Posted on 11/06/2007 7:28:04 PM PST by Libloather
Strikes Halting Production On 7 Shows
Writers Guild, Producers Deadlocked Over Revenue From DVDs and Downloads
Nov 6, 2007 8:31 pm US/Eastern
NEW YORK (CBS News) A producer of the hit ABC show "Desperate Housewives" says the show will stop production because it has run out of scripts due to the writers strike.
Alexandra Cunningham says filming of the show's 10th episode of the season will finish on Wednesday.
She says ABC will run out of new episodes to air before Christmas.
Meanwhile, production has stopped on at least six sitcoms filmed before live audiences because of the Hollywood writers strike.
"Back to You," starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, will not return from a planned hiatus on Wednesday. said Chris Alexander, a spokesman for 20th Century Fox Television.
Star Julia Louis-Dreyfus said production has also stopped on her CBS show, "The New Adventures of Old Christine."
In addition, the sitcoms "Til Death," which airs on Fox, and "Rules of Engagement," "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory," all on CBS, will also end filming, according to people familiar with production of the shows who were not authorized to be quoted and requested anonymity.
It was not immediately clear how many of the shows might already be finished.
Network officials referred calls to companies producing each show.
The first strike by Hollywood writers in nearly 20 years got under way with pickets on both coasts after last-minute negotiations on Sunday failed to produce a deal on payments to writers from shows offered on the Internet.
Right now, the writers get nothing and they want 2.5 percent of the profits, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. The studios and producers are offering far less, claiming the technology is too new and their profits too slim.
No new negotiations were scheduled.
Pickets returned to studios in Los Angeles and New York as the strike by the Writers Guild of America entered its second day
In Toluca Lake, Calif., near Warner Bros. studio, writers converged on a house that serves as a location shoot for "Desperate Housewives."
"We write the story-a, Eva Longoria," about 30 strikers chanted, referring to one star of the hit ABC show.
"It is a very serious business," said Larry Wilmore, a writer on "The Daily Show," explaining the protesters were marching "so we can get back to being funny."
Shooting continued inside the house despite the protests, said Chandler Hayes, a spokesman for ABC.
The protesters were joined by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
"I'm really here because I'm a union member," said Louis-Dreyfus, a member of the Screen Actors Guild whose husband is a member of the writers guild.
"If we prevent them from working today, that's a small victory," she said.
In New York, strikers picketed outside Silver Cup Studios in Queens, the site of shooting for "30 Rock" and "Gossip Girls."
The strike began Monday after last-minute negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to produce a deal.
"People seem pretty upbeat and determined for now," reported CBS Radio correspondent Claudia Peschiutta from the picket line outside the Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank on the strike's first day.
"The question is, how will people feel if this strike drags on as long as the last one strike went on for in 1988? That one lasted for more than five months, and it would be difficult for some of these writers to be without a paycheck for that amount of time."
The walkout immediately sent late-night comedy shows going into reruns.
It will not immediately have an impact on production of movies or most prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and many TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
Nick Counter, chief negotiator for the producers union, said he expected a long standoff.
"We're hunkered down for a long one," he said Monday. "From our standpoint, we made every good faith effort to negotiate a deal, and they went on strike. At some point, conversations will take place. But not now."
Writers said the next move was up to the studios.
"My hope is that it won't be too long," said John Bowman, chief negotiator for the writers.
Some producers were torn about trying to keep filming finished scripts.
Tim Kring, a producer and writer of the NBC hit "Heroes," said he had to revise the ending of the show's 11th episode on the chance that it might be the last one to air this season.
"Fortunately we were able to hustle back," Kring said from a picket line in an effort to shut down the show. "The audience won't be left in a lurch."
While scripted shows suffer from the strike, reality shows could flourish because they don't use union writers, despite an aggressive attempt by the writers guild to organize the staffers on the programs.
Viewers could also check out more entertainment on the Internet, ranging from user-generated fare on YouTube to professionally produced shows such as "Quarterlife."
Writers have not gone on strike since 1988, when the walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.
Big deal!
There is not Star Trek in production, so I don’t think I will be much affected.
regards
Raise your hand if you’ll miss anything besides 24 and The Shield. It’s mainly crap these days. Good riddance.
May the strike last 100 years. TV, once half way good, is now horrible.
Best news I've heard all week.
they talk like this is a BAD thing...
Call me if Heroes or Lost or shows by the Sci Fi Channel are affected.
I don’t really watch anything else.
Qwinn
I finally found an area that Islam & I agree on.
Good one.
Trust me. There is live w/o these 2 shows. Try it for awhile. You will be convinced.
Good post. The kooks get the press, but the craftsmen and women do the heavy lifting. If the producers would get serious, a deal could be made in a very short time. The WGA negotiating committee has done its homework. I’m optimistic that a compromise will be found before Christmas.
I have to admit that I haven't seen the original CSI in the last few years, but it was my favorite TV show for the first 3 or 4 season. I never got into the others, especially CSI Miami, where David Caruso spends all his time playing David Caruso trying to act sincere.
Mark
I thought “Rome” was one of the best series I’ve ever seen on television. A worthy companion to “I, Claudius.”
I’m with you Always a Marine; I simply can’t see a downside to this. Maybe they will do us all a favor and NEVER come back! I told their website as much this morning. Strangely enough, I haven’t got a response!
If Americans weren’t so stupid they would’ve tuned these clowns out a long time ago! Julie Loogie Dreyfus ought to kiss my a*s*#!
You have a call on line 2. :) Heroes is probably going to be done for the season after four more episodes, and some Lost bigwig said that they’ll probably run a total of 8 episodes this season. My favorite shows—Friday Night Lights and Chuck—will probably be permanent casualties of this strike.
How did it compare to Caligula? ;=)
Reading this, I think they are making a grave mistake by striking.
One thing left out of the article is what are they striking for? More quill pens? Hand exercises every 22.5 minutes? A safe working environment (a strap to go across the high-chair seat?)
Yeah, the movie business is mostly craft type jobs, some of them technical and some physical labor. The creative people make up a relatively small percentage.
Oh ho - admitting you’ve seen Caligula?! How bold and impudent!
I’ve only seen a few select scenes. Heh.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.