<![CDATA[Gawker: scabs]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: scabs]]> http://gawker.com/tag/scabs http://gawker.com/tag/scabs <![CDATA[Leno's Self-Penned Monologue Broke Strike Rules]]> Last night, America's late night talk show hosts went to back to work. Letterman and the Scottish Guy had their writing staff, as Letterman's production company worked out a deal with the WGA. Leno and Conan, stuck with the less liberal negatiators of NBC, were unable to work out a deal and went on writer-less. Conan filled the time with close-ups of his strike beard and a thrilling segment in which he spun his wedding ring on his desk for 36 seconds. Leno, though, delivered a monologue that was more or less indistinguishable in its bland hackiness from any other Tonight Show monologue of the last dozen years. Because, as he admitted part-way through, he wrote it himself. In advance. In specific violation of WGA rules! (Leno—like Letterman, like Conan, and unlike Kimmel Carson Daly [whoops]—is a WGA member.) We caught this when we flipped over to Leno for a sec during Letterman's punchier, Made In America By Union Labor monologue, and Nikki Finke confirms its odd interpretation of WGA guidelines. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=339966&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Late-Night Scabs Fold!]]> rollingstone.jpg Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, both members of the striking Writers Guild, will go back on the air January 7. In a statement yesterday, Comedy Central said they were still hoping for a "swift resolution to the current stalemate that will enable the shows to be complete again." The implication is that Stewart and Colbert are reluctant to go back to work—so why the hell are they? Other late-night hosts like David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Carson Daly (okay, in his case, "late-night host"), are also heading back to the airwaves. [NYTimes]

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=336660&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Scabby TV Writers Outed By Fake Craigslist Ad!]]> Matt Elzweig, the New York Press reporter who recently took Deborah Solomon to task for unsavory journalistic methods, placed a fake ad on Craigslist in which he posed as a network executive seeking non-WGA humor writers to work on a weekly series during the strike. The Press rationalized the experiment, which received more than 80 responses, by agreeing amongst themselves that the ad "reeked of bogus intent." "We wanted to meet the scabs," Elzweig explains. Ha! That's exactly the same logic vice squad cops use right before their cases are dismissed. "We wanted to meet the scabs!"

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=322741&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ Now that the studios and networks have an...]]> Now that the studios and networks have an official start date for the strike, executives looking to beat the scab-staffing rush can get a jump-start on their creative needs by hitting Craigslist, online home to the town's most eager, brightest nonunion talent: Scab for Hire Email me Monday when you're employees walk out. I have a degree in Journalism and Philosophy. I work super cheap as my experience is low. I'll write/re-write anything, for art's sake or money's. [Craigslist]

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=318461&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[WGA Gives Up Reality TV For Now, Studios To Explore Nonunion Staffing Options]]>
Perhaps realizing that local supermodel hopefuls like the ones who've previously supplemented the WGA's organizing efforts will be far too busy taking jobs on the 25 model-search-related shows the networks will rush into production in the event of a writers' strike to once again work the picket line, the Guild will no longer pursue jurisdiction over reality TV programming when negotiations resume on Thursday, according to a report in Variety. Emboldened by this concession, the studios will attempt to shake the Guild's resolve by unveiling a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating the ready availability of cheap, nonunion labor they can employ during a walkout, centered around the video samples posted to the promotional website of their first post-strike hire, Alex Perez:

Welcome film industry!

Allow me introduce you to the newest member of your writing staff...me!

I have long believed that good things come to those who wait for the right situation to emerge. I have also long believed in aiding those in need during times of struggle and strife. That's why I want to team up with you, Hollywood, to help make 2008 the best year at the box office ever!

I'm Alex Perez, and while I may lack experience, I make up for it with a go-get-'um attitude that can't be matched. Let's be realistic, there's a chance a writers' strike might happen, and while nobody wants that to occur, we all need to start making the necessary plans in case it does. Thank you for your support and please think of me when hiring your screenwriter for the future.

Sincerely,

Alex Perez

A quick tour of Perez's video page reveals that the nonunion scribe ("scab" is such an ugly word, isn't it?) is a master of multiple genres, allowing him to step right in to punch up virtually any script that remains unpolished by the Oct. 31st deadline. And Perez's slick web presence seems to indicate that he's much better equipped to handle all the work soon coming his way than predecessor George "Scab Writer" Ellis, who prematurely started hawking his strike-breaking wares on MySpace back in May, but who has since disappeared from the site without a trace.

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