In This Section
|
« WGA Post-Strike Watch: News About Returning Shows
WGA Plans "Intense" Pressure on Returning Late-night Shows
Jay Leno by Margaret Norton/NBC Photo
The WGA this past weekend revealed plans to picket The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live — all of which are resuming production today albeit not with their writing staffs — as well as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report (both of which return Monday with new episodes, but no scribes). In a letter to its members, the WGA said, "In the case of late-night shows, our strike pressure will be intense and essential in directing political and SAG-member guests to [Late Show with David] Letterman and [Late Late Show with Craig] Ferguson rather than to struck talk shows."
While Letterman and Ferguson have the benefit of returning with their writers (per an agreement their shared parent, Worldwide Pants, inked with the Guild), it is still unclear what Leno, O'Brien and Kimmel have planned for their own shows. Though it has been assumed that prepared monologues are off-limits, sources tell the Reporter that late-night hosts — WGA members or not — may be exempt and thus allowed to write their own material.
Related:
• TVGuide.com Asks: Which Late-night Hosts Have the Write Stuff?
• A Robin Lands on Letterman, While Leno Hearts Huckabee
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 9:13 AM
|
|
The ultimate irony would be if Conan guested on Letterman...
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 10:15 AM
|
It's ironic how nearly all of the late-night talk show hosts have spent most of their careers as stand-up comedians writing their own material, but have since become so dependent on dozens of writers to provide them with their monologues and schtick.
But both shows should get a lot of viewers tonight. I'm personally more curious about how Leno will do his show (I've never liked Letterman, and I've always wanted to whack Robin Williams in the face with a shovel).
However, it's too bad Leno chose to have Mike Huckabee on the night before the Iowa caucus--it will just give Huckabee another chance to spout his right-wing extremist ideas, which frankly sicken me.
Leno and someone like Billy Crystal or Nathan Lane could chat for an hour and it would be hilarious.
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 10:34 AM
|
|
Unless Leno has a complete fifteen minutes of Headlines and/or Jaywalking in place of a monologue, chances are I won't like what he'll do.
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 10:45 AM
|
|
The WGA should use their time and efforts to reach an agreement rather than pressuring people who are trying to save innocent people's jobs. I am so sick of this! The writers aren't hurting the producers pockets - instead they are putting thousand of innocent people out of work. This entire thing is absurd!
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 10:56 AM
|
Here's a key passage from the same letter that was not cited in the article:
"Our picket will not be of the hosts themselves but the companies for which their shows are produced. Our purpose is to continue awareness of our strike and the media conglomerates against which we strike, and to encourage performers, politicians and others to honor our picket line and not appear as guests on these struck programs.
Nothing at all personal or defamatory is intended and we will take all measures to make sure the public and press are aware of our motives and issues."
They know the difficult position all the other hosts are in and they understand it. Nevertheless, they have to picket the other shows in order to give Letterman as big of a competetive advantage as possible. The bigger advantage Letterman has, the more leverage that the WGA has against the other networks, especially NBC, to get them to return to the table.
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 11:10 AM
|
|
What a shame that the WGA is railing against people who are not protected by the WGA union going back to work. These talk shows hosts and networks have been paying the salaries of employees put out of work by this strike for months now. No persons or companies can keep doing this. And if a tv or movie star wants to be a guest on any show - who is the WGA to make them look bad by crossing their picket lines ! These people aren't scab writers - they are actors who have contractual obligations to promote their movies and tv shows.
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 11:28 AM
|
Of course they will picket in front of those shows, and I found the statement from WGAE to be very "kind", almost even apologetic towards Leno, Conan and the others, which I find to be "unappropriate".
Almost makes you wonder if WGA East President is chickening out...
And given how all host are also writers and WGA member, I think it's clear they cannot write, as reminded by WGA days ago :
The Strike Rules, among other provisions, prohibit Guild members from performing any writing services during a strike for any and all struck companies. This prohibition includes all writing by any Guild member that would be performed on-air by that member (including monologues, characters, and featured appearances) if any portion of that written material is customarily written by striking writers.
For them to write things wouldn't be just crossing picket lines, by stabbing (their) writers in the back and going against what they (said they) support...
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 11:50 AM
|
The WGA is only hastening the end of television as we used to know it by protesting this ridiculous strike. Yes, they should get better compensation for their work on the web but killing off the source of that work smacks of cutting off their noses to spite their faces.
As for me, I'll watch Jay Leno as always. I've even watched the reruns making a sport of spotting the time in which it was originally taped. Letterman used his advantages to settle and go on. He's the real strike breaker not Leno.
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 11:56 AM
|
While I respect the writers' desire to have appropriate compensation for their efforts, I find their bombastic efforts to continue this strike a little much. The real irony of all of this is that, while the shows are in reruns, the writers get residual income from that. The rest of the staff on these shows, which typically outnumbers the writers by 4 or 5 to 1 get nada. Nothing. Zip. Out of work and out of a paycheck.
I have to respect those people such as Ellen Degeneres, Carson Daly, et. al, who either didn't stop production or returned to work very quickly so as not to endanger the livelihood of all of their staff because of the writers' desire for more compensation.
Seems to me there ought to be a better way to do this. To my mind, the writers are not coming out on the good end of the PR stick in this deal.
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 12:12 PM
|
These people aren't scab writers - they are actors who have contractual obligations to promote their movies and tv shows.
mryjhnsn2, they also have contract of sorts with SAG, their own union. Maybe not a traditional contract, but to be a member they have to agree to follow union rules. If the union tells them not to do something..well that's how it is. The various unions I'm sure have agreements and/or understandings with each other. I'm union authority takes precedence over individual contracts.
The WGA is only hastening the end of television as we used to know it by protesting this ridiculous strike. Yes, they should get better compensation for their work on the web but killing off the source of that work smacks of cutting off their noses to spite their faces.
Dear totally missing the point, just how do you propose they get better compensation? The producers will never give them what they want if they go back to work because they'd have zero, zip, ziltch leverage if they did that. You say they should get better compensation but disapprove of the only method with any chance of success at obtaining it. You can play it both ways as you are trying to do. The producers have the power to end the strike too. Why aren't you bashing them too?
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 12:13 PM
|
Looks to me like the WGA still has its priorities straight.
Go writers!
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 12:13 PM
|
|
The WGA are a bunch of stupid idiots, putting technical people out of work.
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 12:48 PM
|
However, it's too bad Leno chose to have Mike Huckabee on the night before the Iowa caucus--it will just give Huckabee another chance to spout his right-wing extremist ideas, which frankly sicken me.
Well Mike Huckabee and his ideas don't "sicken" everyone!! I'll be watching Jay tonight!! I don't care for Letterman and want to support Jay for coming back to work. I also am interested in hearing what Mr. Huckabee has to say!! Seeing as I'm a "right-wing extremist" and all!!
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 12:49 PM
|
|
Good point about the irony of the writers on strike still getting residuals for all the reruns while the staffs get nothing. I'll be watching Leno tonight, and always. Never liked Letterman's so called sense of humor...
|
|
Jan 2, 2008 12:52 PM
|
|
|
