RIP Evel Knievel

Evel Knievel, the iconic motorcycle stunt man, died today at the age of 69. Knievel, always decked out in his best bedazzled stars and stripes, was a national treasure who captivated audiences around the world with his breathtaking stunts.

Evel Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle daredevil whose exploits made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69. Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs. Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills.

Robbie Knievel has some pretty big shoes to fill if he hopes to keep the Knievel legacy alive...he sure as shit isn't going to do it if he continues doing Holiday Inn Express commercials.

Edie Falco Solves the Wrtier Strike!

I am currently working on a post that is taking me longer to complete than expected...

In the meantime, I leave you with a video from the Late Show writers, who caught up with Edie Falco...the footage is really quiet dramatic.

Paper Will Never Win!

A piece of paper beating a rock is almost as ridiculous as the ending to that M. Night Shamalamadingdong movie "Signs". You mean to tell me that aliens figured out inter-planetary space travel, invade Earth and terrorize everyone, but were completely unaware that the planet is comprised mostly of water...the one friggin thing that can kill them? You would think that if a species was planning an intergalactic raid, they would at least do a little research about their target first. That's like a kid with a peanut allergy taking a tour of the Planters factory. It's asinine...just like a piece of paper beating a rock.

(btw...I found this gem on FoundMagazine.com)

Speechless

On Thanksgiving day a group of WGA members launched the "Speechless" campaign, a series of black and white videos featuring A-List SAG members showing their support for the WGA.

The campaign was conceived by writer/director George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff after seeing the all the tremendous SAG talent out supporting the WGA on the picket lines from day 1. Hickenlooper, who directed Factory Girl, suggested a series of Warholesque screen tests with the talent remaining silent to show solidarity with the writers. Sereboff brought the Speechless concept to the table, where the talent would remain silent, eventually holding up a hand written sign that simply said "speechless". The two combined the ideas under one banner and within a few days had recruited a pretty impressive team including: DGA members Paul Haggis (Crash), Rod Lurie (The Contender), and Wayne Kramer (The Cooler) & WGA members Steve Pink (Grosse Pointe Blank) , Jill Kushner (Ellen), and members of the writing staff for The Tonight Show. Justine Bateman (that's right, Mallory Keaton), who is a SAG board member, played an instrumental part in recruiting the talent.

Already confirmed to appear in the campaign are:
Sean Penn, Holly Hunter, Laura Linney, Alan Cumming, Jay Leno, Harvey Keitel, Kate Beckinsale, Tina Fey, Tim Robbins, Gary Marshall, David Schwimmer, Patricia Clarkson, James Franco, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Martin Sheen, Josh Brolin, Susan Sarandon, Andre 3000, Chazz Palminteri, Jason Bateman, Christine Lahti, Patricia Arquette, Jenna Elfman, Olivia Wilde, Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Eva Longoria, Justine Bateman, Joshua Jackson, Rosanna Arquette, Diane Ladd, Rebecca Romjin, Minnie Driver, Nicollette Sheridan, Robert Patrick, Matthew Perry, Ed Asner, America Ferrera and the cast of Ugly Betty, Woody Allen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, Jason Alexander, Charlize Therone, Minnie Driver, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

You can read more about it here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. Here's a little Thanksgiving fun...



Before I leave you, there is some guild news...no, not the Writers Guild...The Lollipop Guild! Everyone's favorite little people (that's what we call midgets now right?), The Wizard of Oz Munchkins, received a long overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. No word yet from the International Brotherhood of Oompa Loompa's Local 109 on when they are receiving their star.

There is nothing creepy about this picture I swear!

Best Apology Ever

Last week Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson got himself into some hot water by describing a recent Lakers victory as a "Brokeback Mountain Game" because of all the "penetration and kickouts". Apparently the NBA was not thrilled with this analogy, presumably because it might on some wacky off chance have offended a gay person. Jackson delivers one of the greatest sarcastic apologies of all time; thanking ESPN for making such a big deal about it and apologizing to any cowboys or horses that were offended.


