A Watched Pot

So things over at United Hollywood may be somewhat quiet for awhile while we wait to see if the first signs of negotiation bubbles will amount to anything. Here's hoping the pot boils over.

The Pen Behind the Lines

Ran across an excellent strike related editorial article today quite by chance and this paragraph screamed at me:

"While there are a handful of exceptions where actors ad lib and improvise lines, for the most part, all of our favorite lines from American television and cinema, lines we often repeat to friends, re-use to express our own thoughts, re-tell to make others laugh, were written by guild writers. And we have no idea who they are. Often, we even credit the actor with the lines they said, for they're who we see saying them. We never see the writer say them, or even write them. We'll say, "It's like Johnny Depp said in that one movie…" And we'll mean, of course, that it's like what Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio wrote in that one movie."

Kudos, Matt Petryni, wherever in Oregon you are, and shame on anyone who thinks you have to be in Hollywood to get it.

That Sound You Hear is My Head Exploding

So late night returned to television and I'm not even going to pretend I understand why Letterman and Worldwide Pants can negotiate an individual deal with the WGA while networks force the other late night shows back on the air without their writers.

Too much for my amateur brain.

My humble concern: If Leno's show falls short of expectations compared to Letterman (who now has writers), it might be an indication that producers need to scurry on back to the table. But could the reverse not be claimed by the AMPTP as well? Leno is a talented and creative guy who isn't going to purposely do lame monologues. Could reasonably successful Leno shows without writers encourage AMPTP to sit on their wallets longer? And, I'm confused about Conan as I thought he was a WGA member bound by the "thou shalt not write" rule?

If you hear a loud sound and then a splat . . .

Strike TV Coming Soon

First of all, you must be a member of WGA. Secondly, this is not a clearinghouse for old material. It's only new stuff. Alrighty. Now we're all clear on the fact that this has absolutely nothing to do with me other than my desire to promote and express support for something that benefits my working screenwriter friends and perhaps affects future Guild members everywhere.

For details, check out United Hollywood or click here.