Daly works despite strike

"Last Call with Carson Daly" will begin taping new episodes this week, becoming to first late night show to cross the picket lines. Daly, according to a CNN.com article, has asked non-Guild writers to supply him with material for the new episodes.

On Nov. 5, the Writers Guild went on strike, demanding residuals from DVD sales and Internet use, such as direct download and streaming episodes. The strike immediately halted production for late night shows because writers work daily preparing new material.

The editorial board of The Crimson White, being made up of writers, can be sympathetic to not getting paid enough. However, we can't necessarily blame Daly for crossing.

This strike hinders the livelihoods of many individuals, especially those who work behind the scenes. Writers aren't writing, hosts aren't hosting, cameramen, producers, directors, actors - there are a lot of people in Hollywood who find themselves jobless as a result of this strike.

Daly needed the income - that's understandable. He is also giving those backstage their jobs back. He'll face the consequences of crossing once the strike is finished, however. Daly won't be seen as a good person to work with by writers.

We can't blame the writers for wanting what should be theirs. Everyone deserves just compensation for their work. Studio executives make millions while many writers struggle to make a living. Actors make millions while writers can expect to see maybe a third of that.

Another result of the strike - many television show seasons and big budget movies have been delayed indefinitely. The seventh season of "24" has been postponed indefinitely. The final season of "Scrubs" may never resolve if the strike doesn't end quickly. The sequel to "The Da Vinci Code," "Angels and Demons," has been postponed until a future date, but many movies risk not ever being made.

Studios look to lose a large amount of money - more than they are already losing - if a resolution can't be met quickly. Rumors circulating say the strike may end Dec. 8. If studios give writers a share of the profits from DVD sales and Internet use, then they will be forced to give directors and actors as much or more.

And the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild contracts are up in June. If the writer's strike isn't resolved by then, we could have a complete shutdown of the television and movie industry.

Daly isn't the bad guy. There is strength in numbers and solidarity between industry brothers, but people need to eat. Whether Daly needs money or just needs work, his crossing the picket lines may convince others to follow. The studios - which are multi-million dollar companies - are the real enemy. Writers only want a large piece of the preverbal pie that, from the looks of the studios, has more than enough to go around.

Our View is the consensus of the CW editorial board.