What an incredible list of petty, mean-spirited and just spiteful behavior the Hollywood CEOs are compiling for themselves. Really, they’re never going to be able to explain away this stuff when the strike eventually ends and they’re held accountable by everyone else. I’ve been confirming episode after episode of the AMPTP’s giant multimedia members retaliating in every way possible against anyone in Hollywood helping the WGA’s side in this strike dragging on and on. I’ll keep updating as more instances come in to me (so keep refreshing for the latest):
–>The latest is that Disney/ABC has rescinded offers to pay for tickets for TV show executive producers going to the SAG awards — just two days after sending them emails saying ABC would provide four tickets per show. The exec producers are often hyphenates who also belong to the WGA.
–>Disney/ABC has decided not to pay for hair and make-up and even cars for its stars going to the SAG awards, something the studios and networks always do, since the actors have aligned themselves with the WGA and the SAG show received a Writers Guild waiver while it’s increasingly unlikely that the Oscars televised by ABC will. ”Their reasoning is that they don’t want to pay for SAG actors to get all dressed up only to bad-mouth the studio on the Red Carpet,” a source told me. Oh, like that couldn’t happen at the Academy Awards, too, although ABC wouldn’t air it.
–>Harvey Weinstein received a number of phone calls from the moguls warning him ”You shouldn’t do it,” and “We can get this done with the DGA,” when word leaked out that he was making a side deal with the WGA to be able to hire striking writers.
–>NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker has tried to bump both NBC 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan and NBC Celebrity Apprentice star Donald Trump from the recent guest rosters of The Late Show with David Letterman whose parent company Worldwide Pants did a side deal with the WGA to hire striking writers. Zucker’s network minions tried to convince both men not to appear on the show. But Zucker allowed late night rival Jimmy Kimmel to guest on Leno and Leno to guest on Kimmel.
–>Zucker earlier bullied striking NBC comedy writers from Saturday Night Live not to appear on Letterman’s first Late Show back from strike hiatus and announce the Top 10. The scribes were ordered by NBC to leave the Ed Sullivan Theater right before the taping. By doing so, they couldn’t collect their personal appearance pay. But NBC found out too late that writers for Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Law & Order did the bit and Zucker wanted the names of everyone who participated and worked at NBC.
–>Zucker refused to allow the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to hold an untelevised Golden Globes awards ceremony even though it would have been unpicketed by the WGA and the actors, directors, writers as well as Hollywood studios and networks who won could have been celebrated.
–>NBC Entertainment co-czar Ben Silverman on Monday told his new best friend Ryan Seacrest, before the Golden Globes awards show was officially scrapped that, “Sadly, it feels like the nerdiest, ugliest, meanest kids in the high school are trying to cancel the prom. But NBC wants to try to keep that prom alive.” (Now there’s a T-shirt for sale benefitting the WGA strike fund that reads, “Nerdy. Ugly. Mean. Proud of it. WGA.”)
–>AMPTP staffers, consultants and members (especially corporate publicity departments) are busily posting comments on WGA-friendly websites and blogs that Hollywood visits regularly and filling them with hate-filled rants against the WGA leadership, the A-list actors, and the companies who’ve made WGA side deals. The goal is to turn off readers and drive traffic away and in the process spread pro-AMPTP propaganda and make it look as if the strike is breaking apart.
–>News Corp. No. 2 Peter Chernin realized the AMPTP was losing the PR war and was most responsible for bringing in Fabiani and Lehane as the AMPTP’s public affairs consultants since his company has a close relationship with them. Fabiani and Lehane were paid by News Corp. to orchestrate a 2004 campaign organizing advocacy groups by race and ethnicity to hammer Nielsen Media Research over its plans to modernize how it measures viewing habits.
–> Warner Bros Chairman Barry Meyer has handpicked the AMPTP paid mouthpieces who have spread the AMPTP’s insults and disinformation about the WGA leadership.
–>The other day, an AMPTP consultant tried to start a rumor that a WGA exec was connected to child pornography.
–>The AMPTP repeatedly lies that the WGA has “a $30 million PR fund” to spread public information about the strike when the reality is that the WGA’s entire communications budget is several hundred thousand dollars.
MORE
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.


Wow… can they sink any lower? Their “the average working WGA member makes more than [fill in the blank]” on their website was petty enough. Guess what, AMPTP? You’re not helping the LA economy by going to resorts and flying first-class all the time, thinking that the WGA should be the first to crumble.
