Getting Ready for Saturday Night

The WGAw's general membership meeting will be held at the Shrine Auditoriumat at 7pm (NOT 6:30pm as we reported earlier) on Saturday night.


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As of Thursday afternoon, we are all still waiting on specific contract language. Lawyer and blogger Jonathan Handel has pulled together media reports of alleged WGA deal points on his Digital Media Law blog. But none of the rumors or media reports mean much. If it's not in the contract language, it's not real.

We've been emphasizing all week that a strong showing on the picket lines would give the WGA's lawyers and negotiators the maximum leverage to make sure the contract language is in keeping with what the companies pledged during informal talks. And the numbers this week have been great. WGA staff estimate that over 1500 turned out for today's mass picket at Disney.

But there's another bit of leverage at the WGA negotiators' disposal: the possibility of writers all going back to work quickly. For that reason, the prospect of ending the strike quickly is very valuable. If the contract language isn�t finished in good faith, that possibility would be destroyed.

As we wrote here earlier today, the WGA constitution lays out a few timelines for when the strike could be called off. One permissible timeline would have a ratification vote completed by Wednesday.

In light of that option, many members have contacted U.H. privately or posted comments stating the importance of having time to digest the deal points and make up their minds in a responsible way. Keenly aware that there are pilots, tv shows, movies, jobs and a popular ceremony hanging in the balance, they are not asking for weeks, but rather days. When weighed against the three-year life of this contract (or possibly twenty-year life, if DVDs are any indication) 72 hours seems a very reasonable request.

WGA presidents Patric Verrone and Michael Winship have stated that no action will be taken until some consensus emerges among the membership. We have faith that they will do that. When they say they will let the membership decide, we take them at their word.

Should it become clear on Saturday night that the memberships in New York and LA need a day or two to digest the deal points, we think they will respect that. Likewise, if it's clear that the majority of members strongly supports the contract, we could be back at work on Monday.

The WGA is a democratic union. We argue, we criticize, we make one another crazy. But during this strike, we have stood together with unprecedented and historic unity. We can make it a few more days if necessary.

No one inside or outside the union has forced us into anything, and that won't change now.

Answering Questions About the WGA Constitution

We've been hearing a lot of procedural questions in the last few days, so in an act of serious selflessness, we decided to do a little paging through the WGA Constitution so you don't have to.

Here are the questions we've been hearing most:

Can the Board lift the restraining order (meaning the strike) without a general vote of the membership?

Yes. In Article IX, Section 3b, it states that the restraining order has to be authorized by the membership to start, but that it remains "in effect until withdrawn by the Board."

The Board has the constitutional right to lift the restraining order at their discretion.

That doesn't mean they will, by the way, and no one should interpret this information to mean that the Saturday meeting will automatically result in the strike being lifted if the Board meets, as they are rumored to be doing, on Sunday.

How long does it take to have a ratification vote?

The Constitution provides for three timelines in Article VII, Section 2b:

20 days' notice to members, 10 days' notice, or 48 hours.

The 48 hour option is reserved for meetings dealing with restraining orders [i.e. strikes] or the "membership being called to discuss and take action on related matters." Like, for example, the ratification of a contract that directly impacts the restraining order.

Does that mean that the 48 hours will start at the Saturday meeting, and we'll have to cast a vote by Monday?

No. Because of the notification requirements in the Constitution (same section) the 48 hours couldn't begin before Monday at the earliest. (Or that's how we read it.)

Could the Board lift the strike order sooner, and we could still have a 10-day or 20-day ratification vote?

That is possible under the Constitution. But again, the Board has repeatedly guaranteed that nothing will happen without the input (and approval) of the membership. They are planning to get that input at the Saturday meeting.

When will we have the deal points to see for ourselves?

The current rumor is that the companies have promised to finish the contract draft language on the deal points by Friday, so that the deal summary can be released to membership.

If the companies don't do that, then obviously we won't be able to evaluate the deal points before the Saturday meeting -- remember, any deal points not yet put in contract language are not final. They could be changed, to our disadvantage, in contract if we don't get them nailed down now.

We at UH hope that the companies will live up to what they've promised, so the membership can see the deal points and evaluate them for ourselves in a timely manner.

