What are you watching this summer?

[lurkey]

Viewers turned off by Hollywood writers strike 'may never switch TV on again' -- Writers strike sends Nielsen ratings down 21%.

'Montel' ending run after 17 years

[JonathanBelles]

Lost is on!

[Brent]

Strike shows fatigue factor
Are scribes making progress in talks?

A tacit deadline is looming for WGA leaders -- within the next week and possibly within the next few days -- to make progress on the key issues in their informal talks with studio brass or run the risk that the CEOs will end the sessions out of frustration.

As the strike enters its 89th day today, there's been no date set for the start of formal bargaining. That, combined with strike fatigue and SAG's recent militancy, has darkened the town's already gloomy mood. Some worry that after the June 30 expiration of its contract, SAG will join the writers in striking and that both guilds will stay out at least into the fall.

Sources have said that recent informal meetings between guild leaders and the moguls have remained largely unproductive on the biggest compensation issues, trying the patience of the strike-weary town.

Further complications have emerged within the WGA hierarchy itself. Some negotiating committee members are perturbed on two fronts: They have not been updated by WGA West prexy Patric Verrone, exec director David Young and negotiating committee chief John Bowman on the state of the informal talks, and they're concerned about recent moves circumventing the understanding that the guild would cool down its rhetoric during the informal talks.

"The worry among the moderates on the negotiating committee is that the WGA's being positioned to reject the deal," one source said. "They gave Patric and David two weeks to make a run at this, and that time is almost up."

The WGA leaders have been attempting to maintain a united front. Picketing continues at the major studios, and last week they asked members to sign a letter pledging "full support" to the leadership. "We place our full trust in you, the leadership, to disregard outside pressure and negotiate the best possible terms on behalf of every member of the WGA," it said. "A swift resolution to our strike is what we all want but securing our future is what we all need."

Talks will resume today, with News Corp. president Peter Chernin and Disney topper Robert Iger repping the congloms.

The informal talks are in their second week, with both sides continuing their no-comment policy and observing a news blackout. Neither side had any comment Thursday about the meetings -- which are serving as de facto negotiations aimed at setting the stage for the resumption of official negotiations.

With no official word, optimists have concluded that as long as both sides keep talking, they'll be heading toward a done deal. But concerns have emerged from the writers' side that the moguls were threatening to ditch the talks if the WGA won't agree to the formula for downloads included in the DGA deal. The compensation plan for Web streaming cut by the DGA is also said to be a major sticking point for the WGA.

Informed sources said the talks of the past two have not been entirely unproductive. The sides are believed to have exchanged draft proposals for contract language on some issues, but the process has not achieved much momentum toward a resolution both sides can sign off on.

Worries about another breakdown in talks between the WGA and majors have crystallized since SAG's bombshell announcement on Tuesday that expressed deep misgivings about terms of the directors' pact. SAG claimed the DGA's doubling of the download residuals formulas -- to 0.7% for TV and 0.65% in features -- was actually an AMPTP rollback since the WGA, SAG and the DGA had filed grievances over the fact that the download rate did not equal the pay TV rate of 1.2%.

http://www.variety.com/VR1117979972.html

[lurkey]

Deal to End Hollywood Writers’ Strike May Be Near


By MICHAEL CIEPLY
Published: February 2, 2008

LOS ANGELES — Informal talks between representatives of Hollywood’s writers and production companies eliminated the major roadblocks to a new contract, opening the prospect of a tentative agreement between the parties as early as next week, according to people who were briefed on the situation but requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak.


A deal would end a crippling writers strike that is now entering its fourth month.

The agreement may come without renewed formal negotiations between the parties, though both sides still need to agree on specific language of key provisions. If that process goes smoothly, an agreement may be presented to the governing boards of the striking Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East by the end of next week, the people said.

The breakthrough occurred Friday after two weeks of closed-door discussions between the sides. Even if approved by leaders of the guilds, a deal would require ratification by a majority of the more than 10,000 active guild members.

Writers walked out on Nov. 5 after failing to reach a new contract with producers in months of difficult bargaining. Talks resumed briefly in December, but quickly broke off again. The latest round of talks came in the wake of a tentative contract agreement between producers and the Directors Guild of America.

