The Game Show Forum

The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Kevin Prather on July 13, 2023, 03:36:25 PM

Title: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Kevin Prather on July 13, 2023, 03:36:25 PM
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/07/13/business/actors-strike-sag#sag-aftra-writers-strike

SAG-AFTRA has voted to go on strike tonight at midnight. They join the WGA on strike, making it the first double-walkout for the industry since 1960.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: JasonA1 on July 13, 2023, 03:49:16 PM
The one thing to be mindful of is that there could be multiple types of contracts at play. For instance, in the WGA strike, the contract at stake doesn't involve (some? all?) news people. So a SAG-AFTRA strike may or may not result in work stoppages in every avenue of entertainment, depending on specifics we may not be privy to.

-Jason
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: SuperMatch93 on July 13, 2023, 04:44:36 PM
The one thing to be mindful of is that there could be multiple types of contracts at play. For instance, in the WGA strike, the contract at stake doesn't involve (some? all?) news people. So a SAG-AFTRA strike may or may not result in work stoppages in every avenue of entertainment, depending on specifics we may not be privy to.

-Jason

According to the SAG-AFTRA site (https://www.sagaftra.org/get-involved/solidarity-wga), game shows may not be affected by this.

Quote
What productions would be affected if SAG-AFTRA goes on strike?

The affected productions include feature films, scripted dramatic television and scripted new media productions produced by AMPTP-represented employers and covered by the Codified Basic Agreement or Television Agreement.
 
Programs produced under the Network Code agreement would not be affected. This includes daytime serials (soap operas), talk shows, game shows, variety shows, award shows and other unscripted productions. Also unaffected are any productions that are not theatrical, new media or television-based in nature, such as commercials.
 
In the event of a strike, further information would be made available regarding how to determine if a particular production is subject to the strike.
 
Independent producers who are not represented by the AMPTP should expect further communication from the union in the event of a strike.
 

I had planned on going to LA in a few weeks to see Price, but I'll wait until I hear confirmation that they're taping before I book flights/a hotel stay.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: colonial on July 13, 2023, 05:20:55 PM
Can't imagine Mayim Bialik going back to work as she already stepped away in solidarity with the writers.

I believe Jay Leno mentioned previously he would not record new episodes of YBYL given the WGA strike.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Steve Gavazzi on July 13, 2023, 10:41:19 PM
I believe Jay Leno mentioned previously he would not record new episodes of YBYL given the WGA strike.

I was genuinely not aware that "Will there be a third season of YBYL?" was a live question.

I don't even think I knew there was a second season of YBYL.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: JasonA1 on July 14, 2023, 12:24:30 AM
This post (https://www.instagram.com/p/CuqKF7Ru4cN/?img_index=1) on SAG-AFTRA's Instagram makes it very clear. Click over to "what you CAN work on!" and you'll see that game shows are among the programming not affected by this current labor dispute, from a SAG-AFTRA standpoint.

-Jason
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: trainman on July 14, 2023, 02:16:51 AM
On one hand, they can say, "yes, you can work on a game show," but on the other hand, they can set up a picket line in front of the studio where the game show tapes, which fellow actors may be loath to cross.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: clemon79 on July 14, 2023, 01:12:02 PM
On one hand, they can say, "yes, you can work on a game show," but on the other hand, they can set up a picket line in front of the studio where the game show tapes, which fellow actors may be loath to cross.

It would be *really* interesting to see if Drew would cross such a picket line.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Jimmy Owen on July 14, 2023, 07:18:56 PM
On one hand, they can say, "yes, you can work on a game show," but on the other hand, they can set up a picket line in front of the studio where the game show tapes, which fellow actors may be loath to cross.

It would be *really* interesting to see if Drew would cross such a picket line.
Will actors and writers travel up to Glendale to protest?
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: jjman920 on July 15, 2023, 12:24:31 AM
Can't imagine Mayim Bialik going back to work as she already stepped away in solidarity with the writers.
One also wonders if Ken would step in again after all the flack he got for doing so in May. It was one thing to help finish out the season with all the contestants in LA and material written, it's another to help start the season when they aren't in such a pinch.

And even beyond solidarity with the writers, what is Jeopardy specifically going to do without them? While I'm sure they were constantly pumping out content during the season, I highly doubt they've got a bank of material written to cover even half a season of syndicated shows *and* Celebrity Jeopardy.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: trainman on July 15, 2023, 01:39:42 AM
And even beyond solidarity with the writers, what is Jeopardy specifically going to do without them? While I'm sure they were constantly pumping out content during the season, I highly doubt they've got a bank of material written to cover even half a season of syndicated shows *and* Celebrity Jeopardy.