What does this mean in relation to the Saturday meeting?

Well, it's not a Constitutional question, but here's the answer: EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE THERE.

We're going to be briefed on the negotiation as it stands. Hopefully, the contract language will be finished, which means there will be some finality to the deal points that are presented to us. We'll get to hear what's going on -- and we'll have the right to decide what happens next.

We all want to get answers, so we can make the best decision possible on whatever deal terms are put forward to us. And the Saturday meeting is the place to get those answers.

The Board will be there, and they'll listen to what we say, because that's their job. The only way our voices might not be heard -- is if we don't show up.

Verrone: If We Lose That Solidarity, They Take Advantage of It Big Time

UPDATE: WGAw membership meeting this Saturday, February 9, at 6:30 PM. Shrine Auditorium, 649 W Jefferson Blvd 90007.

Last Friday, WGAw President Patric Verrone gave this interview to United Hollywood's Jeff Berman. When asked about rumors, Verrone says flatly, "They're never true."

Rumor Patrol: Conan on Colbert, Colbert on Conan

This tip was sent in from a source in NYC:

A car picked up Stephen Colbert outside his studio tonight and brought him to Conan's taping, and then Conan showed up at Colbert. I guess they are doing their own strike solidarity thing on tonight's shows.

All of the late night hosts have been steadfast in their support of not just their own writers but also the hundreds of employees who were affected by the strike. A Conan/Colbert couch swap (man, that sounds dirty) promises some must-see nonsense. We can't wait.

Rumors, Facts, Picketing and Leverage

We've had the phones ringing off the hook today, with people telling us they've heard that "a deal is imminent" and "both sides have agreed to the deal points." This rumor has picked up so much steam in such a short time that it's a little scary.

We're in a news blackout. So we can't get confirmation or denial from the WGA. But here's what we do know: last time we all got excited about a rumor that a deal was about to be reached, it turned out to be untrue, and the collective damage done to our morale was considerable.

So here are a few things to factor in:

• SAG just reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the WGA last night. Patric Verrone stood onstage at the SAG Awards with Alan Rosenberg. Several actors weighed in supporting writers, and Rosenberg himself said: "The strike is about protecting the next generation so they can continue to create, continue to give great performances that can be rewarded."
  


• The companies know that if they can't negotiate a deal with us, there will be no Oscars, because of SAG's support.
  
  
• It's possible that good-faith negotiations are going on right now; but because of the news blackout, if the congloms were stalling (as they have in the past,) we wouldn't have any way of knowing about it.

So we would argue it's dangerous to assume either way, because we don't have the facts.

The last time we got our hopes up, frankly, they were dashed. Let's not forget it. Buying into blind optimism -- and it's "blind" because we're in an information vacuum -- is a dangerous thing to do.

But while we don't know what's going on in the negotiating room, we can still directly influence it. Negotiations succeed or fail due to leverage, applied at the right time and in the right places.

SAG has given us more power with their support; and every day that we show up on the lines, and keep up the blogging and the publicity and the determination publicly to get a fair deal for our work, we hand power to the men and women negotiating for us in that room.

That is the best way to end this strike quickly.

Our advice: ignore the rumors. Keep up the pressure. Because that pressure is the only thing that's going to get us, SAG or anyone else in this town a fair deal.

WGA Begins Back Channel Discussion With AMPTP

UH has learned that as of yesterday, the WGA began an informal dialogue with one of the conglom bosses. The conversations were cordial and respectful on both sides.

This is the way that the DGA talks began -- with informal consultations at a high level between leaders on both sides. It is not negotiation, it's the precursor to negotiation, but the good news is that what Patric Verrone, David Young and John Bowman said at the captain's meeting yesterday appears to be very true: we are finally at a moment where the companies are ready to start seriously bargaining.

A letter was sent to membership last night, asking everyone to be patient and calm as we move forward. As frustrating as it is to wait, it's the best way to get the best deal possible.

From this point forward, if things go well, there will be little to print until the two sides move into formal negotiations -- and we shouldn't take that silence to mean anything negative. The WGA is crunching the numbers, everyone is communicating, and there's every reason to be hopeful.

