A letter from The Office writing staff

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

To all fans of “The Office,”

Tonight is our last new episode for a while, so we wanted to write a quick note (with tanster’s help) to thank you for the overwhelming support you have shown us, and other writers, in this weird and difficult time.

Every day we wake up and put on red shirts and drive to a hot, unpleasant location in Los Angeles and walk in circles for four hours. It pretty much stinks, and we would all rather be at work (by a factor of like 10,000), but we continue to do it because the things we are fighting for are fair, reasonable, and incredibly important to the future of our industry. They matter to us, to actors, to directors, and to everyone who works on a TV or movie set.

We certainly hope that this will all be over soon. In the meantime, the best way to help (if you are looking for something to pass the time that does not include watching boring non-union reality shows for three hours a night) is to write letters to the CEOs of these companies, and to tell them that you support the WGA and our attempt to secure a fair deal for our work. There is more information here.

The other thing you can do is to stay informed. The blog www.unitedhollywood.com is the best source for non-Mega-Corp-spun information. WGA.org and WGAeast.org also have updates and information, including breakdowns of exactly what we are asking for, as well as what the companies are offering (which is a fun read, if you like intimidating legalese). Nikki Finke’s site (www.deadlinehollywood.com) has become indispensable as well.

Again, we cannot thank you all enough for your support and interest. Stay tuned to OfficeTally for more updates.

Sincerely,

The Writing Staff of The Office

Posted in WGA Strike

72 comments

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I support the WGA, and besides writing letter to CEOs I’d like to write to the corporate sponsors to let them know I will be boycotting their products because of this… However, I’m having a hard time figuring out who they all are; is there a list somewhere that I’ve missed?

Also, I’m a pretty recent Office fan and I have to say I love the site!
72 | ILikeYourFood Wed. Dec. 12, 2007 at 10:59am
63 - Amalia. Great idea.
71 | DrunkBiking Tue. Nov. 20, 2007 at 4:56pm
I will also support the WGA strike by boycotting ALL advertisers on the internet media episodes and deleted scenes. Target, Blackberry (I was up to upgrade my phone), Allstate, this means you.
70 | electricbamboo Sat. Nov. 17, 2007 at 9:42am
tanster, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on whether it would be helpful for international viewers to write letters as well. Would it be good because it shows that the writers’ support spans worldwide, or bad because the studios don’t really want us accessing a lot of the content anyway?
69 | JB Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 2:44pm
The Office is the only show I watch on T.V, so from now on my T.V will be turned off until the strike is resolved and the writers get what they are asking for. Need a good way to pass the time? Write some letters to the studios, get this to end soon!
68 | moomintroll Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 11:18am
I’m calling my cable provider and asking them to suspend my service. I’m not watching any damn reality programming.
67 | ziggy Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 10:31am
62 | amalia:

I absolutely LOVE your idea! Given that The Office has been the only thing I’ve watched on television with any regularity since AD was cancelled, I expect my TV will be off until after the strike is over now.

Jennie/tanster: Thank you so much for keeping us all updated and being such a wonderful go-between for all of us crazy fans.
66 | wallflower Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 10:17am
I won’t be watching any reality programming until the strike’s over. Good luck and godspeed!
65 | impish1 Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 9:05am
I totally support the WGA in their endeavor to obtain fair compensation from the corporations for their original content. I hope you are able to obtain a fair percentage in residuals for new media and an increase in residuals for DVDs. Stay strong. The Office fans support you. I hope to see new episodes soon. XOXO!
64 | Crystal Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 8:36am
To the Office Writers,

Looking forward to more great episodes of the Office. We support you! Thank you for writing. We miss you.

Jam Forever,

Patrick
63 | LovesItalianFood Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 8:17am
I completely support you and hope for an equitable solution very soon. In the meantime, would you help your fans fill some of our free time by recommending your favorite books to us? We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to watch the reality crap that they hope we will. I’m sure tanster would agree to give you the space here. You can help make us happy, and send a message to the networks. Win - win.
62 | amalia Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 5:53am
God speed, to all of us.
61 | Claire Fri. Nov. 16, 2007 at 12:43am
May God guide you on your quest.
60 | D.J. Thu. Nov. 15, 2007 at 10:50pm
I’m not a TV watcher (hell, I don’t own a TV), but I am a writer, editor and video content creator, and while at first I thought “Let these guys strike, maybe that’ll mean more work for those of us trying to break in,” I quickly came to realize how necessary these measures are, and I fully support the WGA!! Thanks for the letter, Office writers!
59 | Pj Thu. Nov. 15, 2007 at 10:48pm
Thank you for taking the time to write us!
We support you !
58 | TheOfficeB*tch Thu. Nov. 15, 2007 at 10:20pm
Best of luck, you guys. This week’s episode left a big impression on me, so even if I can’t watch the Office for a while, thanks for making every episode feel like the best one yet. Keep doing what you’re doing.
57 | Mel Thu. Nov. 15, 2007 at 10:10pm
Thanks for your kind words, guys. We support you 100% Let’s hope this injustice ends soon.
56 | Mark Thu. Nov. 15, 2007 at 9:47pm
I fully totally and completely support the WGA. But… *sob* … It’s only been 3 hours and already the depression has set in. I don’t know what I’ll do without my weekly Office fix. I pray this strike is over, like, tomorrow!
55 | Shari Thu. Nov. 15, 2007 at 9:41pm
Re #50, Scott: They didn’t really have a choice. This is when their contract was up and was to be re-negotiated. They couldn’t keep writing new episodes without either striking or committing to a new contract that was identical to the old one. Union rules, I think. If they decided to strike while they were in the middle of a current contract, they could all be sued, big time.

I don’t think they timed it this way on purpose.
54 | Callan Thu. Nov. 15, 2007 at 9:34pm
Love the show, but I can’t support anyone who willfully breaches a contract. Beginning negotiations for the new contract before the old one expires is one thing; walking out on the current contract before it is fulfilled is another thing altogether, and totally immoral.
53 | Kurt M. Weber Thu. Nov. 15, 2007 at 8:59pm