Gawker: Wga

Zooey Deschanel 'Excited' to Talk to Hundreds of Writers

Max Read — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:51:10 EST

Novelty ukulele tune Zooey Deschanel is "excited to host the WGA awards. It should be a lot of fun!" More »

Screenwriters Are All Nerds, Basically

Gabriel Snyder — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:21:26 EST

Think about the great things in Avatar and of course the script sticks out. [WGA] More »

No Screeners Probably Means No Screenplay Awards for Weinstein Movies

Pareene — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:15:51 EST

Did you write a movie for Weinstein Co., and would you like a Writers Guild of America award for doing so? Too bad: Weinstein's not sending WGA members any screeners. Sorry, Nine, Inglorious Basterds, The Road, and A Single Man. More »

WGA Still Weighing Their Jay Leno Scab-Flogging Options

Seth Abramovitch — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:00:24 EST

A number of notable talk show hosts made the controversial choice to cross picket lines and not grow out a strike beard during last year's WGA strike, Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres among them. More »

Jay Leno Faces Surprise Suspension Threat

Ryan Tate — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:05:03 EST

It's one thing for Jay Leno to be mocked endlessly by rival David Letterman for moving to an earlier timeslot. Far more insulting: Being branded a scab by his own union . More »

WGA Noms 'Burn' Charlie Kaufman and Jenny Lumet

Kyle Buchanan — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:30:46 EST

As shocked as we were by The Spirit being shut out of the Razzies, we're a little more surprised to see two of Hollywood's most high-profile writers snubbed in today's WGA nominations. More »

WGA Hopes You Won't Remember Who Directed 'The Dark Knight'

Kyle Buchanan — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:36:24 EST

When we received an awards consideration copy of The Dark Knight last week, there was clearly something missing — or, to be more accurate, censored with black felt-tip pen. More »

WGA Awards Recognize Every Half-Decent Show On TV With Its Own, Worthless Nomination

STV — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:42:26 EST

The Writers Guild unveiled its 2009 TV nominees this afternoon, revealing a radical shift in taste that rotated only one new drama and two new comedies into the year's Best Series nominations — all replacing old nominees that weren't on the air this year. Let's hear it for attrition! More »

Hottest Hollywood Scab Tyler Perry Gives In, Opens Studio to WGA

STV — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:30:24 EST

It took four fired writers, a Will Smith-defied picket line, an open letter from Tina Fey (among others), and an intervention by the NAACP, but we're happy to report that the impossible dream has finally landed at Tyler Perry Studios: The mogul is finally coming around to a deal with the WGA. More »

Unruly WGA Mob Protest 'Project Runway' Rodeo Drive Shoot

Seth Abramovitch — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:15:35 EDT

A Defamer operative going about his daily Rodeo Drive chores let us know about a standoff that went down this morning between the forces of good (underpaid and undervalued reality show writer-producers) and evil (Heidi Klum, and anything—sorry Tim Gunn fans!—Heidi Klum-adjacent). He writes: More »

WGA Issues Fatwa Against Cheapskate Producers of 'Osbournes' Variety Show

Seth Abramovitch — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:49:58 EDT

On the heels of the Tyler Perry's House of Payne labor controversy—in which WGA heads Patric Verrone and Michael Winship filed an angry grievance with the National Labor Relations Board, demanding restitution for "an abused writing staff forced to churn out sitcom dialogue with a pistol pressed to their temples by the world's wealthiest, union-busting grandma-with-a-dick,"—comes yet another fiery piece of rhetoric from the militant duo. This time, they target Fox's planned Osbourne family variety show, for which producer FremantleMedia is hoping they can get their snappy repartee wholesale. An excerpt from their letter: More »

Tyler Perry's How to Bust a Union and Bully Employees

ian spiegelman — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:09:56 EDT

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Writer/actor/director/producer Tyler Perry knows what's best for his writers. And what's best for them, apparently, is to churn out sitcom scripts without union protection or representation. The Writers' Guild of America West has filed a complaint against Perry's production company for unfair labor practices, claiming four writers on his TBS sitcom, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, were shitcanned for trying to join the union. More »

Hollywood writers seize the means of production — and, more importantly, distribution

Jackson West — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:40:00 EDT

A group of television and film writers got together during the Writer's Guild strike looking to put on a show, and now the project has evolved into Strike.TV, scheduled to launch next month on Independence Day. Professionally produced content wholly owned by the creators and distributed online? Crazy talk. [NewTeeVee] More »

Fi-Core 28 Mere Pawns In Bitter WGA-AMPTP Blood Feud

Seth Abramovitch — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:15:00 EDT