And although there's a wide spectrum of opinion on the DGA deal, from embracing it to hating it, there's one thing that all commentators seem to agree on -- it was the WGA strike that made the gains possible. We provided the leverage that allowed the DGA to get things (like distributor's gross) that no one believed were possible, and that the DGA would not have even asked for without the backdrop provided by the strike.

Let's make this moment count by staying focused, calm, and ready to listen. [If you're wondering where the "endgame" comment is, I took it out because I realized it was a bad choice of words. I didn't mean in any way to suggest that we let up the pressure. -- LK] Stay on the lines, keep picketing, keep the pressure on. There's room here for the DGA deal to be used as a pattern but still get things that are specific needs and concerns of writers. We just have to let our leadership do the job.

Once More With Feeling: Rumor that DGA Has Reached A Deal

Ok, here we go again -- this is just a rumor, folks, but this time we do have confirmation from a couple of sources that seem reliable.

People close to the DGA negotiations are telling us and others that the deal is done, and will be announced in the very near future.

Once again, I want to stress this is a rumor. If it's true, the most important thing we can all do is stay calm and evaluate the terms of this deal. The worst thing any of us can do is react reflexively on either side of the spectrum -- either by saying "no matter what the deal is, we have to take it to end the strike" or by saying "if it's not exactly what we asked for, it's not enough and we have to reject it."

The real solution is, will have to be, a middle ground between those two positions.

None of our sources have any idea what the terms of the deal will be -- the DGA has been scrupulous about their media blackout. But odds are very good that it will be less than we wanted, but more than we could have gotten any other way.

We gave the DGA leverage that they would never otherwise have had. Let's hope it paid off. But we won't know until we see the deal -- if indeed it turns out to exist.

Deal or No Deal?

Monday, we reported that rumors were swirling claiming the DGA had made a deal with the AMPTP. While admittedly unconfirmed, the whispers were coming from so many corners, we felt we had to at least tell folks what we were hearing.

But stop the presses (or at least don't hit the blog "Publish" button just yet).

Based on off-the-record information from two credible sources we contacted in order to confirm or deny the rumors, we're now hearing that a deal hasn't been made as of this writing late Tuesday night. The sticking point? Shockingly, the Internet.

So, what does it mean? The same thing all of it means until it's official: not much. As we've hopefully all learned during these negotiations (and lack thereof), the situation is very fluid and things could change on a dime. Thus, we all need to try to keep an even keel.

Baseball's Yogi Berra famously said, "It ain't over until it's over." And in this case regarding all the rumors each day, just remember: It ain't true until it's true.

Two Sides to Every Story: The Truth...and Everything Else

As the strike continues and things heat up around the DGA negotiations, apparently the multi-national media mega-corps and their $100K a month crisis management flaks are ramping up their online psy-ops and misinformation campaigns.

Deadline Hollywood Daily, in a post detailing a range of less than savory actions taken by AMPTP members against WGA supporters, reported that "AMPTP staffers, consultants and members (especially corporate publicity departments) are busily posting comments on WGA-friendly websites and blogs that Hollywood visits regularly and filling them with hate-filled rants against the WGA leadership, the A-list actors, and the companies who've made WGA side deals. The goal is to turn off readers and drive traffic away and in the process spread pro-AMPTP propaganda and make it look as if the strike is breaking apart."

Well, we at UH.com can certainly confirm the hate-filled rants. How bad has it gotten? Well, what are the most vile things you can imagine? Did you include references to Hitler, comparisons to the 9/11 terrorists, the "C-word" and every conceivable variation of the F-bomb? Okay, now imagine someone posting that, oh... 40 or 50 times a day, sometimes 10 times in the span of 10 minutes. In fact, it's that kind of stuff - not the obvious trolls - that caused us to turn on comment moderation.

And now we can add a new tactic: pretending to be WGA members in online comment sections.

DHD had a post last week reporting on a Fox employee instigating an altercation with Law & Order showrunner Rene Balcer (and by "instigate," we mean trying to hit him with his SUV). There were witnesses galore confirming the despicable actions of the Fox employee, pictures taken, and a formal police report. Pretty black and white, right?

