Showing posts with label Writers Strike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writers Strike. Show all posts
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Writers Strike Over!
I've been remiss lately in posting about the Writers Strike, but now I don't have to worry about it, it's over. I know, this is old news for most of you, but I've been kind of absent from here lately and am trying to get back up to speed. From the sounds of things the Writers have gotten much of what they wanted, like any bargaining I'm sure there are some things that they had to take off the table to get other things they felt more important. For more information check out some of these sites: fans4writers (where I got this picture), United Hollywood and for some of the best talk about what was going on with the strike Mark Evanier's blog (besides his insightful words about the strike he always is talking about something interesting).Saturday, January 12, 2008
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
A Writers Strike Love Story
I found this over at Collen Doran's site adistantsoil.comCollen is a talented artist/writer that has worked for all the major comic book publishers and is the creator of the comic series A Distant Soil. She had this up on her site and I just had to post it here, this is really funny. Really Really funny.
Speechless #16
A side note, the woman in the glasses is Patricia Clarkson who is from New Orleans. Her Mom is on the city council.
Writers Strike
According to United Hollywood site the producers have offered the writers a deal. This is the deal:
So the writers will be striking for awhile longer.
When an hourlong episode of television is streamed on the Internet, writers would get a flat $250 payment for one year of reuse. That's $250 as opposed to, for example, $20,000 per episode when it's reused on network television. They proposed nothing new on downloads, it's still the DVD formula for those (ie. two-thirds of a penny for an iTunes download). For theatrical movies, they're offering exactly $0.00 on streaming. Oh, and they want to be able to define any content they like as "promotional" -- for which they would pay zero dollars. Even if they stream an entire film or tv episode, and even if they sell ads on it, they can call that promotional and pay us nothing.
So the writers will be striking for awhile longer.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Writer Strike News
Talks continue between the studios and the writers. I've read that things are going great and things are going terrible. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Carson Daly is back to work on his late night show. David Letterman has been paying his staff while the strike continues and Jay Leno is out on the picket lines delivering donuts. And Carson decides to cross the picket lines...
Carson Daly is back to work on his late night show. David Letterman has been paying his staff while the strike continues and Jay Leno is out on the picket lines delivering donuts. And Carson decides to cross the picket lines...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Send A Pencil In Support of the Writers
I got this from United Hollywood Page:
Here's what's being done by fans for the WGA strike: "Now is the time to save ALL our shows. MAIL PENCILS pencils to the AMPTP and to any studios whose shows you enjoy...
Maybe we can help the studios see just how much support the WGA has. And maybe, just maybe, we can give them a graceful way out (not because they're buckling under the writers' demands, but because they care so much about their audience. Us. And isn't that supposed to be their job?"
-- Nikki Finke, 11/12/07
Okay, what is Pencils2MediaMoguls?
We’re asking people to use our site to buy pencils to send to the six media moguls who run the six corporate conglomerates.
Why pencils?
A lot of different fan sites were suggesting that people send pencils to networks and studios. United Hollywood and Strike Points met with some of the television showrunners, and together we decided to follow the fans’ lead.
Pencils have become the symbol of our cause: We are putting them down until we get a fair deal.
Symbolism, whatever. Let’s face it -- isn’t this kind of a waste of pencils?
We were worried about that too, so we found a vendor who makes environmentally sensitive product: California Republic Stationers. Their pencils are made from sustainably harvested wood, which means they don’t deforest.
We’ll also send the media moguls suggestions about where they can donate the pencils to non-profits that teach kids how to write. After all, the CEOs aren’t writers. It’s not like they can use them.
What happens to the money from the pencils?
Anything we have left over from our costs will go into the Union Solidarity Fund, which was created to help non-WGA members affected by the strike.
So who are these “media moguls”?
They are the six men who run the multi-media conglomerates, the companies that control almost everything you see on tv or in the movies. These individual CEOs have the power and influence to make a fair deal and end the strike, if they choose.
Leslie Moonves, President, CEO
CBS Corporation
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
www.cbscorporation.com
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO
General Electric (NBC/Universal)
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
www.nbcuni.com
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman, CEO
News Corporation (Fox)
1211 Avenue of the Americas
8th floor
New York, NY 10036
www.newscorp.com
Jeffrey L. Bewkes, President, COO
Time Warner Inc. (Warner Brothers)
1 Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019
www.timewarner.com
Robert Iger, President, CEO
Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
corporate.disney.go.com
Sumner Redstone, Chairman
Viacom
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
www.viacom.com
Why can’t I just buy some pencils and mail them myself?