Last week ended with a jaw-dropping memo from the desks of Patric Verrone and Michael Winship, in which the WGA presidents stated their desire to see the "puny few" who elected financial core during the writers strike to be "held at arm's length" by the rest of the membership, adding, perhaps a tad indiscreetly, "and should the vats of boiling tar and freshly plucked chicken feathers sitting outside our office be of some use to you, so be it." Now, the 28 black-listees have found an unlikely ally in this ugly fracas, with arch WGA nemesis the AMPTP having filed a complaint today with the Natl. Labor Relations Board, in which they claim the letter violated federal law. More »

This Is Fi-Core: Presenting The WGA Blacklist

Seth Abramovitch — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:45:00 EDT

As Hollywood braces for the possibility of yet another work stoppage, this one by the actors' unions (as represented by their universally recognized symbol of a laughing hammer superimposed over a weeping sickle), the fallout from the last bitter labor war to hit our shores continues: In a "Letter from the Presidents" posted to the WGA's web site, Patric Verrone and Michael Winship point the end of a blood-soaked fountain pen at those members who chose to go "financial core," or fi-core as it's known in the hip-hop world, during the strike. (Recently employed by George Clooney in a tussle with the Guild over Leatherheads, it's as far as you can go towards cutting ties with the union while still being permitted to work on WGA projects.) More »

George Clooney Withdraws From WGA Over 'Leatherheads' Snub

nickm — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:10:37 EDT

Remember yesterday when we posted about how incorrigibly charming George Clooney is? Well, according to Variety, the WGA might not agree. After an arbitration hearing where the Guild failed to give Clooney a writing credit for Leatherheads, he decided to become a Financial Core member. That means he can't vote, run for office, or attend meetings, yet he still has to pay dues. But as Hollywood's most rakish bachelor explains,

"When your own union doesn't back what you've done, the only honorable thing to do is not participate."

Their Contract Now Official, WGA And AMPTP Reps Are Free To Engage In Shameless PDAs

Seth Abramovitch — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:53:30 EST

We must say, when we envisioned a scenario in which AMPTP president and chief negotiator Nick Counter took WGAw president Patric Verrone into his strong yet tender embrace on the balcony of the famed Warner Bros. water tower, and kissed his striketime adversary truly, madly, deeply on the lips to the exuberant cheers of thousands of working writers and execs below, it was pure fantasy. More »

Here's a list of when your TV shows are coming back

Ryan Tate — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 04:05:35 EST

30 Rock back April 10 with five episodes! 24 can't torture anyone until January 2009!! [EW] More »

Tina Fey Welcomes You Back To Glorious Scripted Television

Ryan Tate — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:11:28 EST

The writers strike is truly, finally, mercifully over. Here's what it means to you, the crazed television junkie hustling madly for your next fix: Writers come back right away for Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Tina Fey hustles Saturday Night Live back on the air Feb. 23rd as host while her show 30 Rock may or may not get five episodes out before the end of the season, depending on Alec Baldwin's availability. Scripted shows that will return at all this season will come back roughly between mid-March and mid-April, including CSI, Desperate Housewives, Two and a Half Men, the Office, Grey's Anatomy and House. Heroes probably returns in the fall, torture-fest 24 not until next year. The point is, start clearing space on your TiVo yesterday. After the jump, union booster Fey's 30 Rock character takes in a lesson in hardball negotiation tactics — for managers — in an episode the WGA probably did not watch closely enough. More »

Writers Strike Still Not Actually Over

Pareene — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:29:43 EST

The Writers Guild of America strike that has crippled our nation's entertainment industry these last few months will end today, once striking writers vote to approve the deal hammered out last weekend by their management and the producers' guild. Wouldn't it be funny if they rejected it, though? We're finally getting to the zero hour where the strike might affect films in production, not just crappy TV shows! This is their chance to wipe Hollywood off the face of the Earth! But they probably won't, because they all miss getting paid. In today's Times, David Carr asks, "who won"? Short answer: the writers! Truthful answer? Enjoy receiving internet residuals three years after the pilot you were unable to shop didn't get picked up, guys! (Of course, the strike cannot officially end until Bruce Vilanch sings.) [NYT] NB: Copy-editors strike continues! More »

The Strike May Be Over, But The Struggle Never Ends

Mark — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:11:22 EST

The Strike Is Over! On Wednesday! Let There Be Rejoicing! But Not Too Much!

