Writers Strike

Started by moyer777, October 29, 2007, 04:53:50 PM

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Geekyfanboy

Well a deal was given to the writers last night... but I just read this...

WGA Calls "New" Deal a "Bad Deal," Rejects Offer

Well, that didn't take long. The WGA has swiftly dismissed the "New Economic Partnership" put forth by the AMPTP on Thursday, saying in a statement that "for the first three days of this week, the companies presented in essence their November 4 [pre-strike] package with not an iota of movement on any of the issues that matter to writers. Thursday morning, the first new proposal was finally presented to us. It dealt only with streaming and made-for-Internet jurisdiction, and it amounts to a massive rollback."

The WGA reports that with regards to Internet streaming, they were offered "a single fixed payment of less than $250 for a year's reuse of an hour-long program (compared to over $20,000 payable for a network rerun)." For made-for-Internet material, the AMPTP "continued to refuse to grant jurisdiction," "they made absolutely no move on the download formula" and "continue to assert that they can deem any reuse 'promotional' and pay no residual (even if they replay the entire film or TV episode, and even if they make money)."

Talks are scheduled to resume on Tuesday. Says the WGA, "We must fight on, returning to the lines... in force to make it clear that we will not back down, that we will not accept a bad deal, and that we are all in this together."

Rico

Geez.  What a joke of an offer.  This isn't ending anytime soon.

Geekyfanboy

Yeah that's what I'm afraid of... this was more of a slap in the face.. I'm just glad they are going back to talking on tuesday.

space_invader64

This is where our negotions with a lightsaber would come in handy.  Anakin was right.

KingIsaacLinksr

Quote from: space_invader64 on November 30, 2007, 09:36:25 AM
This is where our negotions with a lightsaber would come in handy.  Anakin was right.

Yep.  I hope it ends soon...just experienced a rerun of Grey's Anatomy and was incredibly unhappy with that.  :(

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Bryancd

Hey Kenny, I was wondering if you knew how the revenue break down works among the networs between programmed TV vs. Reality TV. How much ad revenue does Reality TV bring in vs, traditional.

Rico

This is sad...(and it's only the start)

Shocked Leno staffers fired as strike drags on

By Paul BondFri Nov 30, 11:47 PM ET

A couple of days after the Writers Guild of America strike began November 5, the star of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" told some 80 of his idled staffers that they need not worry about their finances.

Leno was so adamant about paychecks being safe, many didn't bother looking for new jobs even though NBC was forecasting layoffs.

So it came as quite a shock Friday when the entire staff was told that they were not only out of a job but also that they weren't guaranteed of being rehired once "The Tonight Show" returns.

"Some people were crying. Some people were screaming," said one employee speaking on condition of anonymity.

NBC declined comment on the firings beyond a brief statement that it had "regretfully informed the people who work on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' and 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien' that their services are not needed at this time due to our inability to continue production of the shows."

According to several staffers, tensions at "Tonight Show" have been mounting for weeks, and matters weren't helped by news that other late-night hosts have been preserving the jobs of their nonwriting staffs or paying those who had been laid off. O'Brien confirmed Thursday, for example, that he would pay the salaries of at least 50 nonwriting "Late Night" staffers out of his own pocket on a week-to-week basis.

Some "Tonight Show" insiders are angry at Leno, because of an upbeat conference call he held shortly after the WGA strike began.

"He was on speaker phone," a staffer said. "There were 80 of us. He told us not to panic. He said to trust him. He said: 'I can't get into details, but nobody will miss a car payment or lose their house. We're family. Trust me. I'm going to take care of this.' But that was the time we should have been looking for new jobs."

More recently, a letter NBC sent to now-laid-off staffers said, "If your services are needed, we will contact you."

"That's standard boilerplate," said Joe Medeiros, a striking writer who has worked with Leno for 18 years. "It's corporate butt-covering."

According to insiders, the early confidence that Leno expressed stemmed from several options in the works, including the hiring of guest hosts. Leno himself guest-hosted for "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" during the 1988 writers strike, according to the WGA. This time around, comedian Wanda Sykes was a top pick, but she turned down the offer. Using rock stars on a rotating basis also was considered, insiders said.

Another option was having Leno do a show without a monologue or writers, relying heavily on musical acts and stand-up comedians.

