Unions set to kick some ass

[thepaulo]

Entertainment Ass that is....
stagehands ready to shutter Broadway....I know that'll break a lot of people's hearts....
but wait....there's more.....
TV and Film writer's contract is up Oct 31.....but wait...there's more....they might wait....
....for the director's and Actor's to go on strike this summer.....
All Hell is set to break loose.....the ramifications are boggling.......
my mind!!!!

[PapaBear]

Entertainment Ass that is....
stagehands ready to shutter Broadway....I know that'll break a lot of people's hearts....
but wait....there's more.....
TV and Film writer's contract is up Oct 31.....but wait...there's more....they might wait....
....for the director's and Actor's to go on strike this summer.....
All Hell is set to break loose.....the ramifications are boggling.......
my mind!!!!
Fuck. Isn't this what led to the proliferation of Reality TV?

[thepaulo]

Oh yeah baby...we are going to get A LOT of Reality TV

[led37zep]

Ya, everyone I know who works in TV is making arrangements to have some time off. I have a friend who is a Writers Assistant on one network show. As soon as the writers go on strike she's out of a job.

I started my internship in commercials during the last SAG strike. It was a very weird going to sets surrounded by protesters.

[thepaulo]

stagehands have voted....they're on strike......

It's starting......

[thepaulo]

now cabbies are going on strike......it's madness.....

[thepaulo]

DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU....ITS GONNA GET UGLY...AND THEN YOU'LL BE CRYING....
just don't come crying o me....because i'll be safe in my bunker.....

[Freakshow]

Unicorns kick ass.

[BMoses]

DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU....ITS GONNA GET UGLY...AND THEN YOU'LL BE CRYING....
just don't come crying o me....because i'll be safe in my bunker.....

I am with Paul O on this one. Screw fires in California or the drought in the southeast. What am I going to do without Caveman or Gossip Girls. Save room in the bunker for me!!

[suggums]

i cant wait to see what happens to all the nightly talk/news/entertainment shows if there really is a strike!

[thepaulo]

I'm in my bunker...what's happening in the real world......

[StizerUK]

Still no news.... Variety is still running the story from LATE last night


http://www.variety.com/VR1117975166.html

[led37zep]

My girlfriends dad works on the Warner Lot. From what he's telling me they're expecting a lot of lay offs if this goes on too long. They have enough scripts to keep them busy for the short term but after that...all bets are off.

[buzzard]

If this adds up to more reality TV I say; "eccccchh!" and print it!

[thepaulo]

lots of people have their heads up their ass on this one....
seriously....there will be blood

[Lady Resin]

Damn, if they go on strike, I hope they settle before January 20th. I have expensive tickets to see A Bronx Tale.:sad:

[Nothing Sound]

Why do people feel it necessary to over use an ellipsis in their posts?

It looks like a fucking 5 year old posted it.

[led37zep]

Why do people feel it necessary to over use an ellipsis in their posts?

It looks like a fucking 5 year old posted it.


Because commas are for...queers.

[thepaulo]

I only wish I was smart enough to use all those texting abbreviations the kids use so much.....

[Nothing Sound]

Because commas are for...queers.


I think you have it backwards.

[ChrisTheCop]

Why do people feel it necessary to over use an ellipsis in their posts?


I think thats the combination to the security door at Miami International Airport.


And if only reality tv survives this strike, what becomes of "The Hills"?

[led37zep]

I think you have it backwards.

Queers are for commas? That makes no sense.

[ChrisTheCop]

Queers actually prefer colons.

[Hottub]

Queers actually prefer colons.

:clap::clap:http://www.spreadtheiris.com/images/smilies/clap.gifhttp://www.spreadtheiris.com/images/smilies/hysterical.gif

[shodan]

Queers actually prefer colons.
Game.Set.Match. Chris the Cop

[sailor]

hilarious line, chris...

[ChrisTheCop]

aww shucks. thanx fellas.

now move along, nothing to see here.

