News on the Strike that could Cripple Hollywood

Friday 9th November

Five days into the first writers strike in 20 years, the 3,500 protesters who turned out this morning for a massive rally outside 20th Century Fox studios said they were just getting started.

We're shutting down production and kicking corporate ass," declared WGA West President Patric Verrone at the top of the 90-minute rally at Fox Plaza which closed down Avenue of the Stars between Pico and Santa Monica boulevards.

Pressure may be mounting to get writers and the major studios back to the bargaining table -- leaders of the industry's top five talent agencies met with strike leaders at the Writers Guild of America's office and there are growing calls for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to intervene -- but many strikers today insisted that they had nothing to lose and everything to gain by staying out as long as it takes.

Steven E. de Souza, who wrote "Die Hard," stood in front of the building on Avenue of the Stars where that blockbuster was shot and where Bruce Willis' famous jumping scene unfolded. "This strike is far more organized; there is more solid support from unions and the public," he said, adding that he wanted to send a message to the governor, who coincidentally starred in another movie de Souza wrote, 1985's "Commando."

Pretending that he was knocking on the governor's trailer, he said: "Fifteen minutes, Mr. Schwarzenegger. We need you on the set."

The impasse between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers centers on DVD residuals and payment for Internet content. Many writers feel that if they don't forge an equitable deal now, it will be too late.

Despite the inflamed emotions, everything was under control, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, which provided the crowd estimate.
"It was a very cooperative crowd, they even cleaned up after themselves," said LAPD Det. Paul Bishop.

Meanwhile if you're looking for star power, the cast of "Grey's Anatomy" is solidly behind the strike. Sandra Oh explained that how the studios' refusal to pay residuals on content distributed on the Internet affects writers, and actors, and their support systems, down to "the people who feed us" while marchers chant "How greedy can they get, they won't even share the Net." And Ellen Pompeo was begging viewers to not "download shows from the Internet because the people who created them don't get paid."

In other Strike news, the Writers Guild of America, East issued a statement warning Ellen DeGeneres she is not welcome in NY and attacking her lack of support.

“Ellen DeGeneres went back on the air this week after honoring only one day of the writers strike. In anticipation of her plans to tape shows in New York City on Nov. 19 and 20, the Writers Guild of America, East, is extremely disappointed to see that Ellen has chosen not to stand with writers during the strike. Ellen's peers who host comedy/variety shows have chosen to support the writers and help them get a fair contract. Ellen has not. On her first show back, Ellen said she loves and supports her writers, but her actions prove otherwise.”

"Ellen has also been performing comedy on her show. Even if Ellen is writing those segments herself, since those segments would normally be written by the writers on strike, she's performing "struck work." Ellen is violating the strike rules that were clearly explained to all of the comedy/variety shows.

"We certainly intend to let Ellen know our dissatisfaction in person if she decides to proceed with the shows she has scheduled in New York on Nov. 19 and 20. We will also make our voices heard the preceding week if she tries to pre-tape comedy segments on location.

"We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn't even stand by writers for more than one day -- writers who have helped make her extremely successful.

"The writers did not cause this strike....We ask Ellen to cease doing shows immediately. She should stand by all writers and help us bring this strike to a quick conclusion. We owe that to the thousands of people who are caught in the middle.


*Sources; Writers Guild of America West – Press Room, Writers Guild of America East – Press Room, La Times

One Step Closer to Museum of Motion Pictures

9th November 2007

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Academy Museum of Motion Pictures moved one step closer to reality with the announcement today that French architecture firm Atelier Christian de Portzamparc will design the project.

Awarded the Pritzker Prize -- architecture's version of the Oscar -- 13 years ago, De Portzamparc has designed the Cité de la Musique and Café Beauborg in Paris, as well as the French Embassy in Berlin and the LVMH Tower in New York City.

The academy's board of governors approved the selection based on the recommendations of an architecture subcommittee whose members include Steven Spielberg, Curtis Hanson, producer Kathleen Kennedy and production designer Jeannine Oppewall.

It would be the world's largest and most ambitious museum dedicated to the history of film and the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says.

"We did it!" said academy President Sid Ganis. "At least we did this part of it. We have been moving on this for four years now, and we have been inching toward the dream. Now we took a big leap toward the dream."