They just keep digging deeper and deeper holes for themselves. What are they going to do when this strike ends and they need all the creative people to help them make their mounds of money.
I hate to tell you this, but your first example does not sound particularly mean spirited. You made the point for me–why SHOULD they underwrite a union-sponsored event where they are going to get bad-mouthed. Seems entirely practical.
And more to the point, why should they EVER pay for hair, makeup, and transportation for these people? I don’t think there a lot of tears being shed for this crowd outside of LA and NY. The rest of us have to dress ourselves for our parties.
I can hear the Big Media anti-trust investigation firing up at the DOJ from here….
That MPAA thing is legal. Jeez, what a bunch of sleazy fucking douchebags.
To be fair about ABC’s thing, not giving free props to people supporting the AMPTP’s “enemy” isn’t really a shock, even though the “enemy” is right. It’s not good, but I wouldn’t have expected it. As for cutting out people who make sides deals, it just proves they pay no attention to what they’re saying. Before they were claiming that side deals would have no effect. Morons. Know what you need? Good. Writers. Go, George Clooney, go! Bring them to their knees!
They’re building a whole new wing in hell for some of these guys. I love the phrase “when they end up face down on Satan’s griddle.”
And I’m an atheist.
Why would Disney pay for the nominees to go to an event to bad mouth them? In addition, the nominees aren’t working, they aren’t generating income for the studio, so why would they spend the money? It is just smart business.
Why would NBC want actors contracted to them appear on CBS, when these same actors have been told not to appear on the NBC late shows? Again, if SAG is telling them not to appear on Leno, why is it wrong for NBC to tell them not to appear on CBS? It only makes logical sense.
It was the WGA that would not allow a televised GG take place. They said they would picket, that lead SAG to decide to advocate that their members not attend the awards. Why is it NBC’s fault it was not taking place? Why would NBC say…well..we have a contract to televise the awards, but no…we will let you have them anyways..why would they do that? WGA decided that the awards would not happen when they would not sign an interim agreement with DCP and then when they said they would strike the event. That is not NBC’s fault.
This whole situation is a mess and needs to be resolved, but it is ridiculous to blame the studios for every single thing.
There is enough blame for both sides! The WGA needs to take responsibility for the situations they created, while the studios should do the same.
Is there a more loathsome individual in Hollywood than Jeff Zucker? Has anyone ever been paid so much to lose a company billions of dollars and take them from first place in the market to fourth? No one put it better than former G.E. CEO Jack Welch, when asked why Zucker hadn’t been fired yet. His response: “Because I’m not at the company anymore.”
As liberal as Hollywood supposedly is, these AMPTP folks sure are taking notes out of the Bush administration’s “Politics Of Fear” as they continue their pathetic attempts at maintaining a stronghold against the creative communities.
Keep fighting writers! And whether you’re with him or not, take a couple of words out of BARACK’S book and keep repeating them, “YES WE CAN!”
Change is coming. And you guys are just the beginning of it. I am certain of this.
These dont sound like vindictive ANTI WGA acts more like NBC protecting its intellectual property. NBC has a habit of having the stars of its shows go on its late night shows just as ABC does its. As for the untelivised golden globes. NBC has the rights to the golden globes. They paid for those rights. If the globes go on then NBC has the right to air them. But as always its slanted to look bad to the WGA. There would be no issue if the WGA leadership wasnt overly greedy with its all or nothing stance.
This kind of bravado is EXACTLY how Zucker turned the number one network into the number – what is it – doesn’t Animal Planet beat NBC? Hope all you top brass are taking notes from Super Whiny Toad. Zucker’s also got the world’s top scientists working on a contraption to suck all of the air out of the atmosphere so all the world’s air will be his – ALL HIS!
Jeff Zucker the colossal idiot who lost One Billion Dollars for GE when he destroyed NBC’s primetime schedule. Jeff Zucker the cowardly putz who should’ve been FIRED instead of being promoted. Jeff Zucker the wimpy whining asshole who realized he’d better blame Kevin Reilly for NBC’s failure instead of taking the blame himself.
Ironic considering Reilly gave NBC its only hit shows. Zucker should’ve been fired and Reilly should’ve been promoted. Jeff Zucker the buck-passing blame-dodging douchebag who thought hiring Silverman would be a really smart way to continue avoiding being blamed.