You can! We just wanted to take our fans' great idea and make it easier. We’re taking a leaf from the Jericho campaign in which fans contracted with one vendor who could pool all their purchases together. That way, instead of individual bags of nuts, fans sent truckloads of nuts to CBS.
We’ve contracted with a single vendor to buy all the pencils for the same reason. We can deliver all of them in bulk, a truckload at a time, so the impact will be (we hope) greater.
You can mail pencils yourself if you want to, but joining together seems to have a better chance of getting noticed. It’s worked in the past.
If you do decide to mail pencils yourself, just make sure they’re not sharpened. And please be polite. (We know how hard that is. Trust us.)
How come it’s a buck a box?
That price covers purchase and delivery of 12 pencils. (They’ll probably be packed by pallets instead of in individual boxes.)
And did we mention the “sustainably forested” thing?
All right, responsible pencils, I get it. But in the end, what are you trying to accomplish here?
We want the media moguls to start negotiating in good faith. We want the strike to end with a fair deal for both sides.
If we get a fair deal, it helps the actors, the directors, and the below-the-line crew members. Their deals are directly tied to ours.
Click to send a message to the moguls: It’s time to make a fair deal. We’re all on the same page.
Here's what's being done by fans for the WGA strike: "Now is the time to save ALL our shows. MAIL PENCILS pencils to the AMPTP and to any studios whose shows you enjoy...
Maybe we can help the studios see just how much support the WGA has. And maybe, just maybe, we can give them a graceful way out (not because they're buckling under the writers' demands, but because they care so much about their audience. Us. And isn't that supposed to be their job?"
-- Nikki Finke, 11/12/07
Okay, what is Pencils2MediaMoguls?
We’re asking people to use our site to buy pencils to send to the six media moguls who run the six corporate conglomerates.
Why pencils?
A lot of different fan sites were suggesting that people send pencils to networks and studios. United Hollywood and Strike Points met with some of the television showrunners, and together we decided to follow the fans’ lead.
Pencils have become the symbol of our cause: We are putting them down until we get a fair deal.
Symbolism, whatever. Let’s face it -- isn’t this kind of a waste of pencils?
We were worried about that too, so we found a vendor who makes environmentally sensitive product: California Republic Stationers. Their pencils are made from sustainably harvested wood, which means they don’t deforest.
We’ll also send the media moguls suggestions about where they can donate the pencils to non-profits that teach kids how to write. After all, the CEOs aren’t writers. It’s not like they can use them.
What happens to the money from the pencils?
Anything we have left over from our costs will go into the Union Solidarity Fund, which was created to help non-WGA members affected by the strike.
So who are these “media moguls”?
They are the six men who run the multi-media conglomerates, the companies that control almost everything you see on tv or in the movies. These individual CEOs have the power and influence to make a fair deal and end the strike, if they choose.
Leslie Moonves, President, CEO
CBS Corporation
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
www.cbscorporation.com
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO
General Electric (NBC/Universal)
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
www.nbcuni.com
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman, CEO
News Corporation (Fox)
1211 Avenue of the Americas
8th floor
New York, NY 10036
www.newscorp.com
Jeffrey L. Bewkes, President, COO
Time Warner Inc. (Warner Brothers)
1 Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019
www.timewarner.com
Robert Iger, President, CEO
Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
corporate.disney.go.com
Sumner Redstone, Chairman
Viacom
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
www.viacom.com
Why can’t I just buy some pencils and mail them myself?
You can! We just wanted to take our fans' great idea and make it easier. We’re taking a leaf from the Jericho campaign in which fans contracted with one vendor who could pool all their purchases together. That way, instead of individual bags of nuts, fans sent truckloads of nuts to CBS.
We’ve contracted with a single vendor to buy all the pencils for the same reason. We can deliver all of them in bulk, a truckload at a time, so the impact will be (we hope) greater.
You can mail pencils yourself if you want to, but joining together seems to have a better chance of getting noticed. It’s worked in the past.
If you do decide to mail pencils yourself, just make sure they’re not sharpened. And please be polite. (We know how hard that is. Trust us.)
How come it’s a buck a box?
That price covers purchase and delivery of 12 pencils. (They’ll probably be packed by pallets instead of in individual boxes.)
And did we mention the “sustainably forested” thing?
All right, responsible pencils, I get it. But in the end, what are you trying to accomplish here?
We want the media moguls to start negotiating in good faith. We want the strike to end with a fair deal for both sides.
If we get a fair deal, it helps the actors, the directors, and the below-the-line crew members. Their deals are directly tied to ours.