Apparently not for several "commenters" on DHD, including one "Ben Tramer" who said "there are two sides to every story." Including this one.

Now, usually when a person driving an SUV pushes a person legally walking in a crosswalk with the fender of his vehicle, that is the side of the story. But not to this commenter. According to him, the pedestrian "had it coming" from the SUV and "deliberately stepped in front of cars."

Just one problem with "Ben Tramer's" comment: UH.com talked to Ben Tramer, and he didn't write it.

The real Ben/Bennett Tramer is a WGA member and a strike captain who pickets at Fox. And he was quite surprised - and pissed - to start hearing from friends who read a comment using his name to "advance views the exact opposite of [his] own."

Coincidence? Maybe. John Carpenter, a friend of the real Mr. Tramer, named a character after him in "Halloween II." So maybe the person who left that comment just happened to be a huge "Halloween II" fan... and just happens to work at Fox... and just happens to be intimately familiar with the incident outside the gates... at the exact same place where the real Mr. Tramer just happens to be a WGA strike captain. So we're trying to do a little Internet detective work to track down the person who put up the comment.

But if somebody out there is using names of WGA members to post anti-WGA comments, the real Mr. Tramer said, "It's a sad comment on the strength of their position if they have to use identity theft to make their point."

DGA Deal To Be Announced Tomorrow?

This is still a rumor, but it's definitely gaining steam -- word is spreading that the DGA has finalized a deal with the congloms, and will announce the deal tomorrow.

We don't know what the terms of the deal will be, if indeed it does exist. We're not going to speculate because, if it's true, we'll find out the specifics soon enough.

But we over at UH will make one suggestion: everyone stay calm. That's the only way we can really be prepared for the unexpected -- is to stop expecting anything.

When and if the DGA announces their deal, it will take some time for all of us to analyze the terms of that deal and see if they're acceptable to us as a guild or not. We're inevitably going to argue and disagree; we'll need to do it civilly, and calmly.

If they have made a deal, remember the WGA is not bound to whatever the DGA has committed to; however, the DGA deal can be used as a template to jumpstart our negotiations with the corporations. We certainly won't get less than what the DGA gets; that's how pattern bargaining works.

The one thing I think we can say for certain is that there will be aspects of any deal -- even one we negotiated ourselves -- that will be painful and disappointing for all of us. The roller-coaster emotions of the strike can be devastating. Whatever happens, we have to ride it out, think clearly, argue and discuss -- and then make the best decision we can, for our Guild and for the town.

UPDATED 8:40 p.m. The cutting of even more overall deals could be seen to support the contention that the DGA and AMPTP are about to announce a deal. The following is reprinted from today's Variety:

Citing fallout from the WGA strike, Warner Bros. TV, CBS Paramount Network TV, Universal Media Studios and 20th Century Fox TV have decided to follow the lead of ABC Studios by terminating a big batch of deals.

At 20th, about 15 pacts have been shed, while insiders describe the Warner Bros. cuts as less than a half-dozen so far. CBS Par has trimmed more than a half-dozen deals (though it has a much smaller roster from which to cut).
No word yet on the extent of the NBC U cuts. ABC Studios slashed nearly two dozen deals on Friday.

Agents around town began getting calls and letters from studio execs on Monday afternoon.

Among the scribes and producers cut from the CBS Par roster: Mark Johnson, John McNamara, Rene Echevarria, Barry Schindel, Jennifer Levin and the team of Sivert Glarum and Michael Jamin. Eye unit has also scrapped its pact with Hugh Jackman's company, which recently produced "Viva Laughlin."

Among the departed at 20th: Jonathan Lisco, whose fall drama "K-Ville" was canceled by Fox, and the team of Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts ("Pepper Dennis"). They're staffers on a show that will return, "Women's Murder Club," but will no longer be developing new projects for the studio. Other scribes let go include Larry Kaplow ("K-Ville") and Paul Redford ("Journeyman").

Studios issued statements Monday blaming the cuts on the strike. �Production companies in the entertainment industry continue to feel the impact of the ongoing writers strike,� CBS Par said. �As a result of this change in development and production activity, we have made a difficult decision to discontinue �overall deals� with a number of writers and producers whose talents we greatly value and respect.�

UMS also praised its writers and producers, but said that �the duration of the WGA strike has significantly affected our ongoing business.

