WGA Met With Reps For Worldwide Pants

9 Comments »

1. Loved the essay. My Tivo is empty, too and it breaks my heart. Perhaps we should all start listing/sharing our favorite shows so we can Tivo reruns of good shows we missed.

   Signed, Business Manager To The Best Writers in the World!

   Comment by Holly — December 21, 2007 @ 3:14 pm

2. Is “lively exchange” a euphemism for “they got along like a house on fire”… i.e. screams, crying, and people running for safety?

   Comment by Terence Chua — December 21, 2007 @ 5:53 pm

3. I’ve been pulling for the WGA since the get-go, but please don’t screw the pooch with WWP. By all accounts they have ready and willing to get matters resolved and have been courtly in thier treatment of Guild membership.

   To characterized thier behavior as mogul-esque seems at odds with everything we’ve been lead to believe about how Mr. Letterman conducts his business and his personal way of life.

   While I have tremendous admiration for the skill and talents the WGA brings to our lives, your grievances nontheless pale to some of the issues Walter Reuther was facing some seventy years ago. In that sprit, please have the good grace to partner with a honorable Consignee and begin the momentum toward settlement.

   Comment by Jusr a Humble Viewer — December 21, 2007 @ 7:01 pm

4. They’re going to continue negotiations next week? Really? And, in the meantime, the “Late Show” is all set to return without its writers. Donald Trump will be his first guest back. I suppose that’s the best they can do…

   Comment by Max — December 21, 2007 @ 10:39 pm

5. We need to hire better PR people. Once again, putting out a press release to announce we’re negotiating with a company, using adjectives like “lively” to suggest (to some, others might interpret that the same way as Terence) things are going well, then not making the deal, which is exactly what’s going to happen, makes us look like we don’t know what we’re doing. How about NOT publicly drawing attention to the fact we’re taking this meeting? And then, not announcing the negotiations failed or whatever we’re going to say. How about we just keep quiet about the whole thing.

   Comment by Anon — December 21, 2007 @ 11:02 pm

6. Well at least one show is actually trying to work with us instead of
   just declaring they were going back and not even trying.

   Another thing - it’s pretty obvious to me that a lot of comments here
   as of late are being made by Conan and Leno staffers who are probably
   just nervous that Dave may get a waiver. That’s just sad. Clearly
   you people support getting a paycheck rather than support the WGA.

   And to Max’s post above about how Dave is “all set to return” -
   really? I must have missed that press release officially stating they
   were coming back without writers. The latest AP story I found states,
   “the CBS show’s goal of returning to the air with live episodes on
   Jan. 2 is still up in the air.”

   It’s possible that if Dave doesn’t get a waiver, he will stay off the
   air in support of the WGA — did you ever think of that?

   In the future do some research. Or better yet, just post which late
   night show you actually work on.

   Comment by Enough Already — December 22, 2007 @ 8:55 am

7. Hey, where are all the Tonight Show writers posting anonymously about how Worldwide Pants making a fair deal with the WGA would divide the membership and force them to stop picketing? Do you really think if Letterman gets to go back on the air with WGA contracted writers, the AMPTP is going to say, “Hah! Good for Les Moonves! They’ve played right into our hands. Now we have the Guild right where we want it!”

   Comment by Hugh Grant — December 22, 2007 @ 9:02 am

8. aside from middling p.r. and the overrated power of dave to impact hearts and minds, can someone explain to me why the wca should give wwp any deal? Making a deal with them is not a good business example of the validity of the wga demands. Dave doesn’t own his new media rights, nor do his shows rely onthe Internet for much of their audience. The Wga would be way better served to do a deal that the prducers couldn’t laugh off as irrelevant. Try Harvey W.

   And the producers? They may think they’re playing for the future but when they look around in 10 months and their audience has left the building and moved onto the web, the final joke will be on them. Unless their overlords buy up the net first because the government sure won’t stop them.

   Comment by chris — December 22, 2007 @ 9:22 am

9. IMHO, this deal means little - the entire strike apparently centers around remuneration for shows delivered by “alternate media” - e.g. - episodes of “Lost” or “Desperate Housewives” downloaded via iTunes, etc.

   So what does Letterman have to lose? I mean, how many times is anyone going to download an episode of a late night talk show? These are not episodic affairs that might tempt fans to view a missed airing - how many people will pay for last week’s interview with Alec Baldwin or whatever?

   The point is, for all the folderol, this seems to be a pretty insignificant “advancement”.

   Comment by Bob Fately — January 2, 2008 @ 5:57 am

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