Mark — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:35:25 EST

With word arriving over the weekend that Saturday night's WGA Scribeapalooza II: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off event at the Shrine Auditorium sent TV showrunners back to work today and will return everyone else to their jobs on Wednesday pending the outcome of a strike-ending vote to be counted tomorrow night, Hollywood can safely upgrade its feelings of Cautious Optimism to full-blown This Waking Three-Month Nightmare Is Finally Over Euphoria. More »

Writers Strike End Talking Points: Everyone Lost

Pareene — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:34:50 EST

The writers strike is all but over after three long months, and following today's voting, writers are expected to get back to work by Wednesday. The strike cost Guild members about $270 million, and there will be a bloody and bitter renegotiation in three years. In the meantime, writers receive a flat fee for work that appears on the internets, and after three years "that fee becomes 2% of some of revenue the studios receive." And studios are very good at pretending they don't make any money on the internets. On the plus side, now the actors probably won't strike. And that would've actually shut down Hollywood. More »

Breaking! Writers And Producers Reach Tentative Agreement, Spelling Imminent End To Long National Nightmare

Mark Graham — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 08:43:07 EST

While most of you were either out tying one on or at home sleeping one off, WGA presidents Patric Verrone (West) and Michael Winship (East) were pounding Red Bulls and firing off a 3am email to their membership announcing that a tentative deal has been reached with the AMPTP. According to the email, the deal "protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery." Huzzah! All of the deal points can be found in handy PDF format here; the email sent to guild members follows after the jump. More »

Desperate Academy Begs WGA For Oscar Answers

Mark — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:28:17 EST

· Anxious that the Oscars are approaching and he still has no real idea of whether or the WGA—obviously a little preoccupied with their own issues—intends to grant a waiver for their awards ceremony, Academy president Sid Ganis begs the Guild for answers so that complicated logistical issues can be resolved. "We're running out time! [desperate punctuation ours]," wails Ganis, pleading for the sweet release of either a simple "yes" or "no." [Variety] More »

Cautious OptimismWatch, Day 2: WGA Trying Not To Get Excited Until A Contract Is In Hand

Mark — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:45:15 EST

On this second day of the New Era of Cautious Optimism ushered in by Friday's "informal" bargaining session between Writers Guild negotiators and studio CEOs—when WGA West president Patric Verrone's repeated striking of Disney's Bob Iger with a foam EncounterBat™ led to a critical, tearful breakthrough on the matter of streaming video payments— the LAT reports that the Guild's West Coast board has "reacted favorably to the outlines of a pending agreement" between the warring factions. Still, they refuse to uncork the Moët until everything they've fought for is actually in contract form and put to a vote that could—dare we say it? yes, we will dare—happen as early as this weekend: More »

The Strike Is Over! Or Over In A Week! Or Everyone's Being Set Up For Another Crushing Letdown!

Mark — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:45:52 EST

In case you were too consumed with your Super Bowl preparations to scroll through the scores of "THE STRIKE IS OVER!!!" e-mails filling up your BlackBerry, various reports touting "progress" fueled by a breakthrough in Friday's informal deal-chat surfaced over the weekend, filling Hollywood with the kind of cautious optimism the beaten-down residents of a crippled company town haven't allowed themselves to feel since the AMPTP's Nick Counter stormed away from negotiations after claiming that someone on the WGA negotiating team had given him "the stink-eye" back in early December, ushering in weeks of unrelenting gloom. More »

'Moment Of Truth' To Gently Scandalize America 13 More Times

Mark — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:51:11 EST

· After two high-rated (but Idol-boosted) episodes of The Moment of Truth, Fox picks up 13 more episodes of their lie-detecting semi-sensation. Evil mastermind Mike Darnell renews his promise to fix the show's pacing problems, and claims that even though these first two episodes have largely failed to shock, they've still been effective enough to induce a number of planned contestants to drop out. [THR] More »

Lucky WGA Writer Tumbles Down Ukrainian Rabbit Hole, Discovers Scribe-Worshipping Wonderland

Mark — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:04:05 EST

Recognizing that striking writers could really use a positive story to lift their flagging spirits after enduring so many disheartening months of marching in circles and dodging the occasional vehicular manslaughter attempt by lead-footed studio employees, this week's LAT Scriptland column relates the inspiring tale of improbably named WGA member Billy Frolick, who, by accepting "a mysterious offer" to script a Ukranian animation project, suddenly found himself transported to a kind of Bizarro Hollywood where scribes were not only not regarded with typical scorn, but treated as royalty. We join our narrative in progress, as Frolick alights in Kiev to meet his new collaborators: More »

Hollywood Scab Alex Perez Returns To Save The Oscars

Mark — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:32:37 EST

It's been so long since last we heard from Hollywood superscab Alex Perez that we assumed his absence was due to a suffocating workload saving various productions from indefinite delays by quietly whipping deadline-rushed scripts into shootable form. Selflessly continuing to put the good of the industry ahead of his own professional well-being, Perez has finally returned, pitching his non-union services to desperate Academy producers. More »

