How the WGA Won: A Behind the Scenes Look at the WGA Strike
By Roger Wolfson
February 12, 2008
The writers strike that shut down Hollywood for more than three months officially began in November, but the groundwork was laid much earlier. It started with something the town rarely notices: a routine, biannual WGA election.
Back in 2005, there was already a growing consensus that the negotiations in '07 would be a turning point in the Guild's history, one way or another. As this awareness took shape, WGA members were approached by an unlikely group of leaders.
In 2005, Patric M. Verrone and David N. Weiss ("Weiss"), the candidates for President and Vice President of the WGA, were successful, but relatively unknown writers with the bulk of their work in animation. When Weiss, a friend of mine, told me he was running, I told him he was insane. To really appreciate how insane, you'd have to meet his wife, Eliana. Some writers manage to marry above themselves. Weiss is a good example. You'd also have to meet his kids. Coming from a political background myself, I asked Weiss why he would want to risk losing them in exchange for something as inconsequential as the Guild.
Weiss' response was to convince me to come meet Patric and the rest of the Writers United slate of candidates for the WGA Board. Meeting Patric didn't help assuage my concerns about Weiss' sanity. Patric seemed very serious and even shy.
Vulnerable to being overshadowed by more outspoken members of his own Slate. This was the man who Weiss was willing to spend more time with, for the next three years, than Eliana? Something was seriously amiss.
David Young, at the time the Guild's head of organizing, I thought polite, but stubborn. I tangled with him almost immediately by recommending the involvement of a friend of mine who David did not approve of. I learned right away that David was not someone I would want to negotiate against. If Patric and his slate were to be the builders of a new WGA, David Young and his team of labor specialists were going to be the architects.
I became a volunteer political advisor for Writers United, and made even that small commitment with reservations.
But two things struck me, right off the bat. First, Patric and his team were quick to absorb and integrate guidance. Second, they built enthusiasm around them. Not necessarily with grand eloquence or lofty ideals. Moreso by demonstrating that they had their shit together. It slowly became clear to the already motivated Membership, by Patric's ability to involve recognizable writers, his even temperament, and his expenditure of personal capital, that he knew what he was doing. And this was in no small part because he knew to listen to people like Young, who had done this before.
Long before the WGA election of 2005, it was clear to the majority of the Guild that something unusual was underway By September, 2007, after two elections with the highest turnout and largest margins of victory in the history of the Guild, Writers United had won over even many of its detractors. Writers United had turned out the vote by training a huge team of vote captains and honing a singular message of bringing the Guild into the new era. They had held hundreds of meetings at house parties, at TV shows, at restaurants, educating writers about the issues. The Writers United Slate managed to focus the energy of the membership and gave voice to their concerns about the impending negotiations. Not only did this lead to victory, it demonstrated an organizational structure that would prove invaluable in the case of a strike.
The media companies may have paid some attention to the groundswell. But as November 2007 rolled around, the companies still felt that it was financially feasible to test the WGA's resolve before offering them a fair deal. It was a proven tactic. The WGA's resolve had turned out to be brittle in the past, and breaking it had saved the companies billions.
While the WGA did not welcome this contingency, they prepared for it. Some of their most prominent members stepped forward to serve on the negotiating committee. David Young brought in an experienced team of seasoned organizers and event planners to supplement the Guild's already active legal, research and communications staff. As a fly on the wall during several planning sessions at the Guild, I can attest that I never heard anyone on our side say they wanted a strike. But we all knew we had to be ready.
When the Companies twice walked out in the middle of negotiations, Guild members shelved their disappointment and responded with an investment of energy on the picket lines that surprised everyone, even the volunteer strike captains and Guild staff that worked their asses off to get them there. The WGA is a small guild. Yet it managed to field, on average, over 1,500 picketers a day. I've practiced Labor Law, and worked for the Senate Labor Committee. I'd never seen anything like this before.
When it was hard to get our message out because the media companies owned much of the press, Guild members responded with United Hollywood, and hundreds of videos of original, high quality content uploaded to the Web. Including the speechless campaign, which must be considered a joint project with sister union SAG.
