WGAE Replies To AFTRA About Ellen Mess

28 Comments »

1. She needs an edit. And AFTRA were being dickheads. This petty shit has got to end. This is how we lose this fight.

   Comment by No Nikii — November 10, 2007 @ 1:53 am

2. If Ellen is indeed a member of the WGA and she’s crossing the picket line to work for a struck company then she should have her membership revoked. Simple as that.

   A lot of hyphenates (like Craig Mazin) seem to be using the fact that they do more than one job as an excuse to cross the picket lines.

   If they don’t honor a writers strike, revoke their WGA memberships!

   Comment by Non WGA Writer — November 10, 2007 @ 6:56 am

3. Very eloquent last paragraph and bang on the nose. Well put.

   Comment by Joe — November 10, 2007 @ 7:41 am

4. Well, for anyone who still doesn’t get it, there you have it. Plain and simple. Ellen is a Member of WGA. She stood out on the Picket line in support of our Cause, then crossed the line to make new product for Networks allied with AMPTP to make money during the sweeps.

   There is simply is no defense for this behavior. And using AFTRA as Cover doesn’t change the facts.

   I hope everyone understands that the benefits Ellen and her Crews enjoy today were due to the sacrifices made by former fellow WGA members over the past 50 years. If it weren’t for their stands, many of us would have no Health Benefits or Pensions. That is the point of all this, Solidarity is the ONLY thing that will ensure Writers, Actors, Directors and Crews will be able to secure a fair Contract in the future.

   One more note: AMPTP’s first offer to us was to roll back our benefits 45 years. Yes, it was a ridiculous tactic but the point is this is what we are dealing with. These Corporations are Monsters, they want to divide us to weaken us, then strip us of our past and future benefits to increase their bottom line. It’s what they do and people like Ellen have to be dealt with early and appropriately.

   I hope everyone gets that.

   Comment by PJ - Writer — November 10, 2007 @ 8:49 am

5. This attack still seems like a stretch to me. Having read the various letters you’ve posted here, it’s pretty clear that all of Ellen’s work on her show is performed under an AFTRA contract. The fact that she’s also a member of the WGA means that her allegiance may be split. In this instance, she can’t serve two masters so she’s been forced to make a decision. And I think she’s made a good one by honoring the union she actually works for currently.

   It seems that Mona is specifically taking issue with the fact that Ellen may crack a couple of jokes of her own devising - thus performing struck work. But I have a hard time believing Ellen didn’t already write much of what she says on air - under her agreement with AFTRA. I also can’t help but wonder if the real issue here stems from a concern about the future of those WGA jobs should Ellen’s show continue to find success in their absence.

   This speaks to a larger problem that I fear is coming for both the writers and producers - which is the irreparable damage from an extended strike. On the writer’s side, they may find far fewer jobs to return to when they finally agree on terms to go back to work. Jobs that may never come back due to an evolution of the business that took place while they were gone. On the producers’ side, the same could easily happen with advertising revenue that dries up while networks are stuck in reruns. Ad dollars that may be hard or impossible to lure back from the internet and elsewhere even when fresh scripted programming returns to the air.

   I think the WGA has bigger fish to fry than going after Ellen. But perhaps her show is a significant harbinger of the bad news facing everyone if they can’t get it together and solve this thing ASAP…

   Comment by Voyeur — November 10, 2007 @ 8:57 am

6. If Ellen is an active, dues paying WGA member, then her membership should be terminated, revoked, cancelled– whatever you want to call it, she’s not WGA anymore.

   And this strike is over, she should not be allowed to rejoin the WGA and therefore work with any guild signatory companies. Which means pretty much every company in Hollywood. So, good luck that Ellen. Not that you NEED to ever work again. Well, not for the money anyway, that’s for sure.

   I imagine this strike is little more than an inconvenience for her.

   Comment by latebloomer — November 10, 2007 @ 9:07 am

7. The guild needs to get over itself. Just because THEY voted for this strike does not mean that EVERY member agrees with it.

   I work on the crew for a new scripted show, and as much as I support my writers, I want this over with so I can back to work. I don’t blame Ellen for continuing with business as usual. Why should she suffer the consequences of this mess? There were other ways to resolve this, but the WGA and the AMPTP chose the dramatic route.

