Writers Guild Sets Tuesday Rally Around The Oscars

Writers from The Daily Show, Colbert Report Head to Washington

By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 1/18/2008 9:22:00 AM EST

The Writers Guild of America, on strike for 11 weeks, hasn’t softened its resolve, scheduling a rally next week related to the Academy Awards and sending writers from Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report to Washington.

Next Tuesday, the day the Oscar nominations are announced, the WGA has planned a rally in Manhattan that will include more than 30 award-winning writers, actors, producers, directors, and authors.

“They will be bringing their awards and their passions about the importance of writers and how the ongoing Writers Guild strike may affect the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony,” the WGA said Friday.

The writers, on strike since Nov. 5, succeeded in derailing the Golden Globes awards ceremony, and the fear is that the Academy Awards ceremony Feb. 24 could be cancelled as well. The WGA rally will take place at The Players, 16 Gramercy Park (at 20th Street), at noon Tuesday.

Then next Wednesday, writers from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report are heading to Congress to meet with key Congressional leaders to discuss “The State of The Union.”

The writers have written and will present a comedic mock debate about the issues at the center of the WGA negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which broke down Dec. 7.

“The visit is aimed at helping lawmakers understand the issues at the center of the current WGA strike, which is entering its 12th week,” the WGA said. “The debate will be moderated by DeeDee Myers and hosted by Representatives Jerrold Nadler, Jan Schakowsky, and Anthony Weiner. After the debate, the Emmy Award-winning writers and other WGAE representatives will meet with Congressional leaders privately.”

The WGA announced plans for its rally and trip to Washington Friday, a day after the Directors Guild of America reached a tentative contract with the AMPTP. The entertainment industry is waiting to see if the DGA deal will prompt the WGA and studios to resume talks, and whether the writers will use the DGA contract as a template for their demands regarding residuals for content delivered via the Internet.