The AMPTP just made this announcement. Talks begin tomorrow and I'm told this news reflects significant "progress." Indeed, DGA President Michael Apted told members in a letter today "We would not enter negotiations with the AMPTP unless we were within shouting distance of an agreement on our two most important issues: jurisdiction for our members to work in new media and appropriate compensation for the reuse of our work on the Internet and other new media platforms." But Apted also noted: "There are still hurdles to jump."

As a top insider in the negotiations just emailed me, "The process is fully functioning, and both sides are engaged with a keen eye on what's good for everyone (other guild members, community, etc)."It's common knowledge that the Directors Guild, whose contract expires in June, doesn't start formal negotiations until most of the big issues are ironed out ahead of time in months of early pre-sessions. And that's what happened over the past two weeks, including a secret meeting between News Corp No. 2 Peter Chernin and Walt Disney President Bob Iger about Internet issues with reps for the Directors Guild, including negotiations committee chair Gil Cates and executive director Jay Roth. (See my previous, EXCLUSIVE: DGA Met With Moguls Today.) Even hardliners among the moguls like Warner Bros boss Barry Meyer are widely known to be "very eager" to get a DGA deal quickly in order to lord it over the striking WGA. The big question still remains whether the deal which the DGA can reach with the studios and networks will be acceptable to the Writers Guild so the current scribe strike can end and possibly prevent a Screen Actors Guild come June:

LOS ANGELES - The Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers agreed today to enter into formal contract
negotiations.  Negotiations are scheduled to begin tomorrow, Saturday, January 12, 2008, and will be held at AMPTP headquarters in Encino, CA. The DGA and the AMPTP have agreed that neither organization will comment to the press regarding negotiations until negotiations have concluded.

Here is DGA President Michael Apted's letter about it to members:

I am writing to inform you that with the unanimous agreement of the Negotiations Committee and the recommendation of Negotiations Chairman Gil Cates, I have authorized the start of formal negotiations with the AMPTP and we will begin our first negotiations session tomorrow.

As I have stated before, we would not enter negotiations with the AMPTP unless we were within shouting distance of an agreement on our two most important issues: jurisdiction for our members to work in new media and appropriate compensation for the reuse of our work on the Internet and other new media platforms.

We've spent the last few months discussing these and related issues with the studios and we've been doing intensive research on these points for the past year and a half. Now we believe it is time to move forward with the goal to hammer out an agreement. I am very mindful of how many members are unemployed and believe that our reaching a deal will bring the industry closer to getting back to work.

There are still hurdles to jump. However, we would not be going forward unless we believed we could make a good deal.

As is our practice, once we enter negotiations tomorrow, there will be a total news blackout on the talks. As soon as there is anything definitive to report we will be in touch with the membership.

Sincerely,
Michael Apted

This is what NBC is just telling me. How confusing... I now have the whole backstory and will posting soon.

Weeks after my exclusive reporting about Paramount's behind-the-scenes executive suite shake-up (Paramount Now All Shook Up and Paramount To Promote John Lesher & Rob Moore), the studio has finally issued a formal news release:

PARAMOUNT REALIGNS TOP MANAGEMENT
                       
For Immediate Release - January 11, 2008 - Paramount Pictures today announced several promotions and changes in responsibilities among its top executives. 

Rob Moore, who had been president of worldwide marketing, distribution and home entertainment, has been named vice chairman of Paramount Pictures, underscoring the success he has had in managing the business, marketing and distribution activities of Paramount over the last two years.

John Lesher, who had been president of Paramount Vantage, has been promoted to president of Paramount Film Group, where he will have oversight responsibilities for creative affairs for Paramount Films, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies and Vantage.  He will also share responsibilities for theatrical business affairs with Mr. Moore for the above entities.

Messrs. Moore and Lesher will continue to report directly to Paramount Pictures Corporation Chairman and CEO Brad Grey. 