That deal confronted many of the same issues that have troubled writers — including difficult questions related to pay for digital distribution of shows and movies — and paved the way for Friday’s movement toward a deal.

A final sticking point had been compensation for television programs that are streamed over the Internet after their initial broadcast. Companies were seeking a period during which they could stream such shows without paying a residual, and wanted to peg payments for a year of streaming at the $1,200 level established in the directors’ contract. Writers were seeking 1.2 percent of the distributors’ revenue from such streams as a residual. How that issue was finally resolved in the informal talks remained unclear as of Saturday afternoon.

Spokesmen for the West Coast writers guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The sides have been operating under a news blackout.

[Brent]

Maybe? Finally?!

[lurkey]

The word is . . . . expect news tomorrow or Monday . . . This comes from the blog of unofficial leader of moderate writers faction in WGA and Nikki Finke from DHD

[Brent]

OMG!

Kristin at E! Online:

It seems this week's rumors that the writers' strike is coming to an end may indeed be true. We are hearing from several sources that the WGA and the AMPTP are "very close" to a deal, which could be announced as early as later today.

According to reliable insiders who asked not to be named, the writers and producers were in talks for nine hours yesterday and made a "staggering amount of progress," as all of the major sticking points have been settled.

"We are 99.9 percent of the way there," one source inside the negotiations said. "As of late yesterday, just a few small issues remained."

The stickiest issue of all, compensation for new-media projects, has been agreed upon by both sides, according to sources. Said one: "There is most certainly light at the end of the tunnel, and we are rapidly approaching it."

Stay tuned, and keep those fingers crossed. An announcement could come any minute.

[lurkey]

Variety update


But insiders said there was enough progress being made to raise the prospect of WGA leaders bringing a contract proposal directly to the boards of the WGA West and WGA East, possibly bypassing the resumption of formal bargaining between the WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Sources indicated the informal talks had progressed to the point where draft language of a tentative deal was being drawn up and exchanged by lawyers and reps for both sides.

WGA's 17-member negotiating committee and the WGA West's board are already skedded to hold separate meetings on Monday, at noon and 3 p.m., respectively.

[lurkey]

For those just watching the Super Bowl tonight for the commericals:

The commericals can be seen on http://www.hulu.com. Get your invite to hulu.com at http://www.hulu.com/beta/wired.

Or, at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/adblitz

[Miss Mary]

We watched the new show called Eli Stone. Okay, I wasn't planning on taking another show but I did. So if this strike is settled soon, and new shows start up again, I'll be losing another hour of sleep each week - LOL

I liked Eli Stone. The actor playing the main character is perfect for this show, second fave character is his sec'y! She's a riot. I just don't like his fiance and hope their relationship soon ends. But she's the boss' daughter so it won't.....

[Brent]

We watched the new show called Eli Stone. Okay, I wasn't planning on taking another show but I did. So if this strike is settled soon, and new shows start up again, I'll be losing another hour of sleep each week - LOL

I liked Eli Stone. The actor playing the main character is perfect for this show, second fave character is his sec'y! She's a riot. I just don't like his fiance and hope their relationship soon ends. But she's the boss' daughter so it won't.....

Yeah, I really liked Eli Stone also, and it already has all of it's 13 episodes ordered filmed!

[lurkey]

We watched the new show called Eli Stone. Okay, I wasn't planning on taking another show but I did. So if this strike is settled soon, and new shows start up again, I'll be losing another hour of sleep each week - LOL

I liked Eli Stone. The actor playing the main character is perfect for this show, second fave character is his sec'y! She's a riot. I just don't like his fiance and hope their relationship soon ends. But she's the boss' daughter so it won't.....

Yeah, I really liked Eli Stone also, and it already has all of it's 13 episodes ordered filmed!

So, how long will it take for production to start up if strike ends this week?

[Brent]

We watched the new show called Eli Stone. Okay, I wasn't planning on taking another show but I did. So if this strike is settled soon, and new shows start up again, I'll be losing another hour of sleep each week - LOL

I liked Eli Stone. The actor playing the main character is perfect for this show, second fave character is his sec'y! She's a riot. I just don't like his fiance and hope their relationship soon ends. But she's the boss' daughter so it won't.....

Yeah, I really liked Eli Stone also, and it already has all of it's 13 episodes ordered filmed!

