Bollywood Goes on Strike!Unions representing actors, dancers, and various technicians have gone on strike in Mumbai, effectively shutting down India’s prolific film industry.
Video: ‘Daily Show’ Audience, Writers Face Off
One week ago, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report returned to production, without writers. Would the shows be any good? Would anyone watch? The reviews were mixed, as were the ratings. But what about the audience? Daily Show diehards, who have waited months for their free tickets, now receive unexpected lessons in labor relations. Plus, they have to face picketing writers while waiting outside the studio. Awkward! Late last week, we sent intrepid video correspondent Tim Murphy to try to broker peace. And while the strike continues, at least the audience doesn’t have to feel scabby about it.
Video: Comedy on Strike
Related: The Daily Show: Jon Stewart Displays His Strike Guilt, Unibrow
Blogging the Colbert Report
ByJonah Green
intel
At 3 P.M. Today, What Will Sumner Do?According to a press release sent to us from embittered Viacom freelancers, 3 p.m. is the hour that they will storm out of the offices today to protest large changes in the company’s benefit program. Though Sumner’s army of evil attempted to make some concessions last week, it seems like it’s still on. From the release:
The holiday season has arrived and you work for one of the largest
media corporations in the world. You receive your invitation to the company’s annual
holiday gala event, and along with it, you are given the alarming news that in a few
weeks, large portions of your employee benefits – including health insurance and
retirement benefits – will be slashed or cut.
It sounds like a tale only Scrooge could spin, but this was the case for thousands
who work each day for Viacom but are classified as ‘freelancers’, some of whom
have been working for the company as long as 9 years.
Wow, Scrooge? Someone get these creative people a raise! Any readers planning on walking out, too? Send us what’s going on in the interior; we’re dying to know. E-mail us at intel@nymag.com. After the jump, the full press release.
What’s the Cast of ‘Saturday Night Live’ Doing During the Strike?But what happens if the strike doesn’t get resolved? Seth Meyers, “a New Hampshire boy,” said he’d probably take a job “shoveling show.” Fred Armisen told us he’d be a stuntman, and Jason Sudeikis said he’d join either the Army or the Blue Man Group.
Hollywood Labor Update: Writers Strike Called!After a last-minute offer from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to materialize before the Writers Guild’s contract expired Wednesday, WGA leaders last night announced plans to strike last night.
Hollywood Labor Update: Writers Strike Delayed?Today’s the big day! The Writers Guild’s contract expires at midnight tonight, which means they have only a few short hours to negotiate a new one with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before a strike is called and Hollywood crumbles into the Pacific Ocean, never to be heard from again.
Vulture Predicts the Winners of the 2009 Golden Raspberry AwardsYesterday, Website ComingSoon.net obtained the complete top-secret list of all the films (and their attached directors) that will soon be stinking up a theater near you … Which movies will suck the most?
