Fremantle Media: Speak of the Devil

Wow, Ozzy Osbourne's album titles just lend themselves perfectly to titling this post about Fremantle, the company about to produce Ozzy and family's new variety show. I went with "Speak of the Devil," but "No Rest for the Wicked" was a close runner-up.

Take a look at this latest press release from the Writers' Guild, about how Fremantle is trying to chip away at hard-won fair wages for writers across the entertainment industry -- and let me know if I made the right call on the title.

To Our Fellow Members,

Last week, you may have become aware of our ongoing dispute with Tyler Perry's production companies, which fired four writers because of their efforts to organize Perry's series, House of Payne. Pickets were up at his new studio's grand opening Saturday night in Atlanta.

Now, we write to inform you of another labor dispute.

Fox has ordered a primetime comedy-variety show featuring Ozzy Osbourne and his family, and has engaged FremantleMedia North America, the company behind American Idol, to produce it. Because they wanted to hire WGA members to write the show, Fremantle contacted the WGAW to see if we would agree to a sub-standard contract. Attempting to pay as little as possible to the writers on the show, Fremantle asked to treat it as "half-scripted" and pay greatly reduced writing fees to those writers who wrote skits, interview material, intros, and "outros." Although all of the writing on the show is of a type traditionally covered by our MBA (in such shows as The Carol Burnett Show and Laugh-In), Fremantle wanted to treat certain portions of the show as "reality content," not cover the writers who create it, and lower the compensation of the WGA-covered writers, arguing that they would only be responsible for writing part of the show.

We refused to agree to such a deal because it would drastically undermine hard-won minimums and standards. While we have covered some shows produced by Fremantle, they insist that other shows, including American Idol, The Price is Right, and Million Dollar Password, do not have writers and should not be covered by a WGA contract.

Now it is clear that Fremantle's intention is to bring their low cost, non-union business model into traditional genres – first game shows, then comedy-variety. Soon, no WGA-covered writing will be safe from their aggressive undermining of our contract. We cannot allow this encroachment to continue.

Accordingly, WGA East and West members may not write for the Osbourne variety show (working title: The Osbournes: Loud and Dangerous). Any members who perform writing services on that show do so at their own peril as they will be violating WGA Working Rule 8 and could be fined up to 100% of their compensation for that work. Both Guilds notified agents and other representatives of this development through an Action Alert issued yesterday.

The alert also reminded agents that they cannot send clients who are members of either Guild to write for Tyler Perry's production companies. The WGAW has filed unfair labor practice charges based on the unlawful discharge of the House of Payne writers and continuing bad faith bargaining. Members who accept these jobs will also be in violation of Working Rule 8.

We believe that denying Fremantle and Tyler Perry members of the Writers Guilds East and West may convince them that they will be unable to produce professional quality entertainment content and that they will see the wisdom and creative advantages of signing a WGA contract.

There is already far too much writing done in our business by men and women without WGA benefits. We cannot let writers of sitcoms and comedy-variety programming join their ranks, as we also work to reduce the amount of animation, reality, nonfiction, and other so-called "non-scripted" writing not covered by a WGA contract.

Thanks for your attention and your continued support.


Best,


Patric M. Verrone
President, WGAW

Michael Winship
President, WGAE

Just a Late-Occurring Thought About This Week's True Blood

In case you haven't seen this past Sunday's episode (10/5) of HBO's True Blood ...

SPOILER ALERT!

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Okay then. I know Bill was so hungry on his return home from battle that he and all his senses were concentrated on the yummy eggs and toast that the "widow" was cooking up on the hearth.

But didn't he at any point smell the three or four rotting corpses up in the loft? That must have been a pretty overwhelming stench.

Just wondering.



Oh, by the way, I just want to go on the record and say: I'm pretty sure I've figured out who the killer is (and no, I've never read any of the Sookie Stackhouse books. But if you think about the last few episodes, it's actually quite obvious!)

And did anybody notice the guest spot by William Schallert -- i.e., Patty Duke Show dad Martin Lane -- as the mayor of Bon Temps?! It's a long way (and it's been more than 4 decades) between Brooklyn Heights and Louisiana!

