With an update for those watching the 14 week writers strike, affecting 10,000 workers.. it looks like it's finally over.. and they are hoping to have the writers back to work by Wednesday.
Hooray!!
According to E-Online with Kristin, she picked up on right away, there was something astir, as one of her networking contacts just lost his job, and he was a strike assistant. Also, James L. Brookes (from the Simpsons) told her,
"I think we're gonna be good. I think the strike is over."
And he was right.
On the East Coast side of things, they are saying that although the tentative agreement requires some adjusting, they really don't see how continuing the strike at this point is going to make a difference.
So, although there are loose ends, they reached a tentative agreement, on both sides of the coast.
Filmmaker Michael Moore reportedly was leaving the New York Meeting in great spirits, and said. "This is an historic moment for labor in this country," Moore said. "To have the writers union stand up like we did, not give back a single thing and make them give -- it was a really great moment."
On the West Coast, Patric Verrone, President of the WGA West Coast, announced to literally thousands of cheeing strikers, after the meeting at the Shrine Auditorium. "We have a deal". and he added. "More importantly, you have a deal." According to LA Times.
What everyone is worried about, is which shows will be cancelled. The suffering done to the industry is grave, there is a lot of talk about what is going to be done to fix it all up, and who will lose their jobs. The lists of shows to be salvaged will be coming out during the next few weeks.
On with the background story from yesterday..
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Looks like the Writers strike will be over this weekend.
Ohh they have been talking. The WGA and the Studios that is. With the writers digging in their heels, since last fall, as they are standing up for their rights, and all future rights for future writers, (atleast for the next three years) to receive residuals for online downloads of their work.
Television and Movie industry had been hit pretty hard since the strike, with shows being held up, and the Golden Globes Awards Ceremony being cancelled.
Shows like Desperate Housewives, House, NCIS will reportedly be on the top of the priority list when it comes to saving shows, as the delays are starting to cost an extra $200,000 a show. Other shows are going to suffer, and rumor has it that shows like, Cane and Bionic Woman are at risk of cancellation. They say movies have such a long production shelf life, that they aren't as affected as television.
Two high profile productions, the Da Vinci Code prequel Angels and Demons and Johnny Depp's Shantaram, could be up and running quickly.
If the deal goes through on Sunday, the WGA's board could approve the contract on and they want them back to work the next day.
But industry journal Variety said there was some concern from guild members about the potential deal.
"I'm going to hear what they have to say on Saturday before I decide," striking writer Jim Kouf told the publication.
Striking writers hope for deal, and one of them was quoted by LA Times to say.
"I do not want us to prematurely accept a bad contract, after everything we've been through."
It will take two months to clean up the mess, if they reach an agreement this weekend. There is a whole process they need to go through.
The Guild leaders would put the contract to thousands of members at two meetings in Los Angeles and New York. Any deal would have to be approved by a majority of the guild's active members, which number more than 10,000. If agreement is reached, studio executives said it would take about two months for new programmes to emerge.
Check back later.. and we'll see what the verdict is on your favorite show.
Peace and Love
Written by: Sacreeta
