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?

Zach Pentel from CampusProgress.org sent us these videos. Check out their coverage of the event here.

Here's video of the mock debate in its entirety:

Some of the congress members' responses:

WGA Member Allison Abner, who helped organize the event wrote the following report:

The WGA had a great day in Washington yesterday. The event was hosted by Reps Nadler D-NY, Weiner D-NY, Schakowsky

At today’s Los Angeles City Council meeting, over 300 writers and supporters came to hear Councilmember Eric Garcetti speak to the City Council about the writers strike, and the need to bring the AMPTP back to the table so negotiations can resume.
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The AMPTP did not bother to send a representative, apparently feeling that the $20 million a day damage to the Los Angeles economy is more the City Council's problem than theirs.

Garcetti introduced an emergency motion asking for both parties to resume bargaining, and to come to a just and fair deal as quickly as possible. He also pointed out that the writers are still at the bargaining table, ready to negotiate, and called specifically on the AMPTP to return as well.

I'm too much foaming at the mouth over Holy Joe Lieberman, Mike Hucksterbee, and Harry "Traitor" Reid to say anything coherent. Maybe I'll be articulate in the morning.

Oh yeah: Go here. Sign the petition to impeach Darth Cheney. This is serious -- actual real members of the House Judiciary Committee are really, truly, honest to gosh doing this. Don't be a slacker. Don't be part of the problem.

United Hollywood Live (12pm Pacific/3pm Eastern) will be joined by Robert J. Elisberg, whose excellent article on The Huffington Post questions why the AMPTP - made up of competitors - is allowed to negotiate as a single entity against the WGA. The show will also feature a live remote from the Trekkie Day rally at Paramount Studios where the writers of all Star Trek Incarnations will join us on the picket line.

Nikki Finke, the journalist behind Hollywood must-read website Deadline Hollywood Daily, and Emmy-nominated actress Kim Delaney will be the special guests today, November 30th, on United Hollywood Live (12-1 PM Pacific/3-4 PM Eastern).

A large part of the show will deal with this week's negotiations and the latest AMPTP rollback offer.

Tune in by CLICKING HERE (or by using the widget located along the right hand side of UnitedHollywood.com). The show, which airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday, is also available as a podcast immediately after each broadcast via the widget.

The WGA just sent out an official email listing a few local businesses that support the strike. We captains have been encouraged to approach businesses in our neighborhoods, tell them what is going on, and ask for their help.

I'd like to expand upon the idea though: If you are a business owner who wants to offer discounts to striking writers, please consider offering discounts to IATSE members and Teamsters who may have been thrown out of work by the conglomerates' refusal to offer a fair deal. We're all in this together.

- Silverlake Yoga is offering a 20% discount to WGA members while the strike lasts.

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?

In our winner-take-all economy where the filthy-rich, get filthier and richer, and the workers get their paychecks and benefits squeezed and slashed - workers are standing up. And, more and more we're standing together.

The IBT (International Brotherhood of Teamsters) has reached out to the Fed Ex workers to help them unionize. Fed Ex labels their drivers "independent contractors" instead of "employees" so they can get around paying benefits, and make the drivers lease their own trucks (costing the workers $40,000). Click here for more information. And, here to sign a petition urging Fed Ex Ground to treat their drivers fairly.

Last week a coalition of WGA members went to NYC to talk with the seven largest media buyers on Wall Street.

These ad buyers are the large corporations (like Proctor & Gamble, Johson & Johnson, etc.) who advertise on TV and pay the networks' bills.

Our WGA crew, lead by Matthew Weiner, showrunner of "Mad Men," laid out our position to the advertisers -- who for some reason might not be getting entirely accurate forecasts from their corporate customers like CBS.

The event was a success. The coalition of media buyers agreed that our demands are reasonable and that it was "irresponsible on the part of the networks not to settle this dispute immediately."

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

(From fans4writers.com:)

Fans should gather at Universal Studios beginning at 11:00 AM. We have a customizable picket sign (pdf) you can use. Mingle with other fans, wave your signs, experience the thumbs-up and honking car horns of passing drivers.

Then, when the time comes, head to NBC Burbank, where many striking writers will be headed, in time for a larger strike rally to be visited by presidential candidate John Edwards beginning at 1:45 PM.

This is a relatively last-minute event, so spread the word far and wide. And keep an eye out here for future developments, because preliminary discussions are underway for a much larger Fan Day event to show the Companies just how much fans support the writers have.

(This was emailed to Captains by the WGA.)
California State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) introduced Senate Bill 1765, the "Fair Market Value Bill," to end the practice by some major studios and networks of “underselling” television series or movies. Since the major media networks in the United States have come to own many cable channels, the practice of selling TV series or movies for less than the fair market value of the content has become more and more prevalent.

