In Support of LAUSD Teachers: The Strike Begins

The rain is pouring in Los Angeles, but that's not dampening spirits on the picket line as teachers and supporters fight to improve the quality of education being offered by the Los Angeles Unified School District. Maria took these shots this morning outside the Blogger Teen's school.

Higher pay, smaller class sizes, more support staff. Our children, and the people tasked with preparing them for the future, deserve it. And as a society, we need to get our priorities in order. 

The fact that we rank so low in education funding is California's shame. Time to do something about it. It's truly unfortunate that we got to this point. In solidarity with LA's teachers.

KCRW's The Spin-Off: Netflix Domination, Emmys Overload, and Another Writers' Strike?

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I were joined by CNN's Sandra Gonzalez, and we discussed the potential writers' strike, among other things:

It's not news anymore that Netflix is a huge player in the scripted drama space. But now they've also got movies, stand-up specials, children's shows, sitcoms and reality TV. In their quest to become the go-to for everything, what happens to the traditional networks left in their wake? The Spin-off crew talks about Netflix's growth, how they're paying for talent, and what other networks can do to keep up.

Plus, if you're noticing a lot of prestige dramas premiering right about now, it's not coincidence. Everyone is trying to get their show on the air in the time frame right before Emmy voting starts. With Game of Thrones out of the running for best drama this year because of timing, the field is wide open for the first time in years.

And finally, there's talk of another writers' strike, but what's the likelihood of actually happening? People who have been in the industry a while are still scarred from the last strike. In the event of a strike, the late night shows would be the first to suffer, and that would be a shame since they've been on such a roll lately.

Listen below!

Scenes from a SAG Rally

Writers Guild members turned out Monday morning to show some support for the Screen Actors Guild, which is currently facing the same kind of issues and contract negotiations that the WGA dealt with last year (and into this year). The question on everyone's mind remains, will there be a SAG strike?

Here, SAG and WGA members rally on Wilshire Blvd., in front of SAG headquarters.

Janitors Looking For A Living Wage

The Screen Actors Guild may be hitting the picket lines this summer... but today, it was someone else doing the picketing outside SAG's Miracle Mile headquarters.

About 20 people are picketing this afternoon outside 5757 Wilshire, home to SAG/AFTRA, to protest the treatment of janitors in L.A. county's high-rise office buildings (including that one). Picketers are taking turns on the bullhorn, shouting "Justice for Janitors" in English and Spanish.

The picket is part of SEIU's Justice for Janitors California Contract Campaign 2008, which it says is "the union's largest statewide mobilization effort ever." From the union's handout:

Los Angeles County's high-rise office buildings, owned by commercial real estate giants such as Douglas-Emmett, GE/Arden, Irvine Company, Kilroy Realty and others, depend on hard-working janitors to stay clean and open for business. However, janitors earn wages so low that many cannot afford adequate housing for their families. Some are forced to make impossible decisions between paying the rent or taking their child to the doctor.

At least two of the picketers Thursday were wearing Screen Actors Guild t-shirts.

Contract negotiations continue; on March 28, more than 1,500 janitors and their supporters demonstrated along Wilshire Blvd.

You probably remember the 2000 janitors' strike in Los Angeles, generally considered one of the most successful in recent history.

Another Political Scandal? Fire Up the Silkscreener

When the Eliot Spitzer/prostitution scandal hit the headlines, I knew the folks at Los Feliz's Y-Que boutique were probably already designing a topical t-shirt.

Ever since they hit it big with their "Free Winona" shirt, Y-Que has reliably come up with a shirt for almost every celeb and political scandal. And the Spitzer scandal was no exception, as you can see above.



Y-Que is also hoping to make a few extra bucks off the potential Microsoft/Yahoo merger, as you can see above.

Of course, there's a short life span to many of Y-Que's designs; the store's writers' strike T-shirt has already been marked down from $16 to $10.

The Palazzo's Totally Sincere "Strike Is Over" Gesture

To whom, exactly, is the Palazzo targeting with this banner? "Hurray, the strike's over and everyone's kinda pissed at how it all ended up!" Um, congrats?

