Show Writers' Writers kids bearing y i ia ya a striking resemblance Lisa de Moraes The rhe Washington Post Nothing warms the heart like the sight of little children being put to work carrying picket signs outside the gates of movie studios to give Hollywood writers the needed much-needed cute factor as they enter their second week of revolt Residuals Took Out My Tonsils said a sign carried by a precocious moppet at atone atone atone one of the entrances to the Fox lot Monday morning The The- Writers Guild of America began its strike a week ago after bargaining reached an impasse over residuals from DVD sales and Internet downloads Ive known a lot of spoiled brats in my day but these guys take the cake read another sign carried by a redheaded cherub and bearing snaps of the likes of Leslie of CBS Jeff of NBC Universal Bob Iger of parent ABC-parent Disney and Peter Chernin Chemin of parent Fox-parent News Corp All around Los Angeles children of Hollywood writers marched with signs on sticks bearing grownup grown grown- up messages such as I Learned to Share When I IVas IWas IWas Was Vas in Freaking Diapers and Residuals Paid for forMy forMy forMy My Birth and If Daddy Doesn't Get Back to Work Soon Ill I'll Have to Attend Public School Okay we made that last on one up Children were picketing because their schools were closed and nannies got the day off in observance of Veterans Day Not that the tots weren't getting an education For instance kids picketing at NBC Universal studios got an important civics lesson when a cop started slapping picketers with jaywalking tickets if they entered a crosswalk while the red hand was flashing but declined to ticket drivers who took left turns into the crosswalk filled with picketer- picketer pedestrians a major no-no no here even when picketers helpfully pointed out the law-breaking law drivers to the cop according to the Los Angeles Web site Defamer Universal Studios willbe will willbe willbe be the site of Tuesdays Tuesday's Writers Guild of America West Coast bash Bring a aStar aStar aStar Star to Strike Day Meanwhile fought for bragging rights as to which series was least prepared to end original episodes soon The frontrunner runner early is Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence who made sure th the media knew hed he'd fended off efforts to get him to tweak the last episode written before the strike to tomake tomake tomake make it series finale I will use all my leverage to end this show properly even if it means rl s I have to to do all the voice voice- myself and call people to read it over the phone he reportedly said at a Ne Nei York Comedy Festival l levent event over the weekend Other shows Heroes Pu Pushing hing Daisies a and d Men in Trees amon among them caved to pressure pressure from The Man to provi provide provide S alternative endings t to i whatever episode they were wrapping up right before the strike broke out j jo Js function as a season finale final final if needed Apparently it took It two-season two order to g gel J Damages principal to agree to return to FX because that's what tl the e cable network has ordered despite the shows show's lest than-sizzling than ratings g 2 While earning critic critical l praise the lawyer dram drama which stars Glenn Clos Closed Close did not snag the crowd oth other r. r FX series have enjoy l when it bowed last Jul July first telecasts of its episodes averaged about 25 million viewers FX President JoW Landgraf said in interviews he wasn't thrilled with th the shows show's ratings and the th-e network dallied for weeks week's before finally announcing the pickup Monda Monday Over two seasons 26 26 episodes will be shot Close Close as well as Rose Byrne a arid and d Tate Donovan will be back and production in theory will start early next ye year yea f unless the writers' writers strike is is still happening |