When all seven media companies responded by consolidating their PR operations under the guidance of Sony's Jim Kennedy, a former White House spokesman - and eventually, Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane, two of the highest paid and previously most sought-after media consultants in America - Guild members bolstered the Guild's communications department with a media room of its own. At four PM on Thursday, November 8th, we put out a call for writers with PR, political, or journalistic experience. Within an hour, the room was staffed by a rotating group of thirty WGA members, many having worked for National campaigns or major newspapers, and they worked nearly full time for the rest of the strike.
And in countless similar ways, Guild members, strike captains, and Guild staff exhibited a determination and flexibility that survived countless hours of faux negotiations, until the company CEOs finally shoved aside the AMPTP two weeks ago so that real negotiations could begin.
Three years ago, Patric and his team had almost nothing to gain, personally, from running for the leadership and putting in the kind of hours they did. In fact, they had almost everything to lose. They faced the very real potential of being blacklisted by the studios and/or shunned by their peers if they didn't succeed at a job that looked impossible from the start.
On the third day of the strike, I took Patric out to lunch, because he hadn't eaten since the previous day and I wanted to be the guy who fed Patric. I ended up being the guy who tried to feed Patric, but forgot his wallet. When Patric offered to pay, I said I would only let him if he charged it to the Guild. That's when I found out that Patric doesn't get an expense account. He, the Board Members, the Negotiating Committee members, make nothing for their time.
To use just a little bit of hyperbole, the hypothetical financial size of their donation of hours, at fair market value, can probably only be matched in obscenity by the FMV donation of hours the membership provided on the picket lines.
I've asked Patric, and Weiss, and most of the Board Members, why they were willing to put in this kind of time. And I couldn't believe the answer: they truly believed that their profession was in jeopardy, and someone had to step up. Believe it or not, their service to the Guild was about good citizenship. It was right to run. It was right to work hard. It's what you do.
And when I made it out of the media room and got to spend time with my colleagues on the picket lines, or loading trucks, or manning the phones in strike HQ, I found they were there for the same reason. They stood shoulder to shoulder for each other and our craft, not out of a sense of self-preservation - but because it was the right thing to do.
And thus, the WGA went from being offered a proposal with thirty-nine different rollbacks worth millions of dollars of losses, to a contract with millions of dollars of increases. Of course Writers didn't get everything they wanted. But they began to lay claim to their rightful share of influence in this industry, and took what may be the first step in a series of contractual improvements that will extend to SAG, the DGA, IATSE, and the creative side of the creative community for years to come.
The WGA comes away from this strike with an army of trained foot soldiers ready to be captains, and captains ready to be generals. In many ways, the Guild's 2011 contract negotiations have already begun. It stands to reason that the media companies will be watching the Guild closely between now and then. They will pay attention to see if we continue to organize and inform ourselves and prepare for the future. Hopefully they will continue to see us as partners, as they did this week.
And hopefully, they won't try to test our resolve again because our resolve will be so apparent.
In the end, it's clear that Patric and the Writers United slate's immense investment of time even did turn out to be worth it on a personal basis. When Patric announced the deal at the table at the Shrine Auditorium Saturday night, I saw a very different man than the one I met three years ago. And he was presiding over a very different Guild. In his own words, Patric and Writers United wanted to lead a Guild, and they ended up finding a Guild of leaders. I would add, that by living up to their name, Writers United found out what they were made of. And so did we.
__________________
The Writers United Slate was composed of Patric M. Verrone, David N. Weiss, Elias Davis, Phil Robinson, Tom Schulman, Howard Rodman, Dan Wilcox, Robert King, Nick Kazan, Peter Lefcourt, Joan Meyerson, and Scott Frank.
The media room volunteers included Carleton Eastlake, Craig Miller, Brad Markowitz, Peter Sears, Andrea King, Linda Burstyn, Jon Greene, Josh Herman, Ric Arthur, Scott Burn, Speed Weed, Stuart Sender, Eli Attie, Lindsay Sturman, Carl Kurlander, Bonnie Garvin, Daisy Gardner, Cinque Henderson, Rafael Alvarez, Kathy Kiernan, Peter Blake, Michael Jann, Tom McAlister, Gina Gold, Ari Rubin, Yahlin Chang, Pam Pettler, Nell Scovell, Jon Macks, Ellen Byron, and myself. The staff assigned to the Media Room were Kristin Palombo and Michael Arkof. We were ultimately joined and managed by consultants Kam Kuwata and Bill Carrick, and we operated under the supervision of the Guild Communications staff of Jeff Hermanson, Neal Sacharow, Gregg Mitchell, Helena Yohannes, Laura Watson, and Sharline Liu.
