UPDATED: The Golden Globes as we know them are dead (this year at least). According to Variety.com…
NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. are trying to work out a deal to present Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards as an hourlong NBC News special featuring award winners reacting from parties or a press room at the Beverly Hilton hotel.
As of Monday afternoon, HFPA was in talks with the Writers Guild of America to determine whether the guild would still picket the event, thus deterring top celebs from appearing. NBC News scribes are covered under a separate NABET contract from the entertainment division and are not on strike against the net.
Sources cautioned that the sides are still discussing the particulars of the deal, and it could quickly fall apart if the WGA refuses to hold back its pickets. The HFPA’s hope is to still have a red carpet procession and the traditional Globes parties. Notion is that stars would go down the red carpet and then proceed to the various parties. At a set time an HFPA official would read will off the film and TV winners on the live telecast. Cameras would then cut to star reactions from the various party sites, or winners would have the option of heading to a press room to give reaction statements.
ORIGINAL POST:
I have to admit it, if NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press decide to cancel this Sunday’s Golden Globes I’ll be a little sad. I traditionally love watching the Golden Globes because the celebrities are loose lipped from all the booze stock piled at each table, this year I was looking forward to seeing those same celebrities be loose lipped… on the picket lines just outside!
With SAG vowing that no member will attend, what would NBC come up with for a telecast? Would one of the Attorney’s from Price Waterhouse or better yet L.A. Law’s McKenzie & Brackman get up there and wing it in the absence of a celebrity host? Maybe NBC should get creative and face the picket lines head on.
Can you imagine the always outspoken Katherine Heigl accepting an award from the picket lines? That’s what I want to see! I’d kill to have mutt-faced Rumor Willis (this year’s Ms. Golden Globes) walk the line in some ridiculous Flashdance like oversized sweatshirt and a beret handing out the gold statue to each and every winner as they scream “Fair Is Fair” for all the world to see. Why not take it to the streets NBC?
I guarantee that they’ll have the highest ratings in years if that was the case! Something to ponder.
*UPDATED: This information below was based on The CW’s first initial press release which was later revised after I posted this. The Supernatural dates are wrong. The show returns January 31st and ends February 21st.
Now that we’re in 2008 and the WGA Strike is not coming to an end anytime soon, it’s time for the networks to shake things up once again. This time it’s The CW and they’re tinkering with some of my faves… not pleased.
Starting February 28th, SUPERNATURAL will not even be in repeats as The CW takes it off the schedule and replaces it with the crap that is Reaper.
Starting Monday, January 28th GOSSIP GIRL will move to Monday’s in order to dodge the freight train that is AMERICAN IDOL.
Happy New Year and welcome to TV in 2008 — something the likes you’ve never seen before. The WGA Strike has completely changed the landscape of television for the upcoming winter/spring season and we’re here to dish about it.
Dan and Kath are back for TV Podcast #18 and while shows are still new we’re covering the latest from Friday Night Lights, Gossip Girl, The Amazing Race, and Project Runway.
We also give you the latest counts for original episodes remaining for our favorite shows as well as returning faves like LOST, PSYCH, TORCHWOOD and KYLE XY. What about newbies like TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES and NEW AMSTERDAM? What about AMERICAN GLADIATORS? Yup, we chat about those too.
*Just a warning there are major spoilers for the finale of GOSSIP GIRL which has yet to air.
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Here is a great video that my friend James sent me this morning. It’s good to know that Dogs and Cats will no longer do their cute things that they do until the WGA gets a fair deal! I’m a sucker for kitties…
It’s a new year and colder than a witches tit up here in the Northeast but that doesn’t mean people aren’t still fighting the good fight over there in NYC and LA on behalf of the WGA.
As we all know, last night Late Night kicked off last night (my old ass is so not staying up to see that crap) and so did the picketing.