   Comment by pissed off — November 10, 2007 @ 9:29 am

8. Voyeur,

   It seems your statements stem from the assumption that the WGA will lose the strike. Saying things like, “On the writer’s side, they may find far fewer jobs to return to when they finally agree on terms to go back to work.” Being a teamster and part of a few strikes…when a union WINS a strike, things return as they were before the strike PLUS more, not minus what you had.

   That’s the whole point of a strike, to increase your benefits (including employment) not decrease them. The times in the past that we’ve been on strike, management threatened lawsuits, permanent firings, job dissolvement…but, after we were successful, part of the new contract included no retribution, and all union members returning to their previous work status. As I said, that’s called WINNING a strike…and if the WGA members are strong, and continue to remember what they’re fighting for, this will turn in their favor!

   -RTA

   Comment by RTA — November 10, 2007 @ 9:56 am

9. In response to RTA - my point was that even if writers “win” or make significant strides on their deal points (which I hope they do) - they may still return to an industry whose very makeup has been altered. Just because an agreement has a “no retribution” clause doesn’t mean all the same jobs will be available when this is eventually settled. There’s a precedent for this dynamic in the labor strikes from other industries (steel in 1959 in particular comes to mind).

   How will the studios be able to hire back writers on “bubble” shows like “Bionic Woman” and “Journeyman” if those shows die during the strike? Especially if new reality programming takes their place and becomes a fixture in those timeslots.

   I’m all for writers getting a fair slice of the new media pie. I’m just not convinced either side here is going about reaching their goals in the right way. If, as PJ-Writer suggests, the producers are dead set on dividing and conquering the writers to weaken their resolve, then isn’t the WGA’s witchhunt for errant members playing right into the producers’ hand?

   I really believe, if this strike continues for any length of time, there will be no winners - only losers…

   Comment by Voyeur — November 10, 2007 @ 12:14 pm

10. There’s a post on Pamie.com by a past employee/writer of Ellen’s defending her “character,” while also stating she thinks what Ellen is doing is wrong, but barely. Action IS Character. Ellen has far less hardship than most. So to imply she’s a noble woman in a tough spot is the lamest justification one could think up. I’m a non-Union writer, doing OK, till last week, and I’ve been walking the line. Ellen should expect a very cold reception should she host the Oscars…or visit a cafe.

    Comment by Concerned — November 10, 2007 @ 12:42 pm

11. Good for Ellen, you homophobia lesbian haters

    Comment by anonymous — November 10, 2007 @ 1:43 pm

12. So Ellen doing what’s best for herself, her career, and the majority of her crew is bad…and the writers doing what’s best for themselves, their careers, and the majority of writers is some great and noble deed? And don’t give me the “we’re doing this for everyone in the industry” line. If that were the truth, they would have waited and went out with the DGA and SAG to really put the screws to the suits, while lessening some of the collateral damage to the slower summer season. Don’t get me wrong, I support the writers in principle. They should get a fair deal, and it’s stupid to not pay them for online sales. But they have to ditch the moral high ground, emotional stuff and realize it’s a business.

    I mean really, you have to know the moguls are sitting around in their offices laughing at the WGAE for having nothing better to do than attack their own and drive wedges in their relationships with other unions.

    Comment by randomobserver — November 10, 2007 @ 2:08 pm

13. As much as I disagree with Ellen’s decision to continue her show, I have to wonder why the WGA East is specifically going after her.

    What about the likes of JJ Abrams (and dozens of other writer-directors), who are WGA members but are continuing to work on their projects? Even Tina Fey has/will have to cross pickets to act on 30 Rock. So why is Ellen becoming the scapegoat? Would her show be okay, if she only interviewed guests? What’s the deal WGA?

    Comment by Alex - the assistant/wannabe — November 10, 2007 @ 2:45 pm

14. I’m not familiar with all the technicalities of this business so please forgive me if i’m wrong - but isn’t this a matter of under which union the show is being produced? If AFTRA covers the production doens’t this means it’s out of the wga’s jurisdiction and she has to honor her contracts?

    I’d assume her wga membership is for jobs with other productions (which she won’t fulfill during the strike) and has nothing to do with her own show. Please correct me if i’m wrong.

    I am not talking about what would be right or wrong morally though, i don’t know enough to judge. Just because she could have an impact doesn’t mean she has to sacrifice her show.

    A different question though - maybe Nikki knows more on this:

    Aren’t the studios in some manner accountable to wall street? Given this seasons dead and add revenues are surely going down - wouldn’t investors at some point pressure the producers to get this over with? I’d assume the losses made through the strikes are in no proportion to what the writers are actuallt asking for.

