Attica! Attica!: WGA Strike Watch (Discussion)

I know that, sherlockjr, I've been on strike myself. Sorry — didn't mean to suggest otherwise.

I didn't mean to be snappish, I just didn't want to give the impression that I think the writers shouldn't strike. On the contrary, they're the ones everything depends on so they deserve to be fairly paid for their work. (Inserts another Simpsons reference with Lisa Simpson singing "And we'll march through the night/By the big cooling tower/They have the plant/But we have the power")

Since you mentioned the Simpson's, Taiga, they've got a year's worth of shows sewn up because of their long, long lead time in animation.

Okay, sherlockjr, donkeykong, anyone here who is well versed about the strike, cause I'm definitely not, here's what I don't understand. Every news story says that the scripted series have at least 4 or 5 scripts finished so they'll continue in production for awhile....but I thought if you wanted to change even a word or a line of dialogue, you had to consult the writer. So how can House (or any scripted series for that matter) go back to work tomorrow? Or can they stay in production, as long as they don't change/tweak anything in a script? I thought it didn't really matter how many finished scripts they have stockpiled, without the writers available to consult or whatever, they're out of production. And with the Teamsters supporting the writers, that effects a lot of other areas too. David Shore's quotes in that article back on page 1 of this thread pretty much say that if the strike happens, they're out of production: “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." Shortly after - like this week?

Okay, sherlockjr, donkeykong, anyone here who is well versed about the strike, cause I'm definitely not, here's what I don't understand. Every news story says that the scripted series have at least 4 or 5 scripts finished so they'll continue in production for awhile....but I thought if you wanted to change even a word or a line of dialogue, you had to consult the writer. So how can House (or any scripted series for that matter) go back to work tomorrow? Or can they stay in production, as long as they don't change/tweak anything in a script? I thought it didn't really matter how many finished scripts they have stockpiled, without the writers available to consult or whatever, they're out of production. And with the Teamsters supporting the writers, that effects a lot of other areas too. David Shore's quotes in that article back on page 1 of this thread pretty much say that if the strike happens, they're out of production: “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." Shortly after - like this week? donkeykong probably has a clearer idea than I do on this, but my understanding is that they can continue to shoot as long as no WGA member makes any script changes whatsoever. The writers themselves will be on the picket line. David Shore is forbidden from making changes. So I think it depends on just how complete those 4 or 5 scripts are and whether as a producer, David Shore is willing for them to be shot without any tweaking. My guess is that Shore & Co. are probably at their offices right now, finalizing as much as they possibly can before midnight.

Thanks sherlockjr. You're probably right about Shore et al in their offices right now working on scripts until the deadline.

Any idea's on how many scripts are ready to go before the strike starts? I just read on a Boston Legal forum that they have scripts up to episode 15(maybe more since David E. Kelley seems to have a reputation for writing fast) and on The Other Place they are saying that Criminal Minds has sides out for episode 16.

my understanding is that they can continue to shoot as long as no WGA member makes any script changes whatsoever. Would that mean that if one of the non-WGA members (say HL or RSL or one of the other actors) wanted to change a word or two or even improvise some new lines to suit their character they couldn't do it because it would need a writer's approval and the writers can't give it or do the actors just go ahead if it seems to fit (or would that be equivalent to crossing a picket line?) Boy that would hamstring them, especially since HL is the most likely to improvise a bit and he's also probably a WGA member... Sorry, just don't know how this stuff works... Nonetheless, here's hopes the writers get their fair piece of the pie. Power to the power of the pen!

Any idea's on how many scripts are ready to go before the strike starts? I don't have an exact number, but Shore says that they have enough to get them through January 8, but that if the strike lasts a long time they might throw in some extra reruns so they can show new episodes during February sweeps.

Good to know, thanks! Aren't the actors' union supposed to be up next for contract renewal? I thought I heard that somewhere.

I thought I heard that too Taiga - June 08 is what I recall.

my understanding is that they can continue to shoot as long as no WGA member makes any script changes whatsoever. Would that mean that if one of the non-WGA members (say HL or RSL or one of the other actors) wanted to change a word or two or even improvise some new lines to suit their character they couldn't do it because it would need a writer's approval and the writers can't give it or do the actors just go ahead if it seems to fit (or would that be equivalent to crossing a picket line?) Boy that would hamstring them, especially since HL is the most likely to improvise a bit and he's also probably a WGA member... Sorry, just don't know how this stuff works... The Screen Actors Guild just posted a notice to their members warning them not to do any writing. It wouldn't have anything to do with whether or not a writer gave approval — it's that the actors are supporting the WGA (and hope the WGA will support them on similar issues next summer). The latest news is that the federal mediator called both sides together at 11 a.m. this morning at a neutral location (they had been alternating between AMPTP and WGA headquarters), and they're apparently still talking. Which is at least promising. However, the strike has already started on the east coast: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/strike_news/index.html Stay tuned...

Just stumbled on this, which contains a quote from Katie Jacobs: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i00627c6566fe8f5f2795479bac016528 Here are the paragraphs pertaining to her — the story is about the conflict of being a showrunner during the strike (if there is one): "House" exec producer Katie Jacobs won't make any decisions on what she would do production-wise until there are more detailed guidelines. "There is so much gray area right now that we're just waiting until we get clarification on what's right to do and what's wrong to do during a strike," she says. "It's new territory for all of us."

According to the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, the talks just collapsed about 10 minutes ago: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i00627c6566fe8f5ff527d3b378ec4fbd http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975364.html?categoryid=2821&cs=1

I don't understand why they interviewed Katie Jacobs for an article about writer-showrunners. AFAIK, she does not and never has written for this show. She's classified as a director-producer. It would have made much more sense to get a comment from David Shore or any of the other writer-producers. Unless she's speaking for them or as a sort of spokeswoman for the show?

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