And Now, a Word From...

Chris Diamantopoulos
Actor, USA's The Starter Wife

Back in July, NBC and its sister cable network USA paraded the stars of the new series The Starter Wife in front of the press at the Television Critics' Conference. I quickly cornered handsome Chris Diamantopoulos at the networks' party, to ask about his experience in this series version of the hit miniseries, where as a straight actor -- in real-life he's married to the fabulous Becki Newton of Ugly Betty -- he's taking on one of this season's highest-profile new gay characters.

As The Starter Wife goes to series, Diamantopoulos' Rodney finally has gotten his interior design business back on track. But his personal life, as always, is another story. He's got a new crush, which would be fine if Felix Jones, the hunky action movie hero, wasn't straight or Rodney's newest and biggest interior design client for that matter. I asked Chris whether maybe this time Rodney can just get the job done without losing his shirt—or his heart.


Must-Hear TV: Chris, first of all -- Becki Newton! You're married to gay favorite Amanda. Is Marc jealous?

Chris Diamantopoulos: Yes, my wife Becki is the amazing Amanda on Ugly Betty. Let us all bow down now. And as fabulous as you think she is watching her, that isn’t the one one millionth of how fabulous she is in person. She’s spectacular.


MHTV: In the promos that USA will be running for The Starter Wife, your character Rodney is right in there -- just as the voice-over says the words "coming out." What can you tell us about Rodney's upcoming life?

CD: Rodney is one of Debra Messing’s character Molly's very best friends. I’m an interior designer, and I find myself in a very clandestine affair with someone whom I can’t name. But what I can say is that if the affair were ever to come out, it would destroy this person’s high-profile career.


MHTV: Well can you tell us -- is Rodney's lover character Felix played by a high-profile actor?

CD: He's played by a wonderful actor. I’d like to think that he’s a high profile actor, but... We won’t be having Mel Gibson on the show.


MHTV: One of the criticisms gay audiences in particular often leveled at Debra's last series, Will & Grace, was that gay character Will never got any action with boyfriends. Will we see Rodney gettin' some?

CD: [On this show] I am shirtless and half naked for more than I’ve ever been in my entire life. In the miniseries, because it was so nuclear about the Molly character, Rodney could have been seen as sort of a satellite, and there wasn’t too much delving into what was going on into his life. [But now that we've gone to series,] the first item of business that Sara [Parriott] and Josie [McGibbon], the creators, worked on was creating real three dimensional characters out of these satellites, and they’ve done a wonderful job. Now, Rodney gets to be one of the girls when he’s with Joan and Molly, but you also see him in his business life, and his romantic life. What I love that they’ve done with Rodney is they’ve created this real gay character. In that yes, he’s gay, but his sexuality is only one part of who he is. That having been said, it’s not like it’s a non-existent part. We definitely see what Rodney wants, and what he wants to get.


MHTV: As far as you know, on USA are there any limits as to what Rodney can or cannot do -- for example, physically, on a date?

CD: That's a very good question. We’re pushing it. I’ll say from an actor’s perspective, they’re challenging me appropriately. They do a great job in the writing of both Debra’s romantic trysts and Rodney’s romantic trysts, and actually Joan’s romantic trysts, creating a dance that makes, I believe and I hope, the audience want to tune in and see more. Showing just enough and then maybe going over the line, and then making you expect more.


MHTV: Pre-Rodney, had you ever played a gay character before?

CD: I have. I played a gay character on Broadway and I’ve played a gay character on TV. I was in The Full Monty on Broadway.


MHTV: Actually, then I must have seen you!

CD: Then you saw all of me. That was good fun. Then in the season 2 premiere of Nip/Tuck I played a gay character.


MHTV: I've heard that even in 2008, agents will sometimes advise an actor not to play gay more than once. Did you experience any pressure like that?

