I hope everyone has started back on the path to "normalcy". I, for one, was happy to see writers embraced on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. And both shows were the better for being written by their writing staffs.

When the strike started we heard a lot of talk about writers writing specs during the strike. But I actually don't know anyone who wrote a script during the past 3 months. Some

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.

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.

This is the second piece (and sequel to the first) by WGA strike captain Alfredo Barrios, a former corporate attorney turned writer.

I was asked to comment on the DGA deal. I decided to wait a few days. Like most of you, I was waiting for more information about the deal than a broad sketch in a press release.

In the meantime, it's my understanding that a small group of self-described “

Today, Tuesday, 11/20/07, Los Angeles will experience a labor rally in support of the WGA strike. Marching west on Hollywood Boulevard from Ivar and gathering in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater, thousands upon thousands will join together to celebrate the importance of labor unions in American life.

And how will you know about this momentous occasion? You'll have to be there.

At the last rally in front of Fox Studios, 4,000 writers and their supporters marched and rallied, but when you watched the evening news, you'd never know it . There was plenty of time that night to talk about lost kittens but nothing about the peaceful march that closed down Pico Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars.

Today's rally marks a crucial juncture: a mass demonstration of our strength before the negotiations restart.

This piece is by WGA strike captain Alfredo Barrios, a former corporate attorney turned writer. It offers insight into what the AMPTP methods and rationale for undermining the writers' resolve. Thanks to Ashley Gable for submitting this to us. -JA

We’re two months into the strike, and I’ve noticed a certain confusion and fear emanating from certain quarters about how things have been “handled”

The strike is over. The WGA contract has been ratified. SAG and AFTRA are now center stage and there is still a lot of work to do before the town gets back to normal. At this moment it's useful to look back at our own history. There are lessons to be learned about how the process can move forward even against what seems like overwhelming odds.

There are many who labored behind the scenes to support the writers' strike. At United Hollywood we worked with people who put their energy on the line but wanted to stay off the media's radar. Not content to just talk a good game, these are members and supporters who knew that if they wanted to make a difference, they had to work at it.

One group in particular came of age during the early part of the strike: the writer-directors. Nicknamed the WD-40, forty writer-directors met to search for ways they could help facilitate the negotiation.

From the beginning of the strike, most journalists accepted the AMPTP's lead and described the DGA and WGA as antagonistic to one another. Nicholas Counter was frequently quoted in the trades as preferring the DGA as a negotiating partner. The writer-directors objected to that characterization and felt that the AMPTP was doing what it always did in positioning the Guilds against one another to diminish each union's power.

This was submitted by WGA member Michael Seitzman. It also appears in the Huffington Post.

A producer once told me that when the writer is working, the script is the gun that holds everyone else hostage. When the writer stops typing, he hands the gun to the producer and director and immediately joins the other hostages against the wall.

On November 1, 2007, The Writers Guild of America typed

I miss the Golden Globes. The fans miss seeing their favorite stars win awards for their favorite movies and tv shows. The Writers' Guild Awards have also been downgraded to a news event. All the writers who were nominated deserve their moment in the spotlight. And the Academy Awards... That's threatened too. Added to all the economic difficulties created by the strike, why not just let the

Rachael Ray was interviewed by a reporter from the LA Daily News, who said that Rachael is the "vivacious, energetic, successful 39-year-old is a household name." I was pleased to see that a reporter might actually get it - she said that Rachael's "can-do approach is a big factor" in her success.

Here are a few highlights from the Q and A session:

Q Tell us about your crazy schedule these days.

Below is an op-ed piece from Wednesday's Los Angeles Times.

Stopping the cash flow will strengthen the writers' case, not cutting deals.

January 9, 2008

We get the impression, in this third month of the Hollywood writers strike, that morale on the picket lines and in the coffee shops isn't so hot. That's odd, given how strong the writers are looking right now.

With the downfall of the Golden

The New York Times reports today that Warner Brothers will start making internet original content the old fashioned way: shoot first, get advertisers later. This is a good thing. It means talent generate the ideas, not marketers. Like others, Warner Brothers seems to have found getting advertisers to finance production can be more hassle than it's worth. Better to shoot the shows fast and cheap, push them out of the nest and see if they fly.

The Times mentions three other recently launched internet original producers: 60Frames, Generate and Michael Eisner's Vuguru. More info about these companies and others in the coming weeks.

Here's a sample from THE JEANNIE TATE SHOW, from Warner Brothers Studio 2.0.

Two articles in the New York Times today (11/16/07) put a personal perspective on the strike. Bill Carter's "Late Shows Move to Help The Workers Not on Strike" and Jennifer Steinhauer's "Writers' Strike Opens New Window on Hollywood".

Carter reports about efforts by Talk Show Hosts to keep their staffs paid, even if they can't be on the air. Steinhauer profiles the personal stories of writers, costumers, assistants, electricians, and thousands of others who are now or who will soon be out of work.

What these stories have in common is one underlying fact: the AMPTP won't sit down with the WGA.