Regretfully, due to these changed business circumstances, we've had to end some writer/producer deals. We wish these colleagues the very best and thank them for their contributions."

WBTV was more succinct: �As an unfortunate but direct consequence of the strike, we have been forced to release some of the valued members of our roster from their development deals.�

Rumor Patrol: Secret Society of Super Screenwriters!

RUMOR: A group of "A-list" writers is holding a meeting this weekend to formulate strategy on how to "force" the WGA to accept whatever deal the DGA signs with the AMPTP.
STATUS: Confusion reigns!

United Hollywood has been in touch with both WGA insiders and Nikki Finke today regarding the truth here. Some UH contributors are now convinced that the group is very real, numbers approximately thirty and is indeed comprised of "writers you have heard of." But independently, Craig Mazin is reporting that the whole thing is a hoax.

The rumor fog will probably lift on this soon, but until then, here is my take: There is nothing wrong with members questioning the state of negotiations. The WGA is a rowdy, fractious democratic organization. As Michael Seitzman wrote in his post about fi-core, "dissent is not disunity." What is disappointing is that any group of dissenters, lowly or powerful, would choose to work in secret. Likely, they would choose to do so to avoid getting attacked as disloyal. But having convictions isn't worth much if you can't make yourself stand up and defend them.

So, to the Secret Society of Super Screenwriters, I say, fear no evil nor angry colleagues. If you exist, contact us and we'll work with you to post something on UH about your feelings on the state of negotiations.

Yes, some people will call you crazy. But if you're a screenwriter, no matter how A-list, it won't be the first time.

Leno NOT Given a Pass to Write Monologues

Deadline Hollywood Daily has put up a story that Jay Leno has been given a special dispensation by the WGA, or "pass," to write his monologues for his show.

It's not true.

We've spoken to our WGA sources, and here's what we have: The Guild talked on the phone with Jay today. They discussed the strike rules and how they apply to him. As a WGA member, he can't write anything, including monologues.

Jay is a strong supporter of the Guild and writers, but at the same time he has a show to put on and wanted to see if there wasn't some way he could write his monologues as a "host." The Guild told him, diplomatically, respectfully but directly, that there is not.

Jay, like so many writers, is trapped between a rock and a hard place on this. NBC has put him in a horrible position.

There is no "pass" or special dispensation. The part of DHD's story that is absolutely true is that no one wants a war between writers -- except, obviously, the media congloms.

There's NOTHING that NBC would like more than to see us all start fighting among ourselves over Leno, over Letterman, over anything. They want us distracted and squabbling, so we end up fighting with each other, and lose sight of the real issues here. I'm going to say this over and over, because it bears repeating:

IT'S ABOUT GETTING A FAIR DEAL.

All writers' beef should be with NBC, not Jay. His beef is with NBC, not other writers. We're all fighting against giant, monster corporations, and we're going to argue internally about the best way to do that. It's unavoidable. But we can't let it blow up into something that keeps us from seeing the bigger picture.

If writers lose sight of that, the media corporations win.

Jay will go on and say whatever he decides to say tonight. He's a fellow writer, and I hope he continues to support the Guild and all of us. If he does, that's wonderful, and if he makes a different choice, we'll survive and keep fighting.

Whatever happens, our focus can't waver: It's about getting a fair deal.
Now is the time to stay calm, stay strong, and, oh yeah -- don't believe everything you read.

Here's the official statement from the WGA:

LOS ANGELES � The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued the following statement regarding Contract 2007 negotiations:

�A discussion took place today between Jay Leno and the Writers Guild to clarify to him that writing for The Tonight Show constitutes a violation of the Guilds� strike rules.�

For more information about the Writers Guild of America, West, please visit www.wga.org. For more information about the Writers Guild of America, East, please visit: www.wgaeast.org.

