Jay Leno brings donuts to striking writers, supports them on the picket lines

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/

Burbank

Jay Leno pulled up to NBC's West Coast headquarters on Bob Hope Drive atop his Harley, wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans. He took off his helmet and delivered three boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. "This is writers' food. See the bodies of these people. They don't get that way eating tofu," he said.

Leno milled about with the 50 or so writers carrying picket signs. "We're not on tonight," he told the picketers of his show. "I don't know what were going to do. I don't know how long it is going to last. We will see what happens."

When NBC's funnyman was surrounded by reporters, he said that he was backing the writers.

"I've been working with these people for 20 years. Without them I'm not funny. I'm a dead man without them. There a lot of misconceptions about how much these people make. Most of them are not highly paid. Some are, but the average make about 30 grand a year. I'm out here to support the writers. I'm on the writers' side."

--Meg James

My respect for Leno just grew. Support the writers guild.

Good for him! He's always been a stand up guy.

:hi:

He needs them for sure too.

along with Seth Meyers from SNL and John Oliver of The Daily Show.



http://gothamist.com/2007/11/05/film_tv_writers.php

I think Leno is smarter than the average celebrity.

helping out his union brothers and sisters. :)

They're giving Leno and Letterman and all the others an unexpected paid vacation.
They probably want them to stay on strike for months while the networks play reruns
and the late night hosts get royalties for them. They still have contracts with the
networks even if the writers don't.

Credit where credit is due.

Still wowed by Jon's actions.

may i ask?

And its coming out of his own pocket. Both the Daily Show writers and the Colbert Show. They ought to dip that guy in bronze. Thats integrity.

"UPDATE, 2:20 P.M.: Confusion: Jon Stewart's rep just called back to deny the information above. I checked back with my source, who set me straight on a few details: Stewart is not paying writers out of his own pocket, but through Busboy, his production company. And it's not just writers who are getting their salaries covered but all the shows' employees. "He's hoping that it wraps up amicably and quickly, and over the course of that time he wants to look out for his employees," he says.

But when I ran this by Stewart's rep, he emailed back, "While I hesitate to knock down every rumor that comes up, the assertion that Jon and/or Busboy Productions will be paying for the staff is false and we have no further comment beyond this at this time.""

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2007/11/05/stewart-will-keep-striking-daily-writers-afloat

“While I hesitate to knock down every rumor that comes up, the assertion that Jon and/or Busboy Productions will be paying for the staff is false and we have no further comment beyond this at this time.” (statement from Stewart's publicist)

http://www.givememyremote.com:80/remote/worlds-best-boss-jon-stewart/

he's already dead to me. All they write him is Clinton jokes, for the last 13 years.

He's pretty equal opportunity to make fun of anyone.

never caught a Bush joke; Just Clintons penis,. It got tiresome after 10 yrs or so. The Gropenator just about did it ( Jay's line? "It's not a news show so fairness is not an issue")

it seems lately. And I've seen plenty of Bush and Arnold jokes. :shrug:

He seems pretty equal opportunity to me.

In solidarity....

I wonder if any of these working-class Red-staters will figure out where they'd be without for liberals' support of labor.

like Jon Steward is doing.

:P

credit they actually receive.

That's worse than Wal-Mart wages!

They live in tents.

someone who has an "ordinary" job that's steady and has continuous benefits.:)

them to the nurses striking outside the hospital. It's right that the "bosses" understand and appreciate how much they depend on their support staff. I applaud Leno for his support and statement.

We all did what we had to do the year the County clerical workers struck. Refusing to cross the picket line didn't feel like an option, and my "confidential" classification barred me from joining AFSCME, but at least I could hand my friends a six-pack of soda on my way in.

Hehe. When the Exec Secs started meeting to share notes, I asked if there was anything barring us from forming a collective bargaining unit of our own. I thought the manager I asked that question of was going to choke. The "ladies" never did it, but it felt good to bring it up.

When it comes to dealing with Management, the worker's only strength is in collective bargaining and unions.

Hekate

I remember him spewing some Libertarian style diatribe a few years back.

from LA Weekly 9/17/04

Does Mr. Middle-of-the-Road Lean Left?
Jay Leno talks about the tragedy and comedy of politics
by Nikki Finke

Jay Leno says, “I’m not conservative. I’ve never voted that way in my life.”
He “really worries” what a Dubya victory in November will do to the makeup of the Supreme Court. He believes “the wool was pulled over our eyes” with the Iraq war. He thinks the White House began using terrorism “as a crutch” after 9/11. He feels that during the campaign Kerry should “make Bush look as stupid as possible.” He believes “the media is in the pocket of the government, and they don’t do their job” so “you have people like Michael Moore who do it for them.” He has on his joke-writing staff a number of former professional speechwriters for Democratic candidates. “No Republicans.” When it comes to Bush, he doesn’t think his politics are much different from Letterman’s. “Does he show his dislike maybe a little more than I do? Probably.” Leno used to read Mother Jones magazine.
Could it be? Is it possible? Is Leno, “the right comic,” really a closet lefty?

Sure seems that way, judging from his remarkably candid interview with L.A. Weekly about his views on politics in general and the 2004 presidential race in particular. (Or is it just a new Leno strategy to win younger viewers, same as his new I'm-just-hangin'-out shirt sleeves which debuted on the show this week?)

And into the first years of the Bush Administration. He's obviously remaking himself.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/5940005/the_anchorman/

"Then, suddenly, it's "Republican stooge, Jay Leno." But I'm not a Republican, so it all just makes me laugh. My job is to humiliate and degrade everybody equally."

It wasn't an accident that Republicans liked him better than Letterman.

I'm sorry, but that's like someone like me giving a homeless person a RAISIN I found in my cupboard.

I don't see the generosity or concern here, sorry.

At least he didn't corner them and ask them detailed questions about current events or things they should've learned in school. A laugh a minute, that one is.

I usually nibble on it a little before giving it away

And honestly, any support is good support.

they should all have to share a stale cinnamon roll.
And that would be overly generous.

I believe that the Leno' care, and I've heard Mavis Leno speak on matters regarding oppressed women in Afghanistan long before it was popular, by the dates; before DU even existed http://www.comedycontact.com/mleno.html

http://newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=CA&last=leno&first=mavis

The last donation was:

LENO, MAVIS N
BURBANK, CA 91510
SELF/WRITER
FEMINIST MAJORITY PAC $1,000
primary 02/15/06

How about it AFTRA? NABET? Equity? Musicians Union? At one time other unions honored the picket ilnes of another...showing unity in cause. If these other unions joined in, this strike would be over in a hurry.

I'm no Leno fan (his shows are stale) but I'm glad to see he came out to show some solidarity and get these strikers some positive publicity. Let's see where he and the others stand in a week or two weeks or a month if this strike drags on and begins to affect his bottom line.

Earlier today, I spoke with a WGA member who told me they had a fairly good size strike fund, but that anything beyond a month will start make life difficult for him and his family. Here's hoping things are resolved long before that.