Note: With courtesy, re-posted from Huffington Post.
12 February 2008
Verrone and Winship: "The strike is over."
Letter from The Presidents to Membership
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
This was sent today to WGA members from Presidents Verrone and Winship:
To Our Fellow Members:
On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.
Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday.
If you're not employed at an office or other work site, call or e-mail your employer that you are resuming work. If you have been told not to report to work or resume your services, we recommend that you still notify your employer in writing of your availability to do so. Questions concerning return-to-work issues should be directed to the WGAW legal department at 323.782.4521 or the WGAE’s assistant executive director Ann Toback at 212-767-7823.
The decision to begin this strike was not taken lightly and was only made after no other reasonable alternative was possible.
We are profoundly aware of the economic loss these fourteen weeks have created not only for our members but so many other colleagues who work in the television and motion picture industries. Nonetheless, with the establishment of the WGA jurisdiction over new media and residual formulas based on distributor’s gross revenue (among other gains) we are confident that the results are a significant achievement not only for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future.
We hope to build upon the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and solidarity that were generated by your hard work during the strike.
Over the next weeks and months, we will be in touch with you to discuss and develop ways we can use our unprecedented unity to make our two guilds stronger and more effective than ever.
Now that the strike has ended, there remains the vote to ratify the new contract. Ballots and information on the new deal, both pro and con, will be mailed to you shortly. You will be able to return those ballots via mail or at a membership meeting to be held Monday, February 25th, 2008, at times and locations to be determined.
Thank you for making it possible. As ever, we are all in this together.
Best,
Patric M. Verrone
President, WGAW
Michael Winship
President, WGAE
Note: With courtesy, happily re-posted from United Hollywood.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
This was sent today to WGA members from Presidents Verrone and Winship:
To Our Fellow Members:
On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.
Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday.
If you're not employed at an office or other work site, call or e-mail your employer that you are resuming work. If you have been told not to report to work or resume your services, we recommend that you still notify your employer in writing of your availability to do so. Questions concerning return-to-work issues should be directed to the WGAW legal department at 323.782.4521 or the WGAE’s assistant executive director Ann Toback at 212-767-7823.
The decision to begin this strike was not taken lightly and was only made after no other reasonable alternative was possible.
We are profoundly aware of the economic loss these fourteen weeks have created not only for our members but so many other colleagues who work in the television and motion picture industries. Nonetheless, with the establishment of the WGA jurisdiction over new media and residual formulas based on distributor’s gross revenue (among other gains) we are confident that the results are a significant achievement not only for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future.
We hope to build upon the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and solidarity that were generated by your hard work during the strike.
Over the next weeks and months, we will be in touch with you to discuss and develop ways we can use our unprecedented unity to make our two guilds stronger and more effective than ever.
Now that the strike has ended, there remains the vote to ratify the new contract. Ballots and information on the new deal, both pro and con, will be mailed to you shortly. You will be able to return those ballots via mail or at a membership meeting to be held Monday, February 25th, 2008, at times and locations to be determined.
Thank you for making it possible. As ever, we are all in this together.
Best,
Patric M. Verrone
President, WGAW
Michael Winship
President, WGAE
Note: With courtesy, happily re-posted from United Hollywood.
23 January 2008
URGENT: To The Network/Studio Owners
your writers aren't asking much.
just a few freakin' cents for something they created, they thought of, their brainchild.
now is the time to give them what they rightfully deserve.
those immensely successful shows wouldn't be successful if it weren't for them.
i and legions of others are asking you to give the writers some of the dough WE spend on purchasing those DVDs, on watching those shows online.
i love and enjoy those shows with my life.
i'm beyond grateful to the writers/creators whose shows bring me happiness and make me feel love.
i'm from a different country, but in the same page.
needless to say, i'm all the way in support of the WGA and all the writers of the world.
share the treasure chest, men.
and gawd bless your residual phobic hearts.
21 January 2008
17 December 2007
Late Night update
NBC'S 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' and 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien to return to the air with the new shows beginning Wednesday, January 2007.
BURBANK -- December 17, 2007 - After two months of repeats, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will resume broadcasting all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, January 2, 2008 (11:35 p.m., 12:35 a.m., respectively).
The late night shows suspended production due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America on November 5 and have aired repeats since.
