I Am for the Writers -- and for Better Slogans

What do we want?... Better strike slogans!

When do we want them?... NOW!

I am for the writers. They are the starting point for any movie or TV project so without a writer, there is no content. My beef is that the slogans that they are chanting are so poorly written.

"What do we want?... INTERNET!... When do we want it?... NOW!"

That's the best these writers can come up with?

If they, rightly so, think that they are so invaluable why aren't we hearing something like:

"What we have here is a failure to communicate."

"The truth? You can't handle the truth."

"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more"

Or how about adopting Norma Rae's simple, silent message of solidarity by having the strikers carry signs over their heads that say "UNION" and stop all the chanting.

The Writers Guild of America can't complain about this, can they? Will writing a better slogan constitute scabbing? I hope not.

The best way to get the message across is to write a better message. Good luck writers.

"May the force be with you".

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

Comments

[ShootFirstInc]

Jamie Lee Curtis and the rest get OWNED by the Studios here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8qM3QNqT48

[Phylin]

When I see some of the late night talk shows I believe the writers are permanently on strike.

[LaraineNewman]

Brilliant idea Peeper! Seriously. What better way to drive the point home than iconic lines that come from....uh, Studio heads? I think not.

[Nic]

Some of the BEST writing I've seen isn't from the writers on strike or the Bloggers on this or other Blogs. It's from those who come here to post their comments. I'm just saying.

[jowells]

you want better slogans when the writers are on strike. all they want is fairness, which is serious business.

jobs and financial security, (includes ability to pay the rent) are at stake in this strike, yes?

you want a battle of wits - seek out your friends and play games.

[hypnotoad72]

There is a certain irony here. Writers, having gone on strike, being unable to write catchy slogans.

Blimey. If that's true, one has to wonder why they're bothering.

May the farce be with us, it seems.

I will say this -- How much of today's media is a direct rip-off due to political influence, or because somebody in a suit believes it's more profitable to do "reality" shows or digging up old programs that have been dead for 30 years. The full problem cannot be laid solely at the writers' feet.

[Hugo de Balsac]

once
i found out
she was.

[Publius99]

thanks, Jamie Lee, I welcome the opportunity to come up with some slogans for the strike. Here are a few which I freely place in the public domain:

Fair trade for Writers!

Share the wealth fairly!

We want a fair slice of the DVD pie!

We'll show you ours
If you show your fairness!

[KarenZipdrive]

"GIVE US WHAT WE WANT OR WE'LL WRITE MORE SITCOMS LIKE 'CAVEMEN.'

[makemarc]

Maybe instead of strike they need to stay on the job and write really badly!
Oh...what's that you're saying? They've TRIED that...
Never mind.

(Oh, I'm just kidding, writers. Just jealous cause I'm not in the guild. Hey, can you walk the picket line anyway? Is that like being an opposite-scab?)

[oldcuster]

The writers' slogans suck? Really, Jamie Lee Curtis? That's all you can add to the conversation? Can someone please take away her laptop? Maybe replace it with one without internet access? Or at least she could contribute and get her husband Christopher Guest to improv a bad movie about protest slogans.*

*"Waiting for Guffman" and "Best in Show" are not included in Christopher Guest's bad movie oeuvre.

[stinkerbell]

I know I'm seriously late to this party, but I'd be all for seeing the disney picket line do an organized song and dance number from Newsies.

Not only would it be f-ing hilarious, but also a poignant jab at the studio which profited off of the pro-union damn-the-man message of that film. (Or rather, lost money on it...maybe that's what this is all about.)

Christian Bale, if you're reading this, put on your scally cap and get down there - your writers need you!

[coyne]

what the usa needs is a plan for a general strike. writers aren't the only ones getting screwed. most people can tell what fair looks like and fair isn't what's happening in this country or around the world. in the midwest fair still happens. people actually do put profit on table and divide it fairly. my mother owns farm land. she leases it to another farmer who then provides seed, equipment and labor. she's leased this land to the same farmer for 25yrs and has never had to go back to the table because their deal was fair. 60/40 spilt. the farmer who leases the land gets the 60. my mother was fair. the profit of a project could not happen without us, no matter what the project is. most of us know what fair looks like and fair hasn't been happening for a long time.

[EdColetti]

I'm for the Democratic Party hiring as many out of work writers as they can afford in order to rescue it from mealy-mouthedness

[AngerManagement]

Try chanting, "What we have here is a failure to communicate," ten times in a row and see how it works out for you.