CD: I could be totally wrong, but I think that that’s so passé. I think it should always come down to the writing. If it’s in the writing and you can create something that’s interesting for you as an actor to play, if you can have a good time at work, if you can say something that you feel is the right thing to be said, then that’s how you should pick the role. I forget who it was that said it’s location, paycheck and script. If you can get 2 of those, you’re in a good place. And I always look at the script first.


MHTV: That's what attracted you to The Starter Wife?

CD: Yes, that they’ve written Rodney as a real person. The first time it was a real opportunity to work with Debra, to work with Judy, to go to Australia. "This is great fun." At the time we had no idea that it was going to be a series. Then, when they came to me and said, "We’re shooting a series in LA," the first thing I thought was, “I get to say Josie’s and Sara’s lines again.” And yes, there weren’t many of them in the miniseries, but boy whatever there were were very well crafted. I knew that they weren’t going to let me down. If they were going to create this character for real, they were really going to create a lasting character, someone to whom gay audience and straight audiences could relate.


MHTV: Do you have gay friends relating to the character, or even thanking you for the portrayal?

CD: I have plenty of gay friends, and none of them thanked me for it, that’s for sure.


MHTV: Jealous actors, cursing you for getting the part they wanted?

CD: Absolutely. But they enjoyed it. I think the miniseries really served a function of entertainment. Maybe from Debra’s perspective of being the Starter Wife, there was probably some sort of therapeutic angle for women who find themselves in that sort of situation. But as far as my character, I was there to support Debra. This time around, I think there's going to be something more.




The Starter Wife
Series Premiere
Friday, October 10
9 PM Eastern
USA Network

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A Little Ditty About Jack and Karen

When I logged onto AOL this morning, I saw a teaser quoting a National Enquirer story which claims that NBC is eager to put together a pilot for a potential Will & Grace spinoff, to star Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally's characters Jack McFarland and Karen Walker.

Now I'm not one to believe the Enquirer -- or AOL's shoddy news reporting, for that matter. But let's take this seriously for a moment, and realize -- it sounds like a really bad idea. For every rare hit spinoff like Frasier was from Cheers, there's a Joey or reaching back even further, a Golden Palace or an AfterM*A*S*H.

And there are some good reasons to be skeptical about this rumor. For one thing, just last week it was announced that Megan Mullally has already signed on to star in an ABC pilot, In the Motherhood, opposite Cheryl Hines and Chelsea Handler.

Plus, there's the issue of Will & Grace's terrible series finale. Back in July, I asked Debra Messing at the Television Critics' Conference if there might ever be a Will & Grace reunion. Never say never, she basically said -- but she pointed out that the series finale wrapped up the show's storyline so far in the future that any reunion would be logically problematic, if not impossible.

The same can be said for Jack and Karen. Didn't we see Jack financially forced to marry Beverly Leslie, only to be thrilled when a freak windstorm swept the little guy off their balcony? And then we saw Jack and Karen, together again, living off Beverly's estate? Jack, with touches of gray in his hair now -- and Karen, hilariously looking exactly the same?

I had very mixed feelings about the Will & Grace series finale, because in its attempt to set up a "meet cute" for Will's son Ben and Grace's daughter Lila, the episode contradicted several key facts we already knew about our titular twosome. Despite the finale's assertion to the contrary, Will and Grace had not earlier been said to have been freshman hallmates; he was even probably a year or two ahead of her. Instead, it had been established, including during the two-parter where Grace married Leo, that Will and Grace first met at a party on a New York rooftop. But I digress.

It would probably be best to let Jack and Karen rest, in whatever boozy state they're lounging around in in the TV ether. But I want to make this clear: should these spinoff rumors turn out to be true, and the show does somehow get on the air, I'll be the first one to tune in and watch. And this time, I want to write for the show. Got that, Mr. or Ms. Showrunner?

17 Years In The Life

Last night, at a cocktail gala at the Neue Gallerie on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the groundbreaking PBS gay and lesbian newsmagazine In The Life celebrated the start of its 17th season.

The affair raised $110K for In The Life -- a show which, ITL Media Executive Director Michelle Kristel explained, receives no funding for its production from the government or from PBS. But last night's tally is enough, she said, to pay for two episodes of the informative -- and for gay and lesbian teens, sometimes quite literally life-saving -- program.

