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

[Dolphin]

It seems like it is time for a conciliator to pour some oil on the waves, that is a third, independent party that negotiates between WGA and AMPTA. A method that is quite often used when union and employers cannot reach a understanding.

The longer a strike is going on the more it gets to the body and soul of those involved. Naturally the people who need a fair agreement soon now are of course the writers in need of their paycheck.

It is however a bit strange that people like Jay Leno and David Letterman plan to go on with their shows almost like usual while the strike is still on. I am not sure that is the thing to do, can it really be useful to the writers on strike? A comment to that would be most appreciated.

[KevinKSF]

The WGA I’m sure has its appeasers (like SAG’s Melissa Gilbert). When things get tough instead of digging in these folks look for the quickest exit to capitulation and future favors. Support the WGA Strike!

[prymal]

Alec,
You speak the truth.
May your voice become louder.

[kellygrrrl]

Mr. Baldwin, I do believe you just made the day of Momsity and Mrs Wakely.

This is why they tell you not to feed the wild life, sir.

[TheIndependenceParty]

WGA Strike? Yep, ... know about it and have (with the exception of "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Scrooge") turned the TV off. Why? Writers make it happen. Their thoughts and humor, and insights make it worthwhile, ... on occasion, to watch TV. They don't get a fair and continuing share for the works they create. Period.

My relatives who are addicts to TV are squeaking at last, ... sick of stupid "reality shows" and re-runs.

I say let the strike roll. I'll watch again when the good works of the WGA are available again. I love good acting, but when the actors have nothing to say, and no plots to act out, ... TV becomes pablum, drivel, or worse.

A plan? Sometimes, Alec, you simply have to pull out, hunker down, and go for the tuna helper in hopes of a better deal. Without that deal, WGA writers will be stuck without any credit or earnings for their works as they persist into the future. That, it seems to me, is something that needs to be resolved now, ... or at least before I turn on my TV again!

[trevor01]

Whatever you say, Alex! Forget Bruce W.. You always make more sense than the federal mint.

[Edison829]

I agree with Mr. Baldwin - and, sad to say, the WGA went into this strike the way Bush went into Iraq - no exit strategy. Mr. B says it's the negotiators who are screwing things up. Ok, but why doesn't the WGA get a new team? Why don't they "borrow" the DGA team about which Mr. Baldwin speaks highly? Btw, I like Alec Baldwin - his acting and politics are suave, polished and professional (just finished watching The Good Shepherd where Mr. Baldwin is EXCELLENT). One further thought - TV is sooooo very badly written, I'd love to know what happened to the really good writers? Where, for instance, is Aaron Sorkin?

[petegrif]

Alex
you are taking criticism as a narcissistic injury and lashing out. You are entitled to believe the WGA negotiating team is incompetent, but just stating that isn't constructive. It would be more helpful to spell out precisely why you believe that. What sort of deal EXACTLY do you think is doable? Without having some sense of what is doable you can't criticize usefully because we can't know that the WGA team is falling down by failing to negotiate a deal that is doable. The reason I feel you are wrong about the WGA team is that everything I have heard (from several sources) indicates that the studios are not yet in true negotiation phase, they are still in the softening up phase. They haven't presented anything that we could possibly agree to without cutting our own legs off. You say that the DGA is more competent. Forgive me if I am wrong but my memory is that it was the DGA's precedent that set up the atrocious DVD deal that all artists have been suffering under for the last nearly 20 years. It was even the same president of the DGA that negotiated that terrible deal. Finally, implying that the WGA team don't have any idea how to end this is completely wrong. They have a position that pretty much all writers agree with, we want a meaningful piece of the future ie internet distribution. You cannot expect them to publicize their bottom line but don't imagine they don't have one. To publicize it truly would be incompetent.

It is a frustrating painful time for everyone, but getting pissed at your team because they haven't got the result you would like and without any constructive comments about exactly how to move forward isn't going to help. And pissing on guys you don't agree with won't do it either.