As UnitedHollywood settles into the slower, holiday news cycle, we'll still be updating the site. Just ...you know, not as much. The big news over the next few days will be the speechless campaign. So look for that. And we'll be back with full coverage of the resumed negotiations on the 26th.

• StrikeSwag.com has shirts and a brand new supply of red writer's bracelets in stock.

DISCOUNT TICKETS AVAILABLE: If you are a Union Member who has lost their job or been otherwise adversely affected due to the WGA Strike, please use the following code when purchasing your tickets AIDWGA. Tickets purchased using this code will cost $15 per person. You may purchase a maximum of 4 tickets at this price. There is a limited number of tickets available at this price so it will be first-come, first-served. You may purchase the tickets through the avenues listed below.

Marti Noxon, Dawn Prestwich, Nicole Yorkin and the United Showrunner Committee
cordially invite you to attend

WRITE AID

A Benefit Concert to Provide Assistance
to Industry Employees Affected by the WGA Strike

Performers currently scheduled:

Eddie Izzard
Lewis Black
Patton Oswalt
Sarah Silverman
&
Tenacious D

StrikeSwag.com - the non-profit site which donates all profits to the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund to assist non-WGA members of the industry who are in financial distress as a direct result of the strike - is out with its January 2008 line which Fashion Week boldly called "the black and white shield tee." This 100% cotton shirt a variant of the official WGA West strike shirt.

Hot in Hollywood and Strike Swag have teamed up to produce limited edition Benjamin Silverman High School t-shirts.

Orders placed by Monday the 14th will be ready in time for the Benjamin Silverman High School Winter Prom outside NBC on Thursday the 17th. Profits from the sale of these shirts will benefit the WGA Foundation Industry Support Fund.

See you at Prom. Go Fightin' Cocks!

And so are you.Photo by Justine Bateman. Hat by Strike Swag.(Proceeds from U.H. swag offset the cost of our upcoming redesign.)

Tomorrow night Jerry O'Connell ("Carpoolers," "Crossing Jordan") Kerri Kenney ("Reno 911," "The Ten," "The State"), and stand-up comedian Dan Mintz (writer, "Luckie Louie") will perform in Talk Show: The Talk Show at iO West Theater. Half the proceeds go to the Industry Support Fund - a fund set up by the WGA for non-WGA members affected by the strike.

Here are the details:
11pm THIS FRIDAY,

Life on Strike was originally produced for The Strike Show, a live comedy-variety show that raised money to benefit members of the industry who are affected by the strike via the Motion Picture and Television Fund. and features Ana Ortiz (UGLY BETTY), Nick Kroll, (CAVEMEN), and Kat Foster (TIL' DEATH).

It's Thanksgiving week, and in the spirit of that we hope all our readers will take some time to help those in need to whatever extent they can.

The excellent LiveJournal community wga_supporters recently ran this note from David Rambo of CSI:

“RECONCILIATION” BENEFIT!

WHEN: Tuesday, March 4th at 8 p.m.

WHERE: The Laugh Factory

PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE WGF INDUSTRY SUPPORT FUND

To celebrate the end of the strike, Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada will host a “Reconciliation” Benefit at the Laugh Factory, Tuesday, March 4th at 8 p.m. Proceeds go to the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund to assist all those NON-WRITERS

Strike TV is an Internet fundraiser. It's an online "channel" featuring original video shows created by working professionals in the TV and Film Industry. These shows are self-funded and owned by their creators. Funds raised by ad revenue will go toward the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund, assisting union directors, actors and below the line members who are affected by the strike.

We had a great response from members of the community who want to be a part of the United Hollywood / Strike Swag T-shirt photo shoot tomorrow. The response was so great that the schedule is full. As a result, we will not be able to shoot anyone without a confirmed time. But we will announce a new shoot date later this week.

What we have been calling the "Union Solidarity Fund" is now officially called the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund. Our friends at the Foundation have stepped up to coordinate the tremendous outpouring of generosity from businesses, fans, writers, actors, directors and the public to help non-WGA professionals affected by the strike. We will link to information on how to apply for assistance as soon as it is on the Foundation site.

The Foundation is accepting donations now. Send them to 7000 W. Third St. LA 90048, and indicate "Industry Support Fund."

On Monday, February 11 from 2-6pm, United Hollywood and Strike Swag invite all members of the United Hollywood community to be photographed for a PR campaign to promote the new United Hollywood site.

The concept of the campaign is to show writers, actors, directors, crew, staff and fans standing united to meet the challenges of the digital present. That's right, the challenges of now.

Jamie Masada has offered to host a weekly show at the Laugh Factory (8001 W Sunset Blvd at Laurel, 323-656-1336) to benefit the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund. The first show will be held tomorrow, Wed. Dec. 19 at 10pm. Entrance to the show is free for anyone who makes a contribution to the Fund. Checks made out to the Writers Guild Foundation will be accepted at the door. The shows will continue for the duration of the strike. Donations of new toys and/or new winter clothing will also be accepted and distributed to those affected by the strike.