    And why is nobody actually reporting the numbers? What the writers demands would add up to (estimated), how much is lost right now on add revenues, broken relations etc., what the studios profits are and similar.

    And last not least - it’s been mentioned before that the studios accounting seems fairly shady - is there really no initiative in pressuring them through lawsuits and estimated numbers of how much has been lost on the writers behalf through bad accounting so far?

    Thanks!

    Comment by Danny — November 10, 2007 @ 2:53 pm

15. This is fairly striking…

    Over the years, Hollywood has produced an entire mythology of heroism versus evil with regards to the “horrors of the fifties blacklist”, a self-imposed industry blackballing of writers who held a different opinion than those in the mainstream.

    Now, in the comments here, we’re hearing calls to blackball Ellen and make it so she can never find work again as a writer in this industry because… she holds a different opinion than those in the mainstream.

    If starting what amounts to a new blacklist for anybody who doesn’t agree with the WGA and making it so they can’t find work as a writer seems okay to you union guys, then I’m not surprised the power of unions has waned so much in the United States over the past thirty years. Good riddance, I say.

    Who would want to join such a band of neo-McCarthyites?

    You guys aren’t “owed” anything. Negotiate with your employers on a one-on-one basis like almost everybody else in the country does and stop using the tyranny of the majority to intimidate and threaten those who dare to disagree with you.

    Comment by BC — November 10, 2007 @ 3:08 pm

16. Alex — if I may hazard a guess, Abrams and Fey wouldn’t be performing/directing struck work if it had been written before the strike began, hence why shooting can continue for a couple more weeks. I’m not even close to the industry, so, again, just a stab in the dark.

    I’m not sure what the deal is with Ellen, either. What she’s done is in bad taste given her past alliances, but that’s just my opinion, and bad taste was never cause for blackballing.

    Comment by Dechant — November 10, 2007 @ 4:33 pm

17. Ellen IS the mainstream, BC - November. I think your blacklist argument is flipped — as the congloms that control media channels far outnumber the writers. I can only speak for myself, and I like Ellen, she’s funny. We need funny. Yet in the face of such a devastating strike, where so many are getting pinched (and hard), her voice would reach more if she picked up a bullhorn.

    Comment by Concerned — November 10, 2007 @ 4:39 pm

18. BC, it’s not about holding a different opinion. It’s about violating her contract with the WGA. If they determine that she is performing struck work in violation of the WGA strike rules, then they have every right to sanction her.

    That’s the definition of a union - collective bargaining. Everybody working together to achieve the same goal. If you or Ellen prefer looking out for Number One, perhaps a union isn’t the way to go.

    Comment by Anonymous — November 10, 2007 @ 5:05 pm

19. So violating her WGA contract is cause for a public stoning and cheap personal attacks by union leaders…but violating her AFTRA contract is peachy keen? That’s how it works? Please, someone enlighten me as to why the WGA contract is more important than the host/executive producer contract. And save the whole morality play…she obviously made a choice what was more important to her the writer role, or the host/exec. producer role, and decided to do what’s best for her and 90% of her crew. Those who are beating the “she’s got a wga contract!” drum, please tell me why that contract is more important.

    Comment by what hypocrites — November 10, 2007 @ 10:11 pm

20. Danny, Ellen’s show is written by WGA members. Ellen’s membership in AFTRA, which represents on-air talent, is irrelevant in this context. Ellen is also a member of the WGA, and writing monologues or comedy bits or jokes for broadcast during the strike constitutes struck work or scabbing, is within the WGA’s jurisdiction, and is grounds for having her membership revoked. Nothing about her contract with AFTRA compels her to perform struck work.

    She’s not an idiot, she knows what she’s doing, she’s made her choice, and to whine about the predictable and appropriate consequences is ludicrous. If I were to scab, I’d be booted right out of the Guild, and I’d have no one to blame but myself for my inability to find future work in the industry. But the standards for the rich and powerful are very different, to no one’s surprise. I don’t agree with Fey and Abrams crossing picket lines, but as long as they’re not doing any writing, what Ellen’s doing is worse.

    “The guild needs to get over itself. Just because THEY voted for this strike does not mean that EVERY member agrees with it.”

