While the Marquee Writers are pushing for negotiations, the matter may not matter

The Writers Guild Strikes Again: Ryan Murphy’s “Just Shoot Me!” Producer, Ryan Levitan, and a New York Times Crossword Winner

The association that represents the studios publicly released the concessions they offered to writers in a press release on Aug. 22, which included a 13% increase in pay over three years and increases in some specific types of residual payments.

“This was the companies’ plan from the beginning — not to bargain, but to jam us,” guild leaders said shortly afterward. To bet that we will turn on each other.

Steve Levitan, whose credits include “Just Shoot Me!” and “Modern Family”, said at the event that anyone looking for ways to cause a disruption in the leadership of the guild was not doing so. “We’re just always trying to see if there are any ways anybody can help.”

Ryan Murphy, the writer-producer behind television hits like “American Horror Story” and “9-1-1,” recently had a heated conversation about the strike with Chris Keyser, a senior Writers Guild official, according to two people close to Mr. Murphy, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe a private discussion. He set up a financial assistance fund for workers who are not working on his shows. The people said that within days, he had $10 million in requests.

You know that moment when you’ve knocked out 12 of 73 clues for the New York Times crossword, you’re starting to sweat, and you think to yourself, “Man, I really wish the Emmy-award-winning actress Natasha Lyonne of Orange is the New Black was here to help me power through?”

The Writers and Actors’ Guild: Now’s Your Chance to Solve a Crossword Puzzle with Natasha Lyonne

OK, so maybe it’s not a scenario you’ve been dreaming about, but it could soon be your reality — that is if you have upwards of $2,100 to bid in a new online auction to support the ongoing writers and actors strike.

The Union Solidarity Coalition is organizing an auction through Ebay to raise money for crew members of films and television who lost their health insurance as the film and television industry ground to a halt.

The winning bidder of the mural painting in your home will receive $3,050, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross will take you out to dinner for $2,464 and Busy Philipps will be your buddy at the pottery class for $22,800.

John Lithgow will paint a watercolor portrait of your pup ($4,050) and Adam Scott will take it for a one-hour stroll ($2,025). The cast of Bob’s Burgers will write and perform a song just for you ($3,050) and the cast of The Bear is shelling out a sartorial boost in the form of a signed blue apron ($1,525).

You can get a Tom Waits fedora, Brit Marling’s wolf hoodie, or a Hawaiian shirt co-signed by Daniel Radcliffe and “Weird Al” Yankovich.

There’s a bunch of virtual hangouts with celebrities like Sarah Silverman and Zooey Deschanel, which promise more intimate screen time than catching your breath.

The Writers Guild of America and the Actors’ Guild went on strike in July after going on strike in May. (SAG-AFTRA also represents most of NPR’s journalists, but under a separate contract.)

Both unions are fighting major entertainment studios for increased compensation, regulations for AI usage and terms for streaming. People are at a standstill.

WGA described the offer as “neither nothing nor nearly enough” and full of “loopholes, limitations and omissions” that were “too numerous to single out.”

Source: Now’s your chance to solve a crossword puzzle with Natasha Lyonne

Comments on Drescher’s “Fun and Gratefulness in the Production of Supersymmetry Breaking” [Appl. Lett. Phys. Rev. 97, 87 (2008)]

Fran Drescher told NPR last week that if the studio bosses put aside their financial greed and acted with compassion, the conversation wouldn’t move forward.