Watch Hillary Clinton welcome and mock Letterman back onto the air. Hi, did someone forget to put a razor in Dave’s stocking for Xmas? Sasquatch much?
Tonight a good chunk of the Late Night shows will return to the airwaves with new episodes. As we all know, Letterman and Ferguson have worked out a new deal with the WGA to get their writers back and working so all is well.
However Conan, Leno, Kimmel and our Comedy Central gods Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are going back on the air without writers and the WGA is ready to react.
Beginning tonight, there will be picket lines set up at Conan, Leno, and Kimmel’s shows. On Monday when Colbert Report and the Daily Show return, the same will happen over at Comedy Central. It looks like they are really wanting to put pressure on the production companies behind late night and it’s going to be intense.
In a letter from Michael Winship, the President of WGAe:
With the start of 2008 and the continuation of our strike come many new challenges and dilemmas. As you know, last week we reached a binding independent agreement with Worldwide Pants that will allow Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return to the air on January 2 with their full writing staffs. Worldwide Pants accepted the very same proposals, including new media, that the Guilds were prepared to present to the media conglomerates when they walked out of negotiations on December 7. As we said Friday, it demonstrates our eagerness to put people back to work, and that when a company comes to the table prepared to negotiate seriously, a fair and reasonable deal can be quickly reached.
Other late night shows – The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel Live in Los Angeles, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien here in New York – also are returning Wednesday night, but without their striking writers. Leno, O’Brien and Kimmel are all members of the Guild and have been and continue to be extremely supportive of our strike and their writing staffs. For that we truly are grateful
Nonetheless, they are coming back without writers and without a new Guild contract, forced back on the air by companies that refuse to sit at the table and bargain with us. We cannot let that pass.
It’s a difficult and painful decision, but the Guilds East and West have determined that we will picket outside the studios of these programs, beginning January 2. We know that some believe this to be unfair and will be unhappy, but we are taking into consideration our overall strategy and the needs of all 10,500 of our members currently on strike.
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.
If the companies want these shows to be back on the air with the writers whose creativity and talent make them so successful, the answer is simple. Bargain in good faith, negotiate, make a deal.
Thanks for your attention.
In Solidarity,
Michael Winship
President
Writers Guild of America, East
Everyone’s sick of end of year lists but how can I not do one on my favorite TV shows of 2007? I always find these lists hard to do because 12 months is a really long time and we watch a LOT of TV. I wish I could prepare enough ahead of time to write up some great “moments” that stand out but let’s be honest… I don’t get paid to do this so that’s not gonna happen.
Regardless, the end of the 2006-2007 season provided lots of thrills and even a few tears. The 2007-2008 season started off so promising but as we all know, many shows just didn’t live up to the hype and the WGA Strike has kind of killed any hope of making this a banner year for television. So what did I choose? Did I pick a previous favorite that ended last May? Did I give a sophmore series about superheroes another nod? Did those Housewives make a showing after being off the list for so many years? Here goes.
Ducky’s Favorite TV of 2007:
30 ROCK I was late jumping on the 30 Rock train but once I gave it a chance late last winter, I instantly fell in love. 30 Rock is the successor to Arrested Development and I actually may love it even more. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin together are impossibly brilliant and the supporting cast only add to the mayhem and madness. Highlights: Season 1’s “I love NY in springtime” moment, Season 2’s return of Will Arnett, “Me Want Food” and “Gay for Jamie“.
CHUCK Chuck Bartowski, how I love you! The funniest thing about Chuck is that GMMR and I had seen the pilot probably 10 times before we hit Comic-Con where Zac Levi and crew got a superheroes reception from the geek gala. I don’t know that the show has lived up to my expectations but I can’t say that I don’t love watching it every week. There’s an inherent sweetness to this action-comedy that makes me squee. Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski are magnificent together and anytime Adam Baldwin gets to be a smartass, I’m on board. So sad that the WGA Strike put an end to our enjoyment of the Nerd Herd! Highlights: The Pilot, Chuck and Lou, Captain Awesome’s many skin shots, and the return of Bryce Larkin.