The DGA Weighs In

Today, we received some solid information regarding the timetable the DGA is setting for its talks. Michael Apted, president of the DGA, and Gil Cates, their NegCom chair, issued a statement:

"Because we want to give the WGA and the AMPTP more time to return to the negotiating table to conclude an agreement, the DGA will not schedule our negotiations to begin until after the New Year, and then, only if an appropriate basis for negotiations can be established."

The rest of their statement is strongly worded and reflects the same frustration the WGA and the rest of Hollywood is feeling right now. The WGA wants a fair and reasonable deal. The DGA wants a fair and reasonable deal.

And the AMPTP? All they're doing is mocking the WGA's attempt to resume negotiations by calling the guild's appeal to the NLRB "pounding the table."

Report: AMPTP Planning to "Sucker Punch" Writers?

Uh oh. Never trust the smile of a crocodile?

Alex Ben Block of Hollywood Today reports that the AMPTP's public gestures of reconciliation may mask a plan to derail negotiations and cancel Christmas.

There are signs the writers unity is working � reports of dissention among the ranks of the AMPTP�s key members; a softer stance by management in PR and negotiations in the past few days; and comments suggesting that management proposals are flexible.

However, what I am hearing is that this could be another sucker punch for the writers, who think they have finally broken though into a new level of negotiations where the two sides talk things over instead of talking at each other.
...
In its public utterances, the AMPTP continues to use its indoor voice, no doubt fine tuned by a new PR team.
...
Management has laid back so far but their hatred for the WGA proposal will bubble to the surface, and will be an obstacle to any deal. There were signs of progress and real hope that a deal could be done before Christmas earlier this week, but don�t get out the tinsel too quickly.
...
So seething moguls are waiting to spring their surprise on the writers, and knock them back down to earth; and when the inevitable happens, there will be little left to cheer this holiday season.

I'd like to remind the AMPTP that the Grinch's heart eventually grows two sizes, and he's considered a pretty okay guy after that. You have the means to do the right thing, but do you have the will? You've put yourselves out on a limb with calm and rational words, now let's see the actions to match. Let's get this done by Christmas and get back to the business of leading our industry into the future. The alternative is not pretty.

Carlton Cuse Speaks Out in Letter to Members

The following letter was written by Carlton Cuse and sent today to members of the WGA. His candor and honesty are deeply appreciated by all of us here at UH. The AMPTP is counting on us becoming more divided as time goes on. But we believe the opposite will happen -- is happening, right now. We are staying strong.

To my fellow WGA Members,

I want to clear up any misunderstanding about where I stand.

On November 16 I, regretably, was quoted by a Wall Street Journal reporter saying I was going to perform some of my non-writing, post-production duties on episodes of LOST to protect the show for the fans. However, I'm sure to the delight of the AMPTP, my statement became the story and gave the false impression that there was disunity among showrunners over the issues of this negotiation.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Every showrunner I know, whether producing or not producing, stands in full support of the goals of our guild.

For the past two months I have been working seven days a week on these negotiations alongside my fellow negotiating committee members.

As a committee we did everything we could to get both parties back to the bargaining table this last week. We were fully prepared to enter into the kinds of back-and-forth discussions that are necessary to reach any sort of labor deal. I sincerely hoped this return to the table would lead to real progress.

I was wrong.

In fact, given the events of last Thursday -- and where things currently stand -- I can no longer in good conscience continue to work on my show in any capacity.

What I will be doing is continuing my work as a member of the committee for as long as it takes, contributing in any way I can, to get us the fair and just deal that we must have.

It's going to be an arduous fight.

But make no mistake -- we are united, we are resolute...

And we are indeed ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

Yours,

Carlton Cuse

Rumor Patrol: All the Showrunners Went Back to Work

STATUS: False.
Several people called and/or emailed under the assumption that because negotiations had resumed, all the showrunners were back on the job. I'm guessing the origin of this rumor was a post on Variety's Scribe Vibe blog from the 26th:

Many of TV's top showrunners headed back to the office this week, resuming their non-writing chores (such as editing, supervising post production, etc.). One studio exec said "more than half" of his series' showrunners were back at work, both on the comedy and drama side.
Fueling the return: The revived talks between the Writers' Guild and AMPTP. That follows through on an arrangement proposed by many showrunners earlier this month, in which the multi-hyphenates agreed to return to work only if the studios agreed to return to the negotiating table.

