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Writers Strike News Roundup: Fri., Dec. 7

Dec 7, 2007  •  Post A Comment

Talks Rocky Through Day 7
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers aren’t anywhere close to a deal after day seven of negotiations. Studio moguls may pull out of talks until the two sides are closer to sealing a deal on electronic media, Deadline Hollywood Daily reports. The AMPTP was expected to present a response to the WGA’s streaming video deal Thursday, but it wasn’t ready at 5 p.m. Producer negotiators said they would work through the night at the hotel where the talks took place today, but WGA reps noted the AMPTP left at 6 p.m., the blog says.
‘Take It or Leave It’ Feeling in the Air
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have made little headway in contract talks, raising concerns that impatient producers could make an ultimatum offer as soon as next week, Daily Variety reports. With Christmas and New Years falling mid-week, contract talks could break after next week for the holidays and increase the time pressure looming over the talks, the newspaper says. Thursday’s talks achieved little, with both sides only confirming they would continue talks today, Daily Variety reports.
Late Night Loses Viewers
Stuck in repeats as soon as the strike started, late night talk shows are losing viewers in droves, with “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” seeing a 40% drop in 18-49 year-old viewers versus the same time last year, Daily Variety says. “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” had a 36% falloff, “The Daily Show” dropped 29% and “The Colbert Report” dipped 33% in the demo versus last year, the newspaper says.
Writers Rally to Support One Another
The writers strike is forcing the loss of paychecks for a lot of people, and more financially set writers are looking to protect their less fortunate brethren, the Los Angeles Times reports. Charity concerts are being set up on both coasts, and food donations are being made daily to striking writers, the newspaper says. Also, a majority of late-night hosts have pledged to cover their staff financially (at least for the time being), and celebrities are footing meals for guild members anonymously, the paper says.
Andrew Krukowski
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