screen actors guild
Brace yourselves for a possible actors strike
Have you seen all those feel-good commercials on CBS showing the actors returning to work after the WGA strike, the message promising us that good times -- and fresh new episodes -- would soon be on the air? Well, here comes the cold shower. The big story this morning out of L.A. is that Hollywood is shaking with fear that the actors will strike this summer if a new contract isn't hammered out before June 30. Big names like George Clooney and Tom Hanks have been quietly urging Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg to commence negotiations now in hopes of averting another contentious battle. Even AFTRA (SAG's sister organization, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) reportedly wants to start formal talks.
Live Blogging The Screen Actors Guild Awards
10:04: OK, that's it for me. I haven't even eaten yet. Don't forget to head on over to Moviefone for complete coverage of the awards (and if you missed the show, TNT is going to repeat it at 11).
See you next Friday night at Zac Efron's house.
10:01: Did Josh Brolin just make a snide reference to Julie Christie's "tiniest actor" comment when she accepted her award a few minutes ago, or was it just a joke I didn't get?
9:59: Looks like there's just movie-centric awards left. I forgot there isn't a Best TV Drama or Best TV Comedy category at the SAG Awards.
9:50: Matthew McConaghey and Kate Hudson: king and queen of the crappy romantic film.
9:46: This Farmer's Help Point ad is freaky, but I had a dream the other night that was even stranger. I won't go into details, but it involved a mutant cannibal family and a used record store. That's the last time I eat 8 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups right before bed.
9:36: Blair Underwood talking about the new technology that has come to film and television. The hidden message here is...pay the damn writers for stuff on the internet and cell phones!
9:29: These tributes to the people who died in the past year always make me nervous, because I'm afraid they'll forget someone. But this was well done, including TV character actors with the big name stars, and was even up to date as late as last week.
9:24: Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries is...a tie! Queen Latifah wins. Um, wait, I thought it was a tie? I'm confused.
9:20: Um...Mickey Rooney is aware that this isn't his tribute show, right?
9:18: Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries...Kevin Kline, As You Like It.
9:17: James Spader is slowly morphing into William Shatner.
Writers Guild may block the Grammy Awards
This year's awards season, barely a month old now, has not been a good one for Hollywood. First, the Golden Globes ceremony was reduced to an Access Hollywood special after members of the Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild boycotted the show. Now, it looks like the Grammy Awards ceremony may also be in trouble.
It is being reported that the striking guild will probably bar its members from working on the February 10th Grammys telecast. Grammy organizers have yet to ask for a waiver allowing for writers to work on the show. However, according to a WGA spokesperson, a waiver grant would be unlikely. There is no word if the WGA will picket the ceremony. If it does, then SAG members will not cross the picket line. This potentially means another exciting 1-hour infotainment special.
I'm sure members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are sweating a bit now.
Good-bye to the Golden Globes gala
Well, we all knew it was going to happen -- we were just waiting for the proverbial foot covering to plummet: the Golden Globes award ceremony has been canceled. No red carpet interviews, no pithy conversations between television and movie stars, no close-ups of actors or actresses laughing at jokes that really aren't that funny but seem totally hilarious after a few appletinis.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, along with NBC decided to scrap the ceremony after a boycott threat from representatives of the Screen Actors Guild. Rather than have an empty auditorium, all parties agreed to adopt another approach to the ceremony -- a extremely less glamorous one hour news conference where the award recipients will be named (to be aired at the same time the original show was to be broadcast).
Golden Globes looking unlikely
According to Yahoo, the Golden Globe Awards looked a little less like as the Screen Actors Guild has stated that nearly all of its members refuse to cross the WGA Strike picket line. This makes it all the more important for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to obtain an independent deal with the WGA before the awards show is broadcast.As previously reported on TV Squad, the HFPA was hoping to get an interim agreement with the WGA, similar to the one David Letterman and his production company Worldwide Pants obtained to continue The Late Show and The Late, Late Show with writers.
SAG nominations are in
EW.com put up the The Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations and we've got the nominees in the television categories for you. Not surprisingly, The Sopranos swan song continues to get awards show nods, with bids in all three categories it qualifies for. 30 Rock accomplished the same feat in the comedy categories. No other show was represented in all three drama or comedy categories.
Newcomers include Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Michael C. Hall (Dexter) in male dramatic actor. Holly Hunter (Saving Grace) was a new face in female dramatic actor, while Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) represented comedic actresses. Only Mad Men was able to creep in as a new show in the ensemble drama category. The complete list is after the jump.
Will writer/actors from The Office strike?