Multiple sources told UH yesterday that this is a delicious cocktail of spin, one part exaggeration mixed with two parts incorrect information. (Just add some sour mix and a dash of bitters!)

Anonymous sources close to the situation (what works for Variety works for us) laughed off the "about half" figure for one network. Across ALL the networks, one source said the number was in the single digits -- as in, under ten. It's certainly nowhere near half, we're told.

So that's the exaggeration. The incorrect parts are these:

1. The AMPTP's return to the table was the criteria for showrunners to return: False.
Our multiple sources say the proposal was actually to return to work if the AMPTP "began negotiating in good faith." Simply returning to the table was not the threshold being considered. The threshold was some evidence such as a joint announcement that "an agreement in principle" or even "a tentative agreement" had been reached. That was to be the signal that genuine progress was happening and that the companies were serious about making a deal.

2. Some kind of arrangement to go back was actually adopted by the showrunners as a group: False.
Apparently, the backers of this proposal were a "very small faction" of the showrunners. The group at large did not think it was a wise strategy, and so the idea was never declared "the official policy of the group." It was left up to individual consciences when to return.

As best we can determine, the few showrunners who have returned do not even constitute the entire group that proposed holding out for the evidence of "good faith." It's a subset of a subset.

So speaking of "good faith" -- and bad faith -- why would an anonymous exec want to spin Variety this way?

One possible reason is the hope that the spin could be self-fulfilling. If you keep repeating that all the showrunners are working, a bunch of them just might get spooked and go back. The other strategic reason is to split the showrunners and have them turn on one another. What no one on either side of the strike disputes is this section of that same Variety post:

The united front by TV's showrunners to halt their work forced several series to stop production sooner than expected, and is seen by many as having helped the WGA's cause -- serving as a catalyst to jumpstart talks.

So it would be a huge coup for the conglomerates if they could break up that unity. Thankfully, we've been told that the showrunners are respecting each other's choices, even if they disagree with them. "The showrunners are all doing what they think is best to end the strike. And a small group believe that going back to work is going to help; a larger group feels that since staying out was such a powerful tool in bringing the congloms back to the table, it�s best to continue staying out."

Due to the news blackout, we have no idea if the companies are negotiating in good faith. And we won't know until there is some sort of joint announcement of "agreements in principle." Once that happens, some showrunners may go back to work, a lot won't. But the longer it takes for that moment to arrive, the more inclined we are to believe the reports from Nikki Finke that there's a lot of corporate foot-dragging going on.

Walking the Picket Line in a Blackout

Something's very different on the picket line.

Since Thanksgiving, the energy on the picket lines has fallen off. One picketer was even seen reading a book while he walked the picket line.

It seems like only yesterday that we were chanting to stop trucks from crossing the picket line or "2-4-6-8, Why won't they negotiate." The turnout and the energy paid off. The AMPTP rejoined us at the negotiating table and that was great.

But now....we wait....in a news blackout.

Getting the agreement to restart the negotiations felt climactic, because so much energy had to be expended to get the AMPTP to do the right thing, but "restarting" the talks didn't mean "concluding" them.

Monday Nikki Finke raised our hopes: a deal's been worked out. Tuesday she lowered our expectations: time at the table didn't mean moving forward.

Nikki, like everyone else, is trying to read the tea leaves. And we want something to happen. We'd like to think it's all been worked out; they're just withholding the good news so they can surprise us for the holidays.

On the picket lines, the dark stuff comes out.

"The AMPTP didn't want to restart the negotiations. Their bad polling numbers forced them to sit down again. They aren't really serious about the negotiations. All they're really doing is running out the clock, stalling until all the force majeure money drops into their pockets."

And that leads to the really dark stuff.

"The 'news blackout' and then the hopeful press about a deal's-already-done sucks off the good energy we had going before Thanksgiving. The AMPTP doesn't want us to get daily updates because then we'll see how they aren't willing to give us a fair deal. Flip it the other way: if we think we already have a deal--that's really Machiavellian--why fight when you think you've already won?"

A lot of tea leaf-reading.