"During the 1988 writers strike, Johnny Carson reluctantly returned to 'The Tonight Show' without his writers after two months. Both Jay and Conan have supported their writers during the first two months of this WGA strike and will continue to support them. However, there are hundreds of people who will be able to return to work as a result of Jay's and Conan's decision," said Rick Ludwin, Executive Vice President, Late Night & Primetime Series.
Guest lineups for the shows will be announced at a later date.
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" is from Big Dog Productions in association with Universal Media Studios. Debbie Vickers is the executive producer.
"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" is from Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video. Lorne Michaels and Jeff Ross are the executive producers.
Statement from Conan O'Brien
"For the past seven weeks of the writers' strike, I have been and continue to be an ardent supporter of the WGA and their cause. My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 non-writing staff members on Late Night.
Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible - and no one has to be fired.
So, it is only after a great deal of thought that I have decided to go back on the air on January 2nd. I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible. My sincerest hope is that all of my writers are back soon, working under a contract that provides them everything they deserve."
Noted: Re-posted from the NBC website.
BURBANK -- December 17, 2007 - After two months of repeats, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will resume broadcasting all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, January 2, 2008 (11:35 p.m., 12:35 a.m., respectively).
The late night shows suspended production due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America on November 5 and have aired repeats since.
"During the 1988 writers strike, Johnny Carson reluctantly returned to 'The Tonight Show' without his writers after two months. Both Jay and Conan have supported their writers during the first two months of this WGA strike and will continue to support them. However, there are hundreds of people who will be able to return to work as a result of Jay's and Conan's decision," said Rick Ludwin, Executive Vice President, Late Night & Primetime Series.
Guest lineups for the shows will be announced at a later date.
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" is from Big Dog Productions in association with Universal Media Studios. Debbie Vickers is the executive producer.
"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" is from Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video. Lorne Michaels and Jeff Ross are the executive producers.
Statement from Conan O'Brien
"For the past seven weeks of the writers' strike, I have been and continue to be an ardent supporter of the WGA and their cause. My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 non-writing staff members on Late Night.
Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible - and no one has to be fired.
So, it is only after a great deal of thought that I have decided to go back on the air on January 2nd. I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible. My sincerest hope is that all of my writers are back soon, working under a contract that provides them everything they deserve."
Noted: Re-posted from the NBC website.
29 November 2007
writers and strikebeards
writers and strikebeards
are my rainbow.
watch the message from Conan!
much thanks, Aaron (left)! for the Late Night Insider and Late Night Underground!
are my rainbow.
watch the message from Conan!
much thanks, Aaron (left)! for the Late Night Insider and Late Night Underground!
Nikki Finke: Conan O'Brien To Pay Staff
EXCLUSIVE: Conan O'Brien To Pay Staff
November 29, 2007, 10:54 AM
I just learned that Conan O'Brien has made arrangements to pay his staff who will be laid off by NBC as of Friday. About 80 production people -- like talent bookers, producers, production assistants -- will be taken care of by the Late Night host who is supposed to move to The Tonight Show in 2009. Sources tell me this is on a week-to-week basis for the moment until or if Conan, who's a WGA member and got his start as a comedy writer, goes back to work. Obviously, NBC is dying for him to return to the air because its late night ratings for the repeats have tanked. None of the late night shows have been in production during the entire November sweeps and the networks have to give sponsors free spots or “give backs” at a cost of millions.
I'll say this: it's a great PR move by O'Brien as well as an incredibly nice thing to do. After all, he's the least paid of the Big Three (including Letterman and Leno), and unlike Dave's Worldwide Pants, which is generously paying its employees through at least the end of the year, Conan's company Conaco doesn't own Late Night. NBC does.
Posted by Nikki Finke.
Read the rest of the article here.
With courtesy, re-posted from the Deadline Hollywood Daily.
28 November 2007
27 November 2007
John Aboud: So This Strike Thing Is All Over, Right?
So This Strike Thing Is All Over, Right?
November 27, 2007, 6:50 AM
Gosh, I don't know. Do you?
I've been asked many times if the strike is going to end this week. Nikki Finke posted a very optimistic report from an insider yesterday morning, and that has set off a wave of enthusiasm. "Fire up the margarita machine!" you say.
Well, not so fast. First of all, it's November, and who drinks margaritas in November?