Does the Palazzo do this whenever some major issue reaches an ambiguous conclusion?

Congratulations: State Budget Cuts Completed!

Congratulations: Northeast Los Angeles Gang-Related Shootout Over!

Congratulations: Area Newspaper Layoffs Done For Now!

Congratulations: Foreign Investors Bail Out American Economy!

I suppose the Palazzo is simply congratulating itself, as it may now resume suckering people into paying ridiculously overpriced rents for those glammed-up, Park La Brea-adjacent apartments.

Liveblogging the Returns of Stewart and Colbert

I spent time blogging the returns of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" over at Variety's Scribe Vibe strike blog -- check it out!

Liveblogging the Returns of Leno and Conan

I spent the evening liveblogging the returns of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" over at Variety's strike blog; check it out.

A few highlights:

11:35 -- Nevermind Huckabee. Chingy? Really? Memo to Chingy: Crossing picket lines isn't "crunk." Wait, unless "crunk" is a bad thing. But I don't think it is.

11:36 -- "A Jew, a Christian and a Muslim walk into a bar..." And with that, Leno is pulled off the air for another two months.
Joking. Leno doesn't deliver the punch line, instead adding, "See, I have no idea what they say because there's no writers!"
But wait a minute, isn't that non-joke a joke? Didn't someone write the joke about there not being a joke?
OK, now I'm confusing myself. But somewhere across town, a WGA leader is probably wondering the same thing.

11:37 -- First NBC joke! "Do you know there are actually more people picketing NBC now than watching NBC right now?" (NBC execs are flying down to Boca today for the big annual GE confab. I'm sure the head of turbines just emailed this to Silverman and Graboff.)

11:38 -- Leno explains why he came back: "We have essentially 19 people putting 160 people out of work. We continue to support the Guild. But, I think it's easy to empathise with those people if you see the faces of the people who work here. Like Bob, out lighting guy." Cue obese slob with a flashlight. Oh, below-the-line folk, you're so below-the-line!

11:39 -- Wait, did Leno just out his wife as a scab? Yikes. "I'm doing what I did the say I started. I write jokes and wake my wife up in the middle of the night and say, 'Honey, is this funny?' So if this monologue doesn't work it's my wife's fault."
Yup, there goes Mavis' WGA card. (Mavis gets a big cheer from the crowd.)
...

12:40 -- "With all the late night shows off the air, Americans have been forced to read books and occasionally even speak to one another, which has been horrifying," Conan says. Ahh, if that were only true. Unless, by "reading books," he means, "Watching 'I Love New York 2,'" and by "speaking to one another," he means, "TiVoing 'The Hills' so that you can try to convince your wife that it's a fun show to watch together." (Still trying on that one, BTW.)

12:40 -- Conan gets much more forceful than Jay on the WGA issue: "I want to make this clear, I support their cause -- these are very talented, very creative people who work extremely hard and I believe what they're asking for is fair," he says to applause.

12:41 -- "Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to start by talking about my beard. That's right, I know this looks fake. It looks like it ties on in the back, but believe it or not I actually grew a beard. I never grew a beard in my entire life. I grew it out of solidarity for my writers, and to prove that I have some testosterone.

Truest statement of the night: "The biggest comment I'm getting the last couple of days is that I look like the character of Kris Kringle in 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town.'" (See above; he's right.)

Scenes from the Strike Front: Exorcism at Warner Bros.

It was the most unusual demonstration yet during the four-week old Writers Guild strike. Horror writers gathered Tuesday afternoon at Warner Bros. to perform an exorcism. The goal (tongue-in-cheek, of course)? To rid studio execs of "demons" that were preventing negotiations from settling. (Read all about the event here, at Variety's strike blog).


"The Machinist" scribe Scott Kosar (far right) came up with the idea for Tuesday's exorcism, and led the proceedings.


Secret picketer weapon: Chuckie!