Brad Weston, who will report to Mr. Lesher, continues as Paramount Films’ president of production and expands his portfolio in his new capacity as deputy to Lesher to work with his team on MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies, which are now under the Paramount Films umbrella.   Scott Aversano, who had been president of the MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies, will transition to a production deal.

Messrs. Lesher and Weston have had a major impact in reinforcing Paramount’s position as a creative force.  Since joining Paramount, Mr. Lesher has reinvigorated the studio’s specialty division, for which he was responsible for creative, marketing, distribution and business affairs. During his tenure at Vantage, Mr. Lesher produced such critically acclaimed films as “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Babel,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Into The Wild,” and “No Country for Old Men.”  Mr. Weston, who has day-to-day responsibility for shepherding production and development at Paramount Pictures, has helped create a promising upcoming slate for the studio, including “Cloverfield,” “Love Guru,” and the latest installment in the Star Trek franchise.

“Along with our COO Frederick Huntsberry, Rob, John and Brad constitute the senior management team of Paramount Pictures,” said Mr. Grey. “These changes are meant to better reflect their increased roles within the company, recognize their complementary talents, and build upon each of their contributions to the studio.” 

Nick Meyer has been upped to president of Paramount Vantage. Prior to joining the division in 2006 as co-president, he served as president of Lionsgate International.

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands.  The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies and DreamWorks Studios.  PPC operations also include Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studios, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

I'm told there may be even some A-list actors helping the Hollywood Foreign Press Association hold its 30-minute press conference now open to all media since the Writers Guild has agreed to back off its threat to picket since NBC won't be involved. So what I reported yesterday has come to pass: NBC has decided not to air an exclusive newscast of the HFPA announcing the Golden Globe winners. Sources tell me that NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker was receiving "push back" from the network's news division over the blurring of the line between news and entertainment. "The news people were upset at being used to cover Zucker's mistakes," an insider explained to me. I just checked with the Writers Guild and received this exclusive statement: "We were pleased to give the HFPA assurances that we will not picket nor will we be opposed to a small number of talent helping to announce the winners. Because the HFPA has been honorable and respectful and honest with us, unlike many of the other parties involved in this situation."

The HFPA just issued this statement of confirmation:

Golden Globe Awards Press Conference Set for Sunday to Be Produced by Hollywood Foreign Press Association With No Media Restrictions: HOLLYWOOD, CA (January 11, 2008) -- After discussions with NBC, Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Jorge Camara today announced that the HFPA will have complete control of its 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards Announcement that is scheduled to take place Sunday, January 13 at 6:00 p.m. PST in the International Ballroom of The Beverly Hilton. Under the new arrangement, there will be no restrictions placed on media outlets covering the press conference.

And the WGA just issued this statement:

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced that instead of the usual televised three-hour gala on NBC, the HFPA will take complete control of its 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards Announcement and host a press conference open to all media to announce the winners of the Golden Globes. In light of this change to the program, the WGA gave the HFPA our assurances that there would be no picket of their press conference on Sunday.

I know how hard it is to conform to mainstream news organizations since I first made my career with them and now work in alternative journalism. So it doesn't surprise me that Sharon Waxman has announced to friends and readers from her blog that she has left The New York Times "to pursue a different path", probably on the Internet. Los Angeles-based Waxman covered Hollywood for The Washington Post before jumping to The New York Times. MORE

I don't mean to imply that the WGA have been angels, either. I just have fewer examples of their petty, mean-spirited and spiteful actions. For instance, there has been no WGA picketing of the moguls' homes. But I do think that someone from the leadership should have immediately removed one striker's picket sign which had News Corp No. 2 Peter Chernin's home address on it for all the world (and the crazies) to see outside Raleigh Studios on November 15th. See the photo of the sign at left. That was despicable.

