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« WGA Post-Strike Watch: News About Returning Shows
Jenna Fischer: The Office Was About to Shoot its "Funniest" Episode
Jenna Fischer by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Photo
This is the kind of thing that really makes the writers' strike sting. In a new message on her MySpace page, Jenna Fischer says The Office has only two episodes left to air, and that the next one they were about to shoot — but now won't — "was going to be the funniest of the year. I'm sure of it." Fischer says the plotline for the episode had been tossed around for two years, and that it involves "Pam and Jim being in Michael's home. But that's all I'll say."
Fischer says she hopes to get to shoot that episode soon, but makes clear her support of the strike. Explaining a major sticking point that led to the work stoppage, she says, "If you go to NBC.com... you can watch an episode of The Office for free," and though NBC makes money off ads that surround that content, "the actors, writers, producers and director... are not compensated in any way. The issue is a big deal because the Internet is clearly where the future of entertainment lies."
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TVGuide Links:
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Nov 8, 2007 11:51 AM
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This is going to bring about the end of free on-line viewing for the public.
I agree the writers should get a cut - it's their thoughts and words afterall. The reason the nets don't want to give it is that the directors, actors and everyone else will start lining up with their hands out. That's why they are so supportive of the writers right now.
Let's face it - the writers probably need the money. But the directors and actors make more money than god and when their contracts come up they are gonna ask for more.
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Nov 8, 2007 12:30 PM
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I love Jenna. I love all of the actors. I want this strike finished.
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Nov 8, 2007 12:57 PM
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If you go to www.officetally.com and find the chat they had with Michael Schur & Jen Celotta last night (Wednesday, 11/7) there are some more clues about this episode and I have just two words for all of you ... dinner party.
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Nov 8, 2007 12:59 PM
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"But the directors and actors make more money than god and when their contracts come up they are gonna ask for more."
That's not true in most cases. Do you really think a director doing TV episodes makes "more money than god", especially when directing duties are divided between many different directors over the course of a season? And while headlining actors may make decent money, don't forget that the guy who plays the pizza delivery man and has one line is an actor too. He's barely getting anything and is depending on residuals to help pay his bills.
And there's no "free" online viewing, any more than broadcast TV is "free". It is paid for by adversting, same as TV. With ads running (and in the case of online streaming in most cases the ads can't be skipped) the network is making money. If the network is making money, that means they have something they can share with the people who made the show possible, the writers, actors, and directors. And since it's a percentage, it also means that if nobody watches the show online, and the networks don't make money, they don't have to pay out to the talent either.
The networks are being extremely dishonest and hypocritical about the whole online thing, insisting that they're making no money but at the same time refusing to share a percent (which, if they really were making no money, would cost them nothing).
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Nov 8, 2007 1:43 PM
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the only thing that i am getting from this strike is that the writers guild wants more money for the smut that they write for us to watch. what the american viewers should do is boycott tv until the writers clean up there scripts. im getting so sick and tired of turning on the television to see sex on every channel and violence, and i wonder why we have increasing violence in america and a rise in sexual offences
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Nov 8, 2007 4:18 PM
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and i wonder why we have increasing violence in america and a rise in sexual offences
You might want to re-check crime trend statistics. Just sayin'.
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Nov 8, 2007 4:20 PM
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"the writers guild wants more money for the smut that they write for us to watch" "and i wonder why we have increasing violence in america and a rise in sexual offences"
Wow. I hope that when you turn off the smut-filled television you pick up a book, or a newspaper, or something. Sheesh.
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Nov 8, 2007 5:32 PM
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Hopefully this strike leads to people actually finding out there is a real world out there. Invite friends over, have a BBQ, play games, go outside and have fun. Life can actually exist without TV. I only watch 4 shows regularly and I won't really miss them.
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Nov 8, 2007 5:46 PM
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Sex and violence on TV? Smut? Are you kidding me?
I need to start watching more television.
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Nov 8, 2007 6:24 PM
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"Hopefully this strike leads to people actually finding out there is a real world out there. Invite friends over, have a BBQ, play games, go outside and have fun. Life can actually exist without TV. I only watch 4 shows regularly and I won't really miss them."
If you want to preach an anti-tv message, I don't know if the TV GUIDE website is the best place to do it.
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Nov 8, 2007 7:24 PM
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I'll miss The Office mostly but have to say that I completely support the writers, not just of this show but those people who write on a job-per-job basis and who rely on residuals just to pay the bills each month. The big studios need to quit being so greedy and remember that without good writing there would be no good TV.
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Nov 8, 2007 8:12 PM
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i'll take a stand on this different than most people... i don't support the writers or the studios. we're the ones at a loss with this.
in my opinion, both sides are being pretty greedy. the writers claim that they need residuals to get through periods of 'not working'... but what about people with 'normal jobs'-- do they recieve payment for work that they have done in the past? no, they get paid at the time they do the work. for example, does a doctor get paid every day that a patient they saved lives? no... they get paid once initially for the treatment, and that's it. same would go for an engineer... do they get paid every time someone uses a bridge that they built? no. so why should it be any different for writers? they get paid by the studios for writing scripts, and then it become property of the studios.
by that same token, the studio's are just as bad-- not giving up a fraction of a percent of the money that they are earning off of someone elses work.
both sides are being unreasonable, in my opinion, and we, the viewers, are the ones who have to pay.
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Nov 8, 2007 9:19 PM
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Actually ackermaniv, normal people with normal jobs can and do get paid when they're not working ... it's called receiving unemployment benefits. Granted its not something I have had to use very often (I think the last time was about 12 years ago and I think that's the only time, because fortunately I've had a steady job since then), but it is something that all normal people can and will use if they need to.
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Nov 9, 2007 10:37 AM
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