In Our Business, You Start a Strike Knowing How to End It

Mrs. Wakely, who gives one of her addresses as Carbon Canyon, wants to lecture me about labor politics. Meanwhile, Momosity believes the old Hollywood chestnut about movie stars losing important jobs because they overplayed their hand at the negotiating table. Poor Mrs. Wakely, who I actually think is Mr. Wakely. And poor Momosity, who may be spending too much time reading TMZ or some such show business "journal" so that he/she stays oh-so-on-top of the Tinseltown Poop Pile.

You don't know what you're talking about, Monsieur/Madame Wakely. Supporting the WGA while losing faith in this particular "team" of negotiators are two different things. (Kind of like loving your country even while it's been overrun by a cabal of trust-fund fascists who have Jesus' private cell phone number.) Calling a strike is sometimes a necessary thing.

Having the wisdom and guts and talent to get it over with expeditiously is even more so. The current WGA negotiators do not represent the best hope the WGA has right now and should be replaced. They should be replaced with more skillful negotiators.

Otherwise, the directors, who have typically fielded the most effective negotiators of the three guilds, will step in and, once again, school everyone. In our business, you start a strike knowing how to end it. Not when, but at least how. Otherwise, don't strike.

As far as those one or two readers who thought I was taking a dig at Bruce Willis, you are even more clueless than Senor/Senora Wakely.

Bruce, like all big stars, does not come into the studio head's office with a gun. He is offered the money. He doesn't steal it. And, like many of the biggest stars I have met in this business, he has probably left more of it on the table, rejecting some lame project, than you can ever imagine.

As for Momosity, part of me hopes the strike goes on, just so you have to watch Harvey Levin for another six months.

Read more about the strike on the Huffington Post's writers' strike page.

Comments

[squooshy]

For some reason it has become impossible to take the stance that the WGA Negotiating team has not performed up to task without being demonized.

I couldn't find it more obvious that they are not behaving as businessmen, they are behaving as writers. And writers HIRE businessmen to negotiate for them.

I support the writers. I work with writers. But I am consistently frustrated by the naivety and ignorance of the negotiating "strategies." Attempting to back huge conglomerates into a corner with hostile vernacular, asking for jurisdictional increases, not doing any sort of due dilligence in researching what they were up against, ad infinitum. Someone please tell me what is there to defend. And the negotiator that was hired, is underequipped for this particular negotiation. The DGA has Ken Ziffren and Gil Cates (a director AND a successful businessman).

Yes, you CAN support the writers without supporting the way the strike is being handled. But like Mr. Baldwin, as my frustration increases I care less and less about what was a fair cause.

I'm glad I saved my money.

[petegrif]

bad news Alex
Ron Galloway is on your side.

[EmilyB23]

Upfront, I'll admit to being an east coast media person who hasn"t and probably won"t school herself in strike mechanics. But doesn"t it make sense for this to be resolved asap? Isn't in everyone"s best interest to be back in business? The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that the marketplace will take matters into its own hands. Assuming viewers don't flee TV in droves, they might be forced to change their tastes to writer-less late night, single-camera improv drama, reality, actuality, game shows, Judge Judy¦ Hey now, there"s an idea. Anyone have Sheindlin's direct dial?

[suki21693]

I always wondered how many of the bloggers read all of their responses.

[ethnobotanist]

what about hiring a non-hollywood negotiator?

like g.e. and other major corporations, contracts come up and disputes arise every few years...companies handle these contract disputes with negotiators who have, on occasion, been so good, unions have settled for less than they could have gotten and didn't even know it! (well, some of us have friends...in the know)

it is time to hire one of these financial wizards who are also people handlers - sorry if that offends - but a little intimidation in hollywood might go a long way....at least let these writers go to the bank.

[momosity]

If I may be permitted to defend myself (this is my 2nd attempt), I have absolutely no idea who Harvey Levin is; I guess I'm not "oh-so-on-top of the Tinseltown Poop Pile". I don't read TMZ. I've been enjoying my TV downtime by reading some good books that were collecting dust on my shelf.
I completely support the talent that goes into making authentically entertaining television, so much so that I've boycotted "reality" shows from the start. I have friends who are actors and who are suffering from this strike too.
I'm sorry if I offended you, Mr. Baldwin. I've been a fan ever since "Knots Landing" and totally agree with your political views. You were brilliant in "The Departed", by the way.

[Ides]

The critical mass of it all has come to pass this season. Truly great movies are bombing at the box office and are exiled to rebirth as popular DVD hits through word of mouth. Horrible movies, on the other hand, are becoming smash hits.

So many voices have decried how poor the quality of movies has become, but as we can see it is quite clearly the fault of moviegoers. Please, stop watching bad movies.