Bratty Big Media Moguls Are Beginning To Exact Revenge On Pro-WGA Hollywooders

ABC's late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel guested on Jay Leno's The Tonight Show:

JAY: "Now we're both back without writers. How's it going for you? It is very hard. I miss my writers tremendously."

JIMMY: "It makes booking guests very difficult because people don't want to cross a picket line. Instead of movie stars, you get the cast from Celebrity Fat Club 5 on the show."

JAY: "But there is an advantage. You don't have to see a lot of stupid movies and pretend they're good."

JIMMY: "But you have to see stupid reality shows and pretend they're good."

Part III: SO WHAT'S THE REAL STORY? Kimmel Joined Leno Complaining To WGA

What an incredible list of petty, mean-spirited and just spiteful behavior the Hollywood CEOs are compiling for themselves. Really, they're never going to be able to explain away this stuff when the strike eventually ends and they're held accountable by everyone else. I've been confirming episode after episode of the AMPTP's giant multimedia members retaliating in every way possible against anyone in Hollywood helping the WGA's side in this strike dragging on and on. I'll keep updating as more instances come in to me (so keep refreshing for the latest):

-->The latest is that Disney/ABC has rescinded offers to pay for tickets for TV show executive producers going to the SAG awards -- just two days after sending them emails saying ABC would provide four tickets per show. The exec producers are often hyphenates who also belong to the WGA.

-->Disney/ABC has decided not to pay for hair and make-up and even cars for its stars going to the SAG awards, something the studios and networks always do, since the actors have aligned themselves with the WGA and the SAG show received a Writers Guild waiver while it's increasingly unlikely that the Oscars televised by ABC will. "Their reasoning is that they don't want to pay for SAG actors to get all dressed up only to bad-mouth the studio on the Red Carpet," a source told me. Oh, like that couldn't happen at the Academy Awards, too, although ABC wouldn't air it.

-->Harvey Weinstein received a number of phone calls from the moguls warning him "You shouldn't do it," and "We can get this done with the DGA," when word leaked out that he was making a side deal with the WGA to be able to hire striking writers.

-->NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker has tried to bump both NBC 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan and NBC Celebrity Apprentice star Donald Trump from the recent guest rosters of The Late Show with David Letterman whose parent company Worldwide Pants did a side deal with the WGA to hire striking writers. Zucker's network minions tried to convince both men not to appear on the show. But Zucker allowed late night rival Jimmy Kimmel to guest on Leno and Leno to guest on Kimmel.

-->Zucker earlier bullied striking NBC comedy writers from Saturday Night Live not to appear on Letterman's first Late Show back from strike hiatus and announce the Top 10. The scribes were ordered by NBC to leave the Ed Sullivan Theater right before the taping. By doing so, they couldn't collect their personal appearance pay. But NBC found out too late that writers for Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Law & Order did the bit and Zucker wanted the names of everyone who participated and worked at NBC.

-->Zucker refused to allow the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to hold an untelevised Golden Globes awards ceremony even though it would have been unpicketed by the WGA and the actors, directors, writers as well as Hollywood studios and networks who won could have been celebrated.

-->NBC Entertainment co-czar Ben Silverman on Monday told his new best friend Ryan Seacrest, before the Golden Globes awards show was officially scrapped that, "Sadly, it feels like the nerdiest, ugliest, meanest kids in the high school are trying to cancel the prom. But NBC wants to try to keep that prom alive." (Now there's a T-shirt for sale benefitting the WGA strike fund that reads, "Nerdy. Ugly. Mean. Proud of it. WGA.")

-->AMPTP staffers, consultants and members (especially corporate publicity departments) are busily posting comments on WGA-friendly websites and blogs that Hollywood visits regularly and filling them with hate-filled rants against the WGA leadership, the A-list actors, and the companies who've made WGA side deals. The goal is to turn off readers and drive traffic away and in the process spread pro-AMPTP propaganda and make it look as if the strike is breaking apart.  