Ganis sad he saw the museum becoming a major tourist attraction in Los Angeles, which has seen some notable buildings built in recent decades, including the Getty Centre and Disney Hall to house the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

As for now, there are no formal plans designed for the museum campus, which will span 3.24-hectare in the heart of Hollywood, several buildings and open space areas and will be located next to the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood, between Vine Street and Cahuenga Boulevard, and De Longpre and Fountain avenues.

Fundraising for the project begins next year. "It's a big chunk of dough," said Ganis, who declined to reveal actually how big a chunk. "It's an extremely ambitious undertaking."

Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2009; Ganis hopes the ribbon will be cut in 2012. "It's what the academy should be doing -- show the world what the art of film has been, what film is about, what the academy is about and how film has influenced us culturally."


Sources; Academy of Motion Pictures and Arts - Press Release, La Times,

Hollywood Strike Heats Up

8th November 2007

Three days in, the writers strike is hitting television hard as schedules are being juggled, overall deals suspended, production on series shut down and layoffs kick in.

There was no sign of back-channel talks between studio chiefs and union leaders being renewed, stoking fears that Hollywood's first major labor strike in 20 years could be a prolonged one.

The WGA's three-year contract expired last Thursday. Negotiations collapsed on Sunday night as the two sides' failed to reach a deal on writers' demands for a greater share of revenues from the Internet, widely seen as the future distribution channel for most entertainment.

Dozens of scripted weekly series — comedies and dramas representing the bulk of major networks' prime-time schedules — will essentially be forced out of production "in the next three to four weeks," said Marc Cherry, creator and executive producer of the ABC hit Desperate Housewives.

As production ceased on such TV shows as the CBS hit Two and a Half Men and the Fox network's new Kelsey Grammer comedy, Back to You, hundreds of crew members and cast from those series began receiving layoff notices.

Some have enough new episodes produced in advance to last a few more weeks without repeats, leaving viewers largely unaware of the strike fallout for the time being.
Fox on Wednesday became the first broadcast network to announce a strike-affected midseason schedule minus its signature drama "24."

Faced with the possibility of a partial season 7 of “24,” Fox has opted not to air the real-time drama at all this season.

"It's not a decision we wanted to make, but it's one based on how we feel the viewers expect us to schedule the show," said Preston Beckman, Fox's scheduling chief.

The decision to act quickly so early in the strike also was prompted by the large amounts of marketing money associated with the premieres of new series and the annual launch of "24." The network began airing promos for the upcoming season of "24" during the World Series and on a big screen in Times Square.

"Had we delayed executing and implementing a strike schedule, it could've cost us a lot of money," Beckman said.

Still, network brass are hoping to go back to their original midseason plans if the strike ends soon.

"This is a schedule that will be modified if and when there is a settlement," Beckman said.

NBC is expected to announce its revised midseason schedule shortly, while CBS and ABC are still working on theirs.

*Sources; Hollywood Reporter, Variety

Oprah devastated by Abuse Claims

7th November 2007

At a press conference Monday, Oprah said that she wept upon learning of allegations that a dorm parent at her school for girls had committed indecent assault on several pupils. Though she is not responsible for hiring at the school, Winfrey said the screening process was not sufficient and "the buck always stops with me."

The daytime queen profusely apologized to the parents of students at her all-girls Leadership Academy in South Africa for a sex-abuse scandal that resulted in the dismissal of one of its dormitory matrons.

The accused dorm parent, 27-year-old Tiny Virginia Makopo, faces 13 charges of indecent assault, assault and criminal injury. She was freed Monday on $450 bail.

"I've disappointed you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," a tearful Winfrey told angry families who showed up for an emergency meeting at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls

Allegations surfaced two weeks ago that a "dorm parent" had been accused of fondling a girl and physically and verbally abusing several others, including grabbing them about the neck, beating them and hurling them against a wall.

A father of one of the students tried to allay Winfrey's guilt.
"We don't blame you," he was quoted as saying. "You have more passion for the school and its existence than anyone else in this country, including us parents."
Winfrey, described as visibly distressed, promised the parents that those found to have committed wrongdoing would be punished.

Winfrey also gave the students, whom she referred to as her "daughters," their own mobile phones and her personal telephone number and email address in the U.S. so
they could get in touch with her at any time.

The $46 million Leadership Academy, which aims to provide impoverished South African girls with a high quality education, opened its doors in January to much fanfare.