"The WGA West wholeheartedly supports this bill and we applaud Senator Kuehl for authoring it," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West. "This important piece of legislation will help ensure reliable accounting among the major Hollywood studios so that creative talent and all entertainment employees that rely on residuals will be fairly compensated for the contributions they make to the industry." Read entire press release here.

Oscar-nominated writer-director and WGA board member Phil Alden Robinson will be the special guest today, November 28th, on United Hollywood Live (12-1:30PM Pacific/3-4:30PM Eastern). Robinson has been an articulate voice on behalf of writers during the current strike.

Today's show also features live reports from the various picket lines, video clips and a surprise guest or three.

Tune in by CLICKING HERE (or by using the widget located along the right hand side of UnitedHollywood.com). The show, which airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday, is also available as a podcast immediately after each broadcast via the widget.

- Garth Brooks Rocks
The best-selling solo music artist in US history refused to cross picket lines and appear on "The View" or "Ellen" last week to promote his album. Reports cited this quote from Brooks' publicist: "Garth is proud of the position he has taken since he hopes to be a writer in the not too distant future."
Garth, I'll bet you now have several thousand writers who will happily look at drafts for you. Thanks for your support.

Many outlets carried this story, but when one is called CountryStandardTime.com, well, that's the one getting the link.

I picked this morning's NY Daily News and I read a story about some guy who is on the reality show "Big Brother" who made an incredibly lame and offensive comment on the show about autistic children.

Apparently, Adam Jasinski, who allegedly works with autistic children, said, "I want to open a hair salon for kids with special needs so the retards can get it together and get their hair done." When one of his "housemates" rightly called him out on such a remark, this jackass defended it by saying, "Disabled kids, I can call them whatever I want, okay? I work with them all day. I'm not saying anything offensive...I bust my ass to help these special needs children!"

I just thank God the overwhelming majority of people who really do work with autistic children don't have this asshole's attitude.

As many of you know, I have two nephews who have been touched by autism. I can't begin to say how offended I am by this cretin's crap. Autistic children are not "retards." An Autism advocacy group has demanded this show be cancelled because of this remark, but CBS won't do that, because the show makes money for them. They distanced themselves from what this moron said, but it rightly has many people angry.

- "New Economic Partnership." NEP. Hmm. Sounds so familiar. Wasn't there another famous NEP somewhere? Some other exciting NEP cooked up by a really trustworthy and benevolent organization? Oh, now I remember.

Interesting things, facts. They are simply what they are. And yet sometimes you can read a lot into them.

Here's a fact:
On December 18, the Writer's Guild testified before the Los Angeles City Council about the economic impact of the strike.

Here's another fact:
The AMPTP didn't show up. [Gosh, just like at the negotiating table.]

Instead, they asked the MPAA to take care of it. The MPAA represents the AMPTP before all levels of government throughout the world. The MPAA also provides economic data and information on the motion picture and television business to the public.

And one more fact:

SCI FI CHANNEL DAY FOR FANS & WRITERS:
Jaime Paglia, co-creator of "Eureka" is inviting fans to join the writers, producers and cast members from Sci Fi Channel's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, EUREKA, FLASH GORDON, PAINKILLER JANE, and others for a rally at NBC Studios.

12 noon - 2 pm at NBC STUDIOS, 3000 W. Alameda Ave, Burbank, CA.

SPOOKY WEDNESDAY AT WARNER BROS:
For the last two Thursdays writers

We shouldn't get all misty-eyed at the revelation that the studios are happy the strike has happened.

Jeff Zucker picks up an easy $40 million by terminating overall deals. Peter Chernin is the face of reality when he boasts, "We save more money in..., you know, story costs and probably the lack of making pilots than we lose in potential advertising."

We shouldn't be surprised that a cable network told a tv-writer last week that her movie will go into production, but before they green light her project, they need the tiniest of rewrites before they green light. They know the WGA doesn't want her to do the work, but maybe she could 'supervise' someone else who could. Wink, wink.

RUMOR: WGA members are starting to hire "freelance picketers" to do their strike duty.
STATUS: Unconfirmed

Universal strike captain Jan Kimbrough noticed this Craig's List posting on Day Four:Reply to: gigs-473080663@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-11-08, 3:15PM PST

I can't make it to my picket tomorrow and I need somebody to take my place. I want to go see friends in San Diego while I have time off work, and I'll pay somebody $40 to cover my four-hour shift. My strike "captain" doesn't care as long as there are people out there. I'll give you my shirt and signs and all that crap.

If this works out on Friday then let's do it next week too. I'd really rather not have to deal with it.