DAMAGES Week after week this intense drama built to a shockingly graphic climax and it kept me guessing every step of the way. Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and Ted Danson delivered crazy intense performances for 13 weeks, proving that summer is not for the lazy brainless reality shows any longer. It was great interviewing most of the cast this summer, it really made me realize how brilliant the writing of the show really is. Kudos to FX for sticking with Damages and granting us 2 more seasons. Highlights: The endless time shifting and the seemless togetheness of it all, Glenn Close’s reaction to Ray Fiske blowing his brains out, the closing moments on the dock.
DOCTOR WHO/TORCHWOOD The one-two punch of Doctor Who and Torchwood coupled with my going to Comic-Con made 2007 my geekiest year to date. Season 3 of Doctor Who was probably the best of the new series. While I loved and miss Rose, Martha was a great companion. Capt. Jack may have ended up on Who at the end of Season 3 but more importantly he kicked some demon ass all season on his own show, Torchwood. Harkness, Gwen, Ianto, Owen, and Tosh made their show so much more than a spin-off. Torchwood delivered thrills, chills, and tears and I cannot wait for it’s return early in 2008. Highlights:Who’s Donna the Runaway Bride, “Human Nature” and the scary intense weeping angels of “Blink”. Torchwood’s gayness, “Random Shoes” with Eugene, Billis the scariest wrinkled creepy since the Preacher Kane from Poltergeist.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS The Dillon Panthers won State, the audience won another season and all seemed great down there in Texas. Then poor Tyra and Landry had to dump a body in a river leading to the most interesting coupling the show could ever have concocted. Some balked at the stunt plotline but I welcomed it once I saw how unbelievable both Adrianne Palicki and Jessie Plemons would make their roles. The Taylors continued to bring one of the most realistic and beautiful families to television not to mention Connie Britton’s acting her ass off. Highlights: Winning State, Plemons acting, Santiago’s first moment in the game during “The Confession”… breathtaking.
LOST Say what you will about Season 3 of LOST but the addition of Juliet and the jump forward solidified the show as greatness in my book. While it took a bit to flesh out Ben’s backstory, Juliet’s arrival on the island, Mr. Friendly’s allegiance, and the involvement of the Whidmore’s it was all worth the wait. We got some great answers this season, some scary twists and turns, some great revelations, some wonderful death’s, and HELLO, the chaos surrounding who’s coming to the island in Season 4? Matthew Fox continued to bring anxiety and sadness to the role of Jack and it’s a damn shame he wasn’t nominated for something this year. I’m psyched for it’s return on January 31st! Highlights: The story of how Juliet came to the island, the death of Charlie, the flash-forward, and Patch!
MAD MEN Seriously, do I even need to explain why Mad Men is on the list? The acting, the writing, the art direction, the costuming, the genius? Another summer sleeper that rocked my socks! Highlights: Jon Hamm as Don Draper, any scene with Joan, the sadness of the era, Don Draper’s carousel pitch.
PUSHING DAISIES The facts are these: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth and Chi McBride are my favorite finds of 2007. Bryan Fuller created a vivid, magical world I didn’t realize was missing from making my life complete until it slapped me in the face. My favorite pilot of 2007 led to stalking Fuller and Co. at Comic-Con, creating a fansite called ThePieMaker.com, and landed me on the Red Carpet interviewing these great talents. What a summer and fall leading up to the premiere of Pushing Daisies. This show makes me beyond happy and I cannot wait for its return in 2008. Highlights: The pilot, Ellen Greene, the musical numbers, Ned & Chuck, Bryan Fuller and Lee Pace recognizing me on the red carpet with hugs all around. Swoon…
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE I have to include SYTYCD because seriously could there have been a bigger obsession all summer long? Sure I loved Damages and Mad Men but sweet lord did it not compare to my lunacy over Neil Haskell and the rest of the dancers on SYTYCD. Highlights: Neil and Sabra’s boardroom brawl, Cat Deeley’s flawless hosting, Mary Murphy’s continued screaming, Wade Robson’s increased involvement, Debbi Allen and Shankman, backstage on tour.