Let me get this straight, Isiah Thomas can sexually harass a female employee, Stephan Marbury can sleep with a MSG intern in the back of a truck outside a strip club, James Dolan can try to cover the whole thing up, MSG can be lose one of the largest sexual harassment settlements in US history, and there is no repercussions. But Phil Jackson makes a "Brokeback Mountain" joke and he has to apologize the very next day?

If anything, Jackson should have had to apologize for making a "Brokeback Mountain" joke because its not terribly relevant. What's next Phil? A Bill Clinton joke?

Geek Alert: Watchmen Movie

Alan Moore's seminal 1986 graphic novel Watchmen, widely considered one of the greatest comics of all-time, is finally going to make it to the big screen. After years of rumors, false-starts, and a slew of different directors Watchmen is now filming in Vancouver with 300 director Zach Snyder at the helm. Directors Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Last Vegas, Twelve Monkeys) andDarren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) had been previously attached. The current screenplay was written by David Hayter (X-Men) and was called "as close as I could imagine anyone getting to Watchmen" by Moore (although Moore has also stated he refuses to go see any Watchmen movie made).

Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985 where costumed "superheroes" (only one in the story actually has super powers) are real and the US on the brink of nuclear war with Russia. Superheroes have been outlawed (various reasons including undermining police force) and have gone into retirement. That is until a murderer starts offing their own, which is where the story begins. A series of events causes a group of superheroes to come out of retirement to investigate.

Watchmen was innovative in it's deconstruction of the conventional"superhero" by turning them into real life people with real life issues. The superheroes in Watchmen, save for one, noticeably lack any super powers. They must struggle with their own inabilities, neurosis, and failings throughout the book.

Watchmen started as a limited series running from 1986 to 1987, it was then re-published in "trade paperback" form, helping to usher in the popularity of the Graphic Novel (think Sin City). It is the only graphic novel ever to win The Hugo Award (given for achievement in science fiction/fantasy literature) and was listed on Time Magazine's 2005 list of "100 best English Language Novels" (the only graphic novel to make the list).

If done right, Watchmen has the potential to be the best movie based on a graphic novel of all time.

If you are interested check out Watchmen 101 to get more details on the story.

Picketing with the Stars

Tuesday was "Picketing with the Stars" out in CA; tons of SAG actors turned out to support the striking writers. Check out this video courtesy of United Hollywood:


Highlights:
00:55 - Is Rob Lowe still dressing up as his character from West Wing? I wonder if he does all his interviews in character as Sam Seaborn. "Rob, what do you think of the strike?" "President Bartlett supports all Unions in their efforts for equality in the workplace." "ummm ok?!?!"

01:38 - Todd Bridges is on the picket line as part of a work release program. Favorite Line: "Don't make me come to your houses producers, cause I will"...I believe him.

01:48 - Sarah Silverman is wearing a Red Sox hat. I no longer find you funny or sexy. You are dead to me Silverman.

03:13 - Is that Stanley? You know Stanley is the key to the picket line's urban vibe.

03:41 - Ruuudy! Ruuuudy! Ruuuuudy!

"Mahzel Tov, It's a Celebration Bitches"

Jay-Z's new album "American Gangster" sold 425,000 copies last week to debut at #1 on the Billboard charts this week. Last week's #1 The Eagles "Long Road Out of Eden" fell to #2. Britney Spears' album fell from #2 to #7.

This is Jay-Z's tenth album to debut at #1 tying Elvis as second all time in #1 album debuts. The Beatles are first with nineteen #1 debuts, a seemingly untouchable amount.

Tying Elvis makes Jay-Z iconic, and not just in the hip-hop world. I am not a huge Jay-Z fan, but you have to respect the man. He is the King Midas of the rap world; everything he touches turns to gold...or platinum in his case.