In other ITL news, Kristel also announced that the show will once again return to a half-hour format, partly in order to accommodate changing media habits, such as viewing many of the show's reports individually online. And, even more noteworthy, this year, the show will produce new episodes each month, leading up to the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in June 2009.

No more endless repeats, Kristel promised -- and that was good news for the night's honoree Kate Clinton, the legendary lesbian comic and author who was the program's first host when it debuted in 1992. "I've been on LOGO more times than The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," she joked at the podium as she accepted In The Life's first annual Pioneer Award.

In her short but incredibly funny speech, Clinton -- who continues this month on her nationwide, political-themed "Hilarity Clinton" tour -- joked about the banking bailout, where "the only thing left to my bank was the free pen." "People said that gay marriage would end the world," Clinton teased. "But we didn't do this!"

But Clinton turned serious and incisive when it came to stressing the importance of In The Life and the effect the show has already had on the U.S. and the world. After last week's shameful Vice Presidential debate, when both Joe Biden and (unsurprisingly) Sarah Palin took such cowardly stands, polls in California showed a four point increase in support for that state's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8. When such hatred is "legitimized" from the top, Clinton noted, voters feel more comfortable taking bigoted stands themselves. But luckily, she enthused, there is In The Life, which has produced several videos in support of gay marriage, which in the age of the internet will spread virally and hopefully help defeat the hateful ballot measure.

Clinton's remarks were cheered by the well-heeled New York crowd, which included former ITL host Katherine Linton and the show's newest (adorable!) face, that of Sirius' OutQ's own Michael Billy (pictured with partner Matthew Argenti.) Michael makes for an amazing host both on air, and as she showed last night in emceeing the proceedings, off as well. I look forward to many more seasons of Michael and the very enlightening Life!

Nathan Petrelli for President

On tonight's episode of Heroes, oddly titled "I Am Become Death," we learned that four years into the future, Nathan Petrelli is the President of the United States -- despite having less experience even than Sarah Palin.

The elder Petrelli brother started his career as a district attorney and then a Congressional Representative from either New York's 14th district (see the show's fun fake "Vote Petrelli" web site.) Now, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) has begun Heroes' third season with an appointment to become the junior Senator from New York. (Sorry, Hillary, but the man's got your job.) In this season's premiere episodes, New York Governor Malden (Bruce Boxleitner) spotted a news report about Nathan's miraculous recovery from his gunshot wound and subsequent pseudo-religious babble, and dispatched Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter) to woo Nathan into replacing the late Gerald Dickinson.

My question is this: how many years do we think were left on Dickinson's 6-year Senate term? Is Nathan starting near the beginning -- meaning that, in order to be president 4 years from now, he obviously eventually New Yorkers flat to pursue his political ambitions? And gets elected, despite his bizarre past, and only a few years of experience in politics? (See, Sarah? Sadly, there's hope for you yet!) Or did Dickinson have just a short while left -- again meaning that Nathan runs for Prez without having done too much time in DC.

Of course, maybe the national electorate was truly smart enough to see through Nathan's plans -- only to have the voting machines manipulated by that whiny little machine whisperer, Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey).

After all, voting machine fraud is unfortunately probably not just the stuff of science fiction.



Heroes
Season 3
Mondays at 9 PM Eastern
NBC

Tyler Perry's "The Studio That Preys"

Or maybe I should have gone with my alternate title, Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Fire My Writers?"

Just received the following press release. Although I've said on the air that I respect that Perry has become a one-man TV and film powerhouse, I certainly don't admire that he's apparently done it at the expense and exploitation of his workers. Some pretty harsh stuff here, including allegations of racism. Read on:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2008

Writers at Tyler Perry Studio to Take Strike Action –
Will Picket Grand Opening and Ask Invited Guests Not To Attend

Los Angeles – The Writers Guild of America, West is taking on the fight for justice of writers who were fired when they tried to get a union contract with Tyler Perry’s production company, House of Payne, LLC. The Guild today filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that House of Payne unlawfully fired four writers in retaliation for their union activity. The charge also alleges that the company bargained in bad faith with the Guild, which is seeking to negotiate a contract covering the writers on Perry’s cable television series House of Payne and Meet the Browns.

