'The Office' Stops Shooting as Steve Carell Refuses to Cross Picket Lines

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Writers were back on the picket lines Wednesday after their strike forced at least eight prime-time shows, including the popular NBC sitcom "The Office," to halt production.

As the strike entered its third day, no new negotiations were scheduled on the main sticking point between writers and producers: payments from DVDs and shows offered on the Internet.

One of the largest rallies yet occurred outside the gates of the Disney studio in Burbank. About 60 people, including a number of powerful producer-writers known in the industry as "showrunners," joined the protest, despite that networks expected many of them to report to work as managers.


AP Nov. 5, 2007: Julia Louis-Dreyfus lends her support to Writers Guild of America members as they picket Warner Brothers studios

Among them was Greg Daniels, executive producer of the "The Office," who said filming stopped on the show after star Steve Carell refused to cross picket lines. Writers and actors from the show used their time on the picket line to make a video and post it on YouTube.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,309219,00.html

[Divine Discontent]

1. PERHAPS THE DINGO ATE YOUR BAY-BEE!

I'm happy to see several big stars help out.

[tammywammy]

2. I heard this on my way to work today

I love "The Office" and even more so that the stars are standing with the writers.

[annabanana]

3. "The Office" did a video for YouTube??

Of course Fox supplied no link.. I've been hunting around but I sure can't find it... Anyone else?

[Omaha Steve]

5. Here are the videos

http://www.youtube.com/user/wgaamerica

[Liberalynn]

4. Jimmy Kimmel

brought his writers dinner. I also saw John Stamos and Maura Tierney out on the lines.

They interviewed Pauley Perrette from NCIS and she says they have one more script and then they are shutting down.

Ryan Murphy Nip/Tuck's headwriter and executive producer was interviewed on CNN and he said one more script and then they too are closing up shop. He said the studios are getting rich off our talent, so they can give us our fair share.

Nip/Tuck and NCIS are my two favorite shows and it is going to be a long sad winter especially without doses of my favorite actor Julian Mcmahon to get me through it, but I support the writers 100 percent.

So good for the actors who are sticking with the writers.

:thumbsup:

[KT2000]

6. Yeah Steve!!

:applause:

[gratuitous]

7. Good for the big stars

The smart ones know how it all works, and folks like Steve Carell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus run the risk of alienating the big producers by taking this stand. But it still looks very good to me, and I'd buy either one of them a cup of coffee for whatever that's worth.

[aquart]

13. Carell is a rainmaker. He can piss on them and they'll smile.

[gratuitous]

14. Today he's a rainmaker

Two years ago, he was a bit player on a cable comedy show. Two years from now, who knows what he'll be? Show biz veterans are intimately familiar with the cycles of fame and obscurity, and Steve Carell seems attuned to that. And Hollywood has a very shameful history of jettisoning even the big stars when they become politically inconvenient. The prospect of getting blacklisted daunted even some of the enduringly popular champions, like Humphrey Bogart back in the 1950s.

[shaniqua6392]

8. I love them all for standing with the writers union!

As much as we will miss them, we can wait as long as it takes for the network big shots to give them their deserving piece of the pie.

[Cha]

11. Me, too!

It's only write:)

[nytemare]

9. That's what she said!

I love "The Office", and I hope they settle soon with the writer's guild.


I tried to find the video on YouTube to no avail.

[Dover]

10. Wish the whole country could get this organized to take on our non-representative government

and/or their corporate backers. Why not? What would it take?

[aquart]

12. Because if they fire him for it, they lose not him.

His career has taken off so far and fast, he could probably book into the next century.