Keep the Strike in Perspective

It has been suggested by some that what seems like the inexorable strike between the Writers Guilds of America, East and West and The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers is akin to the present war in Iraq.

That is a glib distortion; one which completely misstates the present impasse.

The WGA is not some devious, messianic power seeking to impose a form of regime change on some far-flung entity. Nor should the AMPTP be mistaken for an enemy that is secretly armed with WMD -- other than Weapons of Mass Distribution, perhaps.

Let others speak of the merits of the Alliance's leadership, I can attest that it has been ages since writers have been represented by such devoted and determined elected and designated negotiators. To compare their accumulative experience and business savvy with a bungling White House which cannot finish a war over four years after winning it is as inappropriate as it is insulting.

There are no Sunnis in the WGA; no Shiites, no right or left-wingers; only a group of hard-working men and women who care desperately about not giving up any part of whatever past or future gains they know to be rightfully theirs.

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

Comments

[HollywoodFilth]

This isn't just about writers and studios. It's the entire American corporate culture. Taking money and benefits from employees to put it in the pockets of CEO's. It's happening in every industry, and we're standing up for ourselves, like everyone should. Without opposition they will take and take and take.

Also as was pointed out in the meeting Thursday night, the WGA will never get a fair shake in the mainstream media because - well, we don't have to draw a road map of who owns the mainstream media, do we?

[Bobbygoode]

Probably since the first guy who played Romeo was pissed because Shakespeare got credit for the words he spoke, there has been a deep resentment of, and disrespect for writers... and that of course is extraordinarily ironic. No writing = no movie, no TV show, and not even "Survivor" or "Big Brother" (some "writer" conjures up those stunts, and concocts the creative edits, etc. to make the damn things entertaining). In case you hadn't noticed, few "reality" shows are actual "reality". They are adjusted, manipulated, uhh... WRITTEN. I have been a TV/film writer for 35 years, and suffered through three major strikes already (this new one hasn't started yet), and very little has been achieved via this method... yes writers are ariculately vociferous at first, but as the strike grinds on, we find the studios are just wayyy too rich, and writers are wayyy too blue collar (except for Herr Gelbert and Bochco and a few others) to last. Just about the time greedy, corporate ruled studios truly need new product (6 months down the line), they will make a 1% adjustment in their negotiations, and writers will desperately cave, as they must. I love the WGA, we need to be out for a YEAR to achieve fair compensation, but we won't - we can't - and that's sad for us all.

[RedWhiteandBlueState]

It's all a finger in the dyke. By 2011 television as we've known it is over. 70" living room flat screens will be broadcasting the internet. Network programming will seem quaint. It's a whole new paradigm. I say roll with it.

[srmorris]

I'm a screenwriter too and I haven't found the WGA to be tirelessly looking out for my interests. You see a few pennies off a DVD sale might mean millions to a big writer on a big movie but it means almost nothing to a small writer on an internet short.

The vast majority writers in Hollywood are desperate to get there work read, produced and distributed. The requirements of the WGA and their deals with studios make it much harder for new writers to get their work seen. This is particularly true on the internet where the unions and the studios are trying to apply 20th century models to 21st century mediums.

Don't get me wrong. I am no fan of the studios and the WGA has acted as a powerful advocate of writer's rights and royalties. I just wish they would put some of that effort into reducing the barriers for independent film and creativity.

Believe it or not most actors, writers and directors in Hollywood don't do what they do for the money. They want to work, and frequently its the unions that are getting in their way.

[Producer1]

I dont watch a lot of network television, nor do I care to. When a show has superior writing it is worth watching. All the best acting, directing and production talent in the world can't overcome a bad script. I've produced enough shows in the last 20 years to know that. The solution is for the writers to form their own production companies and get rid of the producers entirely. They know enough about the production end of the business to hire actors, directors, line producers and the like. They can always hire the right people to sell the product to the networks. If the writers (deservedly) want a larger slice of the pie, then they should consider (or threaten) opening their own bakery.

[Jjc2006]

If people don't wake up and pay attention that much of reality television is cheap (as well as stupid) and requires very little in talent, writers will be out in the cold.

I see the studios and head honchos more worried about the profit margin than about quality. Good writing is what makes movies and television relevant. Unfortunately we have a generation of young people who think watching someone eating a bug is relevant.

What I wouldn't give to see another MASH type program, where people are asked via good writing to examine their belief system.

Unfortunately the GIANT media moguls and their corporate masters don't want people thinking. How sad for us all.

That said, I support the writer's guild 100%

[Doofus]

Writer's strike, War in Iraq.

Yeah, they're probably very similar.

M.A.S.H. was practically like Vietnam.
Or was it Korea, I forget.

Without having a clue about the details,
I'm going to guess that the Writer's
already make plenty. So strike away, folks.
Lots of us won't notice much difference.

[MSB]

I seriously believe that writers are about 85% of all shows and movies. There are literally thousands of actors that could deliver credible performances that are crafted by writers. Just as there was literature and theater before studios.

I hope writers realize that they really should be dealing from a position of strength. If their opponents had brains they would realize that the requests are not remotely crazy, and, in fact, their own livelihoods depend upon well-crafted writing.

[LittleGreenGreaseBalls]

Sorry, but I just don't care about this issue. Although one probably can't blame writers for everything wrong in the entertainment business it's a good place to start. There are so few decent movies and NOTHING at all on Tv, that I won't miss a thing if the strike lasts 100 years. I haven't had cable in 15 years, haven't been in a movie theater since I quit the biz (also 15 years) and perhaps watch three or four DVDs annually. So, they can have my fifteen cents worth--hire fourteen year old boys to do the writing as that's the audience they're targeting. Go ahead corporate showbiz, spend 200 million to make trash and if it doesn't fly on the first weekend you're toast. What kind of business model is that?

[Hollywoodaholic]

It's pretty clear there was no script for the Iraq war, the administration was 'winging it,' and the result was the worst form of reality aired on television. That's about the only analogy I can draw. And without a fair contract for writers, what America will get for their regular television faire will also be hideous.

[ThatCatLady]

Shhhhhh, Larry. Let's leave Ridley in his bunker for the foreseeable future.

[Delphine]

Larry, this morning some woman called a local radio station to decry all the writers who make "ungodly sums of money" and how they are trying to "double their salaries" when they ask for a four cent "raise" per dvd. I think it could really help the public understand the strike if they understood that most working writers make something akin to a middle class living without medical benefits, and work from job to job with sometimes long dry spells in between. And those dry spells are filled with . . . writing. Writers work and produce just for the very prospect someone might someday pay them for what they produce. How long would you (out there) work just in the hope of future compensation?

People seem to think writers don't have any special talent, that they're just somehow "luckier" because they got hired in some 'high paying' gig, that writing is "easy" - anyone can do it.

The truth is that anyone can write, but not everyone can write well, or create something unique and entertaining or funny or moving. Next time you laugh out loud at a show or walk out of a movie profoundly touched by the story, remember that it all originated in the mind of a writer, who deserves decent compensation for creating it for your pleasure.

[DaveMacaray]

Great comments, Larry. Sadly, we live in an age where hyperbole wins out over careful, reasoned discourse. Accordingly, the WGA is going to be portrayed as either the Great Satan or the Messiah, the savior of the creative working man/woman. Of course, it's neither; it's what you say it is, a group of dedicated, hard-individual union representatives. Thanks for posting that.