What if this round of negotiations falls apart? Personally, I didn't think it would come to a strike in the first place. It seemed inconceivable that the conglomerates would stand by a platform that was so -- no other word for it -- evil. But they did. And we went on strike. Had the AMPTP proposal been only 60% evil, who knows what would have happened. As Craig Mazin recently wrote,
"Either they dared us to strike to see if we had the balls (dumb, because their deal was so ridiculous, who would possibly agree to take it?), or they forced us to strike in order to… well, hell, Nick Counter, buy me a drink one day and explain that to me if it’s the case. It certainly seemed like the AMPTP forced a strike, but to what end?"
As usual, Craig says it best and says it first. Given that history, am I optimistic we'll have a fair deal by the end of the week? Nope. I'd love one. But I'm afraid after how the companies have behaved so far, I'll feel enthusiastic when there's a joint announcement about a deal and not a moment sooner.
So what do we do until that happy email lands in our inboxes? We keep up the pressure. And to demonstrate resolve, we continue to blog in italics. Part of me, the paranoid part, worries these optimistic rumors are deliberately intended to lull us into a false sense of security. We start to slack off, let the pickets go, stop the bloggity blogging, and then, BAM! Nick Counter cackles, "Gotcha, sucker!" as he zooms up the chimney with my Christmas tree.
I think it's safe to say that this strike didn't go the way the companies thought it would. Let's keep it that way. Check out the article by Brooks Barnes that ran in today's New York Times. Brooks has been no mouthpiece for the Guild. (He started out rather hostile!) My favorite quote:
“Wow,” said Leo Reed, the gruff secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 399 and director of its motion picture division. “You are acting like a militant union.”
Surprise! Turns out you act militant when someone tries to steal the future -- not just your future, but the future of everyone you work with above and below the line.
So let's hope we can all get together for those margaritas, and well before summertime. But don't book the back room at El Coyote yet.
by John Aboud
With courtesy, re-posted from unitedhollywood.blogspot.com
20 November 2007
19 November 2007
they are a part of my life!
okay. my straw's been broken -- i have saltwater in my eyes. i'm looking at the picture gallery in the wga.org site and my heart is beating for them. familiar names and faces from movies and tv shows i've seen over and again... they are the people who acted and wrote the stories i grew up with... still growing up with. they are part of my life!
18 November 2007
Alec Baldwin on the Strike
Blogs by Alec Baldwin from the Huffington Post
Three Random Things
November 18, 2007 09:16 PM (EST)
I saw Sean Penn's film, INTO THE WILD, this weekend. Hope you all had the chance to see it on the big screen, as well. Give Emile Hirsch the Jim Caviezel Award for the greatest suffering on film. I have not seen an actor put through this much in quite a while. Good job by Sean and Co.
Also, give Ryan Gosling the Ryan Gosling Award for being such an unbelievable film actor. I saw LARS AND THE REAL GIRL this weekend, too. Gosling is one of the few leading men in movies who could pull this role off. He was phenomenal in HALF NELSON and he is remarkable here.
Man, I keep thinking about how I shot my mouth off with all the things I have said about this administration. All the things that all of their opponents have said. What liars, whores and thieves these people are. Then, I get uptight when I watch even a snippet of these debates. Is leadership there? Is greatness there? Is the end of the war there? Up on that stage?
I miss my make-up artist, Stacey Panepinto. I miss my hairstylist, Richard Esposito. I miss all of the 30 ROCK cast and crew, who I don't see anymore because of this motherfucking, motherfucking, motherfucking strike.
What the Strike is Costing Us
November 11, 2007 07:17 PM (EST)
The television show 30 Rock, that I had been shooting in New York until we shut down this past Friday, has been one of the best professional experiences I have ever had. Obviously, the critical success of the show is a significant part of that. 30 Rock has had the kind of reception that writers can only dream of, and I feel that all of our writers, and especially Tina, deserve everything that has come their way.
But any film, stage play or television show provides the opportunity for the cast and crew to bond into a remarkably fun and cordial unit. On the set of our show, we are blessed to have the best shooting crew of any in New York. However, across the board, everyone seems to recognize that the writers have a valid reason for striking.
We finished our last pre-strike approved script on Friday. The atmosphere the last couple of days was thoughtful and a little sad, as some crew members, and eventually many more, are expected to scatter in search of work. There is other work, no doubt, but maybe not the kind like we have had up until now, with a good group of collegial and talented people working on a show that seemed to be growing, in many ways.