[thepaulo]

letterman, leno, jon stewart, stephen colbert......they're the first to go......

[epo]

letterman, leno, jon stewart, stephen colbert......they're the first to go......

Now I'm getting annoyed.

[Arch Stanton]

Unions, had there place many years ago.

[thepaulo]

it's the end of the world as we know it.....

[epo]

Unions, had there place many years ago.

One could argue they have a place in today's world to prevent the NEED for them again....we may always need that balancing threat.

Either way, no Stewart or Letterman? This whole thing stinks!!

[thepaulo]

this could probably ruin the final season of scrubs.....

[epo]

this could probably ruin the final season of scrubs.....

Ruin? Or save us the pain?

[Arch Stanton]

Ruin? Or save us the pain?

yeah, is that still on? thought it was just reruns.

[thepaulo]

this is the final season.......what about all the loose ends.......

[epo]

this is the final season.......what about all the loose ends.......

He and the chick don't end up together.

The end.

[thepaulo]

you're so cruel....if George Costanza can get the girl......?

[epo]

you're so cruel....if George Costanza can get the girl......?

Fine, the whole thing happened inside of a snowglobe at ESD's brother's house.

Is that better?

[PapaBear]

I think it ends with the helicopter crashing onto the one armed doctor.

[thepaulo]

Hollywood's on strike?!?!
Crap!

[IamFogHat]

Hollywood's on strike?!?!
Crap!

Have you been drunk since two Friday's ago?

[Billy Staples]

Note: * This is not an opportunity for those who can't, it's an opportunity for those who do for a fair slice

IMO...with so much bullshit a lot of writers have to put up with and receive no credit for. OK, maybe if they are part of a show that wins an emmy than they get to stand behind the shows star.

Remember, these are the lucky and talented ones. So many others out there don't make close to what they make in the WGA and still do it. Why, because they love it. It is a great feeling to hear something that you were involved said on TV or anywhere else.

If you aren't in the WGA, not only don't you get the money, but you don't get the recognition they deserve either. It's a shame.

Well, thats why I give Kudos the shows like Z-100 who acknowledge a scam, bit, song to the person who did it. It doesn't take much to say thanks and give credit. Team shmeme...everyone's a team until its time for personal gain or monetary worth.

All those shows from the past where not only the actors, but the writers also, receive no kind of residual benefits. Ever see some actors try to work without a script, downright horrifying, yet funny. than there are some who breeze by, and improv and write as they go.

My best to the guys on the line and those who deserve to be there also. May they get their piece of the pie and in the future a bigger pie.

It is amazing, these TV shows have all these writers and they go on re-runs?There are many ways to share the wealth, too bad it doesn't happen as often as it should

Good Luck Guys...Eddie, JT, Louis and the other poker buddies

Billy Hine

PS: Look past the obvious it's not myl autobiography

[thepaulo]

yeah, baby....Staples is back....

[Billy Staples]

same to you Paulo..my best, tough mileage...good to see ya

[thepaulo]

air kiss to you buddy.....

[thepaulo]

first the topical daily shows....then shows like 24....today Broadway went dark......
and the dominoes fall.

[Beelzebub]

The dominoes will fall if history repeats... After the Disney animators striked in 1941, studios began looking at the lefts influence on the industry. This lead to organizations like the House of Unamerican Activities Committee which eventually lead to the Hollywood Blacklist. Many liberal writers, directors and actors lost careers, real Salt of the Earth people. The entertaiment industry is often criticized as being liberal, but bottom line, it is a business and the studio heads are not happy with unions and revenue loss; expect shakeups and crackdowns, more conservative themed television shows and films. It will be OK, artists find a way around the system and hold the line.

