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Writers Strike News Roundup: Monday, Jan. 7

Jan 7, 2008  •  Post A Comment

Globes Canceled Due to Strike?
Sources are telling Nikke Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globe Awards are being called off after threats of a boycott from the Screen Actors Guild and a picket from the Writers Guild of America, the blog reports.
The awards, which would have been broadcast on NBC, were being produced by Dick Clark Productions. Talks of not televising the event in order to evade the picket line were considered, but sources said even those plans have been scrapped, the blog said.
With no show, the HFPA would simply announce the winners.
An official announcement of the status of the awards show is expected today from the HFPA.
Stars Coming Out for Critics Choice Awards
There will be no picket line at the 13th annual Critics Choice Awards, being broadcast live tonight on VH1, Deadline Hollywood Daily reports.
The event is non-union, allowing for the reprieve of picketing, but VH1’s parent companies Paramount and Viacom are struck companies, the blog says.
Maher Returns, Sans Writers
Bill Maher will be back on the air Friday with HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” without his writers, the Hollywood Reporter says.
Mr. Maher will not be performing his standard opening monologue or his closing segment, “New Rules,” the newspaper says. He also will not be scripting any of his material.
Instead, he will talk with audience members at the beginning of the show and carry on extended round-table discussions with guests, the newspaper says.
Directors, Producers Take Further Steps Toward Negotiations
Directors Guild of America heads Jay Roth and Gil Cates met informally with Disney’s Robert Iger and Fox’s Peter Chernin to lay the groundwork for the DGA’s upcoming contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, Daily Variety reports.
The DGA’s contract talks could adversely affect the Writers Guild of America’s talks with the AMPTP. The WGA had asked the DGA to postpone talks until the writers were back at the negotiating table with producers, the newspaper reports.
Guild May Get Tough on Leno
The Writers Guild of America is considering punishment against Jay Leno after Mr. Leno performed a self-penned monologue on “The Tonight Show,” the Hollywood Reporter says.
The WGA wouldn’t comment on any investigations of Mr. Leno. The WGA believes Mr. Leno, a WGA member, is violating strike rules by writing his own material, while NBC believes that’s not the case.
‘Dexter’ Cuts Into CBS Sundays
Showtime’s “Dexter” will make its broadcast debut on CBS starting Feb. 17, Broadcasting & Cable reports.
CBS and Showtime are sister networks. CBS will show the first season of “Dexter,” heavily edited, on consecutive Sundays, the newspaper says.

13 Comments

  1. great now the award shows are being punished because of the strike and how dare you wga miss with jay leno he is in his last year of hosting the tonight show in the words of chris crocker “LEAVE LENO ALONE”

  2. Way to go WGA! Keep the faith. The networks will give in eventually. You are not asking for anything that isn’t fair to everyone. If the networks are making money from the work that you do, then YOU should be making money from the work that you do too!
    As far as the Leno lawsuit goes, GO FOR IT. If he is violating terms of the unon, then he should be punished.
    While I miss having new episodes of my favorite shows, I believe that you are not getting a fair shake. Anybody who says you are being too hard nosed is just being selfish.
    Good Luck!

  3. The WGA should just shut the hell up already. Give Leno a pass. Besides, what’s the worst they can do? Kick him out of the guild? “Ooooh. I’m so scared!” Big deal.
    Besides, if they did that, they would look like total assholes because he supported them from the beginning.
    I am sick of hearing about the WGA’s problems. Why the fuck should I, or anybody else care? They should all shove it. Get out of our faces, and shut the fuck up already.

  4. i agree james but what do you think about the jay leno thing its not fair like i said hes in his last year give him a break

  5. If you don’t want people writing their own scripts then stop being greedy and start writing before they start hiring scabs to write and your all out of a job. which would be just fine with me as long as the finish season 7 of scrubs.

  6. I think it is all bullshit what they have done to Leno. He can write a monologue if he wants. I think he has earned it. Especially because he’s in his last year. I just hope he doesn’t cave in to WGA’s punishments, and he keeps his monologues coming. He did it for his fans.
    I actually hope he does get kicked out of the WGA, because he should not be affiliated with such a selfish, greedy bunch of people. He is much better than that.

  7. I just wish it would all end. I’m one of the hundreds that are getting fired or laid off because of this.
    Thanks, WGA.

  8. WGA sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. im sorry guys but ive mat jay leno and he dont deserve this crap hes a good guy who does right for his fans and no wonder he was #1 on the return of late night.HANG IN THERE JAY YOUR #1 FAN SURPORTS YOU AND I DID SUPPORT THE STRIKE BUT DAMN ITS GONE TOO FAR.i understand the writers deserve there fair share i think the real question is what about the fans who watch “your shows” does the wga care no there greedy and they need to stop this miss they made and leave jay alone hes does surport you bastards and his fans. show some respect wga……………..

  10. Conan, Kimmel, Stewart and Colbert should start writing their monologues also. The WGA can’t punish all of them.

  11. What cracks me up is how poorly written the comments are from the people who are not supporting the WGA.
    Richie couldn’t write a complete sentence if he had a gun to his head. James can’t seem to express himself without using 4-letter words. It seems the only one who has anything intelligent to say about the whole situation is David.
    People who can’t write… not supporting writers. Irony?

  12. You know what Jason? Go fuck yourself! Is that sentence complete enough for you? If you support the writers, you are obviously in the dark. The WGA is a selfish group of people who care about nothing other than their own wants and needs, and if you don’t realize that, you are just too dumb to see it.
    The writers only care about themselves, and would drop you like a ball at a moments notice if they needed to. So maybe you should grow a brain and wake up!

  13. LOL!!!
    You are SO brave with your anonymous post. I also noticed that you only put “anon” as your name. My guess is that you don’t know how to spell anonymous.
    I am very educated about what is going on with the writers strike, and I know exactly what their demands are. None of them are unreasonable. Anybody who thinks the WGA is being greedy has never had their already rich and powerful boss make millions off of their ideas, while they go home and eat macaroni and cheese with cut up hot dogs.
    The writers are not asking for the networks/producers to give them money for anything that they are not making money on. Just because a stream or download of a show on the internet is free for the viewer, doesn’t mean the network isn’t making money from it. If the network was not making any money from streaming videos online, they wouldn’t be streaming them… Trust me. The writers are not asking for a flat fee for every streamed video, they are simply asking for a percentage of the PROFIT the networks/producers are making. If the networks/producers are not making money with the streams and downloads, the the writers are not making money from them either.
    Tell me how is that being greedy?
    I do feel for the THOUSANDS of non-writers (the props people, the make-up department, all of the behind the scenes people) who are laid-off right now because of the strike. It is unfortunate that it happened that way. It is, however, a necessary evil.
    I will say that one of their requests, while not unreasonable, should probably be dropped to help grease the wheels and get talks going again. The WGA should drop the demands of having reality writers become part of their union. It is a small demand that could be dropped to show the networks that the WGA is willing to negotiate.
    On a personal note: I think America watches too much television. Perhaps if the writers stay on strike a little longer, America will find something more constructive to do with their time than sit infront of the tube. Go for a walk. Take the kids to the park. Pick up a book or go to a museum… Maybe you’ll learn how to express yourself in complete sentences, and without resorting to profanity.

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