-->News Corp. No. 2 Peter Chernin realized the AMPTP was losing the PR war and was most responsible for bringing in Fabiani and Lehane as the AMPTP's public affairs consultants since his company has a close relationship with them. Fabiani and Lehane were paid by News Corp. to orchestrate a 2004 campaign organizing advocacy groups by race and ethnicity to hammer Nielsen Media Research over its plans to modernize how it measures viewing habits.

--> Warner Bros Chairman Barry Meyer has handpicked the AMPTP paid mouthpieces who have spread the AMPTP's insults and disinformation about the WGA leadership. 

-->The other day, an AMPTP consultant tried to start a rumor that a WGA exec was connected to child pornography.

-->The AMPTP repeatedly lies that the WGA has "a $30 million PR fund" to spread public information about the strike when the reality is that the WGA's entire communications budget is several hundred thousand dollars.

MORE

Hollywood's Triple-A list actors have started becoming integrally involved in trying to solve the Writers Guild strike against the Hollywood CEOs. I've just been told that George Clooney today is volunteering to personally set up a so-called "mediation panel" including himself and with plans to ask Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and John Wells (the executive producer of ER and a controversial ex-WGA president) to be part of it, plus 3 or 4 bigwigs who are siding with the producers. The offer came in a phone call today with Harvey Weinstein who promptly volunteered to be part of the panel. Clooney suggested its purpose should be to oversee the talks and tell the WGA as each term is bargained "you have to live with this and get over it," and tell the AMPTP "you have to live with that and get over it", Weinstein quoted George as saying. It's also Clooney's idea that everybody would be locked in the room together and not leave until the deal is done. FRIDAY UPDATE: A Clooney insider tells me: "It would be more accurate to say that George has and would offer to help, including putting a group of people in a room that know both the CEOs and the writers personally. And that of course he would do anything to get this over. He didn't use any of the rhetoric that's being attributed to him [by Weinstein]. His stance has always been to find common ground and not alienate each other."

This follows a London interview by that other Triple-A lister Tom Hanks linking the fate of the upcoming Academy Awards to the studios' continued refusal to "get down to honest bargaining".  Both Clooney and Hanks are making it clear publicly that they're concerned about the writers strike's collateral damage. Hanks said corporate bosses should remember that many ancillary businesspeople were suffering from the studios and networks refusing to restart negotiations with the Writers Guild. "There are caterers and carpenters ... and electricians and gaffers," Hanks told Reuters in London Wednesday night. "There are a lot of people out there associated with the industry, for whom the sooner this work stoppage is over the better." And Clooney said much the same thing when he appeared onstage at Monday night's Critics Choice Awards (photo above): "When the strike happens, it's not just writers [affected]... Our hope is that all the players will lock themselves in a room and not come out until they finish. We want this to be done. That's the most important thing."

Now that Clooney and Hanks are at the head of the line, then Will Smith, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Julia Roberts and other AAA-listers may follow their lead. As I wrote way back on November 7th soon after the WGA strike started and have said repeatedly since, the only time I've ever heard of Hollywood CEOs caving on a major negotiation is when they get in the same room with a major star. There's just something so needy within the Hollywood moguls' psyche that they want to be liked and respected by the creatives they in turn like and respect. (I assume this is why these businessmen make TV and movies instead of toothpaste and mattresses.) Therefore, any professional, personal and even psychological pressure put by these top-of-the-heap artists on the studio and network bosses could make all the difference in solving this strike.

1. TOM TERRIFIC: First Triple-A List Actor Links Fate Of Oscars To Studios Refusal To "Get Down To Honest Bargaining"
2. London Article "100% False" That George Clooney Led Golden Globes A-List Boycott

I'm trying to officially confirm... Just a rumor right now.

I got a good laugh when I read the WGA statement just now that "The Writers Guild of America, West will be announcing the 2008 Writers Guild Awards winners on February 9. There will be no Writers Guild of America, West show until the strike is over." Look, I've been to the WGA Awards and it's a BIG stretch to call that a show.