[patsopinion]

The dominoes will fall if history repeats... After the Disney animators striked in 1941, studios began looking at the lefts influence on the industry. This lead to organizations like the House of Unamerican Activities Committee which eventually lead to the Hollywood Blacklist. Many liberal writers, directors and actors lost careers, real Salt of the Earth people. The entertaiment industry is often criticized as being liberal, but bottom line, it is a business and the studio heads are not happy with unions and revenue loss; expect shakeups and crackdowns, more conservative themed television shows and films. It will be OK, artists find a way around the system and hold the line.



so writers are going to be labeled as terrorists?
shit

well thank god we have "runs house" to get us through (im not being sarcastic that is the only good reality show)

[thepaulo]

new developments.....
500 news writers are voting to join the writers strike.....so right now we can't get the fake news.....and maybe soon we won't get the real news.

Young Frankenstein will be the only Broadway show running because the Hilton theater works under a different contract.

so good news/bad news....

[thepaulo]

....this just in.........Networks are canceling all funny shows.....

[Beelzebub]

...in other news David Letterman to pay his writing staff out of his own pocket.
Way to go Dave! (http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1424578920071115)

Hey Paul-O... maybe you can do a movie review about a labor film.

http://www.criterion.com/content/images/full_boxshot/334_box_348x490.jpg

[thepaulo]

my favorite labor agitator....Micheal Moore.

[moochcassidy]

its 'arse'



tosser

[thepaulo]

Just in from CBS.....
All "Big Brother"....all the time.

[thepaulo]

Conan O'Brien and David Letterman both photographed with full beards.....(no joke)

Letterman and Craig Ferguson might make a special deal with the Union to come back on January 2......

up to now, I've been getting by with Regis and Kelly...they don't need no stinking writers.

[fezident]

Yeah, NBC just aired a commercial promoting all-new episodes of Leno and Conan starting Jan 2nd.
What does that mean? They're crossing the line, right?
Or is there some kinda loophole?

[BoondockSaint]

David Letterman strikes deal with writers; will return Wednesday (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/12/28/2007-12-28_david_letterman_strikes_deal_with_writer.html)

[Snoogans]

apparently independant film companies are allowed to sign deals with writers without crossing lines, so long as the contracts honor what the writers were asking for from the union deals, some shit like that

[Snoogans]

Or they can sign other staff without writers. Anyway, from what I hear most shows will be without writers. If that's the case, the biggest winner is gonna be Jimmy Kimmel. I dont see Dave and Jay being able to be funny off the cuff the way kimmel is, and he is gonna end up gaining a TON of viewers i think

[epo]

Or they can sign other staff without writers. Anyway, from what I hear most shows will be without writers. If that's the case, the biggest winner is gonna be Jimmy Kimmel. I dont see Dave and Jay being able to be funny off the cuff the way kimmel is, and he is gonna end up gaining a TON of viewers i think

As the linked article above says about the Letterman show (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/12/28/2007-12-28_david_letterman_strikes_deal_with_writer.html):

David Letterman is going back to work Wednesday with his team of regular writers, thanks to a deal between his company and the striking Writers Guild of America, sources confirmed Friday.

Let me say, this puts alot of pressure on everyone else in the late night game, as Dave with writers versus a bare everyone else is an unfair fight.

[thepaulo]

Letterman and Worldwide Pants may have an advantage but that is because they actively fought to make this deal....mostly in support of the writers. Letterman has always been an anti-company guy all the way back when he was with NBC. You can be sure the Networks don't like that anyone is making a deal with the writers that they haven't approved.
But all the shows will be back....and what will be topic number one when they get back....
the writer's strike.

[fezident]

According to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, when Leno and Conan return they will "ffocus more on the celebrity interviews and spend less time with the monologues and the desk pieces."

[thepaulo]

That's because NBC stands for No Balls for Conan....we already assume Leno has no balls.

[thepaulo]

if they don't resolve this strike in the next couple of weeks all non-reality shows will be gone.