SUPERNATURAL Love those Winchester’s. In a year that saw Sammy go real dark, the demise of YED, and a soul searching Dean, how can I not love Supernatural? The end of Season 2 was a wild wild ride but the beginning of Season 3 proved that this show is not and will not be stereotyped. Broadening the horizons of the demon world has suited the show nicely. Sure the addition of Ruby and Bela has been problematic for some but I can overlook that because the suspense and the gore has increased! Highlights:Visiting the set last May, blood and more blood, Supernatural:Origins comics, the return of Gordon.
The rest of the best:Battlestar Galactica, Big Bang Theory, Brothers & Sisters, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Project Runway, Psych, The Closer, The Office, Top Chef and the end of Veronica Mars.
Should be on the list but isn’t for one reason or another: Dexter (never finished Season 2 because we got rid of Showtime but I’m dying to see the rest), Bones (just got addicted so I felt it couldn’t be added just yet – though let it be known that I’m obsessed), Dirty Sexy Money (something just isn’t right just yet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love it).
Have a safe and Happy New Year! Looking forward to a wonderful and hopefully television filled 2008.
USA Today is reporting that NBC won’t let threats from the WGA and Actors spoil their planned festivities for the January 13th telecast of the Golden Globes.
NBC said Sunday that it would air the Golden Globes Awards as scheduled Jan. 13, despite plans by striking Writers Guild of America members to picket the Los Angeles ceremony. The planned pickets sparked fears that nominees would boycott the ceremony and hurt ratings and led to early discussions about canceling the broadcast of the annual movie and TV awards given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Actors also have been leery about appearing on late-night talk shows affected by the strike.
Question though, how fun can the awards be if half the actors nominated don’t show up?
STRIKE TV is an internet based channel that will be showcasing original content from working professionals in the TV and Film industries in hopes of raising money for the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund, assisting non-WGA members, including IATSE and Teamsters affected by the strike.
To learn more about Strike TV head on over to their MySpace page where you can learn how WGA members can contribute and also how you can participate on January 9th.
Late Night could get funny again, well funnier than reruns at least. It looks like World Wide Pants (owning both Letterman and Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show) has successfully worked out a new deal with the WGA which will allow their shows to return with their writers.
According to TVGuide:
World Wide Pants has made a deal with the Writers Guild of America that will allow both Late Show and Late Late Show to resume production Wednesday with their respective writing staffs on board.
Helping make this special consideration possible is the fact that Letterman’s World Wide Pants owns both talkers and as such — and until Friday — had been working out a deal with the WGA.
“This is a comprehensive agreement that addresses the issues important to writers, particularly new media,” the WGA says in a statement. “Worldwide Pants has accepted the very same proposals that the Guild was prepared to present to the [AMPTP] when they walked out of negotiations on Dec. 7. Today’s agreement dramatically illustrates that the Writers Guild wants to put people back to work, and that when a company comes to the table prepared to negotiate seriously a fair and reasonable deal can be reached quickly.”
David Letterman also issued a statement, saying, “We’re happy to be going back to work, and particularly pleased to be doing it with our writers. This is not a solution to the strike, which unfortunately continues to disrupt the lives of thousands. But I hope it will be seen as a step in the right direction.”
The pressure is now (conceivably) on other late-night hosts to follow suit, and the WGA has already called out one in particular: “It’s time for NBC Universal to step up to the plate and negotiate a company-wide deal that will put Jay Leno, who has supported our cause from the beginning, back on the air with his writers.”
The question of the morning is whether or not Alec Baldwin hates the WGA Negotiators as much as he hates his pig headed daughter.