The four writers, Kellie Griffin, Christopher Moore, Teri Brown-Jackson, and Lamont Ferrell, as well as supporters from the Writers Guild and the community, will be picketing during Saturday’s opening of Perry’s new studio and they’re asking invited guests to respect their picket line. Together, these writers have written over one hundred episodes of House of Payne. Since April of this year they have been involved in a union organizing campaign with the Writers Guild of America, West so that their work on that show and the upcoming Meet the Browns would be covered by a Guild contract. Despite the enormous success of House of Payne, Perry has refused to agree to a contract that would give the writers health care, pensions, and residuals. On Tuesday of this week he fired the writers, after warning them some weeks ago that they should “be careful about pushing the WGA deal or you could be replaced.”

“We’re asking all those who had planned to attend the opening of Tyler Perry’s new studio not to cross our picket line,” said writer Christopher Moore. “It’s very disheartening considering that this is a studio run by African Americans. What Tyler Perry is essentially saying to us is that ‘you’re black and there’s not a lot of
opportunities for you so you’ll take what I give you’ – whether it’s fair or not.”

“I feel like I was slapped in the face, like we were used” said writer and WGAW member Teri Brown-Jackson. “We were good enough to create over a hundred episodes, but now when it comes to reaping the benefits of the show being syndicated and having other spin-offs from it, he decides to let us go unless we accept a horrible offer.”

“Disrespected, betrayed, saddened…it’s hard to describe,” said writer and WGAW member Lamont Ferrell. “The actors and a majority of the production crew on the show were working under union contracts and they received the pay and benefits that you need to survive on in this business. But after all those episodes and success when it came time for us to get a fair contract, we’re told on a conference call ‘sorry, you’re fired.’”

The show’s head writer, Kellie Griffin, added, “A lot of people who fought for civil rights and social justice never really saw what eventually came out of their work. While I’d like to see something positive come out of this for us, if this fight helps future black writers get what they deserve, that’s a good thing.”

The writers and their supporters will be picketing at the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios on Saturday, October 4, starting at 4 pm, and on Sunday, October 5, starting at 9 am.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) is a labor union representing writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in entertainment and news. Founded in 1933, the Guild negotiates and enforces the contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members. It is involved in a wide range of programs that advance the interests of writers and their craft and is active in public policy and legislative matters on the local, national, and international level. For more information on the WGAW, please visit: http://www.wga.org/.

Contact:
Gregg Mitchell
Ph 323.782.4574

The CW Makes Easy Money

Sunday is an incredibly competitive night on network and cable television -- and it's about to get even more so, with the debut this weekend of the CW's Easy Money.

When I attended the show's premiere at the New York Television Festival last month, I was impressed with the caliber of its cast, its visuals, and most importantly, its sophisticated storytelling.

I shouldn't have been surprised, because Easy Money comes to us courtesy of the writing team Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, former scribes on Northern Exposure and later The Sopranos. And with its quirky location and a crime-tinged family business at its core, Easy Money has elements of both of those great shows.

After the screening, Frolov and Schneider took to the stage to answer critics' enthusiastic questions about the show. But it couldn't be too long an evening -- because cast and crew were due the very next day back in Albuquerque, to continue shooting the season's fifth episode. With a generous tax rebate in town, Schneider explained, many productions are popping up in the New Mexico town, including a constant stream of feature films, AMC's series Breaking Bad and USA Networks' In Plain Sight. But in truth, he adds, the writing pair chose Albuquerque as their location because, as a fast-growing Wild Western boomtown, it's perfect for this tale of a moneylending family whose business, although legal, skirts an association with an undesirable element. Even the light in the area, at Albuquerque's higher altitude, is different from the look of L.A., Schneider says. That's why the show takes such advantage of the outdoors, shooting just two days a week inside, in a converted semiconductor factory.

