Posts Tagged ‘strike’

Desperate Housewives Plot Return

February 12th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

It won’t be long before your Housewives return home!

With the writers’ strike all but over, the cast and crew of Desperate Housewives are plotting their comeback and have penciled in Monday, Feb. 25, as the first day back at work, a show’s rep has confirmed to Extra.

Production came to a halt after the strike began in November and the show has been off the air since the last new episode aired Jan. 6.

ABC confirmed over the weekend that it plans to produce four to seven new episodes for the rest of the season.

For more on Desperate Housewives, tune in to Extra tonight!

Favreau’s False Alarm

February 8th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

With the Writers Guild strike bringing most TV and film production in Hollywood to a halt for over three months, out of work actors, directors and others have been looking for even the slightest glimmer of hope that things might be looking up anytime soon. Let’s just hope they weren’t watching Jon Favreau on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on Thursday night.

"Did you hear?" writer/director/actor Jon asked the audience, "the strike’s over!" A surprised host and audience responded with a resounding roar to what appeared to be good news. But, in true Hollywood fashion, things aren’t always what they seem.

Later on in the show, host Craig Ferguson made a brief announcement to the camera, saying that Jon had perhaps spoken too soon and that the strike is not yet over. Oops.

The latest reports claim that a resolution to the drawn-out strike is near and that an agreement could be reached as early as this weekend.

Tonight Show Lays Off Staff Members

November 30th, 2007 / Author: cwillett

As the strike by the Writers Guild lumbers toward the end of its first month, more people in the Hollywood community find themselves hitting the pavement, as NBC confirms that non-writing staff members of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno have been given the axe.

Jay Leno, host of the late-night mainstay, which has been in reruns since Nov. 5, has not issued a comment yet on the situation. His fellow NBC night owl, Conan O’Brien, has been going deep into his own pocket to pay the salaries of approximately 75 non-striking members of his staff.

There was an attempt by the studios to reach an agreement late this week, but as things stand now, talks are adjourned through next Tuesday, Dec. 4.

Milo Ventimiglia: “I’m Keeping Busy”

November 29th, 2007 / Author: cwillett

It was no surprise to catch hunky Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia at the one-year anniversary party for Nissan’s Nissan Live Sets concert series in Century City, Calif., earlier this week. After all, like just about every other TV actor in Hollywood, he doesn’t have much to do while the Writers Guild remains on strike, so why not hit a hot Tinseltown event like this? But we were surprised to find out just how many things the young actor has going on behind the scenes.

“I run a production company,” he explained to OK!. “The strike keeps everything slow, but for the most part the company is still up and running. We’ve got a project that I’m working on with American Eagle that we just wrapped up. It’s another online series of short films and then I’ve got a couple things in development.” But mainly, says the former Gilmore Girls star, he’s “just looking for some time to relax.”

Of course, in Hollywood, “relaxing” is just a code word for exercising. “I run as much as I can, lift weights and just try to keep myself active.”

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Man Candy gallery of this Heroes hunk!

Milo even took some time to come to the defense of his co-star, and rumored gal-pal Hayden Panettiere, who recently had arrest warrants issued for her in Japan, following her participation in a protest against dolphin poaching. “It’s admirable work that she’s doing,” Milo told OK!. “If there’s a cause that I find important, hopefully I’ll have as much courage to do the stuff that she’s doing.”

Ellen Cancels Her NYC Trip

November 14th, 2007 / Author: cwillett

Had the Writers Guild not gone on strike last week, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres would be all set to bring her brand of daytime goofiness to New York City next week for some special episodes. But with the striking writers vowing to protest, Ellen has opted to remain in sunny California.

While many shows have shut down production as a result of the strike, Ellen has remained on the air, citing contractual obligations. And now, with the news of this latest cancellation, the Writers Guild is claiming a small victory. ”She knows that the Writers Guild East would have been there to
protest her lack of solidarity, not only with her Guild writing staff
but all the striking members of the Writers Guild, of which she is a
member,” said Michael Winship, president of the Writer’s Guild East, in a statement issued Wednesday.

However, a rep for the show has downplayed the decision saying only, ”We make changes all of the time. Our schedule is always fluid.”

The Writer’s Strike: What’s an Actor to Do?

November 10th, 2007 / Author: OK! Staff

With the writers’ strike likely to stretch out over the coming weeks and months, television actors from Grey’s Anatomy, The Office, 24 and countless other shows will be left with plenty of free time. What’s a TV actor to do?

OK! offers suggestions for what actors like The Office’s John Krasinski and Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera should do during their “involuntary hiatus.”

1. Pick up a second job. Maybe it’s time to add -model or -singer to your resume. You’ve always wanted to record an adult contemporary album, right? Take a nod from well-known TV actor/singers like Don Johnson and Eddie Murphy — who could forget “My Girl Wants to (Party All the Time)? — and book out some studio time. We hear Scott Storch will work with anyone for the right price — and a new pair of sunglasses.

2. Head to the Great White Way and cop a part on Broadway. Jen Garner’s doing it, so is Claire Danes — and both of them are TV expats. B- and C-listers should head to off-off-Broadway and dinner theater (“You want fries with that bit part?”). When your TV show is back on the air, you can airily remark that you were “perfecting your craft” in the off-season.

3. Take a clue from Brangelina and get on the international adoption wagon. There are still thousands of orphaned kids available that Brangie hasn’t managed to snatch up — yet.

4. Start a blog. John Mayer has one. Rosie has one. We hear blogs are going to be really big. You can find them on the Internet — also catching on.

5. Commit a crime. It’s hard to stay in the spotlight when your show’s stuck in reruns! Maybe it’s time to step up your profile by assaulting the nail salon girl (Foxy!); throwing your phone at your assistant (Naomi!); or driving under the influence (Paris, Lindsay, the cast of Lost — we’re talking about you.)

6. Start dating your co-star. Nothing like an off-off-air romance with an on-air co-star to keep you warm on those cold strike nights. See: Hayden Panetierre’s maybe-screenmance with Heroes costar Milo Ventimiglia or Lost co-stars Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan.

 

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