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Heroes: Origins dead (plus devious strikes and pens)

WGA strike on as talks with producers collapse

By Carl DiOrio
Nov 5, 2007
UPDATED 11:50 p.m. PT Nov. 4, 2007

A last-gasp attempt to stave off a strike by the WGA failed Sunday, and Hollywood writers launched plans to mount picket lines at studios and networks on both coasts.

A federal mediator who recently joined talks between the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers convened a hasty last bargaining session Sunday amid speculation the AMPTP would deliver a new proposal to the guild. But despite that marathon session lasting well into Sunday night, when the parties emerged from the Sofitel hotel in West Hollywood it was clear the talks had broken down again.

One flashpoint involved the WGA East's refusal to halt the start of its strike after East Coast clocks struck midnight. Negotiations were still in session at the time, and the WGA West wasn't scheduled to strike for another three hours.

"Notwithstanding the fact that negotiations were ongoing, the WGA decided to start their strike in New York," AMPTP president Nick Counter said. "When we asked if they would 'stop the clock' for the purpose of delaying the strike to allow negotiations to continue, they refused.

"We made an attempt at meeting them in a number of their key areas including Internet streaming and jurisdiction in new media," Counter said. "Ultimately, the guild was unwilling to compromise on most of their major demands. It is unfortunate that they choose to take this irresponsible action."

The WGA also issued a statement after the meeting broke up.

"Early today, the WGA completely withdrew its DVD proposal, which the companies said was a stumbling block," the guild said. "Yet the companies still insisted on ... no jurisdiction for most of new media writing, no economic proposal for the part of new media writing where they do propose to give coverage, Internet downloads at the DVD rate, no residual for streaming video of theatrical product, (and) a "promotional" proposal that allows them to reuse even complete movies or TV shows on any platform with no residual."

The WGA also slammed what it called a management proposal for a distribution window providing "free reuse on the Internet that makes a mockery of any residual."

The WGA and AMPTP have negotiated on and off since July 16, holding just 17 sessions through Sunday as they sought to replace a three-year film and TV contract that expired Wednesday. The most troublesome areas have been DVD and new-media residuals.

"Our position is simple and fair," WGA West president Patric Verrone said Friday after the WGAW board and WGA East Council voted to approve strike recommendations for 12:01 a.m. Monday. "When a writer's work generates revenue for the companies, that writer deserves to be paid."

Full story here.
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Everybody start hitting those books you bought and never got to read!
 
They really need to invent AWESOME-O 3000 to write their scripts.

"Adam Sandler inherits a million dollars, but to keep it he has to become...a boxer."
"Punch drunk millionaire!"
 
Strike Brings Top Talk Shows to a Standstill

Top U.S. late night talk shows The Tonight Show, The Daily Show and Late Show with David Letterman have become the first big victims of the Hollywood writer's strike. Producers of the three programs scrapped plans to air on Monday night as the walk-out kicked off, following a weekend of desperate talks to halt the strike. The Tonight Show host Jay Leno briefly joined the picket line outside the NBC studios in Burbank, California - where his show is taped - after network bosses announced the show would immediately go into reruns. David Letterman's Late Show will also run a series of repeats this week, as will The Daily Show and a series of daytime talk shows. The strike started on a noise note as picketing writers began chanting noisily outside CBS and Paramount Studios in Hollywood early on Monday morning. Those organized outside Paramount wore red strike T-shirts and carried signs reading, "Writers Guild Of America On Strike."
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Ellen DeGeneres also did not show up Monday to shoot her daytime talker. "Ellen did not go to work today in support of her writers," publicist Kelly Bush said. New episodes of "Ellen" that had been filmed last week were set to air Monday and Tuesday. However, Bush added that it was unclear Monday what would happen with the show later in the week.
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LOL! Turns out yesterday's show wasn't lame because of the strike. It was just lame! :D
 
You know, it's interesting actually that WWE shows are still going on, because they do have writers too. Maybe their writers aren't guild members or Vince McMahon wrote the shows himself or something.
 
Its possible they have a number of episodes already written.

Most shows can last till about January, if I recall correctly.
 
Maybe once they run out of scripts wrestling will be good again! Or they use non-union writers.
 
Nobody is going to be stupid enough to a)hire scab writers, b)be one. If they do the WGA will so black list their asses.
 
I doubt they write wrestling shows more than a week in advance. Too much can change from week to week. They do roughly plan out longterm storylines, but those can be changed by injury or suspension or any number of other factors.
 
Thankfully, most other shows don't have their stars going off and killing people, so they can probably last for a couple of months on the scripts they have.
 
Not all writers are union and not all shows use union writers. So if they were already using non union writers (and let's face it the writing sucks!) then they would not be considered scabs.
 
The funniest thing is that Keither Sutherland agreed to spend 48 days in jail so that filming on 24 wouldnt be halted by his absence, and now its going to be halted anyway.

Sucks to be him
 
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