Is Jay Breaking the Rules?
If you’ve watched “The Tonight Show” the past two nights, you’ve probably noticed that the show without writers is not much different from the show with writers.
And the WGA has noticed too…
On his show Wednesday, Jay Leno said he was “doing what [he] did the day [he] started.” Jay said he was writing jokes and then running them by his wife. “We are following the guild thing. We can write for ourselves.”
But apparently the guild doesn’t agree…
The WGA told Jay Thursday that writing for the show “constitutes a violation of the Guild’s strike rules.” NBC responded with a statement that the WGA agreement still in effect allows Jay to write his own monologue.
The WGA has not said if it will take action against Jay, but it could end up fining him or kicking him out of the union. Meanwhile, the guild is encouraging performers to appear on David Letterman and Craig Ferguson’s shows since their production company has settled with the WGA. And pickets are in full force outside Jay’s studio (although his writers are conspicuously absent from the picket line).
It’s a real slap in the face for one of the WGA’s staunchest supporters.
Personally, I think the WGA should back off. Jay didn’t want to come back. He had no choice. As he said Wednesday, it came down to 19 people keeping 180 out of work. It just couldn’t be done any longer.
And I’m kind of enjoying the exuberance Jay is showing doing his own material. As he said last night, this is the loosest the show has ever been and he needs the writers to “win this d—n thing” so he can go back to the same boring show he’s always done.
I’m not sure I’m anxious for that to happen…
And the WGA has noticed too…
On his show Wednesday, Jay Leno said he was “doing what [he] did the day [he] started.” Jay said he was writing jokes and then running them by his wife. “We are following the guild thing. We can write for ourselves.”
But apparently the guild doesn’t agree…
The WGA told Jay Thursday that writing for the show “constitutes a violation of the Guild’s strike rules.” NBC responded with a statement that the WGA agreement still in effect allows Jay to write his own monologue.
The WGA has not said if it will take action against Jay, but it could end up fining him or kicking him out of the union. Meanwhile, the guild is encouraging performers to appear on David Letterman and Craig Ferguson’s shows since their production company has settled with the WGA. And pickets are in full force outside Jay’s studio (although his writers are conspicuously absent from the picket line).
It’s a real slap in the face for one of the WGA’s staunchest supporters.
Personally, I think the WGA should back off. Jay didn’t want to come back. He had no choice. As he said Wednesday, it came down to 19 people keeping 180 out of work. It just couldn’t be done any longer.
And I’m kind of enjoying the exuberance Jay is showing doing his own material. As he said last night, this is the loosest the show has ever been and he needs the writers to “win this d—n thing” so he can go back to the same boring show he’s always done.
I’m not sure I’m anxious for that to happen…