Click to send a message to the moguls: It’s time to make a fair deal. We’re all on the same page.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Writers Strike News
Press Release from Writer's Guild:
On Thanksgiving Day (November 22), a group of Writers Guild Of America members will begin posting Public Service Announcements featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent as part of an independent WGA membership's "Speechless" campaign conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff. For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors will be taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet -- the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
The spots will begin appearing on Thursday morning which will begin posting Thanksgiving Day and run exclusively on DeadlineHollywood.com through Sunday night. Beginning Monday, they can be found on SpeechlessWithoutWriters.com with links on UnitedHollywood.com and every day thereafter during the duration of the strike.
Included are SAG talent such as Sean Penn, Holly Hunter, Laura Linney, Alan Cumming, Jay Leno, Harvey Keitel, Kate Beckinsale, Tina Fey, Tim Robbins, Gary Marshall, David Schwimmer, Patricia Clarkson, James Franco, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Martin Sheen, Josh Brolin, Susan Sarandon, Andre 3000, Chazz Palminteri, Jason Bateman, Christine Lahti, Patricia Arquette, Jenna Elfman, Olivia Wilde, Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Eva Longoria, Justine Bateman, Joshua Jackson, Rosanna Arquette, Diane Ladd, Rebecca Romjin, Minnie Driver, Nicollette Sheridan, Robert Patrick, Matthew Perry, Ed Asner, and America Ferrera and the cast of Ugly Betty. Arrangements have been made to also shoot Woody Allen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, Jason Alexander, Charlize Therone, Minnie Driver, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Many, many more are also in the works.
Here's how the PSAs came about: During the first day of the strike, director/writer George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) and writer Alan Sereboff (The Red House) were struck by the talent surrounding them on the picket line. Hickenlooper suggested to Sereboff that they focus their energies on a creative campaign. That night, they met at WGA Headquarters with writers Ian Deitchman (Life As We Know It), Justin Zakham (The Bucket List) and director Josh Marston (Maria Full of Grace). After conferring, the team came to an agreement: What better way to bring attention to the issues regarding the Internet then to use the Internet itself?
Hickenlooper, evoking the style of Factory Girl, suggested shooting Warhol-esque screen tests of major SAG talent not saying anything on camera, thus showing their solidarity with the WGA. And Sereboff offered the concept "Speechless," where prominent SAG actors stood silently in front of the camera, ultimately writing and holding up a sign that simply read, "Speechless". Campaigns combined under one name, Hickenlooper and Sereboff joined with WGA/SAG member Kamala Lopez (I Heart Huckabees) and began reaching out to fellow creatives. Within a few days, Hickenlooper/Sereboff had recruited fellow DGA members Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), Paul Haggis (The Valley of Ellah), Rod Lurie (The Contender), WGA writers Steve Pink (Gross Pointe Blank), Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia), two-time Emmy winning writer Jill Kushner (Ellen), Chic Eglee (Executive Producer, The Shield) in addition to the writing staff of The Tonight Show. SAG board member/actress Justine Bateman became involved and was instrumental in recruiting many of her fellow SAG actors to participate.
The "Speechless" idea quickly took off and, after a single day of filming, the team learned that the support of major A-list SAG talent was so overwhelming that many wanted to do more than just a screen test. After extensive conversations with various actors, it was decided that the screen tests might be expanded to improvisational scene work that would be done to entertain those of the public who might not be aware of the importance of the writer, and at the same time create mystery and intrigue surrounding the UnitedHollywood.com website.
On the second day of filming, the screen tests quickly evolved into actual short moments and sometimes full-fledged scenes. The result is a unique series of PSAs bringing together talent in solidarity. The "Speechless" campaign has thus far stockpiled several dozen very creative and innovative spots in black & white, ranging in length from 15 seconds to 4 minutes long.
The "Speechless" campaign support team includes music composer Anthony Marinelli, who is dedicating his time to scoring the spots; Clint Bennett, sound engineer; Joel Marshall, technical advisor; Jill Kushner production manager; Kamala Lopez and Melissa Cochran, editors; Mical shemesh, editor; Justin Schumacher, production sound; and Ian Deitchman who is putting together the website.
For more information regarding the "Speechless" campaign contact SpeechlessWithoutWriters@gmail.com.
On Thanksgiving Day (November 22), a group of Writers Guild Of America members will begin posting Public Service Announcements featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent as part of an independent WGA membership's "Speechless" campaign conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff. For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors will be taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet -- the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
The spots will begin appearing on Thursday morning which will begin posting Thanksgiving Day and run exclusively on DeadlineHollywood.com through Sunday night. Beginning Monday, they can be found on SpeechlessWithoutWriters.com with links on UnitedHollywood.com and every day thereafter during the duration of the strike.