So, how long will it take for production to start up if strike ends this week?

Depends on the show. The sitcoms could probably have episodes airing next month(I would think it would take a couple of weeks to actually be ready to film)

Dramas... well, they begin filming in July for September premieres, then I would guess we'd see new episodes in April. Maybe 6-7 before the season ends.

Really depends on the show though, I think the networks may write some off and focus on the strongest ones.

[Cyclenall]

If the strike ends this week, I want The Office to come back with the rest of their episodes and Family Guy. The same with MNIE (My Name is Earl).

[RL3AO]

I hope they can start 24 in March instead of waiting until September.

[Brent]

Exclusive: Grey's, Housewives Plot Post-strike Returns!

Paging the cast of Grey's Anatomy... you're needed back on set, STAT!

With a tentative agreement between striking writers and Hollywood moguls expected to be announced sometime this week, my moles at Grey's tell me that production on the show is expected to resume in early March. The plan is to shoot four or five episodes to air in April/May.

A similar scenario is expected to play out at two other ABC hits, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. Conversely, freshman shows that have already been given full-season pickups (i.e. Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Samantha Who?) will likely restart production over the summer ahead of a fall relaunch. Expect a similar pattern to play out at CBS, NBC and Fox: Established shows returning in the spring; newer ones held till fall. The fate of heavily serialized shows like Lost, Heroes and 24 remains unclear.

Meanwhile, high-level sources close to the talks tell me that the WGA deal is close to the DGA deal, with a few exceptions — one of which represents a "major breakthrough."

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry ... /800032401

[lurkey]

Any word on SAG reaction? They were being rather belligerent over the DGA deal.

[Brent]

DHD:

WGA To Writers: Still Talking To Moguls
To Our Fellow Members,

While fully mindful of the continuing media blackout, we write you to address the rumors and reports that undoubtedly you have been hearing.

The facts: we are still in talks and do not yet have a contract. When and if a tentative agreement is reached, the first thing we will do is alert our membership with an e-mail message. Until then, please disregard rumors about either the existence of an agreement or its terms.

Until we have reached an agreement with the AMPTP, it is essential that we continue to show our resolve, solidarity, and strength.

Picketing will resume on Monday. Our leverage at the bargaining table is directly affected by your commitment to our cause. Please continue to show your support on the line. We are all in this together.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone
President, WGAW

Michael Winship
President, WGAE

Then there's this...

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/c ... e-is-over/

[lurkey]

STRIKE STATUS REPORT: Everything I Know About Where Things Stand Now

I'm told that Patric Verrone, Dave Young and John Bowman -- the WGA leadership involved in Friday's breakthrough session of the writer-mogul talks with Peter Chernin and Bob Iger -- are recommending the deal hashed out Friday and briefed the guild's negotiating committee today. There is also a regularly scheduled WGA board meeting today, and the leadership may brief the board about the deal but that's not certain. I hear no one at the top of the guild will be asked to vote on the deal today. That can't happen until the deal is being drafted, and there's the rub. I'm told that if something, or someone, gets tricky with the language or terms, then writing down what was agreed to becomes a major haggle. "Everything needs to be in writing. So there's still a possibility that this thing could get ---," an insider explains to me. "The DGA has five months to put its poop in writing but the WGA has to get it all in writing before the strike can be called off. There has to be a draft and that has to be approved."

Without problems, the draft could be done by week's end, maybe longer. But I hear various people from inside and outside the union are pressuring the WGA to schedule the vote as soon as possible. Here's why: once both the WGA negotiating committee and the WGA board approve the deal, then the guild would call off the strike immediately. I'm told that was an integral part of the agreement. Obviously, there were real fears that the membership at large might reject the deal. Among those pressing for this were Bob Iger, who for obvious reasons wants to get this pinned down so his Disney/ABC can proceed with Academy Award preparations.

But there are real concerns that the negotiating committee and the board may not approve the deal, even though Verrone, Young and Bowman are behind it. (Though the votes do not have to be unanimous.) There are also real concerns that the WGA membership may not approve the deal. MORE

[lurkey]

MORE

So now is the time for everyone to back off. That's right, BACK OFF. And to let the WGA leadership talk to its board and also its membership without outside intereference.