In case you were wondering, the title of this entry are actual lyrics from the new album:
Rich niggas, black bar mitzvahs
Mazel tav, it's a celebration bitches, la heim
I wish for you a hundred years of success but it's my time Cheers,
toast to crime Number one b-boy, chain nigga rhyme

That's just plain genius!

Check out the video for the first single "Blue Magic"


Yes, that would be a wad of EUROS that he pulls out. It is a sad commentary on the US economy when rappers are pulling out Euros to show how filthy rich they are. The Euro now officially has more street-cred than the dollar. Jay-Z is the Gangsta Alan Greenspan.

Who Needs A-Rod?

Super Creepy Pope Benedict XVI

Screw A-Rod! Yankees Stadium will have The Pope in 2008. I hear he has a better agent.

Pope Benedict XVI will hold mass at The House that Ruth Built on April 20th. Tickets will be free, which I'm sure means it will be mayhem!

It's funny...I read the announcement and all I could think was "Did the Yanks re-sign Mo Yet?"

WGA Strike Continues...Week 2

Week 2 of the WGA Strike is underway and there is no end in site. Week 1 by all accounts was a success, great turnouts on the picket lines, nice public support from some big name SAG members, and a large rally at Fox (over 4,000 strong) to cap off the week. Week 2 is considered by most the first real test, will the writers resolve hold up going into a new week? I don't think the AMPTP expects it to.

The weeks and weeks of stockpiled scripts and episodes the TV studios claimed to have seem to be drying up after 2 weeks. Shows like Family Guy, The Office, and Scrubs (to name a few) are all out of new episodes after this week. Speaking of The Office, NBC let go of over 100 "below the line" crew members, a sign that they are preparing for a long haul (and apparently trying to send a message to Steve Carrel and the other striking cast members). There is also word that some studios have begun to threaten legal action against show runners if they don't return to work in their producer capacity. Studios are going to have to come up with filler for shows as they run out of new episodes.They will have to make some tough decisions on what to do with new shows and the shows were on the cusp of getting new episode orders. Right now they can claim they are saving money by not ordering anything new or funding new pilots and just sit back and be content with not losing money, but eventually the demand for new creative product will outweigh the merits of a schedule full of reality TV (right?). The pressure is certainly going to be building on both sides, it will be interesting to see how it starts to play out.

To keep things fresh and interesting on the picket lines WGA-W has planned a few "theme" days this week (and they don't mean have a pimps and ho's party). Yesterday was Veterans day and schools were closed, so writers were encouraged to bring their kids and families to picket with them and show support. Today is "Picket with the Stars", SAG actors will be turning out in force to support the WGA. Here is a list of actors already committed to show up at picket lines:
(via United Hollywood)

Army Wives – Kim Delaney, Brian McNamara, Sally Pressman, Drew Fuller, Wendy Davis, Sterling K. Brown, Brigid Brannagh
The Big Bang Theory – Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Jim Parsons
Big Love – Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Brotherhood – Ethan Embry, Fionnula Flanagan, Kevin Chapman
Corey in the House – Rondell Sheridan, Madison Pettis, Lisa Arch, Maira Walsh
Cold Case – Thom Barry, John Finn, Tracie Thoms, Meredith Stiehm, Danny Pino
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Archie Kao, Marc Vann, Wallace Langham, Liz Vassey, David Berman, John Wellner
Desperate Housewives – Doug Savant, Nicollette Sheridan, Dana Delany, Tuc Watkins
Dexter – Keith Carradine, James Remar, C.S. Lee
Dirt – Ian Hurt, Josh Stewart
Everybody Loves Raymond – Ray Romano
The Game – Tia Mowry, Pooch Hall
George Lopez Show – George Lopez, Constance Marie, Valente Rodriguez
Grey's Anatomy – Katherine Heigl, T.R. Knight, KaDee Stickland, Amy Brenneman, Justin Chambers
Jericho – Ashley Scott, Bob Stephenson
Kyle XY – Jamie Alexander, April Matson, Chris Olivero, Bruce Thomas
Las Vegas – Vanessa Marcil
Mad Men – January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Rich Sommer
My Boys – James Kaler
New Adventures of Old Christine – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Clark Gregg, Hamish Linklater, Alex Kapp Horner, Tricia O'Kelley
Numb3rs – Dylan Bruno, Diane Farr
Private Practice – Kate Walsh
The Riches – Minnie Driver
Rules of Engagement – Patrick Warburton, Megyn Price, Oliver Hudson, Bianca Kajlich
'Til Death – Brad Garrett, Kat Foster
True Blood – Anna Paquin, Sam Trammell
Wildfire – Lori Loughlin
Without A Trace – Poppy Montgomery, Enrique Murciano
Women's Murder Club – Scott Gemmill, Paula Newsome, Laura Harris

