Since the writer's strike is over, a viewer wrote to Matt Roush asking if that means Moonlight will begin production again for this season, or if we will have to wait for next season for more episodes. He answered in his Ask Matt column today on the TV Guide website. Of course, this is just his opinion. All the tv gurus have said the same thing thus far.
Question :
I'm concerned that shows will be in such a hurry to get new episodes on the air after the strike finally ends that the result will not be as good as what we might have gotten if there had been no strike. What are the odds of this happening? I've heard that some shows had episodes written but weren't filmed because so much is rewritten during production, and that couldn't happen during the strike. So those shows should be OK. I've also read that some shows will not finish this season but will hold new episodes until fall. As much as I miss some of my favorites, I think I'd prefer this over hastily written and produced crap. Do you have any intelligence on this? What's your best guess? The shows I'm most interested in are Supernatural, Ugly Betty, Lost, Heroes and Moonlight. I also greatly miss my Monday-night laughs with the gang at How I Met Your Mother. Thank you for an informative and often thought-provoking column.— Cindy B.
Matt Roush :
Once the dust settles from the strike (let it be soon), each show will be judged on a case-by-case basis. The decision to wait to produce new episodes until next season for many series has more to do with economics than creativity, but some long-running shows are enough of a well-oiled machine that they can probably pick back up without too much effort — especially those that knew where their stories were going for the next part of the season. It's all a mess, but of the shows you name, it's most likely that Heroes, Moonlight and possibly Supernatural will make do with what they've already produced. Lost is in such an odd position, having already planned to do a short season, that I'll have to wait to see what they decide before commenting. Ugly Betty is so plot-driven at this point it would be nice for them to move the story a little bit further along, in the way that Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Brothers & Sisters appear likely to do in April or May. And comedies are the most likely of all shows to resume production for at least a handful of episodes, so I'd be surprised if we don't get more How I Met Your Mother (along with the other CBS comedies) before season's end.
mailto:end.askmatt@tvguide.com
Showing posts with label Writer's Strike is Over. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writer's Strike is Over. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Writer's Strike Update ~ It is all over, except for the voting!
Writer's Strike Update
After days of rumors and articles, it appears that the writer's strike is over! *cheer* Every news outlet is reporting it as a done deal. However, the Writer's Guild of America members still have to vote to accept the new contract. According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, the standing ovations seem to indicate the vote will be positive. Writers may be back at work by Wednesday :)
What does the end of the writer's strike mean for Moonlight? From everything I've heard, CBS is not planning to put our show back into production for the short time remaining in this season. BOO! Several sources ~ including the list I published earlier from TV Guide's Michael Ausiello ~ have said Moonlight will return with new episodes this Fall. While that is good news cuz we want a second season, I have been writing and calling CBS asking for the remaining episodes they ordered of Moonlight for this season! Our show is relatively inexpensive to produce.... and... it never hurts to ask, so I hope you are doing the same!
Deadline Hollywood Daily's info on the strike negotiations held Saturday, February 9th, 2008 ~
SATURDAY 9:00 PM: I've received word from inside the Shrine Auditorium meeting that the WGA West membership was obviously "very positive" about resolving the writers strike as soon as possible and accepting the deal negotiated by the guild leadership with the Hollywood moguls. Also, the WGA governing bodies wisely decided to ensure that guild members be able to vote within the next 48 hours before the strike can be called off by leaders -- even though the AMPTP made the deal contingent on the writers going back to work immediately. Under this new end game, Hollywood could now get back to work by Wednesday at the earliest (not Monday as previously arranged). This also means the Academy Awards, just 14 days away, won't be picketed. A writer who just left the confab told me: "There was cheering for everything and standing ovation after standing ovation for all the leadership. There is no question in my mind that because of the atmosphere in that room this strike will be called off. There is no gearing for a fight. It's over."