Included are SAG talent such as Sean Penn, Holly Hunter, Laura Linney, Alan Cumming, Jay Leno, Harvey Keitel, Kate Beckinsale, Tina Fey, Tim Robbins, Gary Marshall, David Schwimmer, Patricia Clarkson, James Franco, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Martin Sheen, Josh Brolin, Susan Sarandon, Andre 3000, Chazz Palminteri, Jason Bateman, Christine Lahti, Patricia Arquette, Jenna Elfman, Olivia Wilde, Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Eva Longoria, Justine Bateman, Joshua Jackson, Rosanna Arquette, Diane Ladd, Rebecca Romjin, Minnie Driver, Nicollette Sheridan, Robert Patrick, Matthew Perry, Ed Asner, and America Ferrera and the cast of Ugly Betty. Arrangements have been made to also shoot Woody Allen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, Jason Alexander, Charlize Therone, Minnie Driver, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Many, many more are also in the works.
Here's how the PSAs came about: During the first day of the strike, director/writer George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) and writer Alan Sereboff (The Red House) were struck by the talent surrounding them on the picket line. Hickenlooper suggested to Sereboff that they focus their energies on a creative campaign. That night, they met at WGA Headquarters with writers Ian Deitchman (Life As We Know It), Justin Zakham (The Bucket List) and director Josh Marston (Maria Full of Grace). After conferring, the team came to an agreement: What better way to bring attention to the issues regarding the Internet then to use the Internet itself?
Hickenlooper, evoking the style of Factory Girl, suggested shooting Warhol-esque screen tests of major SAG talent not saying anything on camera, thus showing their solidarity with the WGA. And Sereboff offered the concept "Speechless," where prominent SAG actors stood silently in front of the camera, ultimately writing and holding up a sign that simply read, "Speechless". Campaigns combined under one name, Hickenlooper and Sereboff joined with WGA/SAG member Kamala Lopez (I Heart Huckabees) and began reaching out to fellow creatives. Within a few days, Hickenlooper/Sereboff had recruited fellow DGA members Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), Paul Haggis (The Valley of Ellah), Rod Lurie (The Contender), WGA writers Steve Pink (Gross Pointe Blank), Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia), two-time Emmy winning writer Jill Kushner (Ellen), Chic Eglee (Executive Producer, The Shield) in addition to the writing staff of The Tonight Show. SAG board member/actress Justine Bateman became involved and was instrumental in recruiting many of her fellow SAG actors to participate.
The "Speechless" idea quickly took off and, after a single day of filming, the team learned that the support of major A-list SAG talent was so overwhelming that many wanted to do more than just a screen test. After extensive conversations with various actors, it was decided that the screen tests might be expanded to improvisational scene work that would be done to entertain those of the public who might not be aware of the importance of the writer, and at the same time create mystery and intrigue surrounding the UnitedHollywood.com website.
On the second day of filming, the screen tests quickly evolved into actual short moments and sometimes full-fledged scenes. The result is a unique series of PSAs bringing together talent in solidarity. The "Speechless" campaign has thus far stockpiled several dozen very creative and innovative spots in black & white, ranging in length from 15 seconds to 4 minutes long.
The "Speechless" campaign support team includes music composer Anthony Marinelli, who is dedicating his time to scoring the spots; Clint Bennett, sound engineer; Joel Marshall, technical advisor; Jill Kushner production manager; Kamala Lopez and Melissa Cochran, editors; Mical shemesh, editor; Justin Schumacher, production sound; and Ian Deitchman who is putting together the website.
For more information regarding the "Speechless" campaign contact SpeechlessWithoutWriters@gmail.com.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Garth Brooks Refuses to Cross Picket Lines
From the Country Standard Time:
I've never been a fan of Mr. Brook's music, but he has my upmost respect for his actions.
Thursday, November 15, 2007 – Garth Brooks canceled his appearances on The View and Ellen in support of the writers strike underway in Hollywood.
Brooks was going to appear on the shows to support the release of his greatest hits plus disc, "The Ultimate Hits."
His publicist said, "This is the first time in many years that he has not done television in support of his music. His first appearance on television was to have been The Tonight Show, however the strike happened that day. We believe he is the first artist with product in the marketplace to not have the support of these appearances. Garth is proud of the position he has taken since he hopes to be a writer in the not too distant future."
I've never been a fan of Mr. Brook's music, but he has my upmost respect for his actions.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Help The Writers!
Strike News
David Letterman and his producers have said they plan to pay the staff of Late Night for the rest of the year even though the show isn't on the air due to the writer's strike.
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