Other celebrities slated attend to support the WGA include: Ben Stiller, Lisa Kudrow, Frances Fisher, Camryn Manheim, Edie McClurg, Susan Savage, and more.

Tia Mowry huh? What, is Tamera too busy or something? Or is she just too good for this? Bitch!

Pretty impressive list, this has got to be a tourists dream come true.

This video pretty much says it all about the strike...
Voices of Uncertainty


And this is just great...

Trailer Watch: Major Movie Star

The trailer for Jessica Simpson's newest cinematic effort "Major Movie Star" hit the interwebs today. I liveblog this masterpiece below

Major_Movie_Star-Trailer
Uploaded by aszle

00:00:01 - blah

blah

blah

blah

00:00:20 - Steve motherfuckin Guttenberg!!!!

blah

blah

blah

00:00:55 - Is that Vivica Fox? It is! This must be the definition of rock bottom.

blah

blah

00:01:12 - Vivica needs a breath mint...and a new agent.

blah

blah

blah

00:01:40 - Simpson's screaming caused my brain to liquefy and shoot out of my ears. I'm pretty sure they are going to find me face down on my desk in a pool of my own blood. omit flowers.

blah

blah

00:01:51 - Vivica: "I think I just threw up in my mouth"...me too.

blah

00:01:55 - More Guttenberg!!!!!!!!!

blah

blah

00:02:18 - fin

I feel like I need a shower now.

Just a Thought...

...If there is a prolonged writers strike, who is going to write all the awards shows? Do they even have an Oscar broadcast? If they do, it will be interesting to watch these people come up with their own cute little quips and one-liners. Just like watching a trainwreck is interesting.

I can't believe I'm about to say this but...America would miss Bruce Vilanch.

Apparently the picketing was over at Time Warner yesterday which is not where I was. I apparently missed a pretty good turnout, including a ton of a-list actors showing up for support.

Today the focus of the picketing, both on the east and west coasts, was all at Fox/News Corp.

FYI...Next week's Office was the last finished episode before they shut down for the strike. Same goes for Family Guy. That mean if the strike continues past next week you can kiss new episodes of each goodbye. Word is the episode of the Office that was about to be filmed before shutting down was one of the funniest yet. I don't know if they are just messing with us by saying things like that, but the plot of the episode is Michael & Jan have Jim & Pam over for dinner. How can that not be funny?

Thursday Afternoon Randomness

- There is yet another recall of a toy made in China. This time around it's Aqua Dots, a popular toy used in arts & crafts projects. Aqua Dots are small, sticky, colorful plastic dots that can be arranged into different designs and fused together by spraying with water. Aqua Dots look and feel like little colorful candies, if ingested (and here is where the recall comes in) the glue covering the dots metabolize into the powerful DATE RAPE DRUG GHB. So basically, little kids are playing with a toy that looks like candy, they inevitably put the sticky candy looking thing in their mouth, and they are ruffied worse than a sorority girl on a Saturday night. Lead in paint is one thing, but toys that turn into date rape drugs? Come on, how do you let that happen? Who is your Quality Control guy, Creed Bratton?

