The Broadway stagehands went on strike on Saturday, shutting down more than two dozen plays and musicals. The stagehands and Broadway producers have been in negotiations for more than three months. Much of their disagreements involve work rules and staffing requirements, particularly rules governing the expensive process of loading in and setting up a show. The producers want more flexibility in hiring; the stagehands don't want to give up what they say are hard-won benefits without someth...

There's really no better way to do this than to copy/paste an excerpt from the interview Blender magazine did with her. She sighs and plops down on the couch. She lights a cigarette and turns a drowsy gaze toward Blender; she’s ready to talk. We start by asking if she’ll be recording the follow-up to Back to Black anytime soon. “Yeah, we’ve got a couple of more bits … I’m writing … ” she mumbles. “On the whole … ” She ...

This is their way of punishing Steve Carrell for refusing to cross the picket lines. NBC has laid off all the production folks on their hit show The Office -- grips, costume folks, make-up artists, drivers, caterers, etc. These are people who make less than the writers and will not receive residuals while reruns air. This is why Ellen is insisting on crossing the picket lines, people. Because there are lots of other jobs on the line. It's not just the writers. Says a key grip on the show: "During the 1988 WGA strike many of my friends lost their homes, cars and even spouses. Many actors are publicly backing the writers, some have even said that they would find a way to help pay bills for the striking writers. When the networks run out of new shows and they air repeats the writers will be paid residuals. The lowest paid writer in television makes roughly twice the salary than the below the line crewmember makes. Everyone should be paid their fair share, but does it have to be at the expense of the other 90% of the crewmembers. Nobody ever recoups from a strike, lost wages are just that, lost." Here's a good video explaining why the writers are striking. [Via PopCandy] />This is their way of punishing Steve Carrell for refusing to cross the picket lines. NBC has laid off all the production folks on their hit show The Office -- grips, costume folks, make-up artists, drivers, caterers, etc. These are people who make less than the writers and will not receive residuals while reruns air. This is why Ellen is insisting on crossing the picket lines, people. Because there are lots of other jobs on the line. It's not just the writers. Says a key grip on the show: ...