Striking with the head of "Halloween's" Michael Myers


The Lost Boys 2" writer Hans Rodionoff said he hoped Tuesday's exorcism would "drive some evil spirits out of the studios, so hopefully our neogtiations will go smoother at this point on."


Don't tempt him.


Performing the exorcism.


Chant of the day was, indeed, "WE EAT SCABS!"

Reppin' the WG, Ya Herd!

You may remember this shot from my collection of pics at the Writers Guild strike bring-a-celeb-to-Universal rally a few weeks ago. Talk about street cred: I mentioned this this pencil-constumed picketer and her gang sign.

But look closer:



Dude, she's flashing a "WG" -- look at those fingers -- for "Writers Guild," natch. Gangsta!

I'm guessing the AMPTP hasn't come up with a rival sign.

Scenes from the Strike: Assistants' Day

It was the assistants' turn Monday -- many writers' assistants have now been laid off as a result of the strike; they joined the picket line in front of Fox as a show of solidarity. Some pics:


The marching picketers


Using "Fox" as a verb


Joss Whedon, still getting over a virus


I forgot to ask what was in the "adult version."

Scenes from the Strike: "Picketing with the Stars" Day

The actors -- particularly from TV, which has been hardest hit -- joined writers Tuesday afternoon to rally outside of Universal Studios. A few pics from the Franklin Avenue camera:


Impromptu "Everybody Loves Raymond" reunion: Exec producer Phil Rosenthal with Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton.


Brad Garrett: “I had a well-publicized negotiation four years ago. All I wanted was my share. That’s all the writers want.”


Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg; "SNL" has been dark since the strike began.


Wait, that's what "AMPTP" means? (This sign, and the next few, were held by Sarah Silverman, Kathy Griffn and others.)


A rallying cry for workers everywhere.


Making a long-term point.


Wait, is that pencil flashing a "Writers Guild" gang sign?


Picket sign, autographed by a variety of stars (Victor Garber, Ray Romano, etc.) that will be auctioned off, the sign holder said.


"The Office" supporting players Leslie David Baker (Stanley) and Kate Flannery (Meredith) dance along to a protest band.


Jay Leno hits the picket lines again, this time sans Krispy Kreme.

Stewie Throws His Support Behind the Writers

Pic from Friday's massive writer rally outside the Fox lot. (Pic thanks to Michael Rosenberg.)

MIKE ON TV: That's So Media Whorish

There you go. Mike the media whore, chatting all things strike this weekend with Lauren Sanchez, Mark Thompson and Arden Myrin on KTTV/KCOP's "That's So Hollywood." Check out the clip here.

License Plate of the Day: Red Sox Edition

Spotted outside Disney during Wednesday's showrunner rally. Here's someone who was celebrating last week... and not so much this week.

Scenes from the Strike Front: Day Four

Didn't spend much time at the picket lines today; work in the office beckoned. Some quick shots while passing by Paramount Thursday morning:


Who is that actress in center-left? It's been driving me nuts all day. Anyone? She looks like the girl who played Kirk Cameron's girlfriend Julie on "Growing Pains"... is it her?


The scene in front of Paramount.

Scenes from the Strike Front, Day Three

I hit the big showrunner picket early this morning at Disney's front Alameda gate in Burbank... talk about a who's who of TV executive producers.


Finally, a positive development to come out of the writers strike: A kumbayah moment between Monday night 8 p.m. rivals "Chuck" (Josh Schwartz, center) and "How I Met Your Mother" (Craig Thomas, left, and Carter Bays, right).


Winner, best sign of the morning's picket, goes to "Lost" exec producer Carlton Cuse.


"Private Practice" exec producer Marti Noxon notes that "fake doctors" support the WGA.


"Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane. Can you imagine how much that picket sign would fetch on EBay?! Hope he held on to it.


"The Riches" creator Dmitry Lipkin has a "Norma Rae" moment.


One of the most interviewed showrunners at the strike line: "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry.


The scene this morning: Chock full o' showrunners at Disney.