Writers walked the walk, now they'll talk the talk

At last, some good strike-related news: On Monday, Nov. 26, after fattening themselves on Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing, writers and producers will sit down and glare at each other renew talks in an effort to reach a settlement. The strike will continue, of course, with a demonstration/rally in Hollywood on Tuesday. Strikers will take the rest of the holiday week off, and resume just as talks commence on the 26th.

First order of business, reportedly, will have AMPTP president Nick Counter requesting strikers to tone down the picket signs speculating on the length of his genitalia.

In a statement, officials said: "No other details or press statements will be issued." Which was a huge surprise, since they haven’t exactly been issuing very detailed information for the past month anyway.

* Meanwhile, in case you were feeling the love a little too much from that previous item, don’t: NBC informed the casts of “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “Bionic Woman” that they were suspending them on half-pay for five weeks. Sony told the stars of “’Til Death” and “Rules of Engagement” that they’re getting put on unpaid hiatus. And Warner Bros. TV upped the ante, threatening job losses on its shows, including “Pushing Daisies,” “ER,” “Without a Trace” and “Cold Case.”

* NBC, as expected, has acquired “Quarterlife,” the MySpace drama about whiny tech-savvy twentysomethings from “thirtysomething” creators Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick. “Quarterlife” debuted last Sunday; two eight-minute installments are currently available (on the above link). NBC will knit these installments together into hour-long episodes.

Due to the show’s ownership structure, “Quarterlife” is exempt from the writers strike, meaning it can remain in production indefinitely.

* George Clooney has donated $25,000 to the Actors Fund, which will help those financially unsettled by the strike.