Hungry, Striking Writers Offered Chance To Punch Up Taco Bell Sauce Packet Jokes

Mark — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:17:41 EST

Never afraid to be Hollywood-topical when they sense there's a chance to move some chalupas, the always-inventive Taco Bell marketing team has just issued a press release touting their latest promotion, an invitation to striking WGA members to submit the "words of wisdom" that adorn their hot sauce packets, generously offering a much needed outlet for the "untapped creativity" they're might otherwise misdirect towards projects like viral videos and boredom-inspired novels. More »

Putting A Sleepy Sundance To Bed

Mark — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:17:52 EST

· As a disappointing™ Sundance limps towards the finish line, buyers are proving immune to the charms of Big Name Stars like Robert DeNiro and Tom Hanks, whose films (What Just Happened and The Great Buck Howard) have "held all of the appeal of three-day-old fish." [Variety] More »

Awards-Crazy Oprah Declares Casey Affleck Her Favorite Oscar-Nominated Thing

Mark — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:15:33 EST

WGA, Producers Resume Talks

Pareene — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:58:22 EST

The AMPTP is having "informal discussions" with the WGA today. The losers: the people who actually, "secretly" write reality shows and, as always, the people who work in animation. Let the big dogs get their internet residuals! If the staffs of I Love New York and Dora the Explorer want benefits, they should work for real TV! [Yahoo] More »

WGA Takes Reality And Animation Off The Table, Won't Picket Grammys

Mark — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:44:46 EST

How about some quick, late-afternoon strike news to break up the unpleasantness of today's dominant, thoroughly depressing story? OK then! In an e-mail blast to members, WGA West/East presidents Patric Verrone and Michael Winship say that they're happy to join in informal talks with the AMPTP, and that they've decided to pull their reality and animation proposals off the table to help get a deal done. Also, the Guild won't be picketing the Grammys, one awards show we really wouldn't have missed if it gave its life for the Cause: "In order to make absolutely clear our commitment to bringing a speedy conclusion to negotiations, we have decided to withdraw our proposals on reality and animation. Our organizing efforts to achieve Guild representation in these genres for writers will continue. You will hear more about this in the next two weeks." The full message follows after the jump: More »

Fiscal Insanity Returns To Sundance With Rumored $10 Million 'Hamlet 2' Deal

Mark — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:30:20 EST

· NBC's Jeff Zucker has been strongly hinting that his network's upfront presentation to advertisers may be scaled back this year, if not eliminated entirely; in lieu of the customary "dog and pony show," Zucker may instead ask lieutenant Ben Silverman to show a 30-second clip of American Gladiators injuries to a ballroom full of media buyers, then circle the room with a burlap sack into which they can place the portion of their ad budgets they'd like to spend on the Peacock's new primetime schedule. [Variety] More »

Hollywood Reacts To The DGA Deal

Mark — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:50:00 EST

· The DGA, as you undoubtedly heard just moments after puffs of white smoke were belched skyward from the chimney of AMPTP headquarters, reached a deal with the studios yesterday. While anxious WGA members are picking over the proposed contract to see if any writer-screwing provisions have been hidden in the fine print, a strike-weary industry reacts: "One thing that is very clear is that with all the bad blood between the WGA and studios, the writers can strike until the end of time and they will not do better than the directors did. It is time to stop this," said a "veteran agent" obviously eager to start earning commissions again. Check out the full story to read quotes carefully chosen to make the WGA look totally unreasonable if they don't fall hopelessly in love with the terms offered the directors! [Variety] More »

Solidarity!

Pareene — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:38:54 EST

The strike is tough on striking writer Anna Fricke, as she reveals in a Times OpEd today. She's not even wearing pants! And she's watching the Food Network! And she can't even get drunk because she's pregnant. [NYT] More »

Directors Kill Writers Strike (Maybe)

Pareene — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:49:52 EST

The Directors Guild reached an agreement with the AMPTP, according to UPI and Variety. No details are available! But it might prove the end of the Writers Strike. The Directors presumably negotiated an internet residual deal with the Producers that will set a precedent that the writers will be more or less obligated to agree to. So everyone wins! Or loses! Who knows. Thank god we'll get some new House. Maybe he could've diagnosed Glenn Beck! It could've been Lupus! [UPI] More »

Breaking! Directors Reach Deal! (UPDATE)

Mark — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:55:00 EST

It's here! It's finally here! According to Var, the Directors Guild has reached the much-rumored deal with the AMPTP that's had Hollywood aching with uneasy anticipation since the formal start of negotiations over the weekend. No details are in yet; stay tuned to see if the terms offer hope that a similar agreement can be struck with the WGA, or whether the proposed contract is so disappointing that it will just drive a fresh wedge between striking writers and the studios, plunging the town even deeper into gut-wrenching despair. More »