Compiled from WGA and United Hollywood emails. -JA

TUESDAY DECEMBER 11TH:

PENCILS2MEDIAMOGULS: It's here! The first delivery of pencils will take place today. Over 500,000 pencils have been shipped. Please join us as we deliver the pencils to NBC CEO Jeff Zucker, Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and to Universal Studios for GE's CEO Jeffrey Immelt. Writers slated to appear include: Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), Joss Whedon (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly), Carol Barbee (Jericho), Alfred Gough (Smallville), Miles Millar (Smallville). We will meet at 11:30 am at Johnny Carson Park, 400 Bob Hope Drive in Burbank.

HOOT, HOLLER AND LAUGH WITH STRIKING WGA MEMBERS AT iO WEST THEATER

While the more than eight-week old WGA strike is anything but funny, the staff at iO WEST is standing up and speaking out to provide some relief for the writers in the form of comedy and donations.

In a show of solidarity, every Monday during the month of January, iO WEST’s hit show, “The Armando Show,” will be donating half

The Industry Support Fund, founded by the Writer's Guild Foundation to provide financial relief to non-WGA industry members impacted by the strike, has raised over a quarter million dollars, and has already given away more than half of what they've raised. The fund anticipates continuing to donate $40,000 - $45,000 a month over the next several months as industry members find their feet financially.

The Writer's Guild Foundation is working closely with the Actor's Fund to help distribute the money. Separately, The Actor's Fund has spent half a million on strike-related relief since the beginning of the strike. A non-profit that offers an array of services to all performing arts professionals, The Actor's Fund is not just for actors. For more information check out their website at www.actorsfund.org.

To find out how to get help from the Industry Support Fund, or to make a donation, go to www.wgfoundation.org/supportfund.html.

Deadline Hollywood Daily has put up a story that Jay Leno has been given a special dispensation by the WGA, or "pass," to write his monologues for his show.

It's not true.

We've spoken to our WGA sources, and here's what we have: The Guild talked on the phone with Jay today. They discussed the strike rules and how they apply to him. As a WGA member, he can't write anything, including monologues

This article was submitted by WGA member Michael Arkof. It runs today in Writers: On The Line, a weekly print newsletter distributed at picket locations.
AND A CHILD SHALL READ THEM

Sabrina Batchler didn’t write the book on supporting the WGA strike, but she is reading one. Lots of them, actually. The eleven year-old is conducting a Read-a-thon to raise money for the Writers Guild Foundation, to

As the Industry Support Fund and The Actors Fund (which administers the ISF) continue to help industry workers who lost income and health care coverage during the strike, we offer this helpful post from freelance journalist and United Hollywood lover Becca Bryan. -TES

DON'T GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR PANTS DOWN! THE ACTORS FUND IS THERE FOR EVERYONE.

by Becca Bryan

As someone who has lost a few

WHY WE WRITE is a series of short essays by prominent TV and Film writers. Conceived by Charlie Craig and Thania St. John, the campaign hopes to inspire and inform during the strike, and perhaps beyond.

Today’s piece is written by Greg Garcia, Creator and Executive Producer of My Name Is Earl. To read it, go here.

I think it's time we cleared the air surrounding Lew Wasserman's commode.

Whenever the issue of residuals comes up, some on the other side of the bargaining table like to start talking toilets. Specifically, they just love to trot out a quip allegedy made by the late studio mogul Lew Wasserman which goes something like this: "I don't pay the plumber everytime I flush my toilet."

Nice try.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has been very supportive of our strike. They've paid for billboards reading, "Hey Studios... Do the Write Thing. 1.9 million janitors, healthcare workers, public employees, and security officers support the writers' struggle for fairness." At last week's union solidarity rally they marched with us, as they have on several other occasions.

(The following is a post from WGA member Kevin Droney. The man made it through the '88 strike, and he knows his facts and figures.)

Why Production Crews Should Be Cheering On the Writers

I’ve talked with a few IA guys over the past few days, and they were generally unaware of a few things in their own contracts with the Alliance. To whit:

1) Their unions, including I.A.T.S.E., IBT Local 399, Studio Utility Employees Local 724, IBEW Local 40, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 78, and the Plasterers & Cement Masons Local 755… ALL RECEIVE RESIDUALS.
2) These residual payments go directly into their PENSION AND HEALTH FUND.
3) RESIDUALS earned working on shows CONSTITUTE 55% OF THEIR P & H.
4) If there are funding surpluses from residuals, retirees receive a 13th and a 14th check in that year, instead of the normal twelve.

"The Newshour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS) reported on how the internet is at play in the Writers' Strike. Featuring an interview with Shawn Ryan, and clips from the first Strike TV meeting. Check out the clip at this address:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/module.html?mod=0&pkg=25012008&seg=4

Three of the original Munchkins from THE WIZARD OF OZ will be joining striking writers on the picket line Friday morning at NBC Studios in Burbank. Among them will be Jerry Maren, the original Lollipop Kid who uttered the famous line, "We represent the Lollipop Guild."

Unfortunately for Jerry and his co-stars, the Lollipop Guild didn't have any better luck than other Hollywood guilds of the era in getting the actors or its screenwriter any residuals for their creation which has earned an untold fortune in the years since.

THE WRITER'S OF FOX'S MAD TV ARE PUTTING ON A SHOW!

Original sketches written and performed by the writing staff of MAD TV to benefit the show's script department (which was put out of work because of the
strike.)

All fans of the show are encouraged to attend for a fun-filled night of hilarity. Hell, who are we kidding, even if you hate the show, we want you to come!

WHEN: Monday, January 14th