None of the options, though, came to fruition, and "The Tonight Show" has continued airing reruns.

Beyond Leno's misplaced optimism about the financial well-being of his staff, he further damaged himself -- in the eyes of some workers -- with his public behavior. While he privately expressed concern for the jobs of all staff members, to the media he seemed preoccupied with supporting striking writers, including handing out doughnuts to picketers and mugging for press photos.

"He even joked that because of the writers strike, he had more time to work on his car collection," a staffer said. "That didn't sit well with us."

Medeiros said that Leno made his doughnut appearance on Day One of the strike at his request. "I asked him to come out and he did. We thought it sent a message to end the strike."

Asked if writers would object to Leno working without them during the strike in order to save jobs, Medeiros said: "I can't answer that. The story to me is that the corporations are doing this in order to pit groups against each other and break the strike."

The fact that some of Leno's writers are paid $500,000 or more annually also didn't sit well with suddenly out-of-work production staffers who make a fraction of that amount. Writers also are getting residuals on "Tonight Show" reruns that air during the strike.

The final indignation was a Christmas bonus that many thought lacking. Staffers with a couple of years on the job were given $200. Some higher-paid employees were awarded three days of salary or a bit more, about the same bonuses they got last year.

The Leno representative defended the bonuses as well, pointing out that they amounted to $500,000 in aggregate out of Leno's pocket. He also noted that Leno handed out $2 million five years ago to staffers in celebration of his 10th year as host.

"Jay is a very generous man," added Medeiros. "I don't know what people expected. How much more should he give over a situation that he didn't cause?"

But, said one staffer: "When the most powerful man in TV tells you to relax, then you relax. That's why we expected the bonuses to cover us through the strike. He could've at least covered us through Christmas. That would have been nice."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

jedijeff

That is a real sad story. Unfortunately it is people who cant control what is happening that get hurt. The writers have prepared for the strike, but the other staffers have not, and now they are without jobs. I guess this is one way for the Corporations to cut costs, as I am sure when they make their agreement with the writers, it will probably be at the expense of the other staffers. They will probably hire less back and probably at reduced pay at what they were making before. Like it said in the article, it will just pit groups against each other. It is sad when strikes hurt people who are not directly involved, I remembered reading similar stories when the NHL was on Strike/Lockout for the year.

moyer777

Yes, this must be really tough.  What a horrible feeling going into the holidays.


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KingIsaacLinksr

Wow....this is getting worse and worse.  They need to stop this from getting worse and fast.  Otherwise, NBC can kiss their behinds goodbye ;)

King Linksr
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Geekyfanboy

This is happening all over.. you are only hearing about The Tonight Show because he's a high profiled show. Support staffs have been getting fired for weeks.. also stars are now being let go from there shows without pay and if the strike ends they are contracted to come back immediately. Meaning they really can't do anything else just in case the strike ends soon.

Rumor around town is that they think they'll come to an agreement by Christmas... let's hope... if not this is going to be a very sad Christmas in Hollywood.

space_invader64

I think the late night talk shows could go on.  The are good comics and could write their own short monolog.  Then Jay could do the goofy newspapers and jay walking and the things you dont' need a writer for.

But most importantly, he could give a weekly platform to the striking writers and ask when they are going to let his writers come back to work.


Geekyfanboy

Watch this to lighten the mood...very funny


Blackride

Quote from: space_invader64 on December 01, 2007, 10:48:04 AM
I think the late night talk shows could go on.  The are good comics and could write their own short monolog.  Then Jay could do the goofy newspapers and jay walking and the things you dont' need a writer for.

But most importantly, he could give a weekly platform to the striking writers and ask when they are going to let his writers come back to work.



It takes these guys months to write each "set" they do. I am not sure you could expect them to do that on a nightly basis.
Ripley: Ash. Any suggestions from you or Mother?
Ash: No, we're still collating.
Ripley: [Laughing in disbelief] You're what? You're still collating? I find that hard to believe.

space_invader64

Well the guest interview are unscripted, the monolog jokes are topical and these guys are pro comics.  I'm sure they could go threw a few newspapers and come up with about five or six jokes.  Then they could invite more regular people on for things like stupid human tricks and other human intrest stuff.