[thepaulo]

Leno is being accused by the Writer's guild of breaking the rules by writing his own monologue. Ratings were way up for everyone except Kimmell but Leno won the night.
Leno 7.2 million up 3 million
Letterman 5.5 million up 2 million
Conan O'Brien 2.8 million up 55%
Craig Ferguson 2.2 million up 31%
Jimmy Kimmel 1.8 million down 1%

Letterman is expected to have a long term advantage because most guests would be crossing picket lines on the other shows.

[FUNKMAN]

Leno is being accused by the Writer's guild of breaking the rules by writing his own monologue. Ratings were way up for everyone except Kimmell but Leno won the night.
Leno 7.2 million up 3 million
Letterman 5.5 million up 2 million
Conan O'Brien 2.8 million up 55%
Craig Ferguson 2.2 million up 31%
Jimmy Kimmel 1.8 million down 1%

Letterman is expected to have a long term advantage because most guests would be crossing picket lines on the other shows.

i don't think i'll ever get Leno's success, i do not find him funny or appealing in the least. i know it's a matter of taste, could it be he just has the best guests, channel, or location????

[thepaulo]

I suspect most of America is just not as hip as us.

[FUNKMAN]

I suspect most of America is just not as hip as us.

oh without a doubt :tongue:

[SatCam]

Leno is being accused by the Writer's guild of breaking the rules by writing his own monologue. Ratings were way up for everyone except Kimmell but Leno won the night.
Leno 7.2 million up 3 million
Letterman 5.5 million up 2 million
Conan O'Brien 2.8 million up 55%
Craig Ferguson 2.2 million up 31%
Jimmy Kimmel 1.8 million down 1%

Letterman is expected to have a long term advantage because most guests would be crossing picket lines on the other shows.

he has writers

[thepaulo]

Obviously Letterman has his writers back but all these guys are smart enough to go for a while just thinking on their feet....but since Letterman has union okay all the members of the other unions won't have a problem with talent booking on his show....
of course Huckabee was a Leno guest last night and he was critized for crossing the picket line.(didn't hurt him in Iowa though)

[thepaulo]

SAGS won't be scabs.
The acting community has spoken....they will not be attending the Golden Globes if there isn't an agreement.
Both the Globes and the Oscars appear to be heading to toward massive train wreck status.

[thepaulo]

second night of ratings
Leno 5.2 million
Letterman 4.6 million

The union is going after Leno since he basically told them to fuck off.
I'm not quite sure what kind of censure they can evoke but I'm sure lots of talent might think he's an ass.

[fezident]

Golden Globes cancels traditional show
By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer 18 minutes ago

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Monday that the traditional Golden Globe Awards ceremony has been canceled and will be replaced with a news conference format. The move came after striking writers threatened to picket the event.

"We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007's outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television," said Jorge Camara, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. "We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year's Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled."

The show had been set to air on Sunday.

[conman823]

second night of ratings
Leno 5.2 million
Letterman 4.6 million

The union is going after Leno since he basically told them to fuck off.
I'm not quite sure what kind of censure they can evoke but I'm sure lots of talent might think he's an ass.

I have a question. Do these unions care about all the other people who make a living off of the show that Leno is responsible for?

I understand the basis of there ongoing issues with studios etc. Still isn't there any honor in the job market anymore? I think the average Joe doesn't see this as a reason to stop working all together. i know i don't. I can understand if they were subjected to forced overtime and abhorant work conditions (which is how unions started), but really their not.

[IamFogHat]

I have a question. Do these unions care about all the other people who make a living off of the show that Leno is responsible for?



It's a fair point, but not a realistic one.

[conman823]

Really? I know if I was laid off and unable to keep a roof over my childrens heads and food on the table it would be pretty "real" to me.

This country acts like to say something against a Union is an unpatriotic act. Union leaders play on this for there own ends.

[Beelzebub]

Con...

If there were no Unions, writers would still be paid vast sums of money.

All the unions are doing is setting minimums for low pay level writers.

The web is just another ancillary market for these people.

The "poor" boom mic op is able to find work as television and film and studios are still in production.