Notwithstanding the AMPTP's full page ads, they'd rather spend their energy and money on avoiding talking to the writers and negotiating a fair deal. And why?

This was sent out today by the WGA:

LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – The membership of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) today voted overwhelmingly in favor of lifting the restraining order and ending their 100-day strike that began on Nov. 5. 3,775 writers turned out in Los Angeles and New York to cast ballots or fax in proxies, with 92.5% voting

This letter was submitted anonymously by a working reality writer. He/She requires anonymity, because otherwise, he/she fears being fired for writing this.

Dear AMPTP,

Today, I read on your website, “thousands of people in reality and animation have chosen not to join the WGA.”
This statement is false.

As a writer (aka "Supervising Producer", the name I'm given to get around having to give me a WGA contract) who has worked in reality television for over three years and who knows many people on the reality circuit, I can tell you that reality writers desperately want to be part of the WGA.

In 1988, Joan Didion wrote an essay on the writers' strike. There's a link to a pdf version at los angeles daze -- it's a must-read.

Agree or disagree with how this strike has been waged, she puts her finger on realities that sound eerily familiar, 20 years later -- and on some key differences as well.

Most importantly, the Union Blues writers that she talks about, who broke the back of the '88

Lots of good stuff to share.

- Patrick Goldstein of the LA Times is a sharp and skeptical columnist. He took a few shots at writers before the strike began. But in his most recent column, he argues that the companies are dead wrong to use fear of a digital future as an excuse not to cut in content creators. "If the studios really believe they can't share a sliver of profits with the people who create what they sell, they'll be the losers. If you don't believe in the future, you shouldn't be in show business."As Patrick writes, entertainment is a business built on optimism. Writers believe in the future. CEOs only seem to when investors are listening. Which is it going to be, guys?

Another shoot out and another Edmonton win.

WGA Press release from yesterday:

Los Angeles – Paul Howes, national secretary of the 135,000-strong Australian Workers’ Union, joined striking writers on the picket line in front of Fox Studios today in Los Angeles. In California for various meetings, Howes asked to meet with the WGA and discuss mutual labor issues.

“The AWU is one of Australia’s largest and most influential labor unions, and

Tune in to hear writer/director/producer Joss Whedon (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) who joins us on United Hollywood Live today (12pm Pacific/3pm Eastern). We'll be talking to Joss about the "Mutant Enemy Strike" in which fans of Joss' shows will picket outside Fox's Pico Gate this Friday.

Also on the show will be the staff writers from JERICHO as well as members of the Network Organizing Committee who will be discussing the Fremantle rally, also coming up this Friday.

It's Super Bowl Sunday and the game is over. Now come days of evaluation, Monday-morning quarterbacking, tough questions and cliche answers. We'll hear all about it on the morning talk shows and entire magazines will be dedicated to what happened today.

And I'm not even talking about football.

I'm talking about where the real money gets spent. Advertising.

In fact, those of us in the

Thursday night was shoot out night in the NHL, with eight games on the schedule, half went through over time and on to the shoot out the Maalox moments for goaltenders everywhere.

From Boston, Detroit, Atlanta and Washington the drama played out with the one on one showdown.

Toronto kept their winning ways of late (well two wins in a row is almost cause for a parade these days in Toronto) with Alex Steen putting away the winning goal to dash the hopes of Bruins faithful.

The WGA has created a TAKE ACTION page. Send a message to Peter Chernin (FOX's CEO) urging him to come back to the negotiating table.

"As a television fan, I urge you to return to the negotiating table with the Writers Guild of America to settle this strike. I want to see new episodes of my favorite programs and this is not possible without the writers."

And, FireDogLake.com has a new petition

We're told that the long strike of 1988 had two far-reaching consequences: the audience discovered cable and reality shows grew in popularity.

What will be the legacy of the 2007 strike?

Hard to say. The negotiations are still ongoing. But one fact is abundantly clear even at this point.

Writers love the internet.

Given that the AMPTP was trying to control the internet, there is something ironic about the way writers have taken to the web as the place to try out ideas or vent or be funny about issues that can seem simultaneously enraging and arcane, like the DVD formula with its string of percentages: 1.5% (or 1.8%) of 20% of the studio’s gross on DVD sales.

By various accounts, after only a few weeks, striking writers and their supporters have put between 750 and 1,000 videos on YouTube.

This was submitted by Phil Alden Robinson, writer-director-producer, and member of both the WGA and the DGA.

While we anxiously await the results of the "informal talks", I've been doing some hard thinking about the DGA deal. There's quite a bit in there to be pleased with - deal points that should serve us well in the future, and that never would have been achieved without our strike. But there

This was submitted by WGA member Robert Eisele, who was present for both the strike in 1985 and the longer strike of 1988.

"Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
-- George Santayana, 1905

In 1988, writers endured a strike of nearly six months. In 2008, we are now approaching the halfway point of the length of that strike.

Although most Guild members in ’88 stood strong

We're continuing to post interviews with writers, directors, and actors, in support of the strike. Please check in at Voices4Action! to hear Billy Ray talk about the emotional and financial toll the strike has taken on the community.

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.