Ellen DeGeneres not honoring writer's strike

http://www6.comcast.net/entertainment/articles/eonline/2007/11/13/6c8f2ecd-3ef2-4bc6-9871-87ce3ae16ac7/?cvqh=itn_ellen
The environment over at The Ellen DeGeneres Show continues to be less than felicitous.

Former WB star Keri Russell has canceled an upcoming appearance on the daytime chat fest, reportedly in protest of the decision to keep producing new episodes while its Writers Guild of America-bound employees are out on strike.

Russell, whose promo schedule in advance of her new film August Rush will probably be lighter than usual in light of the walkout, was supposed to be a guest on Ellen when the show tapes in New York later this month.

In an angry statement Friday, the WGA East vowed to picket Ellen's studio in the Big Apple???a threat that the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists didn't take lightly to, calling the WGAE's public outcry "a misstep that threatens to frustrate the solidarity of organized labor on a cause that we should all stand together, and stand up, for."

In response to AFTRA's response, WGAE executive director Mona Mangan wrote Saturday in a letter to AFTRA national executive director Kim Roberts Hedgpath that the matter was between DeGeneres and the WGA, and wasn't meant to be an attack on another union's protocol. (DeGeneres is a member of both.)

"Beyond any issue of membership, there is the obvious ethical issue, which is clearly present in Ms. DeGeneres' decision...

'The Rachel Ray Show', 'The Martha Stewart Show' and 'The View' are all airing live shows too.

So is 'Regis & Kelly' and it seems the 'judge' shows as well.

and the interviews are scripted, too.

does quite a lot of ad lib stuff. But I'm not sure.

But what about Rachel Ray & Martha? There's no way they writes their own stuff! :P

And 'The View' & 'Regis & Kelly' can't be totally scripted, considering the stuff they say!

A very funny comedian, Greg Fitzsimmons, was one of them (may still be, I don't watch morning tv).

for most if not all comics doing regular shows. I think they have input and meet with the writers but they do a lot from teleprompters.

I don't know about Rachel Ray or Martha Stewart. Presumably they wrote their own books so they could write a script. What they're doing is like teaching. I haven't taught for a dozen years but if I had to walk into a classroom this afternoon, I could teach a lot of topics from memory. If I knew I had to walk into a classroom in a couple of weeks, I'd be writing lesson plans and reviewing to get ready. Surely they knew the strike was coming and could prepare to get by without writers for a while.

Unless they are all paying their writers, as Jon Stewart was said to be paying his writers and Colberts' writers, they are screwing the writers by not supporting their strike. I hope that's not the case for any of them.

If they're paying their writers while they're on strike and want to carry on doing their programs without writers, I'm sure their audiences will appreciate it. It's a shame Stewart and Colbert aren't doing new shows. TV has so few shows worth watching -- and we have satellite and get a zillion and six channels.

writers. Ellen does.

quoted in support of Bush? ("Lois Lane")?

This would be weird ... Ellen DeGeneres not honoring the unions, and what's her name is ...

I obviously missed something and saw no mention in the article...:shrug:

i still don't know!

the "union person", while a frequent target of the reich wing would be crossing the line of the picketers ...

Is her show not filming and honoring the strike? If so, that would not be her decision, but rather the producers... I don't keep up with all the entertainment news, so I don't follow...Perhaps you could fill in the holes?

This sounds like a combination of bullying and publicity seeking on Ms. Russell's part...

WGA - Writers Guild of America
AFTRA - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
and reaps the benefits of both

in her capacity as host. So it appears WGA is urging Ellen to breach her contract.

The WGA is trying to use bad publicity to bully a person into a result which they have no right to demand.

supporting your argument. During the Supermarket Strike Teamsters were under obligation of their contract to deliver goods. They could not be forced nor did they cross picket lines. Show me a link where AFTRA is not supporting WGA's strike and she is threatened with the loss of her job. You can legally choose to go back to work but it makes you a Scab, Jon Stewart(and neither did Colbert and he is a repugblican :evilgrin: ) chose not to be a Scab. We were out for four months(being we were in Mammoth Lakes our picket line was in below freezing and snow) and were a lot poorer than Ellen, but we understood the reason a need for unions. Too bad Ellen does not get it.

patty lame's wife

although she may have more to lose than some hosts who are honoring the strike - it is ultimately her decision
she crossed the line

:eyes:

I'm waiting to see how she turns this into yet another ratings bonanza.

She said out of respect for her writers she would not do an opening monologue. This seemed to work well the first two days. On the third day they seemed to joke about having way too much time in the opening segment they had to kill because of her not doing monologue, again mentioning the writer's strike.

Ellen also seemed to go out of her way to mention folks in her audience who had come from other states to see the show, and how they'd be disappointed if they weren't taping.

Yesterday she did do something that seemed like a opening monologue, saying it was what she wanted to talk about, implying I guess that she wrote it herself. But she didn't mention the strike.

I thought it was an okay compromise that she was foregoing the monologue and talking about the writers. If TPTB have pressured her to stop doing that, that would be disappointing. The shows in NY could end up being a real mess.

It's possible she's just worried about how it would affect others associated with the show. I think she should stop working as well, and in the long run it'll be better for the people working on the show if she does stop, but the short-term concerns about getting food on the table are always what cause problems for strikers.

So I think she should stop working but I don't think she's a monster. She's making a bad choice but it isn't necessarily being made out of a lack of compassion for the strikers.

combined.

As I've said before, "worker solidarity" isn't like a coat you can put on and take off when it's convenient.

:toast:

That surprises me too! I think it's because it affects us all directly with our "all important television viewing!" However will we survive without 24 this season!

The studio will no doubt fire her staff if they don't need her if she walks off, as they are going to do with Jay Leno's staff.

It is a very difficult decision for some of these people, whether to risk the jobs of their entire staff or stand in solidarity with the writers.