I guess my question is why does Zucker even have a job? Don’t the GE stockholders and the board realize what an incredibly incompetent nitwit Zucker is? Apparently not.
He inherited the #1 Network and immediately flushed its success down the toilet costing NBC over a Billion dollars in advertising revenue. And this is the schmuck who thinks he’s King of the Fools now?
Well in that regard I guess he is.
I’ve met him and he is without a doubt the dumbest most obnoxious most arrogant little egomaniacal prick in Hollywood. He never should’ve been elevated from his little feifdom on the Today Show. That’s the only thing he was ever qualified to supervise. He has been out of his league and in over his head ever since.
Proving once again that the fastest way up the showbiz ladder is to FAIL YOUR WAY UP IT. Failure really is the fastest way to the top. You can always find someone else to blame for your own stupid decisions.
Someone needs to kick the shit out this asshole. He needs to be terminated for legitimate cause by the GE Board. If they won’t do it the stockholders have to do it. In any other business costing your company One Billion Dollars in losses would be grounds for immediate and permanent termination.
In this business it means nothing. Jeff “Billion Dollar Loser” Zucker is walking proof of this. You really are The Biggest Loser ever Jeff. Congrats for showing your true colors so everyone can see what an incredibly small and cowardly little prick you are.
As someone who works for NBC Uni I am NOT surprised…..
When these moguls were in grade school, were these the kids who always “told” on you, the teacher’s little snitch? I think I grew up with some of these little ass…oh wait, I went to public school! Sorry!!
Being petty about the SAG awards is almost justifiable but in the end petty and dumb. Wow, do you think actors will nurse a grudge long after this is all done. Gee, I wonder if this will affect later deals.
Its sad that this is happening but both side are sinking to this and its costing all the crew members alot!
Its time that both sides STOP this BS and get back to the table and work out a deal. Can’t we just all get along and get this town back to work?
I blame both sides for this silly shit and its time they both get there heads out of there butts and start to talk and get a contract and get everyone back to work so they the people that are on the crews dont lose everything they have worked so hard for.
What a bunch of douch bags.
I have to agree about ABC (or any other company) not wanting to pay for SAG expenses when their stars aren’t even working. It’s ridiculous to expect them to period, let alone when it is giving them a platform to bemoan the current situation.
Try the real world for a while…this doesn’t even touch how petty companies can be.
Does anyone have anything NICE to say about Zucker? Seriously. Is there a classy show he ever championed? I know he takes credit for Fear Factor and supersizing Friends, but is there anything else? Is there any creator or star who speaking kindly of him? Anyone?
And more to the point, why should they EVER pay for hair, makeup, and transportation for these people? I don’t think there a lot of tears being shed for this crowd outside of LA and NY. The rest of us have to dress ourselves for our parties.
Comment by Bob Smith — January 10, 2008 @ 7:02 pm
Wow… Where to begin?
These “parties” are not for the actors. They are for the Networks who owns the show that the actor is currently employed by. Do you seriously think we enjoy going to these parties? Do you seriously think we enjoy walking through a press melee where 117 people ask the same damn question again and again and again?
These “parties” are a part of our contract just as is sitting in a chair for 12 hours while they parade 265 reporters past us to ask the same questions, doing gallery photo shoots, going on any and all promotional gigs and smiling and saying, “I love my show, I love my fellow castmates, everyone is just the best!”
It is marketing. They send us to these “parties” to market their product. We don’t have a choice.
The hair and makeup and clothes and cars are selected for you by the studio and network to promote the image they choose. We usually don’t even have a say in that. It is their way of controlling things.
If they really choose to not pay for cars, makeup, wardrobe etc. it will be very interesting to see who actually goes.
Oh Nikki – listen to your self. Its okay when the WGA strikers would show up on location of sets to try and shut down production or disrupted a show, and often banded together and would chatise anyone who went against them (ala someone going fi-core). How is this different. You should change your site to deadline wga daily. Its fine to have a belief one way or another, just stop trying to parade yourself off as a neutral and fair ‘journalist’.
What is going on with Jeff Zucker? I wonder if Letterman booked ET, yes, the little space monkey, would he not run it on his network ever again.
i actually think this is a good sign. It means that this shit is starting to get to them. They are getting angry, publicly, which is really not like them. Its a change in behavior that should be noted and capitalized on. Perfect timing with the AAA’s getting vocal. WGA, please don’t blow this opportunity.
Ew.