Crunch time for the new shows

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Veteran TV writer and ‘Moonlight’ show runner Chip Johannessen packed up his personal items at the end of his workday today and planned on spending time during the seemingly inevitable strike with his 12-year-old daughter. ‘We’re trying to rush out a version of Episode 11 that is producible.’ (So they would have 11 of 12 ready.)

“It’s a funny thing because making a TV show is very difficult and by this time in the season, everybody’s getting on each other’s nerves a little bit. I suppose if you’re working on the fourth season of ‘Without a Trace,’ it’s a bit of a machine, but new shows are just in a bad crunch right now. It’s just getting to crunch time. So you’re like, oh my God, this thing I worked so hard on, I just wish it could keep going. I want to get to the back nine. It’s had this weird effect of making us appreciate what’s there.’

He said he stands firmly behind the guild.

‘Anybody who has been around in this for a while has experienced first-hand the business of a company making tons of money on a DVD and getting residuals for $18. Or on a revenue stream of $1 million, getting a check for $3,000. And that’s not a fair formula. The people on the negotiating committee are TV writers who have experienced great success and know what this amounts to. . . . It makes a huge difference in your life as a writer. First of all, you get to take time off and write something you care about. It also helps you in the lean times. The most important thing to me, anyway, was that I never had to take jobs because I needed money. So for writers it becomes a really important part of their lives and for the companies. It’s like their R&D budget.’

-- Maria Elena Fernandez