Strikes, and the lack of forward-thinking negotiating that results in them, costs more than money. Sometimes, they cost you friends and family, as well.
It's the Studio's Fault
November 7, 2007 05:43 PM (EST)
When I look back on the years I have worked in the film and television business, since beginning in 1980, there have been many obvious changes. Most of those are technological ones and those technological developments have profoundly altered the soul and the math of the business. Cable TV and then satellite, VHS and then DVD and then DVR, and now MP3. Three networks dominating everything and then those three networks dominating nothing. HBO producing original broadcasting that competed with the Big Three for audience share. David Chase giving everyone a reason to stay home on Sunday to watch TV. Who'd a thought?
In the movie business, among the biggest changes is the background, personality and capabilities of your average head of the studio, head of production and their marketing departments. I recall, through the admittedly distorted prism of time, that Mike Medavoy was the kind of old school studio boss who looked at his release schedule and decided to burn one on "the side of the angels." He had a movie and a filmmaker that he truly believed in and, inside of a slate of 20 or 15 or even 12 movies, Medavoy made one with little regard for the box office prognosis. He wanted to make a good film and believed that audiences would follow the filmmaker, and him, to the theatre.
There are no Mike Medavoys running the studios today. There are no Fred Silvermans running the networks, either, Silverman being the television-savant-as-executive, a breed that seems to have all but vanished, save for Garth Ancier, who apprenticed under Silverman. The studios are run by men and women who know very little, if anything, about how to make a good film. That is why so many studio films are so shamefully (or shamelessly) bad. These are men and women who simply do not have the recipe, although each fancies himself as a modern day Cohn, Warner or Zanuck. From what I read of Hollywood history, Zanuck had more talent for how to fit the disparate elements of filmmaking together in one finger than most of today's crowd has in their whole production department. Make no mistake, there are extraordinarily talented and capable people at the studios and networks. Ron Meyer, once the greatest talent agent of them all (he was mine, and I mean every word of that) and Brad Grey are two smart men who have had remarkable careers and yet run major studios that answer to demanding corporate parents.
The writers' strike is upon us because the writers want more of the back end and the studios claim they don't have it. If the studios don't have it, it's more their own fault than anyone else's. We are now in the fully realized age of the modern entertainment corporation, with lawyers and accountants calling nearly all of the shots. Some say the old studio system was bad. However they look more and more like the Medicis compared to what exists today. Even in independent film, so much of the product seems tired. (If I see one more Indie Icon Guy and Indie Icon Gal put one of their parents into a nursing home, while the lighting is dialed down real low to hide the cheap set design, I might cry.)
Many contributors disparaged the striking WGA on this site. I was dismayed by this. Do you honestly believe that most writers are ultimately responsible for what goes on screen, even if their name is on it? That's like saying a plumber is responsible for your taste in fixtures. Sometimes a writer is like a plumber: he installs what he is paid to install. Most writers I know have a great script in one file and a commercial one in the other. They have BILLY BUDD and PORKYS all in the same computer. Don't ever judge a writer by any screenplay that gets made. Unless you're saying something admiring about a real giant, with real power, from another time. Like Welles or Mankiewicz or Robert Towne.
Everyone in the film industry seems to be searching for the risk-free project. There is no such project. Movie-making, music, theatre and TV, even publishing...all creative enterprises that struggle to discern the taste of a mass audience are in a risky business. We need more risk-takers to make movies and produce TV. We need more Mike Medavoys. And let's hope the strike ends soon.
Let's Hope the Writers Get a Good Contract
October 30, 2007 07:59 PM (EST)
I remember the last WGA strike. It was sad. I had been in LA for a couple of years, just getting my feet wet in the movie business after working in TV for five years. The trickle down was incredible. Restaurants, limousine companies, real estate brokers, clothing retailers, travel agencies. The list went on and on. Not to mention all of the direct impact on actors, directors, crews, office staff and accounting, the studios and networks themselves, talent agencies and managers, publicists and business managers. It was a disaster and it was painful to witness.
However, as an actor who has worked in film and television since 1980, I have always been pretty clear about the fact that we are nowhere without the writers in our industry. And that goes beyond the scary concept of a world of unscripted reality TV. Television and film writers are responsible for some of the greatest literature in the history of our society. Go to one of my favorite websites, the Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb). You can pull up CITIZEN KANE, ALL ABOUT EVE and SUNSET BOULEVARD. You can read, online, hundreds of the greatest movie screenplays of all time. Members of the WGA wrote those scripts.
