Governator tries to end strike

The BBC (among others) is reporting that Arnold is working behind the scenes to put an end to the strike. This on top of rumors and reports of everyone from John Edwards to Bill Clinton offering to help and pretty much every politician in the game is getting their hands dirty in this.

"Below the Line" employees hurt first

A story on M&C pretty much lays out what the strike means from those who work in "below the line" work: an immediate loss of jobs. Those who work the jobs that are listed in the little box of the credits while you're seeing a promo are losing jobs as shows across Hollywood and elsewhere are shutting down. With no end in sight for the strike and the extreme cost of living in LA, there's going to be a lot of car payments missed if this strike continues. And remember for some of these people a car payment is a house payment, too. While the writers are getting a rough deal on this, these folks will probably get hit even worse.

Ellen under fire

Ellen DeGeneres is coming under fire for crossing picket lines, according to a report on several news stations and this story on WSYR. Ellen crossed picket lines to produce a new episode of her show, which many writers felt as an insult. While Letterman, Leno, O'Brien, Stewart and Colbert all declined to return to the air, DeGeneres is the first major cross of the line as far as comedian talk show hosts go. In the end, Ellen's move seems rather meaningless. If she continues to go with it should could pull the "only game in town" routine, but she may alienate more people that she gains by this move. Time will tell.

Some writers may be out of work after strike

The networks may be using the strike to end deals with producers they feel to be "non-productive", according to Hollywood Today. The very well written story explores the possibility that the producers may have planned this from the start and, while not completely convincing, it is interesting and worth reading.

Show runners get nasty letters

According to an article in the New York Times, CBS and Fox have sent out letters to show runners informing them of a breach of contract for not continuing thier producing work on the TV series. What it does NOT include are the possible consequences for not showing up. The article only mentions no pay, which I assume they expected. If, however, they could be fired for this offense, that would change the landscape of television as we know it

Eisner calls strike "stupid"

For some reason, Michael Eisner is still giving speeches. He addressed the WGA strike in his latest speech, calling the strike stupid, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Not unexpected for a former studio head... but here's the twist: he blames Apple. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots here. Eisner's exit from Disney was, in large part, due to his falling out with Pixar a company Apple head Steve Jobs founded. Eisner says that writers should "wait a few years" before asking for digital revenue. Maybe if they hadn't been screwed on home video sales by people like Eisner, they would have.

Some WGA members uneasy about Rule No. 8

A new story from Variety suggests that some WGA members may fall out of line--though not go back to work--Thursday. The WGA requires all writers to submit drafts of everything they were contracted to be working on for 'validation.' However, the networks could launch a lawsuit against the writers for handing over company property to the WGA. Most writers--and their lawyers--feel that the wrath of the WGA is better than lawsuits from the networks.

The most severe consequence would be expulsion--though if enough writers do it, it will likely be dealt with a slap on the wrist. Either way, the rule puts writers in an uncomfortable situation when they--well, are already pretty uncomfortable.