If you watch bad movies you force writers to write bad movies and convince producers to fund bad movies. If you watch good movies, you do the reverse. When producers get their way they feel that THEY have the power in these negotiations. Until we start watching good movies, producers will control the industry outright.

At this moment, the movies that Hollywood producers crap out are banking on the front end while movies that have brought out the best writer talent are being skimmed at the back end and in the middle the writer gets screwed and the audience screws itself.

Save Hollywood. Stay away from bad movies. Read the reviews first! And maybe, just maybe, go to an art house once in a while.

[lgillooly]

Alec,
I think you need to be negotiating for the writers. You have a way of cutting right to the matter.No BS.

[6PercentIsUpperClass]

Is Chuck back on yet? Wake me when this is over.

[wrabbitt]

The UAW did contract talks with Auto companys, and voted to accept the contract offered. and, "LET THE LAY OFFS BEGIN" and they have for the sake of the greater good some jobs have been sacrificed or was it for the sake of the powerless union? If the auto Workers union goes on strike, not all cars/trucks are affected! We have seen the price steadily increase and the Quality plummet. The Writers are facing the same stonewall tactics. The writers are going to get the short end of the stick, when the ends fall apart, the middle collapses . Good luck,writers your in for a long siege. Don't let your talent be abused by unskilled, overpriced,agents,working for Drug induced want to be actors.

[President]

Alec Baldwin is the voice of reason? Yes sadly it's true.

When WGA "negotiators" abandoned current writers to seek power over others, they fell off their throughline.

We need a new team.

[thevineyard]

After working for 28 years as a freelance technician in film & TV, nothing makes me prouder than knowing that we have built a great industry (lousy programs notwithstanding) with almost entirely UNION workers. We are IATSE, WGA, SAG, DGA, Teamsters. Without unions and guilds, the exploitation in our industry would be outrageous. Still, it's been a horrible 28 years for labor. We have lost so much in our contracts. (Starting with Reagan's union busting policies.) It's time to fight back. I am out of work due to the Writer's Strike but I support the writers 100%, as do most of my colleagues. Sure, negotiations should continue but I, for one, am ready to hold out as long as necessary. Chosing a life as a freelancer means I have to expect slow periods.

[BeamMeUpScotty]

Film is a collaborative effort. Have the SAG and the DGA forgotten that? If your "brothers" get put on the welfare rolls and are black listed, it looks like you are content to look the other way? In an industry that generates $20 billion a year, with plenty to go around for everyone, that's sad, pathetic and downright cruel.

Presently, DVDs are the studios' cash cow - DVDs that originated WITH a script written BY a screenwriter.

Know what the writers' percentage is on each $20 DVD sold? - a whopping four cents - that's .002% - 1/20th of one cent! Good God, that's greed even Gordon Gecko would be ashamed of.

As for internet streaming video, which the WGA is fighting for, writers currently receive NOTHING. And the studios want to keep it that way.

The studios are not just being greedy - they are engaging in criminal conduct.

[jvstuck]

Alec - too bad you can't step in and take over - you are right on! The tactics on both sides are reprehensible - whatever gains are made will never make up the losses. Get the top agents to head the negotiations - its what they do for a living!

[Stanley]

Here's an argument for the independent producer.

Why should the independent producer hire a writer and have to pay them forever? What risk does the writer take in the venture? While the bloated megamedia company does not need any compassion, the ballsy producer putting there own money on the line just got another hurdle in front of them, by being asked to take on a partner who bears no risk of failure.

Fair is a very subjective argument.

Unions drove the work of our western fable factories to Canada for a very long time. Producers will make product anywhere and with any talent. The risk always seeks the reward. An independent producer will go to Prague or Bolivia if need be, trying to make it look like it came from Hollywood at half the price. Make no mistake it is not because they like to travel.

As the writers argue for a "deal" they should also consider a low budget or non-union allowance to help grow the business domestically. Attacking the only easily accessible means of distribution, the internet, without promoting the growth of many competitive streams of distribution, which are separate from the bloated megamedia country club will drive all new creative endeavors away. There will be a greater demand for non-union writers than ever before. The real risk takers are not the studios putting out formulaic trash into their over-hyped marketing machines, but the independent production company dealing with the same devil. With the internet their is a hope to leave the devil to rot if only there is a way to keep the independent producer out of this mess.

Promoting competition within the producer ranks which favor the little independent guy on the internet but not in the megamedia distribution machine, will break the backs of the opposition faster than you could imagine. One thing a producer will do faster than screw a writer out of a residual is bury some fat cat no talent mega-producer with a better product on their own distribution.