Staff writers get paid the WGA min to write a script, they get a “written by” credit, but mostly they are paid by a system of fee's; producer and episode.

They are all doing the same basic job at different levels of pay and power.

The EP is sort of the head writer and gets paid a great deal for EVERY episode produced, not just the ones he or she writes. As you move down the ladder, you get to the Story Editor, who gets a lot less per episode. So the bulk of their compensation is in the form of these fees.

But because television involves an intense amount of group rewriting, the writing staff really pitches in on every single episode. No matter who you are you get paid the WGA minimum to write an actual script.

However, the entire model for television syndication is changing with new media. Who knows 10-15 years from now LA can look like the rust belt.

WGA and AMPTP need to work together before the viewers turn the TV off for good.

I guess the Unions are needed to protect these low level writers and give them due compensation.

[fezident]

Beezlebub,
Your post is well thought-out EXCEPT for one small statement:

A boom-op can't simply get a gig on another show. He's certainly ABLE to land another gig but, there's a finite number of shows and now, suddenly, that job market is flooded with available techs who are willing to low-ball.
Also...if a show is currently in production, it would already be fully staffed. They'd have their crew in place.
A crewmember who is suddenly available would kinda HAVE to hop onto a new show but.... nobody is writing a new series for a while.

[conman823]

Beezlebub,
Your post is well thought-out EXCEPT for one small statement:

A boom-op can't simply get a gig on another show. He's certainly ABLE to land another gig but, there's a finite number of shows and now, suddenly, that job market is flooded with available techs who are willing to low-ball.
Also...if a show is currently in production, it would already be fully staffed. They'd have their crew in place.
A crewmember who is suddenly available would kinda HAVE to hop onto a new show but.... nobody is writing a new series for a while.

Agree.

Beez, all Unions are a business. The dues the "little guy" pays hurt a lot more than what Leno pays. What can a Union get me that I couldn't get by walking in a applying for the job myself.

If I agreed to write for a show and my salary is too be X then if I can get a gig on another show that pays more I can jump there. If anything it seems like it keeps you from being a free agent and possibly making more money. Plus my dues are in my pocket, not funding some Union reps vacations.

BTW, I have Union experience in Railroading....their all the same.

[Hottub]

A tentative deal has been made! (http://www.optimum.net/News/AP/Article?articleId=374151)

[thepaulo]

The directors made a deal quickly, without going out on strike.....Those crazy writers on the other hand continue to wreck havoc and mayhem with media conglomerates everywhere.

[fezident]

This strike always struck me as kinda one-sided because... the shows that aren't being newly produced usually go into reruns, which generates residuals for the writers. It's almost as if they get paid to be on-strike.

The rest of the crew, employees, and ancillary employees (such as myself!!) end up draining any and and all of their savings.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll going to eat a can of tuna.

[thepaulo]

ancillary employees are the heart and soul of this country. We love you man.

[thepaulo]

Oh shit......:flush:


In an e-mail to Screen Actors Guild members, National Executive Director Doug Allen and SAG President Alan Rosenberg outline criticisms of a recently negotiated deal between directors and studios. They stressed that the agreement would not be a template for an actors contract. The current contract expires June 30:



January 29, 2008

Dear SAG Member:

Everyone hopes the WGA strike will end with a fair deal for the writers. There has been much speculation about the impact on the WGA strike of the tentative agreement between the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the employers' representative, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Some have rushed to anoint their deal as the “solution” for the entertainment industry. We believe that assessment is premature.

All we know of the deal are the general terms described in a joint AMPTP/DGA press release. That press release leaves many important questions unanswered. Apparently, many elements of this deal remain unresolved and/or have not been reduced to writing.

