TVSquad

I'm not happy with Ellen as well but its because she's just a horrible host.

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I could understand her going on to make her fans happy but after reading this she is coming off like a snob.

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Does this really surprise anyone? To me Ellen has always come off as one of the most self-centered people in Hollywood. And that's saying something!

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Kind of weird that Ellen fired Mitch Hurwitz, who then created Arrested Development, which starred Portia de Rossi, who then began dating Ellen.

If she was really bragging about firing Hurwitz, you'd think that'd make an awkward conversation with Portia at some point.

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Oh, please. One disgruntled ex-writer says something mean about Ellen, and everyone believes it? Ellen has always been about pleasing the fans, and this is no different. In fact, the writers are the selfish ones here, they go on strike and it isn't just the writers who stop working, it's the talent and the hundreds of other people who put on a show who are out of work and who rely on their paychecks. Let's have some perspective here!

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To be honest with the state of entertainment now, 90% of these writes don't deserve the money they have already been paid.

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It's always nice to see folks with an amazing grasp of the issues at hand like Katy and Eric.
(now where's that eye rollin' emoticon?)

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Only in the TV & Movie industry would the corporations allow people who are management and are under contract to provide a service to follow striking employees off the job.

The writers are on strike because they don't have a contract all of the talent and producers do have a contract and if they can continue to work they should.

A perfect example of the idiocy are these producer/writers that own the fricking shows. These morons are striking against themselves in some cases.

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Bravo Katy and Eric! What a lot of people don't seem to understand is that the crew members don't get any residuals whatsoever, 4 cents or otherwise! So when the stike goes on and on, the entire crew is laid off and have nothing to fall back on. Let's hope there is a QUICK resolve to this!

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I'm never watching anything Ellen does again. The writers are the backbone of the industry that has made her the multi-millionaire she is, and she isn't supporting them. If I were working for her, regardless of the strike, I'd probably resign and find a job working on a set where there's more solidarity.

Whomever thinks that the writers don't deserve more money is an ass. These people work round the clock to put together great material that the networks and executives cut, edit, and sterilize. They do all of this and their material gets re-purposed for DVDs and the web which they don't get any part of! They deserve to see residuals for their work no matter where it appears!

You should be ashamed of yourself if you think that the stuff that ends up on TV is the fault of the writers. Most of the good material is a mere shadow of its original form by the time it airs due to interference from suits and standards and practices. Good shows are given bad time slots and canceled before they find an audience, or they get bounced around the schedule and the fans miss it. How about you blame the poor state of television on the execs who are responsible for ruining a good thing in the name of profit?

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I understand trying to keep the fans happy, but she should start every show off by going "I have no writers today because the networks airing this show are greedy bullshiters, so if my jokes are worse than normal that's why. I hope you all will join be after the show to back my writers."

This strike sucks, I hate the asshole network people.

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You can be for the writers and against the strike.

I'm not a fan of Ellen. She became more political (again) this year and I tuned her out. However, I think I'll now watch to show support.

And by the way....those of us that disagree with the strike understand the issues just fine. We just don't agree with the strike. So get off your pompous high horse and get over yourself.

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So you are in favor of the writers getting screwed over?

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I'm for the strike and support the writers 100%. But I also recognize (as it seems most people fail to) that there are many livelihoods at stake beyond the writers'. Aside from the fans who came to the show (and even though I'm not an "Ellen" fan, there are other big shows I've travelled to see, and would be pissed at being out $1000 because a strike has halted production) there are thousands and thousands of other employees in Hollywood who will be laid off if this strike continues.

The fact that Ellen can do her show sans-writers means she should do it, both because she is contractually obligated and because it keeps people employed. If shows do start laying off workers, though, I certainly don't blame the writers -- I blame the studios for not being willing to give the writers reasonable compensation, forcing this whole situation.

As for the former writer bashing Ellen -- there are disgruntled employees in every field. There are also just situations where one person does get along with another person, no matter what. Believing random accounts of a person's character without actually knowing that person is just ridiculous. I'm no "fan" of Ellen, but c'mon now!

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What a crock. One of Ellen's best friends is one of her writers. She is one of the nicest people out there. One guy is mad, so now everyone is saying AH HA! I do agree with the writers getting paid for DVDs, etc, but also let us not forget that without the star, without the show, they wouldn't be working.

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@snokegaco:

Crews do get residuals. They get unemployment during a strike which, while not ideal, is at least a little something. And like the writers, they do have a union that makes sure they have things like health insurance and pensions, which makes them better off than at least 1/6 of the general population.

Don't get me wrong, I think it sucks for them to be caught in the middle and helpless to fix things. And I hope there is a quick resolution as well.

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Ellen should not have crossed the picket line.

If she wanted to make disappointed audience members happy, she could have given them all puppies. She's good at that.

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Oreo - I've made it clear that I think the writers should be paid whatewever they can negotiate on their own terms. I oppose the union, the strike and organized labor of any kind.

I do not have an opinion on what the writers should earn as far as residuals go. I personally do not think it is their "right." I don't even believe in the concept that good writers should make more than bad writers. Part of working is negotiating your pay ( and benefits ).

I think the very idea that all people involved in the production of a tv show (or whatever) should have equal type pay is ridiculous. It doesn't bother me a bit if guy A makes $1 mil, actor b make 100k and writer c makes $100. It is whatever the market determines is fair based on what consumers are willing to pay, etc. and whatever the employer is willing to pay for your services. Don't like the pay - go elsewhere. Can't find work elsewhere - find a different field.

I don't think people DESERVE anything. They earn things.

And the writers are holding their employers HOSTAGE and should be considered criminals in my view.

As a studio head - I would go bankrupt (then start over and succeed again) before I would give one nickel to a striking employee.

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It's nice that Ellen considered her studio audience. But I can see why the writers are mad.

We know how the writers feel. And many actors are jumping in to support to the writers (probably because their contract is up next year). But what does the average American think of the strike? Do you support the writers?

http://redlightnaps.wordpress.com/2007/11/08/wga-strike/

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@ karen - Who hurt you? :-(

I do believe people do deserve things especially when they’ve worked hard for them. They should not be taken for granted just because their not the headliners. Without writers on shows & movies most actors would have nothing interesting to say.

Back to post.

I feel this writer is a bite off track and may have some past resentment towards Ellen. Most know that Ellen does support the writers strike. I believe I read somewhere she is a member of the WGA. She’s contractionlily obligated to do her show or it could be cancelled or she could be sued by the network. This is November Sweeps so she could not just stop shooting. As to giving her audience puppies that would have been a great remedy but her luck that could easily have gone bad too.

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