During the 2007-08 writers' strike, once J! ran out of banked material, they reused still-relevant categories from previous shows (about 10 years prior). That was before there was an online archive of most of their past clues, though.

I'm honestly expecting to see both of these scenarios...

Syndicated version: "We threw a virtual dart at our content library, so please enjoy this encore presentation of the 2012 Teen Tournament."

Celebrity version: ABC releases a new fall schedule, from which "Celebrity Jeopardy!" is absent.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: MSTieScott on July 15, 2023, 03:23:00 AM
Will actors and writers travel up to Glendale to protest?

Let's Make a Deal has been taping at the new studio since the first half of June; they have more tapings coming up this month. Anybody scheduled to be in the audience in the near future?


Syndicated version: "We threw a virtual dart at our content library, so please enjoy this encore presentation of the 2012 Teen Tournament."

Personally, I really enjoyed it when Jeopardy! filled out its truncated 2020 schedule by dipping deep into the vault.

Somebody alert me when the networks finally give up on trying to make their late night shows still feel timely by rerunning the most recent episodes (two months after the start of the writers' strike) and instead go to the effort of showcasing interesting moments from years past.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: SamPrainito on July 15, 2023, 03:37:22 AM
Good point, Scott!

During the last strike, despite Leno’s promise NBC would never rerun shows produced by Helen Kushnick, they ran a show from his second week with Tom Hanks.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Joe Mello on July 15, 2023, 11:41:41 PM
On one hand, they can say, "yes, you can work on a game show," but on the other hand, they can set up a picket line in front of the studio where the game show tapes, which fellow actors may be loath to cross.

It would be *really* interesting to see if Drew would cross such a picket line.
According to one of the actors I follow, it's an NLRB violation to withhold work on a project that's not struck.

I trust this guy's knowledge of labor agreements but I feel like there's ways around that.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Otm Shank on July 16, 2023, 01:48:17 PM
According to one of the actors I follow, it's an NLRB violation to withhold work on a project that's not struck.

I trust this guy's knowledge of labor agreements but I feel like there's ways around that.
This is exactly what I thought of when Mayim said she would not finish the Jeopardy season, that she really is obligated to work. But I would guess that she reached an agreement with the producers that she be allowed to make a "statement" move, and since it didn't leave them in a lurch, they granted the request. The fact that Ken would catch flak for finishing the season was likely not anticipated. Then again, so much digital ink has been spilled in recent years on Jeopardy controversies that are nothingburgers.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Adam Nedeff on July 16, 2023, 10:15:41 PM
Somebody alert me when the networks finally give up on trying to make their late night shows still feel timely by rerunning the most recent episodes (two months after the start of the writers' strike) and instead go to the effort of showcasing interesting moments from years past.
This is EXACTLY how David Letterman's NBC show handled their strike. For four months in 1988, they really put some sincere thought into what reruns they aired and made that shutdown a greatest-hits collection: Larry "Bud" Melman greating tourists, the night Dave hosted the show from his house, all of the "Suit of _____" episodes.

The viewers know about the strike; they know that they're getting reruns anyway, so why not actually give some consideration to what reruns you're picking?
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Chelsea Thrasher on July 16, 2023, 10:47:35 PM
Colbert and Corden are finally beginning to sprinkle in episodes from 2021 soon.  Not sure about the others.

The first problem is that at a certain point if you go too far back you get to the pandemic shows, and much as those are a fascinating time capsule, I can see wanting to distance yourself from those. 

Past that, for Colbert specifically, a LOT of his content and humor is political and specifically so, and I can see them not wanting to dip back into first run episodes from the 2016 election up through the pandemic. (And before that, the first year is widely considered to be the worst of the show's run).

For all of the shows but especially Corden and Fallon, a LOT of their episodes also rely on licensed material, music, etc. which would likely be an expensive pain in the ass to re-license. (and especially for Corden, the show's eventually dead regardless).
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: BrandonFG on July 16, 2023, 10:51:52 PM
This is EXACTLY how David Letterman's NBC show handled their strike. For four months in 1988, they really put some sincere thought into what reruns they aired and made that shutdown a greatest-hits collection: Larry "Bud" Melman greating tourists, the night Dave hosted the show from his house, all of the "Suit of _____" episodes.
Any idea whether the ‘88 reruns had any bearing on A&E rerunning the show a few years later?
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: jjman920 on July 17, 2023, 12:10:36 AM
Colbert and Corden are finally beginning to sprinkle in episodes from 2021 soon.  Not sure about the others.
In the first couple of weeks of the writer's strike, Seth Meyers went back to 2020 and 2017. Haven't kept up since then.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: knagl on July 18, 2023, 11:58:55 PM
Let's Make a Deal has been taping at the new studio since the first half of June; they have more tapings coming up this month. Anybody scheduled to be in the audience in the near future?