*Sources; South Africa's news.24.com, Oprah.com,

SAW IV

25th October 2007

Terror is back today with the latest installment of one of Hollywood’s most successful horror franchises, Saw released in cinemas nationwide.

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grizzly remains and piecing together the puzzle.

However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.

The “Saw” movies are among the bloodiest on silver screens. Jigsaw, the key character is a terminally ill cancer patient with a strong moral compass who abducts people of questionable values. He then keeps them confined in such a way that if they try to escape, they are injured or maimed.

The movies’ twisting plots and torture traps have made them major hits among horror fans. The three “Saw” films have raked in $415 million at global box offices since 2004’s original.

In the United States, the film sends an important message to fans with the “Give ‘til it hurts” campaign. The Lionsgate film studio has in the past launched a blood drive to promote the film and boost blood donations.

Tim Palen and Sarah Greenberg, co-presidents of marketing for Lionsgate films, said the initial drive was a publicity stunt, and while the campaign still serves to promote the film, it also has been transformed into a serious effort.

The first drive raised 4,200 pints and in three years a total of 38,000 pints have been collected. “(Fans) now think it’s part of a ritual,” Palen said.

*Sources: Hoyts Distribution; Saw IV official site; MSNBC

Britney Blackout

October 23rd 2007

Former friends of Brittney are asking fans to boycott her new album, Blackout until she cleans up her act.

Organizers of the MySpace page “Be Proactive to help” say their message is simple “Don’t buy her stuff until she’s better”.

The group consists of those who used to work with Britney, a bodyguard, backup dancer, makeup artist and several old friends. Insisting they are not doing it for the 15 minutes of fame and have already turned down a multitude of interviews.

The new site, boasting the headline "Save the Popstar, Save the World," urges fans to contact Jive (her record company), MTV, her management team and her music publishing house.

"Let them know you'll buy her album, but not until she is clean and sober and realizes the amazing life she has created for herself...

"Let them know you'll be around to buy her music, her merchandise, when she sets a better example of how to be a performer...It is every employer's job to make sure their staff is doing their job to the best of their abilities."

The US pop star's eagerly anticipated new album will be released on October 30, Jive Records, citing internet leaks as the reason the date was moved up from November 13.

Jive said it "is doing everything possible to prevent and avoid any further illegal distribution of songs," including the leaking of "unfinished material and demos represented as completed legitimate songs" to the internet.

It has been four years since Spears last studio album, Toxic and Blackout has surprisingly received a positive response from music critics.

The sad details of her chaotic personal life have all but obliterated her success as a performer. But putting that aside lets not forget, she remains one of the biggest-selling female artists of all time, selling more than 83 million albums since her 1999 debut, "... Baby One More Time."

*Sources: LA Times; Be Proactive to Help; E! News Online; Photo: Jive Records

Hollywood Strike

22nd October 2007

Film and TV writers, actors and crew members are canceling vacations, working overtime and squirreling away savings while they still can.

Talent agencies, postproduction houses and equipment rental shops have drawn up plans to cut costs and payrolls while caterers and special-effects houses scramble to find jobs that reduce their dependence on the entertainment industry.
All over Hollywood, people are bracing for a strike.

If a new three year employment deal cannot be reached before the current one expires at midnight Wednesday, writers could walk out as early as Thursday. Little head way was gained on Friday, when both sides met at the Writer Guild of America West offices. After four hours they agreed to meet with a federal mediator.

There has not been a strike in 20 years, when in 1988 it lasted five months. Economists say this will be more painful as Hollywood is a more dominant force in the region today, with studios and networks part of media giants.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said "If it cost the industry $500 million in 1988, a slowdown of that length would have over a $1-billion impact today. I'm very concerned."

Production however, would not come to a halt. Writers for commercials, sports programs and reality TV would be free to work because they are not covered under the guild contract.

Filming on movies with finished screenplays would continue. Television programs with a stockpile of scripts would still be made. Networks appear to have enough shows to carry them through most of the fall TV season. However, some series could run dry as early as December.

The networks have been looking through their libraries for reruns and various unscripted programs such as game shows that they could use in the event of a prolonged strike.

The danger is that TV viewers, without their favorite shows, would turn to the Internet and other forms of entertainment that are increasingly grabbing younger audiences.


*Source: LA Times