So now Harvey Weinstein will be in the same enviable position as United Artists executive VP of production Jeff Kleeman who I'm told has scripts "pouring" into his office after UA just competed its side deal. As Harvey told me just now, "I did it because it gives me a competitive edge." I reported last Sunday that The Weinstein Co was negotiating a side deal with the striking Writers Guild similar to the one that UA made. Today Harvey Weinstein confirmed that he would formally announce an agreement as soon as tomorrow. (See my previous, Rumors Upon Rumors Of WGA Side Deals.)

Harvey right now is in Los Angeles doing a media blitz via back-to-back breakfasts with the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times and other reporters. Sure the Big Media CEOs are saying he needs to do a WGA side deal to shore up his financially struggling production company. But Harvey tells me, "We are currently a making a shitload of money. All our movies are making money off their videos and DVDs. My flights of fancy are turning out to be oil gushers."

Still, it's hilariously ironic about Weinstein, who's made screenwriters' lives miserable throughout his career with his iron-fisted management style, now befriending the striking scribes. Weinstein told me he's working with the WGA to "try and be a good citizen" because every crack in the producers' armor can be considered a victory for the WGA and a defeat for the Big media companies who refuse to meet with the WGA negotiators. "This is not the right thing." 

Meanwhile, Harvey told the reporters that one project that will immediately benefit from the independent deal is Nine, a planned film from Chicago director Rob Marshall, while Anthony Minghella, who has worked with Weinstein on The English Patient and Cold Mountain, is expected to begin working on revisions of a script written by Michael Tolkin.

It's hard to imagine any actor in Hollywood who makes the studio and network CEOs swoon more than Tom Hanks. So the fact that he has gone public and shamed them for breaking off bargaining talks with the Writers Guild is hitting them where it hurts: their public image. The two-time Oscar winner just gave an interview to Reuters in London saying that as a member of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences he wants to see the Oscar ceremony held as usual but warned the studios and networks will lose the Academy Awards ceremony just like they did the Golden Globes show unless AMPTP returns to the table and gets serious about negotiating. 

Certainly anyone in sympathy with the striking writers has been waiting for a big Triple-A list star to step up and take a leadership position calling out the Hollywood CEOs for their intransigence. And if that's the stick, then the carrot is the Academy Awards slated for February 24. "The show must go on, that is one of the tenets of everything," Hanks told Reuters on the red carpet at the London premiere of Charlie Wilson's War. "I am a member of the board of governors of the Academy, and we definitely want to put on a great show and honor the films that have come out in the course of the year." Hanks said. "I just hope that the big guys who make big decisions, up high in their corporate boardrooms and what not, get down to honest bargaining and everyone can get back to work."

This is not what the Big Media bigwigs want to hear -- a popular star like Hanks whom they respect calling them out. So if Hanks is now at the head of the line, then Will Smith, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Julia Roberts and other AAA-listers need to follow his lead. As I wrote way back on November 7th and have said repeatedly since, the only time I've ever heard of Hollywood CEOs caving on a major negotiation is when they get in the same room with a Tom Hanks. There's just something so needy within the Hollywood moguls' psyche that they want to be liked and respected by the creatives they in turn like and respect. (I assume this is why these businessmen make TV and movies instead of toothpaste and mattresses.) Therefore, any professional, personal and even psychological pressure put by these top-of-the-heap artists on the studio and network bosses could make all the difference. Some of that is going on, but not enough.

Not even a writer for Law & Order can get law and order when he needs it during the WGA strike. News Corp as well as striking writers have confirmed to me that an impatient Fox employee (photo left) driving a black SUV got into a physical fracas with picketing Rene Balcer, showrunner of Law & Order and co-creator of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. The altercation occured while Balcer was legally walking the line in the crosswalk of Fox Studios' Gate 3 off Avenue Of The Stars in Century City.