Anyone going to the Aqua Dots party at the Delta House this weekend?

- Do you ever listen to your mp3 player on shuffle and come across music you didn't load onto the player? I'm not just talking about a song you forgot about, but a song you would never in a million years download. I seriously think my mp3 has become self aware...and it hates me. How else do you explain Tori Amos and DeBarge's "Rhythm of the Night" ending up on there?

- I walked over to NBC today to snap some shots of the WGA protesters and show my support, but they were nowhere to be found. Bummer. I'll try again tomorrow.

- Some of the strike captains started an "official" blog of the strike...United Hollywood.








- Ebony & Irony?










I will leave you with the trailer for There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson's first movie since Punch Drunk Love. I don't know much about it other than that it is starring Daniel Day Lewis...that's enough for me, I'm sold.

Hey Hey, Hey Ho, I Saw This Episode Two Years Ago!

Well it happened. At midnight yesterday the WGA went on strike. Starting yesterday morning writers picketed in shifts outside of studios in both NYC and LA.

The writers are going to have plenty of time on their hands now, maybe they should consider using that time creatively and coming up with something a little more clever than "On Strike" for their signs.

The first casualty of the strike are shows that depend on a team of writers to create material daily based on current events including The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report. Networks have announced that new episodes for these shows will not air for at least a week; repeats will air in their place.

Some shows like Cashmere Mafia, that were meant to be mid-season replacements, may or have been shelved for the time being just in case they are needed down the road to replace existing shows that run out of new episodes. Other shows like Lost or Entourage may not have enough scripts to finish a full season; Lost in particular may shorten its season to 8 episodes. Some shows, the Heroes spin-off for instance, have been canceled altogether.

Stars have also hit the picket lines as a show of support. Julia Louise-Dreyfus was on a picket line in the shadow of a billboard for her show The New Adventure of Old Christine. Amy Poehler was outside of NBC supporting SNL writers and Tina Fey, who writes and stars in 30 Rock, joined the shows writers as well. The Office star Steve Carell, who has a writing background, refused to cross picket lines and go to work yesterday. Jay Leno pulled up to the protestors outside of his Burbank studio on a motorcycle and handed out boxes of Krispy Kreme Donuts.

As the strike goes on more shows will go into repeats and we will see an influx of news shows (whose writers are part of a different union) and reality shows. Eventually they are going to run out of ideas for shows so I have decided to take advantage of this and pitch the following reality shows to the networks:

The Pimp hosted by James Lipton - James Lipton takes 12 dorky guys and turns them into pimps. The winner will get a pimped out green and gold (green for the money, gold for the honey) Cadillac Coup de Ville and his very own Ho train.

My Kakamayme Bat Mitzvah - spin-off of My Super Sweet 16, we follow a jappy Jewish 12 year old as she plans her Bat Mitzvah. These girls drive their parents crazy trying to have like the biggest Bat Mitzvah like ever. The first episode we will watch Shira as she plans her "The Devil Wears Prada" themed party. Marvel as Shira throws a temper tantrum because daddy bought her a silver BMW and not the pink one she wanted (keep in mind she is only 13).

The Real Housewives of Camden NJ - You've seen the Real Housewives of Orange County, now see how the other side lives. We go inside the most dangerous city in the country and follow the housewives as they live their day to day lives. In the first episode we see the housewives sit around gettin their hair did and talking shit about their baby daddies.

White Noise hosted by Rosie O'Donnell - Rosie O'Donnell talks about whatever she wants...the show won't actually be called White Noise, that's just the sound you will hear as blood shoots out your eyes and ears as you watch Rosie.

Rape Island with David Copperfield - No explanation necessary. The show sells itself!

Yeah, But I Can Still HEAR You Costas!