Look, a ridiculously large number of Hollywood power players -- from major feature film writers and TV showrunners, to agents and managers and lawyers, to executives and moguls -- have been on the phone in recent weeks urging the media to pressure the WGA to take the DGA deal, or whatever is negotiated, and call off the strike before the Oscars. I've heard smart arguments and I've heard nonsensical arguments (like the big-time agent who described the TV showrunners as "the plantation owners" vs the TV writers who worked for them as "the cotton-pickers who should just damn well be grateful they have health and pension and get back to work already".) But who was putting equal pressure on the moguls? Certainly not Variety, or the Los Angeles Times, or The New York Times. Outrageous that every mainstream media outlet influential in showbiz from the outset took the AMPTP shill position that the DGA deal was not just a great deal but the only deal because it was negotiated by grown-ups and the WGA brats better take it or else. When it had been the moguls who have acted childish and churlish pre- and post-strike. Worse, they'd disengaged from the process, with occasional exceptions, and hadn't met together even once. (Unlike 1988 when there was truly a sense of urgency and they regularly huddled in Bel Air living rooms.) If anyone, the media should have been pressuring the Hollywood CEOs to use the DGA deal as a good start. After all, everyone was making it seem like the stuffy DGA deal was the only possible deal available to the writers. But only the scribes knew what terms were needed to make the strike worthwhile to them. I and other media didn't need to arrogantly advise them on the details or even explain the big picture. this was their fight, not ours.

Judging from the thousands of emails I received during my illness, opinions within the WGA were running 3-to-1 after its sketchy details were announced that the DGA deal looked both promisingly incremental and fundamentally excremental. Incremental because it did address issues which the Hollywood CEOs previously withheld from their faux negotiations with the WGA, like an electronic sell-through formula. (And how long was everybody waiting for that to finally show up on the bargaining table?) And excremental because the deal's ad-supported streaming payout was still insulting. Even the most short-sighted entertainment seers except the moguls could peer into the future and see that, for at least the next three years, ad-embedded streaming will be the delivery method of choice for media content producers, consumers and advertisers. It certainly is right now. And, given Wal-Mart's recent decision to abandon the downloading biz at this time, it certainly is for the life of the WGA's next contract. But the moguls seemed to fashion the DGA deal in such a way as to undermine and eventually eradicate the old residual system they hate even though it keeps so many writers solvent. A screenwriter pal of mine credits residuals with creating the "middle class writer". I personally know so many scribes who find themselves working one year, begging for work the next two, and afraid that as they get older they won't have staying power in the scribbling business. Because the statistics back up that paranoia: the only people allowed to grow old gracefully employed in Hollywood are the moguls. As for residuals, the majority of the DGA membership get no direct residual payments but the big guns of the DGA all get profit participation on their projects. That leaves only 20% of that guild's membership for whom residual payments are a lifeline. So the DGA deal could play well for the CEOs in the press and put pressure on the WGA leadership to take it or look unreasonable by comparison. But what the DGA needed and what the WGA needed were apples and oranges. When it comes to Hollywood deals, one size does not fit all.

Thankfully, it didn't require a room full of rocket scientists to adapt the DGA deal to the needs of the WGA membership. It did require John Bowman to take a leadership role. Rightly or wrongly, he was always viewed as a moderate by the moguls compared to Youn and Verrone whom the CEOs villified as the militants. "Bowman just had a better relationship with those guys because he was more of a known quantity having once been a big guy in TV," an insider tells me. So it was Bowman who met with Peter Chernin, Barry Meyer and Les Moonves to break the ice back on January 7th at a meeting where supposedly the CEOs said they were sorry for acting like assholes during Phase I and II of the negotiations. From that confab, the WGA-mogul talks were recently reborn.

Another major difference was the presence of entertainment lawyer Alan Wertheimer who has long repped some of the major motion picture and TV scribes. Asked to step in on behalf of the WGA, Wertheimer "was someone who broke down what was being offered and presented the ramifications the way any lawyer does in a negotiation," an insider told me. "He was extremely helpful." Another told me, "He was kind of a hero." The moguls knew they'd have to look him in the eye when this was all over, same as they'd have to look Bryan Lourd in the eye. (As opposed to the WGA's leadership, whom the CEOs could go back to ignoring. Just like they do most Hollywood scribes.)