WGAW President Patric Verrone announced that there would be a vote by the membership over the next 48 hours on whether or not to lift the strike. I'm told Verrone said specifically that the decision to call off the strike, regardless of the WGA Negotiating Committee's or the WGAW Board's or WGAE Council's recommendation, was to be in the hands of the membership (which wasn't originally planned). Pending that outcome, the 10-day ballotting process for members to accept the tentative deal would begin. Since the moguls insisted that vote not delay the lifting of the strike, WGA leader Dave Young Young told the auditorium that the writers, and therefore all of Hollywood, could get back to work by Wednesday. That means Back 9 orders of some scripted TV series could be saved along with a no-frills pilot season with less scripted series ordered than ever before. (And expect the upfront presentations to advertisers to consist of a lot more pleading than preening.) Some of the force-majeured deals could be reinstated. (But it's important to remember that three times as many pacts would have been cancelled if the agents and lawyers hadn't lobbied the networks and studios.) Feature films that were halted could get going immediately.
About 25% of the attendees left the auditorium after Dave Young explained the deal points. But the meeting is still going on as members now ask questions about specific terms.
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/tick-tock-no-wga-deal-language-yet/
After days of rumors and articles, it appears that the writer's strike is over! *cheer* Every news outlet is reporting it as a done deal. However, the Writer's Guild of America members still have to vote to accept the new contract. According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, the standing ovations seem to indicate the vote will be positive. Writers may be back at work by Wednesday :)
What does the end of the writer's strike mean for Moonlight? From everything I've heard, CBS is not planning to put our show back into production for the short time remaining in this season. BOO! Several sources ~ including the list I published earlier from TV Guide's Michael Ausiello ~ have said Moonlight will return with new episodes this Fall. While that is good news cuz we want a second season, I have been writing and calling CBS asking for the remaining episodes they ordered of Moonlight for this season! Our show is relatively inexpensive to produce.... and... it never hurts to ask, so I hope you are doing the same!
Deadline Hollywood Daily's info on the strike negotiations held Saturday, February 9th, 2008 ~
SATURDAY 9:00 PM: I've received word from inside the Shrine Auditorium meeting that the WGA West membership was obviously "very positive" about resolving the writers strike as soon as possible and accepting the deal negotiated by the guild leadership with the Hollywood moguls. Also, the WGA governing bodies wisely decided to ensure that guild members be able to vote within the next 48 hours before the strike can be called off by leaders -- even though the AMPTP made the deal contingent on the writers going back to work immediately. Under this new end game, Hollywood could now get back to work by Wednesday at the earliest (not Monday as previously arranged). This also means the Academy Awards, just 14 days away, won't be picketed. A writer who just left the confab told me: "There was cheering for everything and standing ovation after standing ovation for all the leadership. There is no question in my mind that because of the atmosphere in that room this strike will be called off. There is no gearing for a fight. It's over."
WGAW President Patric Verrone announced that there would be a vote by the membership over the next 48 hours on whether or not to lift the strike. I'm told Verrone said specifically that the decision to call off the strike, regardless of the WGA Negotiating Committee's or the WGAW Board's or WGAE Council's recommendation, was to be in the hands of the membership (which wasn't originally planned). Pending that outcome, the 10-day ballotting process for members to accept the tentative deal would begin. Since the moguls insisted that vote not delay the lifting of the strike, WGA leader Dave Young Young told the auditorium that the writers, and therefore all of Hollywood, could get back to work by Wednesday. That means Back 9 orders of some scripted TV series could be saved along with a no-frills pilot season with less scripted series ordered than ever before. (And expect the upfront presentations to advertisers to consist of a lot more pleading than preening.) Some of the force-majeured deals could be reinstated. (But it's important to remember that three times as many pacts would have been cancelled if the agents and lawyers hadn't lobbied the networks and studios.) Feature films that were halted could get going immediately.
About 25% of the attendees left the auditorium after Dave Young explained the deal points. But the meeting is still going on as members now ask questions about specific terms.
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/tick-tock-no-wga-deal-language-yet/
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