Not Your Daily Show....
By Nicole Belle Friday Nov 16, 2007 6:45pmBut as close as we're going to get for a while.
(Thanks to Nate for the tip to this dKos diary)
The Gothamist interviewed The Daily Show's John Oliver on his feelings about the strike:
Someone from the WGA, I think it was the president, said the strike could go on for nine months. I did not hear that. To be honest I find brinksmanship like that difficult to stomach and it makes both sides sound equally bad. They're playing games with people's lives at the moment, and I'm not even talking about the writers. On The Daily Show we have a staff who are very concerned at the moment about losing their jobs - researchers, P.A.s, etc. - and I find talk like that quite difficult to stomach. I understand they're trying to play some kind of brinksmanship game but that doesn't make it any less difficult to hear when friends of mine who live paycheck to paycheck are being seriously affected by this strike. And they don't even stand to benefit from any of the negotiations!
I have some friends who are familiar with the negotiations--or lack thereof-- and they've been telling me that the companies may not feel compelled to negotiate in good faith until January or February, when their original content will be used up. United Hollywood has more videos as well as ideas on how you can show your support...
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That was awesome, especially John Oliver's appearance.
dude....i am so jonesing for some daily show
i never thought that i was addicted.
Hang in there people. They don't call is Organized Labor for nothing. When I was growing up in the northwest the timber industry broke a lot of unions, and the scabs that crossed the lines found out in a big hurry that if management has no respect for you they aren't going to give you decent wages, benefits or any kind of time off. I watched a lot of people suck it up for long periods of time to get the strikes to work, but they don't work when people start crossing the lines.
Labor is a whole lot weaker in this country that it ought to be--hang in there, stay strong. We can make ourselves and our concerns matter again, but it takes solidarity.
Somebody cut these people some checks already!
There are parrallels with the the strike in Hollyweird and the ones in professional sports. The owners and producers keep the majority of profits. The actors, just like the players on the field, suck the rest of the money dry. The show's writers and everyone who actually has talent gets screwed sidewise, dry and without reacharound.
this is really misleading. If the big companies feel so bad for the "little people" living pay check to pay check then they can take part of their GIGANTIC share of profits and pay the salaries of those people while the writers are striking. Or better yet, they can give the writers -- who are the ones who bring the goods -- their fair share of their profits and end the strike. 'Cuz without the writers they got NOTHING!
I'm sick of seeing these greedy pigs exploiting the creative energy and talent of others.
Uh, guys.. talks are resuming November 26. A CAA agent basically got them to agree on going back to the table.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ic336d29bbc1c...
Fight the power.
Incidentally, two great videos are here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1NeihzlBHo
"No gifts, please."
and from the Colbert Report writers...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFntFDfaf5o
Have fun.
With the odd exception like the Daily Show, there really isn't much on television worth watching. Same shows, with different names. And the reality tv? Garbage!!
Ironic, isn't it? I mean the reasoning used not to pay writers for their work-dropping like poop balls from the upper echelons of the entertainment world.
And it all ends up as a steaming pile, naturally.
ConcernedCanuck @ 8:
You are so right! I'm an old woman and can remember when tv was fun. Lots of great shows and one hell of a lot less advertising. And Creature Double Feature late at night. Now, late night consists (and I'm talking late at night) of 30 minute infomercials. Who needs crap like that? And the new tv sets with the remotes you need an engineers degree to use -- more crap. Bigger crap. Expensive crap towatch crappy shows.
If you need a fix go to itunes podcasts and get The Bugle with John Oliver And Andy Zaltzman. You can also get it through thetimes.co.uk. It is laugh out loud funny.
WGA Member @ 7:
Thanks for the news and the links.
I'm actually looking forward to being able to break this addiction. I have lived without a television many times in my life and looking back those times coincide with many of my hot streaks. Now if I could get the cigarette unions to go on strike...
Well that was indubitably funny.