The DGA press release suggests progress in some areas, but until the details are known, that is only speculation. Several examples: The formula for new media “electronic sell through (paid downloads or EST)” is based on the higher distributor’s gross revenues, rather than producer’s gross revenues, but the definition of distributor’s gross is vague and not sufficient to protect against manipulation by the employers. Also, information regarding employer “deals and data” will be available to the DGA to monitor distributor’s gross and paid downloads on the Internet, but the press release does not detail what data, who provides the data, and what happens if the data is not provided. The devil is in the details. In the tri-guild audits under the current guilds’ collective bargaining agreements (including the DGA’s), for example, some audits are still open after eight years, because of problems with enforcement under current contract language.

Some have suggested that the new DGA deal contains a “fair market value” test for revenues included in the new media residuals calculation, to protect against self-dealing when one part of a conglomerate sells new media content to another part of the conglomerate at an unfair, low price in order to reduce residuals. We hope this is true, but the press release does not use “arms-length transaction” or “fair market value test” language, and says only, “If our exhibitor or retailer is part of the producer’s corporate family, (DGA has) improved provisions for challenging any suspect transactions.” This language could mean anything, and certainly does not guarantee against self-dealing by media conglomerates to hurt creative talent.

Fair market value and distributor’s gross are two issues that the AMPTP demanded that the WGA take off the table, along with four other items, which resulted in talks breaking off in December. Now after prolonging the strike for another month, the AMPTP has negotiated these two issues with the DGA.

That is the good news. There are also even more serious problems with other provisions described in the DGA press release, particularly those involving new media. For example, why are residuals for electronic sell-through (paid downloads or EST) for directors based on their lower DVD formula (.3%) rather than the higher pay TV formula (1.2%) in their current agreement? All three guilds – SAG, WGA, and DGA – filed for arbitration to overturn management’s attempt to impose the DVD formula for residuals on the calculation of residuals for downloads under the current agreement. The DGA stated in their arbitration filings that payment of the lower amount is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement and the proper residual formula is the higher pay TV percentage. The concession by the DGA in the new deal, to use the formula that management improperly imposed under the current agreement, is an AMPTP roll-back. The new agreed-upon percentages for television (.7%) or feature films (.65%) are much lower in the DGA deal than the percentage that the DGA claims is appropriate in its arbitration (1.2%). And these “increases”, which are based on the discredited DVD formula, do not increase residuals on the sale of DVD’s, but only apply to downloads; despite the fact that DVD’s will generate billions in revenue to the studios and networks for years to come.

The very high thresholds in the DGA deal for full jurisdiction for made for new media content may well incentivize non-union work below the threshold amounts ($15, 000/minute, $300,000/program, $500,000/series, whichever is lower). What will stop the industry from making cheap, non-union pilots at below $300,000 per episode, for testing first on the Internet before the productions migrate to broadcast or basic cable?

Your Guild has signed 210 Internet producers to SAG contracts in the past two years and only seven of them (or 3%) would fall inside the high DGA jurisdictional thresholds. We have worked hard, just as we do with low budget features, to capture this Internet work and to make sure it is done union. This DGA proposal appears to abandon jurisdiction over a huge swath of actual Internet productions, which we currently cover.

This deal gingerly addresses certain issues now, with the apparent hope that in three years or more, revenues will grow and the agreement can be improved to capture more of it. Bargaining history in the entertainment industry, however, teaches that it is much harder to get a fair share of revenue after management puts it in their pockets for years. Residual compensation should be based on a fair share of revenue generated by covered content from the first dollar. Rather than a “percentage of revenue, payment from first dollar” approach to residuals, the DGA deal instead provides for a 17 day window for free streaming of television programs over the Internet without compensation (24 days for the program’s first season). The deal also allows a one year buy-out of $1200 for Internet use v. $20,000 for one re-run on broadcast television.

For these specific reasons, and because so much of the new DGA/AMPTP deal is unknown, no one should assume this new deal is a template for anyone else, certainly not for actors. It is up to the leadership and membership of the DGA to decide if their new deal with the studios and networks is acceptable, but whatever they decide, their decision will not determine what will be satisfactory for the leadership and membership of Screen Actors Guild. Each guild must act in the best interest of its own membership, including rejecting management-imposed “pattern bargaining.”

