Candidates Rush to Join Dave and Jay

This afternoon brings the announcement that David Letterman will tonight host not only Robin Williams--for years Letterman's go-to guy at landmark moments for his show--but Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, who taped a segment from Iowa, will also briefly appear. At this stage, Letterman and his Worldwide Pants colleague (and follow-on show's host) Craig Ferguson are the only talkers with a Writers Guild deal--so Clinton's appearance is something of a coup for both sides. (There were surely speculative discussions with reps for Barack Obama, so strong with the young men who are a late-night target audience, and John Edwards, the most union-friendly Democrat and the most at ease in the guest chair.)

Up against Letterman, at a point where he's been bleeding viewers to the CBS competitor, is NBC's Jay Leno. Leno scored a similar coup in attracting Mike Huckabee, who is fresh from a pair of foreign policy gaffes and quickly made another one regarding his appearance. The previous slip-ups concerned Pakistan (notably his news-to-everybody-else concerns about Pakistani immigrants as a threat); today's was his comment that he wasn't worried about doing the show because the late-night talkers had made deals with the strikers. Well, not so much with Leno, who's being picketed. (One picketer held a sign, "Huckabee Is A Scab.")

His disarray, and a por-union spiel, may have spared im a full-on slap from the WGA, who n the late afternoon issued this statement:

Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told The Associated Press today, "I support the writers, by the way. Unequivocally, absolutely. They're dead right on this one." He went on to say, "I don't think anybody supports the producers on this one. Maybe the producers support the producers, but I think everybody in the business and even the general public supports the writers."
Huckabee is scheduled to appear this evening on The Tonight Show. The Writers Guild thanks the former Governor for his strong statement of support for striking writers and hopes that he will not cross the picket lines at NBC.

Word also came that Ferguson, in a display of his show's imprimatur from the guild, would feature an entirely written show, rather than rely on guests, as the competition must do. Conan O'Brien, still not under the guild tent but owning a reservoir of good will from his sheer likability, will be relying on his own substantial improvisatory chops.

Similarly for Jimmy Kimmel, who like Leno (and other returning personalities including Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, discussed on an earlier post here) will be forced to rely on his wit--either compelling or unfortunate television to watch, depending on the results. (A crucial issue is what kind of talent will show up if that means crossing real or figurative picket lines. One staffer on a still-struck talk show described getting a call sheet upon retuning form vacation--in place of the usual row of guest and musical guest names stood the notation, "TBD").

Meanwhile, The Golden Globes came up short of an agreement as they tried to take inspiration from the Worldwide Pants example and issued a hopeful statement from their president Jorge Camara:

I am happy to announce that on Saturday morning, December 29, 2007, our attorneys began discussions with the Writers Guild of America to enter into an interim agreement similar to that entered into by the WGA and Worldwide Pants, which permits writers guild members to go back to work writing for The Late Show With David Letterman. We feel that the Late Show With David Letterman agreement is very reasonable, and hope and expect the WGA will agree to the same terms and ultimately permit the "Golden Globe Awards" to be broadcast as scheduled, without picket lines, on Sunday, January 13.

The WGA response was succinct and in the negative:

Dick Clark Productions is a struck company. As previously announced, the Writers Guild will be picketing the Golden Globe Awards. The WGA has great respect and admiration for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but we are engaged in a crucial struggle that will protect our income and intellectual property rights for generations to come. We will continue to do everything in our power to bring industry negotiations to a fair conclusion. In the meantime, we are grateful for the ongoing support of the talent community.

This evening's broadcast will tell whether Letterman, the most fiercely independent of hosts, will use the occasion to inveigh against the AMPTP suits is a matter of eager anticipation. He's even had his networks' big boss, Howard Stringer, laugh off the idea of being called a corporate "weasel", so the license is there.
We'll be updating this report as the shows unveil.

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