Tyler Perry's crisp white tuxedo was a bold choice of attire at the opening of his new studio Saturday night, when the mogul was dodging the worst of his fired former writers' union-busting accusations reported here last week . The WGA came through with its picket line on behalf of Kellie Griffin, Christopher Moore, Teri Brown-Jackson, and Lamont Ferrell — the House Of Payne Four whom Perry allegedly let go for their attempts to unionize the show's writing staff. One reported list of attendees had Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Sidney Poitier and several illustrious others crossing the picket line Saturday night, while the WGA sent word late Saturday that a second protest was planned for another, smaller event at Perry's Atlanta mansion on Sunday morning. So what does it all mean besides Oprah scabbing her way to free drinks and having a drunken Madea-Off with Poitier and Ruby Dee? Nikki Finke evidently thinks this will have some bearing on the presidential race ; more usefully, she also passed along an open letter from a small army of showrunners including Tina Fey, Mad Men creator Matt Weiner and TV legend Larry Gelbart: This season, scripted television programming will consist of about 150 shows employing 1,200 writers. Of that universe, 149 shows and 1,193 writers will produce shows covered by the Writers Guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement. The MBA guarantees minimum compensation, residuals, health coverage, and pension in addition ...
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Tyler Perry's crisp white tuxedo was a bold choice of attire at the opening of his new studio Saturday night, when the mogul was dodging the worst of his fired former writers' union-busting accusations reported here last week . The WGA came through with its picket line on behalf of Kellie Griffin, Christopher Moore, Teri Brown-Jackson, and Lamont Ferrell — the House Of Payne Four whom Perry allegedly let go for their attempts to unionize the show's writing staff. One reported list of attendees had Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Sidney Poitier and several illustrious others crossing the picket line Saturday night, while the WGA sent word late Saturday that a second protest was planned for another, smaller event at Perry's Atlanta mansion on Sunday morning. So what does it all mean besides Oprah scabbing her way to free drinks and having a drunken Madea-Off with Poitier and Ruby Dee? Nikki Finke evidently thinks this will have some bearing on the presidential race ; more usefully, she also passed along an open letter from a small army of showrunners including Tina Fey, Mad Men creator Matt Weiner and TV legend Larry Gelbart: This season, scripted television programming will consist of about 150 shows employing 1,200 writers. Of that universe, 149 shows and 1,193 writers will produce shows covered by the Writers Guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement. The MBA guarantees minimum compensation, residuals, health coverage, and pension in addition ...