TVSquad

It's that time of year again, isn't it? That brief period between the humongous holidays of Halloween and Christmas that television and retail outlets have forgotten about. I talk about Thanksgiving, of course. The holiday of football games, unbuttoned pants, family arguments, and giant Snoopy balloons. It is also the time to give thanks.

Thanks for what? Well, we aren't trading chickens for a gallon of gas yet, so that's something. And, we still have television, which we can eventually trade in for chickens in order to get a gallon of gas. But, since our television shows are more important than driving in many cases, we may just start riding our bikes and eat peanut butter sandwiches instead.

With those happy thoughts, here is what I am thankful for when it comes to the flat screen idiot box.

Ah, product placement. It's a subject that's come up before. We have an award for it, and even as far back as those care free days of 2005, Karina was writing about the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild Of America protesting it. The telling quote from that piece, "Our writers are being told to perform the function of ad copywriter, but to disguise this as storytelling." And isn't that where most of us have always drawn the line in the sand? The placing of products into sets was kind of an understood cost of doing business, but having the writers change scripts to incorporate them was a whole other ball of (Turtle) wax. Unfortunately, those (Foster Farms) chickens have come home to roost.

There's good news and bad news coming from the on-going talks between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The bad news is that there has been very little progress in talks between SAG and the studios concerning a new contract.

With their current contract expiring on June 30th, SAG members are looking for higher pay for "middle-tier" actors, those making less than $100,000 a year, and a greater cut of profits from DVD and new media sales -- a main sticking point during this past winter's Writers Guild strike. In addition to those woes, there are bitter splits taking place between SAG members and those of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) after the smaller union ratified an agreement with the studios.

Oh, if only the "reality-free" tag above meant something else when it comes to this.

Just when you thought you could sit back in your comfy chair and watch TV this fall, comes news that possible Screen Actor's Guild strike that has been talked about for weeks is very close to actually happening. The deadline is June 30, and while a lot of people in the industry thought that the contracts signed at the end of the writer's strike earlier this year (ah, remember those days?) could serve as a blueprint, that might not be the case.

Here we go again. We have barely healed from the wounds that the Writers Guild of America strike opened up late last year, now it's the Screen Actors Guild's turn to make us nervous about the television we watch.

Yesterday, SAG representatives began negotiations with the Hollywood studios by swapping contract proposals between the two parties. This is the first time in nearly three decades that the Guild is negotiating solo with the studios since the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) has rejected combined talks. AFTRA is upset with the Guild over concerns that it is attempting to poach its members. The Guild is denying this accusation with the statement that it normally broils its members over a low flame with some butter sauce.

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.

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.