Attica! Attica!: WGA Strike Watch (Discussion)
To avoid cluttering up the Media thread with WGA talk, here's a shiny new thread for all things Writers Guild Strike.

Thanks! This will be a big help. Come on, dk, others talk to us from the front lines!

I'm literally at the front line. I'm at the WGA right now and there is a press conference upstairs and I'm wandering around waiting to hear the verdict, not that I dont already know what that is... I'll post as soon as i hear which should be shortly. STRIKE STARTS MONDAY I just recieved this email: IT’S OFFICIAL – This afternoon, the WGAE Council and WGAW Board unanimously voted to call a strike. The Writers Guilds will go on strike Monday, November 5th at 12:01 AM. At that time, all Guild-covered work under the MBA must cease. We will be sending more detailed information over the weekend.

Thanks, DK - it's awesome to have a first hand perspective.

The studios keep saying they plan to close the contracts this weekend? Does this mean they are likely to come to an agreement an avoid a strike, or are they just trying to calm people down? Is it likely the strike will be resolved quickly? People keep talking about the severe and ongoing effects - do those with insider knowledge believe that this will continue for months? Also, does anyone know how much this will affect daytime talkshows like Ellen? I mean, I guess they could rework the show a little to get around it - but it does depend on monologues and skits. Ellen's the show I'm most concerned about, because I watch it daily and it seems like it'd have issues quickly, and I'm trying to get tickets to go see it. I hope everything gets worked out for everyone's sake. It's the top CNN story.

Here's the latest from the Screen Actors Guild: Link

I read an article somewhere that David Shore said that they have enough episodes to run through January 8, but they'll probably throw in a few rerun weeks so they can show new stuff during February sweeps. You know, because everyone I'm sure is asking the question. ;) It's also interesting-- he said that he will continue to play his role of producer, but that he won't be writing anything.

Could it have been this one? http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2781448.ece

It was a different article, but they probably picked up the quote from that. Okay, here it is. For those of you who don't want to read all of it, the House relevant stuff says: On the Fox hit “House,” for example, the producers expect that they will be able to start shooting the season’s 11th episode by the end of this month, said David Shore, the writer-producer who oversees the series. That episode is currently scheduled to be broadcast on Jan. 8, although if there is a strike, the network might rerun some episodes to try to stretch its new installments into February, a sweeps month. “I will work as a producer for as long as we have stuff to produce,” Mr. Shore said. “I won’t be working as a writer. That means we won’t have any new scripts coming along. As I see it, should there be a strike, we won’t have any choice but to shut down shortly after."

Someone asked back in the media thread why reality shows aren't effected by the WGA strike. Believe it or not, it's because the writers on reality shows are called "story producers", not writers...so if the strike lasts, we will no doubt be offered more "reality". If I understand the situation correctly, the actors are required to show up for work but they are free to offer support on their own time. No criticism of them if they don't, but I would love to see the House cast show up at the picket lines in solidarity. God bless the Teamsters.

Someone asked back in the media thread why reality shows aren't affected by the WGA strike. Believe it or not, it's because the writers on reality shows are called "story producers", not writers...so if the strike lasts, we will no doubt be offered more "reality". Actually, it has nothing to do with what they're called. Almost none of the writers on scripted shows have the title of writer, either. They're called story editors, story consultants, co-producers, executive producers, etc. Virtually every writer, with the exception of only a few at the bottom of the totem pole, has a title that sounds much meatier. To clarify the reality situation and to provide people here with more information about what all this strike stuff means and where they can get additional information, I'm including a section from a post I made on the Media thread a few days ago before the mods so kindly created this one. Actually, although all reality shows are written, they are not covered by the WGA. A little over a year and a half ago, 1,200 reality show writers signed cards stating their desire to join the Guild, and the WGA has been trying to get them in as members ever since. Many of them have truly awful working conditions—no health coverage, no pension, extremely long working hours (16-hour days), no bathroom breaks, etc. Some of them have been lied to, short-changed on their pay and fired if they got sick. Some of these writers are Guild members who turned to reality show writing when "scripted" show writing dried up. The Guild supported 12 writers of the reality show America's Next Top Model when they went on strike around that time. After weeks of picketing and rallies, the producers replaced the writers. Despite this setback, the reality show people continue to want to join the Guild. If you've been following the articles in the press, you're getting a few reporters' takes on how things will go. The truth is that the people who run the major primetime shows—this includes the four major networks and HBO, Showtime, some of Comedy Central and a few other cable shows—are all writers and WGA members. That's the showrunners, the creators and the executive producers. The WGA strike rules (see link below) are very clear about what they can and cannot do: The Rules prohibit hyphenates (members who are employed in dual capacities) from performing any writing services... Link to strike rules: http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2493 This means that people like Letterman, Leno, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher (among others), all of whom are Guild members, will not be able to write any material for their shows. This also means that David Shore will not be writing anything for House. Here's the pertinent bit from the strike rules: Hyphenates (i.e. members employed in dual capacities such as writer-director, writer-producer, etc.) may not perform any writing services, including “(a) through (h)” services, for a struck company. The MBA defines “(a) through (h)” as follows: (a) Cutting for time (b) Bridging material necessitated by cutting for time (c) Changes in technical or stage directions (d) Assignment of lines to other existing characters occasioned by cast changes (e) Changes necessary to obtain continuity acceptance or legal clearance (f) Casual minor adjustments in dialogue or narration made prior to or during the period of principal photography (g) Such changes in the course of production as are made necessary by unforeseen contingencies (e.g., the elements, accidents to performers, etc.) (h) Instructions, directions, or suggestions, whether oral or written, made to a writer regarding story or screenplay What this means, essentially, is that any House script that is not absolutely final and ready to shoot cannot be tweaked in any way by a Guild member, even if that person has his/her other hat on. I'm sure people like Shore must feel really torn right now. They want their show to continue, but they recognize that if there's no strike, they may not get the residuals to which they feel they're entitled down the road. Which is worse? Losing part of a season or having all their writers see the proceeds from the work they created go into the pockets of the studios for decades to come? You can read about other aspects of the negotiations/strike from the WGA perspective here: http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2204 Here's Variety's take: http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=hottopic&id=2821 And the Hollywood Reporter's: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/business/labor_guilds/index.jsp There are a bunch of pieces together as the lead stories on the Los Angeles Times website: http://www.latimes.com/

Anyone know if Hugh joined the guild as a result of writing Dragans of New York? If so, I'd assume he's still a member.

I bow to your superior knowledge, sherlockjr--all I know is what I read on the internets... I read this I call them writers, while their screen credit (if they get one) reads “Story Producer”. This is a sly way of not calling a writer a writer and therefore denying them the opportunity to be organized by the Writers Guild. here http://www.mynameisearlkress.com/weblog/?m=200607 and that's what it sounded like it meant to me. Just because somebody writes a blog doesn't mean he knows what he's talking about, I guess.... :wacko: