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Tenacious D will be rocking their soli-fuckin-darity this Friday when they appear at the WGA rally in Burbank. The rally, in front of FremantleMedia (4000 W. Alameda), is intended to help expose the “deplorable industry practices” of the reality show producers.
The list of shows that FremantleMedia produces includes American Idol, The Next Great American Band, America’s Got Talent and probably a lot of other shows with “America” in the title. Writers of these shows are currently not under Guild jurisdiction, and many of them work “without standard industry benefits including health insurance, residuals, pension contributions, and proper credits.”
The rally begins at 12, and more special guests are expected to be announced. Carson Daly, also pictured above, will not be there. He will be busy producing his show using scab writers.
photo (obviously taken before the writers strike) from Tenacious D’s MySpace page
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So why doesn't the guild add them?
ezfinn - that's a great question. (one that I will actually cover in greater detail in an upcoming post)
The nutshell is - the Guild has made repeated efforts to organize reality writers. WGA jurisdiction over reality television is one of the big battles of the current negotiations. In fact, my sources tell me that the majority of today's discussions centered around reality TV.
This contract we're striking over is basically an agreement between the writers and the producers laying out minimum wages that the writers will be paid for a variety of things. Every now and then, television evolves, and something comes up that isn't covered by the contract. (For example - "new media")
Producers have taken the stance that no writing is being done on reality shows, and have refused to grant the WGA jurisdiction in this area. The give their writers titles like "segment producer" and pay them a fraction of the wages and no benefits. Sure, there is a difference between writing "The Bachelor" or writing "CSI", but there is absolutely writing being done.
hmmm... maybe I don't need to cover this in more detail in a later post.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.