In Baldwin’s latest Huffington Post blog, he ponders a new negotiation team, the impact of the DGA Strike, and the difference between supporting the troops while hating the war (or the WGA Strike equivalent).
Supporting the WGA while losing faith in this particular “team” of negotiators are two different things. (Kind of like loving your country even while it’s been overrun by a cabal of trust-fund fascists who have Jesus’ private cell phone number.) Calling a strike is sometimes a necessary thing.
Having the wisdom and guts and talent to get it over with expeditiously is even more so. The current WGA negotiators do not represent the best hope the WGA has right now and should be replaced. They should be replaced with more skillful negotiators.
Otherwise, the directors, who have typically fielded the most effective negotiators of the three guilds, will step in and, once again, school everyone. In our business, you start a strike knowing how to end it. Not when, but at least how. Otherwise, don’t strike.
Tis the season… to be watching the DVD box sets you got for Christmas. Jesus Christ is there nothing on television these days. Luckily I got Seasons 1 & 2 of BONES so I’m good to go for a while. Seriously though, it’s quite depressing how little television there is that’s worth spending time on. Is it wrong that I’m kinda excited to see American Gladiators? I mean where else can you see men in bulging tight unitards wrasslin around with other men in bulging tight unitards? It’s a gay dream, I haven’t seen that much stuffed sausage since… wait, what?
Regardless, we should not forget that there is still a major work stoppage in Hollywood. It’s December 27th, Day 53 of the WGA Strike and while there’s not a whole heaping helping of stuff to report on, I thought I’d share some links and a great video.
First, here’s the video LIFE ON STRIKE which was originally produced for The Strike Show benefit. It’s cute and also has Ana Ortiz from UGLY BETTY (which sadly I did not get for Christmas so I still can’t catch up).
Well, looks like the Late Nighters are going to be happy campers again come the New Year. First Dave, then Jay and Conan, now the only two that should matter… The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are set to return on January 7, 2008!
According to E!:
“We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence,” Stewart and Colbert said in a joint statement.
Stewart, whose Busboy Productions oversees both shows, has been paying the salaries of staffers since the strike began.
The decision to go back to work was obviously not an easy one: Both Stewart and Colbert are guild members themselves. Both are also talented comedians and will have to call on their improv skills to essentially ad-lib their way through their respective shows.
Regardless, Comedy Central has to be pretty pleased to have its Emmy-winning Daily Show and its equally deserving Colbert Report coming back.
Even after going two months without a fresh episode, Colbert was on Thursday named Associated Press Celebrity of the Year, an honor bestowed on the personality who had the biggest impact on pop culture in 2007.
When NBC announced that The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O’Brien would be returning with new episodes Jan. 2, the WGA said that it was unfortunate NBC wouldn’t be able to put on the best shows possible thanks to the writers’ absence, and the union expressed a similar sentiment in response to this latest development.
“Comedy Central forcing Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert back on the air will not give the viewers the quality shows they’ve come to expect,” the WGA West said in a statement. “The only way to get the writing staffs back on the job is for the [Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers] companies to come back to the table prepared to negotiate a fair deal with the Writers Guild.”
I know I’ve been pretty lax with the WGA updates of late but seriously, it’s a lot of back and forth that sometimes I don’t even understand so I figure I’ll wait until something big that impacts the viewers is news worthy before posting again.
While I was too sick to attend last Friday’s WGA/TV Rally in Boston with Joss Whedon, Jamie Paglia, and Rob Kutler I’m happy to bring you a link to some pictures and audio clips from the event. Kath was there from GMMR and she can be seen in at least one picture, head on over to her site and check out her thoughts on the day.
Brad Searles, a local Boston blogger and all around cool dude has posted a ton from Friday’s Rally. Head on over to Bradley’s Almanac and check it all out. There are clips with each of the speaks as well as some other treats.
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