The driver's behavior had escalated all week, witnesses said. First, the Fox white collar worker spent Monday yelling at the striking writers. Then he used his car to nudge a picketer Tuesday. That's when a strike captain wrote a "Safety Note of the Day: Watch Out For Douchebags" about "some asshole roared up to our picketers and was so angry at having to wait two seconds for them to cross the street that he tapped one of our guys with his fender (lightly; no injury).  We got his license plate and took a picture of him. Fortunately, our picketers were following all the Safe Picketing Rules."

And finally today the driver drove into Balcer, began pushing him with his fender, and then got into a shoving match with the celebrated writer. Here's one witness account: "It's Mr. SUV's turn to wait for us to cross. He does not wait. He plows into us, knocking Rene Balcer back several feet. Then the guy leaps out of his car and takes a swing at Rene, and then shoves him out onto Avenue of the Stars. Thankfully, there was no traffic at that moment."

Still another witness said on WriterAction: "After Rene is pushed back by the SUV, he shouts at the driver: 'Hey, that's assault!' The driver comes out of the SUV and shouts: 'I'll show you assault!' And then the driver takes his swing."

As soon as the driver got out of his car and headed towards Balcer, WGA strike captains on the scene called to the Fox security guard to help. But striking writers claim the guard did not respond. That's when, witnesses say, the driver "got in Balcer's face" and things got physical. Picketers attempted to grab and restrain the driver. But he shook them off and scrambled back into his car which was waved through the gate by the Fox guard.

After the incident, Balcer called the police. A Fox supervisor came out and looked at photos of the driver and the license plate of his car. About thirty minutes after the incident, the LAPD arrived and took statements from Balcer and witnesses. It's not certain whether the showrunner intends to press charges. (Maybe it depends on whether Sam Waterston is available to prosecute in Los Angeles County?)

But these car-meets-striker confrontations are no joke. I'm told that News Corp is "looking into the matter internally" and intends to close that gate because it's "unsafe" without a traffic light controlling the crosswalk.  Most importantly, the Fox altercation runs contrary to instructions which News Corp No 2 Peter Chernin gave his senior staff at the outset of the WGA picketing of Fox Studios: "Be gracious. Don't be rude. Don't argue. These guys have every right to do what they're doing. They believe in their cause just as we believe in ours."

"Today’s piece is written by Damon Lindelof, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of Lost.

I was listening to the news on NPR the other day and two things occurred to me. First, only assholes feel the constant need to tell you they listen to NPR (does anyone ever say, “So I was watching the CW last night…”?) and I guess that makes me an asshole. The second was that in the midst of listening to the story in question, I had finally figured out how to succinctly sum up why I write. It goes a little something like this --There’s this ninety-year old woman named Rose who, after honking her horn repeatedly at the school bus idling in front of her, decides she has much more important things to do and guns her Honda Civic around the bus. Before she realizes that the bus was stopped for a very good reason indeed, Rose finds herself watching a freight train bear down on her and almost instantly, it smashes into the passenger side of the Civic and pushes it a good hundred feet before screeching to a stop. Forgoing all the gory details, Rose is pronounced dead at the local hospital and the attending doctor in the ER is tasked with notifying next of kin. Turns out Rose’s husband has been dead for decades, but she has a couple sons and a daughter. The doctor calls one of her sons and his wife answers the phone. The son isn’t home, but the wife offers to take a message. The notification ethics, however, forbid the hospital from telling anyone but next of kin about Rose’s death and so they ask when the son will be home so they can call back.And the wife responds “He won’t be back for two months.” And the hospital says, “Well… do you have a number where we could reach him?” And the wife says no, she doesn’t. And why not?–

WHY WE WRITE is a series of short essays by prominent television and film writers and conceived by Charlie Craig and Thania St. John. (Contact them at whywewrite@gmail.com). I have asked the AMPTP to give me original content expressing its side of the current strike, but the group has declined to date.