In solidarity,

Alan Rosenberg Doug Allen
President National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator

[Freakshow]

Hey, paul waited until midnight to post, too. That's some solidarity!

[thepaulo]

I'll do what I gotta do to get da union back.

[thepaulo]

LOS ANGELES (AP) 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.



There may be an Oscar this year after all boys and girls.

[phrontisterion]

run the Oscars like a reality show and get Johnny Fairplay to host

[PapaBear]

LOS ANGELES (AP) 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.



There may be an Oscar this year after all boys and girls.
More details here... (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080205/en_nm/screenwriters_strike_dc_3)

[CruelCircus]

Is this finally it?! (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330189,00.html)

[thepaulo]

Oh dear God let this be the end....for all that is holy, let it be over....let the madness that has taken hold, cease.....please,please,please,please,please,pleas e,please,pleasepleaseplease....I can't take it anymore.....

[JustJon]

Oh dear God let this be the end....for all that is holy, let it be over....let the madness that has taken hold, cease.....please,please,please,please,please,pleas e,please,pleasepleaseplease....I can't take it anymore.....

until the actors strike this summer?

[thepaulo]

Arggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!





give me a minute.......















okay......The WGA gave out the Script awards tonight to Juno and No Country for Old Men.
The NY contingent applauded the agreement....

About 500 writers from the WGA's Eastern arm gathered at a Times Square hotel Saturday to discuss details of the proposed deal. As applause frequently greeted statements from the guild's leadership, writers straggled outside to a waiting mob of reporters, which attracted a traffic jam of tourists along Broadway. A larger contingent of the WGA's 10,500 striking writers met at Los Angeles's Shrine Auditorium.

Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, attended the 2 1/2 -hour New York meeting and called the contract offer "a historic moment for labor in this country. To have the writers stand up and not give back a single thing, and in fact, to make [the studios] give things, is a real achievement."

[thepaulo]

Unions are dead.

[Doogie]

Unions are dead.

As dead as Dillinger??

[thepaulo]

Actors Unions Act Up
Relations between the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists turned increasingly frosty Tuesday when AFTRA President Robert Reardon dispatched a letter to SAG President Alan Rosenberg demanding to know by next Monday whether SAG will agreed to participate in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers by the end of the month. Reardon made it clear that AFTRA will do so with or without SAG negotiators in the room. Meanwhile, following a report that some independent producers were unable to get completion bonds because of insurers' fears of a strike, SAG said it would offer contracts to some indie producers guaranteeing that actors would continue working on their films even if a strike is called following the expiration of the actors' contract on June 30. The guarantee would apply only to films that are not financed or distributed by a company represented b the AMPTP.

[thepaulo]

http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/la/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003785478

this is a mess but I'm sure it will be resolved by June.....I doubt there will be Another strike.

[thepaulo]

who am I kidding.....Hollywood days are numbered....say goodbye to Hollywood.

[thepaulo]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117986914.html?categoryid=18&cs=1
Apparently SAG(not to be confused with the organization run by Alec Baldwin in Team America) is going to get tough and ugly this week.....Our favorite film stars may be walking the picket line.

[Sue_Bender]

Oh?

[thepaulo]

George Clooney's set to kick some ass....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/arts/27arts-CLOONEYOFFER_BRF.html?ref=arts

[thepaulo]

okay....we can relax....

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988259.html?categoryId=13&cs=1

[thepaulo]

this shit is still going on....

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-sag23-2008nov23,0,2333005.story

[patsopinion]

i decided to post just to break up your posts and make it look like someone cares

[led37zep]

I actually care....kind of.


A lot of the jobs I do these days are non-union so I should stay SUPER busy but I got my start during the last SAG strike and know first had what happens when they strike.

The town shut down and those that still did jobs were hit with massive protests...I haven't looked into the demands SAG is making so I'm not ready to shit all over them...I just know its a really really bad time to add another strike to Hollywood.