What would Ryan do? B.J. Novak, who plays Ryan on The Office, is also a writer for the show. So, will he show up for work today? He belongs to competing unions: The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has stipulated that actors must show up for work. However, as a member of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), he could be fined by his union if he crosses the picket line.
Eddie Haskell Sues Screen Actors Guild
"Aw, cut it out Eddie, will ya?"
Ken Osmond, who played Eddie Haskell on 'Leave It To Beaver' but did not become a porn star after the show ended (that's an urban myth - he actually became a cop) is suing the Screen Actors Guild. He says that SAG has collected more than $8 million from foreign residuals but has not shared that money with SAG members and non-members. Osmond's attorney has also filed suits against the Directors Guild and the Writers Guild over the past few years. It could be a class-action suit if others join in. Osmond says that SAG will not show him their books.
"And Jerry Mathers as ... The Beaver."
And the Actor Goes to ... SAG Award Winners
Actors really take themselves seriously, don't they? They don't even like to call a female performer an actress. Only actors allowed.
The SAG Awards are always a bit of a downer, since we already saw all these people at the Golden Globes. And pretty much the same people won again. The only pleasant surprises were The Office winning for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series and Little Miss Sunshine taking the movie cast award. Here are the winners:
Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Helen Mirren, Elizabeth I
Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Jeremy Irons, Elizabeth I
Screen Actors Guild nominees announced
The nominees for the 13th annual Screen Actors Guild awards were announced earlier this morning. Like the Golden Globes, the SAG awards focus on both movies and television. We don't give a darn about the movie nominees (that's what our sister site Cinematical is for), but we very much care for the television nominations. That's because we are, you know, TV Squad. So, here they are:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
James Gandolfini, The Sopranos
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
James Spader, Boston Legal
Kiefer Sutherland, 24 / 24 – Jack Bauer - FOX
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Kyra Sedgwick,The Closer
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
Actors, writers protest product placement
Yeah, I hate it too. The Screen Actors Guild and the
Writers Guild of America staged a joint
protest in Los Angeles yesterday over product placement. The two organizations have been united against the same
cause since November. They picketed
and chanted in front of a building in Beverly Hills where an advertising summit, sponsored by Ad Age, was taking place.
SAG and WGA weren't allowed in the meeting, despite their requests to be allowed in. Both groups are pushing for
regulations, or a "code of conduct" on product placement in television and movies. At the very least, they
want more money for not only being storytellers but also advertising
copywriters.While Pepsi cans and Fed Ex trucks in the background are all strategically placed, the writers and actors have a problem when the powers-that-be require them to work products into a story or even write an entire story around a product.
SAG Awards winners for television

The 12th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held tonight. We listed the nominees in television categories earlier this month, and here are the winners:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Paul Newman / Empire Falls
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: S. Epatha Merkerson / Lackawanna Blues
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series: Kiefer Sutherland / 24
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series: Sandra Oh / Grey's Anatomy
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Sean Hayes / Will & Grace
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman / Desperate Housewives
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series: Lost
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Desperate Housewives
See the full list (including the winners in movie categories) at TBS.com [Thanks Seth!]
Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees announced

The nominees for the 12th Annual SAG Awards were announced this morning. Check out the full list for television after the jump below.
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