He was found dead of what appeared to be natural causes tonight in his room at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel. He was 84and best known as Master of Ceremonies for the awarding of those paid kitschy stars along the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Before he was Mr. Hollywood, Grant worked in radio, TV and movies. His official bio is here.

CAST: Jason and Justine Bateman
CREATIVE TEAM: George Hickenlooper, Alan Sereboff, Jill Kushner, Kamala Lopez, Michal Shemesh
MUSIC: Anthony Marinelli
TECHNICAL TEAM: Clint Bennett, Joel Marshall, Justin Shumaker, Chad Carter, Amy Gollnick

CAST: Zach Braff
CREATIVE TEAM: George Hickenlooper, Jill Kushner, Alan Sereboff, Justine Bateman, Dean Alioto, Steve Pink
MUSIC: Anthony Marinelli
TECHNICAL TEAM: Justin Shumaker, Dean Alioto, Robert Campbell, Chad Carter, Clint Bennett

CAST: Illeana Douglas
CREATIVE TEAM: Steve Pink, George Hickenlooper, Alan Sereboff, Jill Kushner, Justine Bateman, Dean Alioto
MUSIC: Anthony Marinelli
TECHNICAL TEAM: Justin Shumaker, Dean Alioto, Robert Campbell, Eric Heisserer, Clint Bennett

Disgraced Hollywood P.I. Anthony Pellicano will rep himself in court when he goes to trial on wiretapping charges next month. News reports say a federal judge today reluctantly allowed it even though he told The Pelican it was a bad decision. But a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allows a defendent to do so if he insists. Pellicano's lawyers told reporters later that the discredited private eye's motivation was to save money after the judge refused to appoint the attorneys at court expense. It sure looks as if the February 27th trial is going to become a reality after so many postponements (3 in all).

NEW YORK CITY  - The Writers Guilds of America East and West and CBS have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract for the WGA-CBS employees who have been working under an expired contract since April 1, 2005. The agreement, which has been approved unanimously by the WGA-CBS Negotiating Committee, must still be ratified by membership vote. The contract covers approximately 500 newswriters, editors, desk assistants, production assistants, graphic artists, promotion writers, and researchers working in television and radio on the national and local levels.The new contract, which becomes effective upon membership ratification, runs until April 1, 2010. Under the terms of the agreement, WGA-CBS employees will receive a 3.5% raise upon ratification of the contract and again in 2009. In addition, most regularly scheduled employees who worked 200 days or more in 2007 and did not receive wage increases during the negotiations time frame will receive an additional $3,700 payment. Employees who worked shorter schedules will receive pro-rated payments.

"This has been a long struggle, but our members became mobilized and engaged in a way they have never been before," says Mona Mangan, executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East. "This contract truly belongs to them."

"This has been a difficult process," says Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East. "We are pleased that it has resulted in an agreement that will protect our members at CBS News and insure that they will continue to bring their exceptional skills, creativity and know-how to the production of quality broadcast journalism."

"This is good news for newswriters and I congratulate them. After months without negotiations, once bargaining resumed we were able to reach an agreement quickly," says Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West. "We ask CBS to come back to the table with the will to make a deal with striking film and television writers."

Just as Kevin McCormick was Jeff Robinov's first promotion, so is Dawn Taubin now the recently named Warner Bros Picture Group president's first firing. Hey, I'd predicted this as far back as October 2007 when I wrote: "It was always going to be difficult, anyway, to promote Robinov because of his friction with president of domestic marketing Dawn Taubin, who has long had [Alan] Horn’s ear and refuses to report to Robinov." Granted that, over the years, Dawn managed to make her fair share of enemies. But now maybe Jeff can finally realize his vision of making Warner Bros Pictures an all-male preserve both on the screen and behind the scenes. (Says a Warner Bros spokesman: "Oh, c'mon, he has a ton of women who work for him," then proceeded to list them all.) Hey Jeff, you should have had a spokes-woman call me.

