Writer's Strike

This is affecting so much of our television lives that I though I'd post some articles. It's interesting to me for some reason. I didn't post a link to the article because I lost the website I got it from...closed it on accident. Sorry

Glare From Golden Globes Starting To Heat the Grammys?

The Beverly Hilton, where the Golden Globes were scheduled for Sunday, is a ghost town today. There are parking spaces available, only a single news crew's van is parked outside and the only lingering limos belonged to a NAACP Image Awards announcement.

The fear that other awards show venues will be similarly empty is certainly bound to start spreading if there is no settlement to the writers strike within the next two weeks. The Grammy Awards, if staged amidst pickets at Staples Center, would have to do a show with no WGA writing, no actors as presenters and none of musicians with union or Hollywood connections.
Were the strike to have taken place last year - and SAG was refusing to go against the writers - the ceremonies would have lacked the presence of T.I., Ludacris, Reba McEntire, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders, Quentin Tarantino, Luke Wilson, Lewis Black, Nicolas Cage, Terrence Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Rock and David Spade.

There have been no announcements of performers or presenters for this year's Grammys. Last year, announcements of performers and presneters began during the second week of January, starting with beyonce, Dixie Chicks, Gnarls Barkley and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

If there is still a strike - and this is pure speculation - it's highly unlikely the Feb. 10 will be host to Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Beastie Boys, Joni Mitchell, John Fogerty, Lucinda Williams, Jack White, Steve Earle, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Fantasia, George Lopez, Jay-Z, Timberlake, Tim McGraw or Beyonce. (Grohl and his Foo Fighters are part of a heavily promoted Grammy Awards contest in which an unknown will be performing with the band. They appeared at the announcement, pictured, of the nominations).

Tech workers booked to work on the show are not crossing the picket line to do their jobs. But there are probably countless musicians who would not cross the picket line of fellow artists, a blow to the centerpiece of the Grammys' 50th anniversary.

From my home page:


Report: Studios Cancel Writers Contracts
2008-01-15 07:02:14

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Four major studios have canceled dozens of writers contracts, effectively conceding that the current television season cannot be salvaged, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The move signals that development of next season's crop of new shows also could be in jeopardy because of the 2-month-old writers strike, the newspaper said.

January typically marks the start of pilot season, when networks order new comedies and dramas. But with writers not working, networks do not have a pool of scripts from which to choose.

20th Century Fox Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television each confirmed to the Times that they terminated development and production agreements. Studios typically pay $500,000 to $2 million a year per writer for them to develop ideas for new TV shows.

"I didn't see it coming," Barbara Hall, a writer and producer whose credits include former CBS series "Joan of Arcadia" and "Judging Amy," told the Times, which said ABC executives gave her the news Friday. "I am not entirely sure what their strategy is, all I know was that I was a casualty of it."

Overall, more than 65 deals with writers have been eliminated since Friday, the newspaper said.