Just Wanted To Point Out That I Was Right About The Writer's Strike And Late Night Television - Page 2
The late-night titans were basically forced to return to the air because anyone not related to the writer's strike (cameramen, sound people, hairdressers, makeup artists, wardrobe people, musicians, directors, etc) were in danger of losing their jobs due to shows not being in production. And, as I have said, this is exactly what the bigwigs at the major studios want to happen...they want people fighting with one another, feuding with long-time friends, to pit colleague against colleague, hoping that the pressure will force the writers to give up their strike and return to work for the same (or even less) benefits and pay.
The Writer's Guild is looking into whether Leno broke any of its laws by returning to the air (NBC says no, that Leno is allowed to write for himself, just not other people), while Letterman was able to strike a deal since he owns his show through his company Worldwide Pants. Therefore, Letterman did have some of his writers, while Leno was forced to go it alone. Now, will the tack set by Letterman be followed by other television shows? If Worldwide Pants can forge a deal with the WGA, will other shows now try to seek their own deals? Is Letterman's deal the key to breaking this strike?
There was some good-natured saber-rattling going on between the beleaguered network late-night offerings...when a bearded Letterman said he was going to shave off his beard on the show, bandleader Paul Shaffer asked if he would do it on his own show. Letterman deadpanned, "No, Conan's." And he offered a bit of tongue-in-cheek analysis:
"Ladies and gentlemen the only show on the air now that has jokes written by union writers," Letterman declared. "I know you're thinking to yourselves at home — 'This crap is written?"'
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