But there's no question that we know a couple of things, for sure. We all want a deal, because we'd rather go back to work. But there isn't a deal yet. And, most importantly, we haven't won so we have to keep doing what we've been doing.

We're still in a fight. That's the only news flash we'll get in a news blackout.

So now what?

If you were picketing or blogging or posting videos on YouTube or talking with fans or working with other unions, you have to keep doing it--all that is part of the process, just as much as the work our negotiating committee does in rooms in unnamed hotels.

And they can't do their work if we don't do ours.

We need to be on the picket lines with as many people as possible, with as much energy as before, making it clear that the strike is important, that we know we're fighting for our future, that it's not over yet, that we'll do whatever we have to, and that "We Matter".

Blind Item: Please Hold for the Next Available Panicked Mogul

CARE TO GUESS?
Which of five networks is said to have been forced to hire extra people to handle all the calls flooding in from angry fans demanding a fair deal for writers? Our source says an assistant to the CEO of the network's parent company contacted a fan site that posted the CEO's phone number and pleaded, "What do I have to do to get you people to stop this?"

You see, when your business is keeping viewers and advertisers happy, there IS such a thing as bad publicity.

Rumor Patrol!

RUMOR: WGA members are starting to hire "freelance picketers" to do their strike duty.
STATUS: Unconfirmed

Universal strike captain Jan Kimbrough noticed this Craig's List posting on Day Four:

Reply to: gigs-473080663@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-11-08, 3:15PM PST

I can't make it to my picket tomorrow and I need somebody to take my place. I want to go see friends in San Diego while I have time off work, and I'll pay somebody $40 to cover my four-hour shift. My strike "captain" doesn't care as long as there are people out there. I'll give you my shirt and signs and all that crap.

If this works out on Friday then let's do it next week too. I'd really rather not have to deal with it.

I'll disclose studio and show once we've set a deal. Let's talk.

We emailed gigs-473080663@craigslist.org to take him up on his offer. Hey, $40 right? Maybe gigs-473080663@craigslist.org is even at my gate at Disney: I could make $40 to do what I was going to do anyway! But so far, no response. At this point, we have no proof of gigs-473080663@craigslist.org's WGA membership.

Perhaps gigs-473080663@craigslist.org has a congenital condition that compels him to spend his Fridays at a world-class zoo. He'd call in sick, but that crosses a stark moral boundary.

But wait: There was no picketing on Friday the 9th. That was the Fox rally. My friends, this could well be a "psych-ops" smear by the AMPTP to portray writers as pampered douchebags on a "glamor strike." (Attention AMPTP: Whatever you do, don't pay to send the In-N-Out truck to Disney's Riverside Drive gate at 1:30pm tomorrow. Oh, the damage that would do! If I get caught eating some animal-style goodness, the strike would be broken for sure. I beg you, don't!)

Scabbing Doesn't Pay (For Long)

A picketer at Prospect Studios sent in a disturbing report that some daytime dramas have already hired scabs.

"The scab writers work under fake names, work from home and use different email addresses so only the EP knows the real identities of the scabs. These tend to be experienced soap writers who aren't currently on a show. They are then promised employment after the strike is over. While they're scabbing, they get paid less than union writers. The networks see this as cheaper than shutting down production, as a soap has an enormous amount of cast, and paying out their contracts while they don't work makes this deal seem financially better."

Here's something for scabs to think about: As much as a producer might be upset at a writer for going on strike, consider what he or she must feel about you. At least a striking writer is taking a stand. The producer may disagree with that stand, but ultimately appreciates that the writer believes in it strongly enough to walk out at great personal risk. When the producer looks at you, he or she sees -- and this is a legal term -- a miserable opportunistic leech. Once the strike is settled, do you really think your producer wants you around, Scabby McScab? If nothing else, you're a reminder of The Troubles. You're like a tattoo with a typo obtained during a bachelorette party that took a bad turn after the Bacardi Breezers ran out. You will be removed.

You doubt me, Scabbington? Then let the screenwriters Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn scare you straight with their latest podcast. Right at the twenty-minute mark, they tell the mournful story of a scab from '88. SPOILER: His career and soul get murdered.