NBC kicked off its "Green Week" last night by turning off the studio lights at the tail end of the Football Night in America Broadcast and broadcast the remainder of the show, the halftime show, and post-game show by candle light.

NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” officially will become a “green” show this weekend, as it kicks off an initiative that will see the broadcaster televise 150 hours of environmentally-themed content this week across its broadcast and cable networks, online sites and mobile platforms. … Green week will start one hour into “Football Night in America,” at 8:00pm ET. That’s when studio host Bob Costas will explain the initiative. … About 90 seconds before the end of the pre-game show, NBC literally plans to turn the lights out, having the pregame crew finish the show in the dark. The studio lights will stay off through the halftime and post-game shows.

During the halftime show Costa's claimed that the energy saved doing the "dark" show could power an average household for one year.

While other networks have begun to jump on the "green" bandwagon, NBC really seems to be the first network to fully embrace the green movement (even their website has "gone green") which is not surprising considering their unabashed love affair of all things liberal and Democrat.

I applaud NBC for their initiative in theory, but in practice I think the dark studio missed its mark. When you consider the the size of theCO2 footprint that is left by the air miles logged by the teams/announcers/analysts/crew, the energy used to power Lincoln Financial Field, and the incessant babbling of Bob Costas/Kieth Olbermann/Al Michael/John Madden (the biggest babbler of them all), having the studio lights off for a while starts to feel like an empty gesture...especially when they decide to keep the Toyota sign lit (gotta keep the advertisers happy).

In the end what did this symbolic gesture accomplish? NBC gets to show off how "green" they are, GE will sell more energy efficient light bulbs, and we didn't have to look at Olbermann's goofy mug. Great, but where do we go from here? What happens when Green Week is over? This is a conversation that the world needs to have, and not just during halftime of a football game.

Where's Al Gore when you need him?

If they really wanted to conserve energy last night, they should have turned the lights off at the Linc so no one had to watch the Eagles stink up the joint.

Looking for tips on what you can do to be more "green"? Check out The Daily Green, a great "green" website for regular people.

This May Get Ugly - The Possible Writers Strike

Over the past few days and weeks I have had multiple conversations about the looming writer's strike in Hollywood. Most people I have spoken with are aware that there is a strike on the horizon, but because they are not directly involved with the TV and Film industry they are not entirely sure what the whole thing is about.

In its most basic form the situation is like this.
On one side of the negotiating table is the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and on the other is the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP). The AMPTP is the group responsible for negotiating on behalf of Hollywood (networks, studios, producers, etc.).

The two main issues:

• Residuals on DVD sales - This issue has been around since the late 80's, when Writers fought to get greater residuals on VHS sales. They eventually gave in on this issue because back in 1989 nobody thought TV shows on VHS would be a big thing. Fast forward to present day 2007, TV shows on DVD are BIG business. The problem is that the agreement in 1989 and subsequent agreements have been written in a way that writers are still getting the shaft on residuals for DVD sales of their work. Obviously they don't want to get shafted again this time around.
  
• Mobile, Online, "New Media" - Once again let's go back in time, in 1989 no one except Al Gore was thinking internet, so when deal were made online content was never a consideration. Now, in the current age of watching shows online, writers get nil for their work that is re-played online.
  

On the issue of "New Media" the AMPTP took the position that they still need to do research on where this growing industry is going. Hell, there are technologies that can come into play we are not even talking about today (just like the internet in 1989). This didn't please the WGA at all. Then the AMPTP proposed a re-structuring of the residuals system that wouldn't pay the writers a flat residual fee based on use and sale of the product, but instead writer's residuals would be tied into the profits. What they were saying was we won't pay you until we recoup our costs, and then you will get a percentage of the profit. To this the WGA basically said "fuck that! anyone can play with the books and make something look like a loser. We are paid residuals based on our work, not the success of the product which we have almost no control over." The AMPTP also proposed a re-structuring of how writers who are paid "above scale" are paid residuals. The gist of this was if a writer is paid X dollars over scale, then you wouldn't get paid anything until there is over X dollars in residuals. The WGA looked at this as the AMPTP turning a writer's payment for a script into a pre-payment on future residuals, where in reality they are two separate things. The original payment is for the product itself whereas residuals are supposed to be a payment for re-use of the product.

