The vast majority of the WGA's 12,000-plus members patiently stayed away from their word processors during the recent three-month writers strike, notwithstanding dwindling finances or a threat to their careers. But a few members decided to go "financial-core," an irreversible decision that made them only limited, non-voting members of the guild and allowed them to return to work. (This, if you recall, is the move George Clooney made, before the strike, in response to the WGA's decision to deny him credit for the Leatherheads screenplay.)

On Friday, the WGA sent a letter to its membership that praised the writers for refusing to work, "[i]n the face of enormous personal and financial hardship," for the good of the union. It then went on to chastise those "puny few" who "consciously and selfishly decided to place their own narrow interests over the greater good." It urged that these writers "must be held at arm's length by the rest of us, and held accountable for what they are -- strikebreakers whose actions placed everything for which we fought so hard at risk." The letter ended with a link to a website containing the names of the 21 writers who opted to become financial-core members.

Variety just announced that the Directors Guild of America has reached a tentative three-year deal with the AMPTP. The new deal has three major components: establishing DGA jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution on the Internet, boosting the residuals formula for paid Internet downloads by double the current rate, and establishing residual rates for ad-supported streaming and use of clips on the Internet. Gil Cates, chair of the DGA's negotiation committee, says: "Two words describe this agreement -- groundbreaking and substantial. The gains in this contract for directors and their teams are extraordinary -- and there are no rollbacks of any kind."

This is great news for the DGA, and the pressure is definitely on now for the WGA to come to a resolution and end the strike. The writers, as you may have heard, have been on strike since November 5th, and representatives haven't been back to the negotiating table since December 7th, when talks last collapsed. The WGA has not issued an official reaction statement to today's DGA announcement, but many think the DGA deal is strong enough that the WGA will follow suit. Here's hoping that happens, and happens soon, so that everyone -- not just the writers are out of work here, remember -- can get back to work. The DGA deal is set to go into effect on July 1st.

In what has got to be the best quote of the WGA strike so far, NBC Entertainment Co-Chief (and former prom king, perhaps?) Ben Silverman, bitching about the Golden Globes being canceled, reportedly said about the writer's strike to Ryan Seacrest, "Sadly, it feels like the nerdiest, ugliest, meanest kids in the high school are trying to cancel the prom. But NBC wants to try to keep that prom alive."

Awww, isn't that sweet of NBC? They wanted to keep the prom going for all the cheerleaders and jocks but those dorky-ass kids at the writers' table had the audacity to band together and spoil all the fun. And here he already swiped a bottle of Everclear from the folks' liquor cabinet to spike the punch, too.

Seriously though, if we're going to compare Hollywood to high school (and I'm not saying I disagree with that) and the Globes to the prom, let's be realistic here. Since when are the kids relegated to the nerdy lunch table the "meanest" kids in school? At my high school, they were the ones getting the sh*t kicked out of them by the rich jocks, who only wanted anything to do with them if they were stealing their lunch money or getting the brainy kids to write papers for them so they wouldn't get kicked off varsity. Oh, wait ... that DOES sound a bit like Hollywood.

Having to cancel the Globes -- the highest rated awards show after the Oscars -- cost NBC a pretty penny. E! News reports that NBC paid between five and six million for rights to the show, off which the network makes back $10-15 million in ad revenue. Ouch. That's a lot of lunch money. Go nerds!

Well friends, the WGA strike rages on. And on. And like the old Christmas song says: "It doesn't show signs of stopping." The Broadway strike briefly crippled New York City's economy, but it was over in nineteen days. The WGA Strike is on day #38. That's week #6. That's month #2. And there's no end in sight. We're reaching the point where people are going to start losing homes, if they haven't already.

Do you know the old joke about the aspiring actress who was so naive she slept with the screenwriter to get ahead? There's a lot of truth there. Screenwriters don't get near enough respect. That may be coming to light more now that the strike is on, but it's been going on for decades. It's gotten so bad that a lot of the huge blockbusters start filming without a completed script! Like, a lot of them.

Can you name me five screenwriters? OK, five screenwriters who don't also direct? In movie reviews, your average critic will gush about how great Brad Pitt's performance was for five paragraphs, then mention the screenplay in passing, if at all. Guess what? All those pretty words coming out of Mr. Pitt's pretty mouth originated somewhere. Directors and actors tend to get all the credit for a movie's success. Unless a movie sucks, then it's -- "Who wrote this garbage?" Where is the love?

If a movie is a salad, then the screenplay is the lettuce. You can throw all the bacon and cheese and croutons in a bowl that you want, but if you don't have a strong, solid base of high-quality lettuce? My friend, you don't have a salad. With me throwing out razor-sharp analogies like that, I think you can tell that you've come to the right place for writing advice.

Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of The Write Stuff!

Thanksgiving is always rough on a screenwriter. You're usually seeing a lot of friends and family, and while they (candied) yammer on about their accomplishments, you have to start all of your sentences with: "We're still waiting to hear on that one..." and "Our agent says we're really close..." and "Grandma, let me explain the WGA strike to you one more time..."

But there is a great deal to be thankful for this year. On Monday, still happy and groggy from a weekend of gorging, representatives from the WGA and the AMPTP will resume talks. Ideally, each side will come away happy and we can end this strike. From a personal note, my writing career was right on the verge of kicking into high gear when the strike was announced, and I certainly don't want to lose that upward momentum. And looking at the bigger picture, we're a month away from Christmas here. Who wants to see not just writers but everyone who works in and around the entertainment industry desperately struggling to pay the bills? The grips, the gaffers, the assistants, the dry cleaners...these people are out of work, too.

So send your good vibes to the negotiating table on Monday. And if you think there's nothing you can do, you're wrong. You can electronically sign this petition to the AMPTP, which starts: "We, the undersigned, fully support the strike of the Writers Guild of America, and agree with the WGA's stated goals of obtaining just and fair compensation regarding revenues generated through "new media". The petition currently has 57, 695 signatures, which is extremely impressive. Won't you add yours?

Just when you thought you'd seen it all, the writers are getting creative (who would expect anything less) and they've literally brought in the hounds. Now in its second week, the 2007 writer's strike is still going strong. In fact, so many celebrities are showing up, I wouldn't be surprised if a network decided to air a live protest during primetime. Wait ... strike that -- nevermind. Apparently today was Bring A Star To Picket With You Day, which saw folks like Ben Stiller, Seth Green, Minnie Driver and Doug Savant (you know it's nuts when Savant shows up!) walking the picket lines alongside writers. Additionally -- and I personally found this to be hysterical -- a bunch of dudes are also walking the picket lines, only they're not protesting -- they're selling bootleg strike t-shirts! Yeah, the same kind you'd find on the side of a road while leaving a rock concert (check out pics over at Nina Bargiel's blog) . So for those of you traveling in Los Angeles, you can stop by the picket line, buy a bootleg t-shirt, then run home and play WGA make believe. It's a fun game, I've played it several times. You?

[Dog photo courtesy of Deadline Hollywood]

Yesterday someone emailed me a letter that was -- their words -- "going around email chains throughout Los Angeles." This person claimed they did not know who wrote it, and asked if I knew. I did not. But I thought I'd post it here because it's pretty funny and the Hollywood assistants deserve to have their say too. That's right, this letter is from an assistant to a writer, and for those out there who know little about the process, this letter should give you a better understanding of how absolutely sh*tty it must be to work as an assistant sometimes. God bless the folks who can pull it off -- this one is for you ...

(Note: This letter is exactly the same as I received it, except I prettied up the curse words. The grammar errors were left to show how much the assistant really does need the writer.)

"Dear Writer on Strike:

Hi, it's me Assistant. The faceless voice you used to speak to every week. I'm pretty sure you don't have my name down, but that's ok, I know It's my Evil Studio Executive boss's name that is important. Anyway, I saw you this morning in your red shirt outside my office and it got me thinking about the times we shared together. I mean, even though we have never had a real face to face conversation, you have had a pretty big impact on my career and now, on my life.

I remember the first time I heard your voice, it was your answering machine, but still, it was the voice of a person I professionally admired. I left a message & I remember thinking my favorite writer has my voice on their home machine. When you did call back, I connected you to my boss and I listened on mute as I hung on your every word.
Remember when Evil Studio Executive said "Assistant send writer the script" and I replied "Of course" like a voice from the heavens?

Remember how you jumped a little and said you were spooked? You thought you were on that call alone....that was a funny moment wasn't it writer? I'm on all the calls you have with Evil Studio Executive. I take notes, write down dates & numbers and make sure that anything Evil Studio Executive offers to you, you get without him having to ask me. I
remember calling you back to get your address so I could send that script to you. At the end of the call you said, "thank you Kassistant." I didn't have the courage to tell you my name is actually "Assistant", but I didn't mind, I was talking to one of the people who inspired me to be where I am today. So I printed the script, and I bound the script and I drafted a cover letter. I remember bringing the letter to Evil Studio Executive to sign and he called me a "stupid f*ck tart" because I forgot to CC your agent. It hurt my ego a little but it was ok, this is what I put up with in order to work with creative genius like you. I called the courier and pulled up the writers list and changed your status from
"interested" to "reading."