    *groans* The concept of union really escapes some people, doesn’t it? There’s this thing called democracy, everyone votes, and majority rules. Voting no really isn’t a license to scab. You don’t get to happily cash in on all of the benefits you get from membership but opt out when you figure out a way to make a quick opportunistic buck by violating the rules you knew when you joined and hanging everyone else out to dry.

    Comment by Anon — November 10, 2007 @ 11:50 pm

21. Her AFTRA contract is for performing her work, but Ellen has been clearly performing and writing even if her monologe is about supporting her writers. The AFTRA doesn’t cover writers. Translation, Ellen is violating her WGA contract and she should be punished for doing so and the writers will not be fired, they will be working for Rosie O’Donnell or somebody else next year.

    As for JJ Abrams and Tina Fey, they can perform if they want to do so. Last I heard, the DGA isn’t walking the pickets so JJ can finish the latest movie as long as it doesn’t involve writing and Tina can be an actress only. Her show 30 Rock has already made many stabs against NBC that she can continue to do so while writers strike.

    Comment by Jessy S. — November 11, 2007 @ 12:11 am

22. Those talking about Ellen breaking WGA contract, I think you need to go back and read the highlighted part of the WGA’s MBA in Nikki’s post about ellen’s defense. It exempts “material written by the person on the air unless such person has written material for delivery by another person as well as himself/herself on that particular program.” But what is not exempted is “material written for any dramatic programs, and such material written for comedy/variety programs broadcast in prime time on the basis of once-a-week or less, unless the material was completely written for another purpose prior to such person’s engagement.” …none of which applies to this case.

    The moral issue is ambiguous, the contractual one is not.

    Comment by fact check — November 11, 2007 @ 7:56 am

23. Looks like people at Wikipedia are trying to remove references to Scabs. Union members should make sure that people who cross the line don’t get away with it by erasing the information on sites like Wiki!

    Comment by Anon — November 11, 2007 @ 2:02 pm

24. Raa-Raa! Three cheers for Ellen, the union-buster!

    Comment by Anon — November 11, 2007 @ 6:10 pm

25. Your argument would be valid if someone had a choice in the matter. It is very clear, and talked about in many posts, that during “normal” operations, if you aren’t a guild member, you don’t have the opportunity to work in any substantial way. So to make your point valid, the union “mob” really doesn’t give anyone a choice but to “see it their way.” If writers had a real choice to not join the union and negotiate on their own, I’d agree with you, that union members should not be crossing lines.

    Comment by JW — November 11, 2007 @ 9:04 pm

26. Voyeur,

    Ellen does not “write” for AFTRA. They are not the writers’ guild; the Writers Guild is the writers’ guild.

    Dan

    Comment by Dan — November 13, 2007 @ 6:40 pm

27. Why is everyone so down on Ellen but no one says a word about Oprah, or Regis and Kelly, or Tyra, or anyone else? Are they doing anything different then Ellen?

    Ellen has an obligation, and she has a show, and if she doesn’t do her job as host, she will lose it.

    TEAM ELLEN!

    Comment by Jake — November 13, 2007 @ 9:56 pm

28. This strike is going to be absolutely disastrous, and here’s why.

    The only thing this strike means in the mainstream, is the decline of non-interactive, scripted entertainment, and the marginalization of television as a medium, and the film industries as a whole.

    This is what nobody here seems to be grasping.

    In the last twenty years, the video game industry has grown from a marginal player for the finite entertainment dollars out there on the open market to the largest entertainment industry operating within the United States today, both in terms of number of people employed, and the total scope, (and worth) of the industry.

    The younger generation (under 35) has shifted its spending, dramatically.

    When all of this is said and done, those entertainment dollars, from that most important demographic might dry up completely.

    I already know enough people in their twenties and early thirties who spend hour upon hour logged into Xbox live and playing things like Halo 3 and Bio Shock, many of whom would scarcely notice this strike if it carried on for a number of years.

    The amount of time people spend consuming material produced by the traditional media, whether it is delivered via traditional mediums or posted on the internet is simply SHRINKING.

    There are just too many alternatives to WGA produced entertainment on the marketplace for this strike to be worthwhile.

    I understand that the WGA wants a piece of the pie when it comes to digital distribution, but your union simply fails to understand that the pie as a whole (the audience that consumes your content, or more accurately, the time they allot to such content) is simply shrinking.

    Comment by An Informed Outsider — November 14, 2007 @ 2:29 am

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