Saturday, January 5, 2008
Stewart, Colbert Claim WGA Playing Favorites
WGA Staffers Are Set To Picket WGA Itself
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Pitfalls Are Plenty For StrikeTV
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year?
It's January 1; a day that is supposed to be greeted with hope and optimism.
This year, however, is starting with fear, anger, sadness, anxiety. And failure.
Our industry is mired in a strike which has completely stalled.
In a time when we should be looking forward, we are forced first to look back. What were the architects of the walk-out thinking? Was this ever a course of action which was going to result in any greater gains for the Members than the alternative? Was there ever a chance it would lead to a shorter, less costly path to a contract than any of the other options? Did the Leadership, or Members, ever ponder for a moment that there were indeed other options?
This strike was born of hubris. Its life is therefore bound to be defined by pain, regret and remorse. We can only hope that its life will be short. But did today’s Doctors Frankenstein expect their monster to live so long and create so much devastation as it has already?
And what of the vision going forward? Where will the Guild take us now? What is the plan?
What, too, of the aloof, irresponsible Producers? Dare we hope that the Studios seize the opportunity to end the suffering and get back to the business of entertainment? Will they see that when you’re after getting the honey, then you don’t go killing all the bees?
Or will both sides stay the course of name-calling, finger-pointing, and digging in their heels?
New Year’s Day is a symbolic time for new beginnings, a bright start, renewed purpose and fresh resolutions. Writers and Producers both should take heed of the time, as it is your common enemy.
One may outlast the other, but by then both may find that time has passed you by and, in so doing, irrevocably damaged our once-fantastic dream factory and eroded the previously bountiful landscape of Hollywood into a sad, desolate wasteland.
It’s January 1. Hope survives. Optimism is gone...
But it could return.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Unmoderated Discussion
I've started another blog as a sort of clearing-house forum for a handful of Strike-related blogs. As you know, United Hollywood recently started moderating its forums, which seems to have really knocked down the discussions (although you can also chalk up the slowdown to the holidays). Deadline Hollywood (Nikki Finke) has been moderating for sometime and, apparently, to the extreme.
So I've started a blog called StrikeTalk which I hope people will be able to use to quickly, openly, and without moderation; discuss the topics in these and other blogs.
Please continue posting to the original blogs, however, as the point here is not to steal traffic, only to improve communication.
If the site is abused, or turns into an all-out flame war, I will shut it down.
Thanks, and please let me know your thoughts.