There's your show right there.
Stewart who?
Jo @ 10:
I agree...it's one endless advertisement, with a few talking heads in between...usually showing off cleavage, or screaming.......sigh.....not even a good comedy anymore
OT: 1-202-225-0100 DEMAND IMPEACHMENT
The prospect of a national election without the Daily Show... Can this be the end of democracy as we know it?
"Media company CEOs shown here in their natural habitat."
I was thinking more like Jabba Hut, with a few slave girls around, of course.
That part at the end was classic!
fox is gonna complete 3 epis of the family guy without its creator...and without the voices he does
who are they gonna get??? the idiots who do fox and friends???
fuck the man
I hope you guys/girls on strike hear this. Please stand strong for all of us workers of the world. You are not only fighting a battle for your own paychecks but you are showing that we will stand up to corporate America and not let them treat us like slave labor. That this is our country, not some corporation's. Thank you for your struggle.
the studio heads can go to Hell
[Deleted. Flame bait-Sitemonitor]
ConcernedCanuck Says: reality show sucks. You know how reality shows started? The last strike. The big guys really got lucky, lots of dittoheads love them some reality shows.
I'm thinking of canceling my cable, when they ask why as they always do, I'll tell them TV sucks now with most of my fav shows off due to the strike. I wonder if the comcast guys would put some pressure on the hollywood guys to make a deal with the union, because now they are losing money.
nyrkah1 @ 11:
Thanks for the tip.
And, for everyone who thinks TV is bad...I wish I felt that way. Besides thinking Daily Show and The Colbert Report are pretty brilliant, I am completely addicted to "The Office," (just found the UK version too), I like "Rome" when it's on, "Battlestar Gallactica," I thought "Dexter" was interesting, "Heroes" not as good as last season but still I want to see what happens, "House" I still watch although it's getting more hit and miss, I'm interested in "Life," I was pretty hooked on "Damages," "Family Guy" is funny, "30 Rock" cracked me up last season - not as much this season, "The Closer" had two good seasons, "Frontline" is always good, "Bill Moyers," and a bunch of others. I really like TV - just hate it's such a time suck.
On the other hand, I don't have a TV - I watch everything on the internet or on DVD's except the new House episodes I watch with a friend.
Jill Bryant @ 26:
and isnt that the point that the writers are making???
in 5-10 years, tv as we know it will be obsolete
the main demo is now watching everything on the net
no longer do families gather around tv trays to watch ed sullivan
now everyone is doing their own thing
the wga screwed itself when they believed the studios in regards to video tape...they arent gonna make the same mistake again
and i dont think the studios can hold out as long as they did in 88...the show runners aint working...that means nothing is getting made...
big pockets they may have, but they have already seen market share drop...how much more can they take?
im still predicting an end to the strike right before xmas
Wag @ 24:
You should blame those who "take the bait", rather than the bait itself.
[Read the commenting policy. And don't tell me what I should do-Sitemonitor.]
groucho @ 25:
Actually, MTV created the reality show with Real World New York back in 1992. It wasn't because of strikes, it was because they wanted to save money.
As far as canceling your cable, I really hope you are honest about the idea. I haven't had a TV in 5 years and it wasn't possible for me to immagine what a complete waste my life was until it was gone. I hear grown humans discussing people on TV shows as if they were real. Adults plan their lives around fiction that has no plot and bad dialog. It's truly a sad comment on the mentality of the American society. Bread and circuses, that's all they need to keep them docile and happily marching to the slaughter.
"Actually, MTV created the reality show with Real World New York back in 1992. It wasn’t because of strikes, it was because they wanted to save money."
COPS is a reality show, and far pre-dates any of that. Now you may be right that MTV created the first angsty reality show.
Oh, so that's where the funny comes from. I never new writer's were responsible
What if all bloggers united (now there's a funny line, right there) and agreed to let producers and networks crib freely from web postings to fill the emptiness in their shows?