This last proposal set the WGA over the edge, they were so pissed off in fact that the AMPTP took the profit based proposal off the table, in a move saying "here look we are willing to work with you, calm your ass down!"

As far as I understand it, the two sides are not much closer on these or many of the smaller issues. The current agreement between the two expired at midnight Wednesday, and the writers union has already voted to authorize a strike. Keep in mind, an authorization doesn't mean strike; it just means they can call for one when the time is right. Negotiations continue but it appears a strike is coming.

What a strike will mean for us:
Hollywood has been preparing for a possible strike, stocking up on as much stuff they could before anything happens just in case. If the strike is short lived, then the impact would be small to the point that it would probably have no effect on us. But if it's a long drawn out affair then the effect will be much greater. The impact of a long strike will greatly affect TV; eventually they will run out of scripts rushed into production before the strike. New episodes of shows would start to peter out and we would see a lot more reruns and reality shows. Reality shows are not represented by a union and therefore can continue production of new product with or without a strike. We would also see a rise in news magazine shows. During the last strike show like 48 Hours hit it big, while some serialized shows never made it back. Also, late night shows like Letterman can't do a show without its writers, so we may see them take a long vacation as well.

I don't think the film industry will not be as greatly impacted because the studios have gotten a bunch of movies in the can already that they can release down the line. Plus if TV is shitty then maybe people will go to the movies more.

The impact that is not talked about as much is all the people who will have no work if sets and shows are shut down. I'm not so concerned about the actors, they will find work (if there is a long strike don't be surprised if you see some big names hitting the stage), it's the people who rely on making a living working on TV shows and on studio lots. I think they get screwed the most by this strike.

Obviously there is more to the strike; this is just the situation as best as I can understand it and put in a way I hope others can too.

If you want more info check out this write-up done by the good people over at Pajiba "The Looming Hollywood Strike".

If a TV Falls in the Woods has a good perspective from a writer out in LA.

Also, you can check out this piece in the LA Times - "A writers strike nobody wants."

I have used bits and pieces of these as references, they are chock full of info (especially the Pajiba guide).

Are They Looking To Adopt? Cause You Know, I'm Available

If I had to list my favorite celebrity couples Amy Poehler & Will Arnett would definitely be in my top 5, probably falling somewhere between David Duchovny & Tea Leoni and Boris & Natasha. So when I came accross the sneak peak of the duo's new Gap Ad, it brightened up an otherwise groggy post-Halloween morning.



They got in the mood for the holiday themed ad by talking about their vacation plans this year...

"We do what we always do — we rent a private jet and go up and then we call all our single friends and we say 'ha ha, how does it feel to be alone at Christmas' and then we dump jet fuel into the ocean — but only where there are endangered species."

Other ads in the series feature The Office's John Krasinki and James Marsden of X-Men and Superman fame.

More and more kids that grew up reading comic books and ruining grading curves are ditching the idea of going to MIT to become an engineer for NASA and instead are taking over film and television studios. You can see the results of this in the geek trend that has been embraced by Hollywood over the past couple of years, with its big budget blockbuster movies based on super-hero comics and video games, Judd Apatow movies like Knocked Up and Superbad that celebrate the average Joe, and a slew of new geeky TV shows like Heroes, Chuck, Reaper, Aliens in America, and Ugly Betty. It seems this geek love may now be spreading to the fashion and advertising industries as well.

I love it! Embrace your inner geek people! I'm gonna go watch some Battlestar Galactica.