I am not, however if you're looking for some verification that they're recording new shows, their Twitter feed is active giving suggestions of items to bring to win some cash during the quickie deals for tomorrow's tape day.

https://twitter.com/letsmakeadeal/status/1681438920481857536
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: MSTieScott on July 19, 2023, 04:23:41 AM
That's actually disappointing. Not they're still taping episodes -- I'm glad they haven't had to shut down -- but that they're bringing back the Twitter quickie deals. This past season, the show hadn't done them, and I very much did not miss that scolding "Oh, you should have followed us on Twitter" lecture that came every time the audience member failed to produce the desired item.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: clemon79 on July 19, 2023, 02:18:45 PM
"What, you think I still use Twitter? Do I LOOK like I'm carrying a Tiki torch?"
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: BrandonFG on July 19, 2023, 02:33:57 PM
Dumb question: does anyone know whether any of the Monty versions advertised in advance to bring a hard-boiled egg or compact to the studio? Watching older episodes it does seem that some of the stuff people pulled out of their purses or pockets was a little too on the nose.

That said, doing all that - both on Twitter or through whatever medium 40-50 years ago - seems to kill any chance of spontaneity the show would want to provide and thus defeats the purpose in a way.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Adam Nedeff on July 19, 2023, 02:41:43 PM
Dumb question: does anyone know whether any of the Monty versions advertised in advance to bring a hard-boiled egg or compact to the studio? Watching older episodes it does seem that some of the stuff people pulled out of their purses or pockets was a little too on the nose.
Not really, but Monty did ask for certain things repeatedly. It was akin to the pricing games with "secrets"; there were certain items that Monty asked for a lot, and if you were a loyal viewer of the show you'd make it a point to bring a few of them. Since there's so little of the daytime show to refer to, it's hard to know for sure, but from what I can gather, "hard boiled egg" was one of those. Monty was also fond of coin deals--"I'll give you $50 for every dime you have"--and at least once, a contestant showed up with whole rolls of coins and made bank on the deal for it.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: JasonA1 on July 19, 2023, 02:48:43 PM
That said, doing all that - both on Twitter or through whatever medium 40-50 years ago - seems to kill any chance of spontaneity the show would want to provide and thus defeats the purpose in a way.

My wife's first exposure to LMAD was the newest version, and when she saw this segment, she wondered what it was all about. To her, it seemed disconnected and not worth taking a break for. When I explained it was from the original, under the credits to show "TV's top trader" couldn't stop dealing, even while the show was ending, she understood it...for the original version. The idea that the show has money for days, even for the stuff you carry around every day, hits a note that makes sense to me. Having a list of prescribed wacky items, less so.

I'd wager the only tip-off Monty's audiences had was watching previous episodes. I don't think the show's goal was to do unique quickie deals on every episode. We don't have a lot of the daytime version to go on, but I imagine being on five days a week, Monty would go back to the same wells time and again.

-Jason
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: BrandonFG on July 19, 2023, 02:57:08 PM
The idea of audience members paying close attention makes plenty of sense and crossed my mind. Thanks guys. :)
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: Kevin Prather on July 19, 2023, 03:41:54 PM
Monty was also fond of coin deals--"I'll give you $50 for every dime you have"--and at least once, a contestant showed up with whole rolls of coins and made bank on the deal for it.
Roll*s*? Holy crap, each roll would be $2500. I'd love to see the look on Monty's face when a quickie winds up being more than The Big Deal.
Title: Re: Hollywood Actors On Strike
Post by: clemon79 on July 19, 2023, 06:43:39 PM
Roll*s*? Holy crap, each roll would be $2500. I'd love to see the look on Monty's face when a quickie winds up being more than The Big Deal.

He eventually got smart and learned to say things like "up to one thousand dollars!" at the end. As the producer I imagine he only had to get burned once or twice to learn that lesson. :)

"You madam! Do you have an unpaid bill! I'll pay off an unpaid bill!"

"Yes, Monty, here's my home mortgage!"

"Fark."