Frolov and Schneider were first approached with an outline for the Easy Money idea, which is based loosely on a concept that U.K. producer Hat Trick Productions is also developing for British audiences, and prepared the show first for Fox before landing it at the CW courtesy of production company Media Rights Capital. The timing, Schneider says, was perfect, because of the credit crisis now enveloping our nation, to create a show "examining people's relationship with money." And, as luck would have it, the elegant and patrician-looking Frolov, surprisingly, already had a relative in the moneylending biz. That family member, named Bobette, is not only now a technical advisor to the show, but she lent her first name to the matriarch of Easy Money's Buffkin clan, played by Laurie Metcalf (right).

After MRC signed an interim agreement with the Writers' Guild, Easy Money got a head start on producing its pilot, even while the strike waged on, last February. And now, this Sunday night, October 5, the show will be part of MRC's historic inaugural lineup for the CW; in a never-before-tried arrangement in TV, the production company has contracted with the network to be fully in charge of its entire Sunday night lineup.

Partnered with an adaptation of a Canadian documentary show, 4Real, the reality show In Harm's Way and the Greek Gods-and-Goddesses romantic-comedy Valentine, Easy Money is debuting as part of a lineup whose demographic targets seem to be all over the map. Luckily, with a pedigree like Frolov and Schneider's, this should be a show that gets its share of attention, and hopefully draws in the viewers. Because after watching the show's pilot, I can tell you -- I'd never want to borrow from the Buffkins, but I sure like watching others fall into that very trap.

Easy Money
Series Premiere
Sunday, October 5
9 PM Eastern
CW

A Good Week for Television, the Worst Week for Pants

Only two weeks into the official new season, and TV has already gone right into the toilet -- literally.

On Sunday's installment of AMC's Mad Men (titled "Six Month Leave"), Joel Murray's Freddy Rumsen, known to like to take more than just a little nip during office hours, got a little too...er... "relaxed" and made a puddle in his pants. The 1962 solution to having an alcoholic running one of your crucial accounts? Offer him six months off, paid, to dry out. I found it fascinating that, whereas those deviating from the "ideals" of race and sexuality apparently deserve no respect in the Camelot Era, Peggy and Don both make it quite clear that Freddy's problem is no laughing matter.




Not to be outdone, on the very same night that Freddy was letting loose on Madison Avenue, an unlucky Louisiana cop met the same fate on HBO's True Blood. In an episode entitled "Escape From Dragon House," the offending officer stops Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Bill (Stephen Moyer) on their drive back from vampire bar Fangtasia in Shreveport, only to end up being "glamored" by Bill into surrendering his gun. Then, as our fave mixed living/undead couple drives off for home, we see just how badly Bill has quite literally scared the piss out of him.



And then there's the matter of True Blood's Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten), Sookie's nymphomaniacal brother. After nervously downing an entire vial of "V Juice" -- aka vampire blood -- rather than the recommended two drops, Jason develops a painful penile priapism that puts pressure on his poor pants.

And lastly, there's CBS' Worst Week. As much as I loved the pilot of this show -- and want to continue to support it as a new network comedy -- I was dismayed to see the moment in this clip, from the show's second episode, "The Bird." When Sam (Kyle Bornheimer) manages to recapture his soon-to-be father-in-law's beloved pet finch (after already having accidentally killed its mate), he doesn't do the logical thing, and make himself out to be a hero. Instead, he hides the poor creature in his pants pocket, only to have it mistaken for a bulging boner when he encounters his sis-in-law-to-be in mid breast-feed. And then, going for the laugh, Worst Week has Sam smack down the bird in his pocket, killing the poor thing.

I found it so hard to watch, if it hadn't been for my partner Frank shooing me away so he could watch Fox's Fringe in the next room, I would have given up on Worst Week right there. But since I adore the show's cast and think its writing is mostly clever, I will give Worst Week a third try next week. Just remember, CBS -- there's nothing funny about animal cruelty.

Desecration of one's pants, however -- now that's a totally different story.