Here's the official Warner press release:

(January 9, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – Due to the restructuring resulting from the recent founding of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Dawn Taubin has agreed to relinquish her role as President, Domestic Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures.

“My professional relationship with Dawn has been one of the most satisfying in my 35 years in the entertainment industry, said Alan Horn, President & Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros.  “She is phenomenally smart, classy, and has always been a consummate professional. I wish her all the best as she continues her career, and I will miss her.”

“Dawn is not only a great marketing executive who has been a significant contributor to the success of Warner Bros. Pictures throughout her years with the division, but a terrific person as well,” said Barry Meyer, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Warner Bros.  “While we had hoped that she would stay with the Studio in a non-theatrical senior marketing post that we offered her, we honor her decision to leave.  All of us at Warner Bros. wish her well.”

"I am very fortunate to have spent almost 20 years at Warner Bros. and to end my time here with our most successful year ever,” said Taubin.  “I am grateful to my team at Warner Bros. for their hard work and loyalty for so many years and to Barry and Alan for the wonderful opportunity they gave me and for their support and friendship.”

I've been saying repeatedly that the WGA strike is hurting all the agencies, even the major tenpercenteries. A day doesn't go by when I don't hear doom and gloom predictions from the Big Six. Four agents at ICM today were placed on strike pay, which means they're still part of the company but aren't allowed to come into the building to work, and the high-salaried tenpercenters and executives are experiencing pay cuts. All UTA agents making more than 100K are getting a 20% pay cut. (Agents there claim it's a voluntary reduction, but they never get it back.) This is weeks and weeks after many big agencies have mandated the assistances  come to work only at 9:30 AM, take an hour lunch, vacate the office at 6:30 PM and have the option to cash-out unused vacation days (but only up to 5 days worth). Meanwhile, Endeavior's Ari Emanuel slipped away to New Hampshire to support Barack Obama for the primary. (Now you know things are dead at the tenpercenteries, except for reality show orders.) Hmm, it's been months since I've heard of the major agencies splurging on food for the picket lines... (Photo, agents watching WGA picket line, by Jim Stevenson)

1. How Many Agencies Does It Take To Get Screwed By A Writers Strike? All Of 'Em
2. Cheerio, CAA!
3. Olé CAA!
4. Winners: Endeavor Agent Caption Contest

Trying to get them fixed. Please be patient...

A lot of Blu-ray studios pointed me to a Financial Times article today claiming that, thanks to a contract clause, Paramount would drop its support of HD-DVD after Warner Bros’ recent decision to go Blu-ray exclusively. The article sure made it seem like the death rattle of HD-DVD, especially when combined with my CES report that HD-DVD had canceled its big dog-&-pony show because of the Warner Bros defection.

But nooooooooooo.

Turns out that Paramount now is denying there's a clause in its contract with the HD-DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner Bros backing Blu-ray. Oops. "Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format,'' Brenda Ciccone, a spokeswoman for Paramount, told Bloomberg Financial News today. On the other hand, I don't see any correction on the Financial Times website yet.

1. HD-DVD Cancels CES Dog-&-Pony Show; Cites "Impact" Of Warner Bros' Blu-Ray
2. Warner Bros Will Release Exclusively In Blu-ray Hi-Def Format
3. Wal-Mart & Best Buy Hugely Discounting Xmas HD-DVD Players
4. Blu-ray/HD DVD: Which Hollywood Studio Accused Of 'Big Ass, Fat, Stupid Lie'?
5. Michael Bay Switches Support To HD-DVD
6. Michael Bay Says To Paramount: No Blu-Ray, So No 'Transformers' Sequel!
7. Desperation Move & Cash Grab? Or Bloodier Blu-ray/HD-DVD Format War?