not to mention pizza deliveries to the picket lines. Now fans of CSI have arranged for a plane to fly over the picketing WGA members near Universal Studios with the message "CSI Fans Support WGA" tomorrow weather permitting. They emailed me: "As fans, we wholeheartedly support the WGA and we were looking for a tangible way to show our support - to show that the fans are supporting the writers, regardless of what Variety or any other trade publication would like you to think. Hopefully it will serve as a morale boost for the writers and let them know that the fans are behind them. Fans from all over the world have contributed to this campaign. Fans understand that we are going to miss out on our favorite programs, whether it is CSI or ER or any other show. But we also understand that there is much more at stake than what happens with Sara and Grissom (I can't believe I just typed that). We understand that the writers are fighting for what is fair and owed to them. They are only fighting for what they rightfully deserve, and we get that."

See I don't agree with bullying tactics either. But the fact of the matter is these guys are not getting their due. ABC / Disney for one just keeps getting richer and richer. I don't think it is fair that those huge corperations are getting residuals from streaming and dvd sales. When the people whose blood and sweat go into these projects are not.

That being said I STILL want my tv. And I want it now.

I totally agree Aerwin. I have even come to except that there probably will be no new shows after the holidays and until next season, but I still HATE to think of all these people losing their jobs right before Xmas

I read today that the studio heads etc. have so much money that they will not even feel the effects of this strike for many months. They figure the writers will be the ones not able to hold out. I guess as long as they have gone this route they might as well stick it out and get what they want. Eventually TPTB will have to come around.

Read this. It made my blood boil:

http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-channel12nov12,0,5392672.story?coll=cl-calendar

But you knew they networks were going to find away around this. They have no choice. I don't blame Fox at all. It's the job of the people who run the network to make the most of this. Hey, I love AI - at least I have that to look forward to! I am however very worried about the new shows of this season

Call me naive, but I think the studio heads can still make their many millions without having to utterly screw all the people who work for them.