[justfacefacts]

Well, if we are going to punish an entire profession merely because there are people without a shred of talent working in it, we'd have to consider other professions rife with similar dullards.

Where shall we start? How about at the top of government and work our way down. The federal payroll will become virtually non-existent.

[sjamaanka]

Hollywood writers not getting paid enough?
Can't afford that new Mercedes? Tsk, tsk.
Try going freelance in the rest of America....
You remind me of pro football players whining about not getting paid enough to "risk injury."
Dare ya.
Step out of your safe Hollywood nest and try making it month to month in the real writing world with no benefits or insurance.
How fast will you run back to Hollywood, on any terms?
Protest for better pay for teachers.
Protest for healthcare for all of us.
Do something for the betterment of the world, instead of writing insipid schlock and whining you don't get paid enough.

[dyannne]

As an ex-writer for the writers, I say go writers! I never have made a lot of money, but I must say, I made the least I ever made as a writer. For some reason, people who do what they love are supposed to be paid less? Hang in there, writers.

[villastrangiato]

HOW IRONIC!!!!!

YOU HAVE A STRIKE CARRIED OUT BY "WRITERS" WHO NEED HELP WRITING BETTER PICKET SLOGANS!!!!!

For many reading this blog, I'm sure they're thinking -" if they can't write decent strike slogans, maybe they deserve to be replaced by illegal aliens standing on busy street corners looking for work"... PATHETIC!

[nich]

Slogans! We don't need no stinking slogans!

But a few clever ones wouldn't hurt.

[rst2536]

SUPPORT THE WRITER"S STRIKE
1
Here"s to the men and women writers
Who, fighting for the Writers Guild,
Are up against the network blighters
Whose coffers they have always filled.
They are the ones who, contemplative,
Are first and foremost most creative.
As Leno said with piercing dread,
"Without these guys I"m really dead."
An actor might give language meaning
And take you off to make believe;
But with no writers to conceive
Which way a character is leaning
The actor"s in an awful bind
Till s/he"s told to shit or go blind.
2
The networks certainly"ve been able
To make it seem the writers block
Talks at the very conference table
Where they"d be willing, round-the-clock,
To suffer through negotiations
About their shows" reincarnations,
As if it were an act of God"s
That TV shows play on ipods.
They claim they"ll study on-line streaming
But it will take them many years.
No doubt they"re led by financiers
Who all the while are really scheming
To transfer what plays on TVs
And not pay writers writing fees.
3
So here"s a thought in solidarity:
We"ll stand with you; go toe-to-toe
Against the networks" insincerity
Until you get your quid pro quo.
As other workers, it"s our duty
To help you out; and not get snooty
About how much a writer earns
(When working). They"ve our same concerns-
To make ends meet the cost of living;
To see their kids hit long line drives;
To pay their bills; ex-husbands, wives.
If you"ll hang tough be unforgiving
We"ll stand with you. What I don"t get.
Who wrote your signs? Monks in Tibet!

[TJS]

Everybody is jumping on the bandwagon with this tired observation that the writers need better slogans on their signs. Other posts have brought up the same point. But the main factor to consider is that these signs must have words big enough to be seen by passersby, who at best have a few seconds to read them as they walk down the sidewalk or drive past in their cars. This would be like asking Jamie Lee Curtis to show the audience all of her acting talents in five seconds to someone speeding past in an SUV. You can't expect the writers to compose witty and crafty dialog for a 2' x 3' poster mounted on a stick. Even a TV commercial has 30 seconds, while sitcoms have a half-hour (minus commercials), dramas an hour, and movies two hours. Ultimately, it will be the effect of the work stoppage, and how the writers present their case in the media and to the public, that will have the most impact -- not a few placards on the sidewalk. I suspect the picketing writers know that. Someone should explain it to the actress.

[SmallvilleSC]

Slogans? To hell with the words. They are not being paid right now for their words.

How about objectives? You know, a sign declaring what they want: percentages, royalties, income levels, whatever it is that they want.

Then we can see what the bad boys in the back offices use as a counter-offer.

[jimshady]

Lets face the truth. Writers are the lowest paid professionals in the craft. I think it is time the major companies that benefit should start giving up some of the hundreds of millions they make to pay these writers decently. A small number that manage to make a play or tv series become well of while the majority are left to fight for crumbs and cant even make a living at their profession. I think its also in the best interests of All actors and actresses to help settle this so all are treated equally and paid fairly.

[Lane]

Hey Jamie;

aren't you a member of the writers guild?????