Of course, it wouldn't help the reality shows, but all the fantasies and politico-news shows would have a wealth of material.
The problem is, the suits would have to pick-and-choose what to use, and, of course, that's exactly what they are no good at, making decisions.
Which is really what writing is all about, when you get right down to it, making decisions.
So I guess we'll all just have to wait out the strike. Or we could smash our TV's and DVD players, and go outside and watch ants copulate. Which is a lot more fun than watching TV execs do it.
And, big bonus, WE'D HAVE OURSELVES A LIFE!
Jo @ 10:
Let them eat cable . . .
groucho @ 25:
I have satellite. What a waste of money. Reruns at a price. You can watch all the bottomfeeder ratings bombs for the low, low price of a monthly cable bill!!! OR you have the option of picking movies at PPV prices higher than if you went to the video store and rented it...or you can have the option of subscribing to a movie network that plays movies nobody has ever heard of...only diff between dish and cable? 500 channels of garbage compared to less than 70 for cable here.....NICE
Jill Bryant @ 26:
Sorry forgot how good Family Guy and Battlestar Galactica are. Galactica however is on it's last season and will be replaced with the most boring reruns of Star Trek. Hey, maybe it is the writer's fault?!?
This is Napster all over again, Viacom thinks they can take on Youtube they will lose as Youtube has become bigger than Viacom. Should Youtube lose be forced to shut down (which is unlikely) there's already other sites such as Live Leak ready to take it's place. Viacom needs to get with the times and pay the Writers what they deserve.
So people are crying about not having their TV shows...too damn bad. TV is the worst thing in control of the masses since the movies. It validates what is funny, important, significant, etc. and it is constantly in lie mode.
Do you actually trust the news filled with CFR, Trilateral, and NWO supporters as owners and gatekeepers (see how issues like Dr. Paul, Chemtrails, 9/11 movement, medicine and food, etc. are treated.) Do you really want to believe that writers, desparate for "ratings" and job security don't make up week after week, realities based on the most shallow of values.
There are some good options to this: Get out and talk with others. Invite people to your house for social events like humans used to do. Take long walks around your neighborhood and see who you are sharing time with in your town or city. Play with your kids or parents. Read books (they are free at that building you drive by on your way to the mall.)
Redefine your humanity without the narcotic of electronic pacification. Remember the 1984 Mac ad with the babe throwing the hammer? Who do you identify with...the sheep in the audience or her?
well i dont' want to brag but skippy scooped both c&l and the great orange satan on this one by several days...
the 21st Century will definitely require some adjustment time
stay tuned
The problem is this: People don't have access to their own culture.
Especially when every element of the cultural heritage is a product with a price tag.
There used to be public libraries ... oh someone is telling me they still exist. Where are the libraries for the media cultural heritage? This is our past, these are the reference points. How do you access them without buying the DVD for $29.95?
I say give all of these products a 10 year shelf life. After that NOBODY (!) makes money on them. Not the writers, not the studios, not the actors, NO-FUCKIN-BODY!
Because I don't see anyone writing any checks to the armies of the regular people who serve as the promoters for the shows, who live the reality that make the shows have any meaning at all within the cultural mindscape.
After 10 years, the studios should no longer be able to charge rent on these little patches of cultural mindturf.
So the big companies are not paying their writers who got the ideas, what does it tell you about piracy and IPR? ^_^
Mug @ 40:
LiberalTarian @ 3:
Do what we do in Canada. CD-R's and DVD-R's have an added cost to cover pirating. And we Download everything via BitTorrent.
I download American's cute little Anti-Priacy guilt trips just to watch them.
It's a free internet and free world. and there is no room to waste on these corp-right mongers who want to control popular cutlure.
We are making a new culture, of people who are trying to survive and rebel against this capitalst crap.
This christmas, give to your community... Burn a WalMart Store.
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