I wasn't planning to talk about the strike today, so I zipped by most of the news to find other things to write about. That is, until I came across a certain picture that inspired me to write about a few pieces of news that have stuck out. Forget about thoughtful people giving the strikers food and hot lattes. The big guns are coming in. One is an old arse-kicker-turned-politician, and the other is a modern-day Tank Girl.

Yes, this is all inspired by the picture to the right, which you can click on to see it in all of its awesome glory. That's Diablo Cody, current screenwriter extraordinaire, ready to kick some butt and take some names on the picket line. She posted the picture on her blog, and I can't help but wonder if this would all be over with if they just locked her in a room with all of the execs. If she needs some backup, she could always call in the Terminator, who is ready to be tagged into the fight.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is keen to get this strike wrapped up, according to Reuters, and has decided to get involved. He says: "I'm talking to the parties that are involved because I think it's very important that we settle that as quickly as possible, because it has a tremendous economic impact on our state." What exactly he plans to do remains to be seen. Discussions haven't gotten anywhere, so maybe he'll employ some smackdown tactics. Or maybe hypnosis? Political threats? Time-wasting discussion? Who knows.

Anyway, am I the only one who'd love to see an action movie starring Cody?

[Diablo news via Anne Thompson]

We're not going to overload you with writers strike news because it's shaping up to be a marathon, not a race. Here are some delicious new updates (including a video up top which uses colorful little pie charts to help better explain the writer's point of view):

Day 4. The rebels have set up a new base on planet New York City, and when a young Jedi by the name of Robin Williams shows up with free bagels, folks begin to question his loyalty ...

Yes, the celebs were out in full force today showing Los Angeles that New York is perfectly capable of providing some top notch talent to walk the picket lines too. The writers have now set up camp in Columbus Circle, in front of the Time Warner building, and a number of NY-based stars showed up to lend their support. The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Robin Williams was there with free bagels! Free f**king bagels! Joining him were fellow Justice League SAG members Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, Seth Myers (SNL) and Sopranos creator David Chase (who, unfortunately, turned down the chance to write an ending for the strike). Gone was the inflatable rat, which has been replaced by an equally-as-large (and meaner) "greedy" pink pig. Next up, an inflatable Jabba the Hutt. Watch for it!

No new talks between the WGA and AMPTP are scheduled, but Variety claims both sides were close to a deal before talks fell apart last Sunday. What would it take to get them both in the same room again? Personally, I'd start with some Tequila and a hug. But that's me. Blogger Nikki Finke continues to pound the pavement, digging up quotes, photos and information that she publishes, non-stop, daily. By the time the strike is over, she'll either a) wind up with a daytime show on Fox or b) explode. Either way, she'll need a lot of help when it comes time to kick that strike addiction.

[video via The Hot Blog]

**The above video, found on YouTube, comes with the title: Writers Strike Dance. The writer in the video claims he broke into the industry a long time ago with a spec script about a female private eye that later became a series. He calls this his "dance of pain."

Day 3. TV shows go dark. Actors and writers unite on picket lines. Movie news continues to dwindle down ... and down ... and down ... until, eventually, I'll be forced to write the following post: "Hey, whatever happened to Paul Reiser?" The folks over at IGN had a chance to mingle with the strikers yesterday, and among them they found writer-producer-director Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin). Apatow, who's still putting the finishing touches on Walk Hard, said that he wasn't currently writing and had plenty of time to picket with his fellow scribes. When asked how he would describe the strike to the general public, Apatow replied, "Here's how I would explain it: If you're a teamster, you get paid to drive a truck. But if someone invents a new kind of truck, and you're still driving it, you should still get paid. We're switching trucks at this point. But if someone comes up with a three wheel truck, you're still driving!"

Apatow then went on to vent his frustration over the entire "new media" issue, and how AMPTP refuses to pay writers for content they steam online. "I think that there seems to be some argument that it's too complicated to figure out. But there's content - You can decide that people get paid based on how much you charge for it or for how many people see it. It doesn't seem that complicated to me. There are low budget movies and writers get paid less if the budget's very low. Over a certain budget, there's a different minimum. It all can be figured out if people want to figure it out." But that's the thing -- it doesn't seem some people want to figure it out ...

For another take on the issue, Ex-Disney chief Michael Eisner thinks the writers are "stupid" for going on strike now. He says, "For a writer to give up today's money for a non-existent piece of the future -- they should do it in three years, shouldn't be doing it now ...they are misguided they should not have gone on the strike -- I've seen stupid strikes, I've seen less stupid strikes and this strike is just a stupid strike."