Studios Upset The WGA Doesn't Want Writers To Work While On Strike
· The studios and networks are "outraged" with the WGA's strike rules, which AMPTP president Nick Counter says are "filled with threats of fines, punishment and blacklisting," and have threatened to sue the Guild if tries to interfere with its members' contractual delivery of all the rushed material they're trying to stockpile to help them survive a work stoppage. Unsurprisingly, the WGA has told the producers to invest the time they're spending worrying about its rules coming up with less ridiculous proposals. [Variety]
· A&E casts Benjamin Bratt as the lead in its pilot The Cleaner, instantly giving the project a legitimacy on the level of an average network series likely to be canceled after five poorly rated episodes. [THR]
· Hollywood Out of Ideas, Chewing Your Own Cenobite Cud Edition: Clive Barker will produce a remake of his 1987 horror flick Hellraiser for Dimension. [Variety]
· Chuck's numbers go up 19 percent from last week's airing, while enough Dancing with the Stars fans stick around to watch an amnesiac Christina Applegate to provide Samantha Who with a "strong" series debut. [THR]
· Madonna signs away her musical life to Live Nation, which is betting that the artist still has a few highly profitable, perfectly calculated provocations left in her. [Variety]