The studios and networks claim that their profits are eroding and blame the cost of stars' salaries and expensive marketing campaigns. One more thing the studios and networks ought to consider is how overstaffed they are themselves. You've never seen a business where more people are required to do the same job until you have worked at a TV network or film studio. Actors don't put a gun to the studio executive's head. They negotiate a price and the studio agrees, or disagrees, to pay it. Sometimes, as an actor, the price you pay is a pretty big number that you arrive at before you even open your mouth.
The not-so-secret truth is that everyone in show business, of those who live "above-the-line," are overpaid. The only ones above-the-line who usually are not are the writers. Let's hope there is no strike and let's hope the writers get a good contract.
With courtesy, re-posted from the Huffington Post
Three Random Things
November 18, 2007 09:16 PM (EST)
I saw Sean Penn's film, INTO THE WILD, this weekend. Hope you all had the chance to see it on the big screen, as well. Give Emile Hirsch the Jim Caviezel Award for the greatest suffering on film. I have not seen an actor put through this much in quite a while. Good job by Sean and Co.
Also, give Ryan Gosling the Ryan Gosling Award for being such an unbelievable film actor. I saw LARS AND THE REAL GIRL this weekend, too. Gosling is one of the few leading men in movies who could pull this role off. He was phenomenal in HALF NELSON and he is remarkable here.
Man, I keep thinking about how I shot my mouth off with all the things I have said about this administration. All the things that all of their opponents have said. What liars, whores and thieves these people are. Then, I get uptight when I watch even a snippet of these debates. Is leadership there? Is greatness there? Is the end of the war there? Up on that stage?
I miss my make-up artist, Stacey Panepinto. I miss my hairstylist, Richard Esposito. I miss all of the 30 ROCK cast and crew, who I don't see anymore because of this motherfucking, motherfucking, motherfucking strike.
What the Strike is Costing Us
November 11, 2007 07:17 PM (EST)
The television show 30 Rock, that I had been shooting in New York until we shut down this past Friday, has been one of the best professional experiences I have ever had. Obviously, the critical success of the show is a significant part of that. 30 Rock has had the kind of reception that writers can only dream of, and I feel that all of our writers, and especially Tina, deserve everything that has come their way.
But any film, stage play or television show provides the opportunity for the cast and crew to bond into a remarkably fun and cordial unit. On the set of our show, we are blessed to have the best shooting crew of any in New York. However, across the board, everyone seems to recognize that the writers have a valid reason for striking.
We finished our last pre-strike approved script on Friday. The atmosphere the last couple of days was thoughtful and a little sad, as some crew members, and eventually many more, are expected to scatter in search of work. There is other work, no doubt, but maybe not the kind like we have had up until now, with a good group of collegial and talented people working on a show that seemed to be growing, in many ways.
Strikes, and the lack of forward-thinking negotiating that results in them, costs more than money. Sometimes, they cost you friends and family, as well.
It's the Studio's Fault
November 7, 2007 05:43 PM (EST)
When I look back on the years I have worked in the film and television business, since beginning in 1980, there have been many obvious changes. Most of those are technological ones and those technological developments have profoundly altered the soul and the math of the business. Cable TV and then satellite, VHS and then DVD and then DVR, and now MP3. Three networks dominating everything and then those three networks dominating nothing. HBO producing original broadcasting that competed with the Big Three for audience share. David Chase giving everyone a reason to stay home on Sunday to watch TV. Who'd a thought?
In the movie business, among the biggest changes is the background, personality and capabilities of your average head of the studio, head of production and their marketing departments. I recall, through the admittedly distorted prism of time, that Mike Medavoy was the kind of old school studio boss who looked at his release schedule and decided to burn one on "the side of the angels." He had a movie and a filmmaker that he truly believed in and, inside of a slate of 20 or 15 or even 12 movies, Medavoy made one with little regard for the box office prognosis. He wanted to make a good film and believed that audiences would follow the filmmaker, and him, to the theatre.
There are no Mike Medavoys running the studios today. There are no Fred Silvermans running the networks, either, Silverman being the television-savant-as-executive, a breed that seems to have all but vanished, save for Garth Ancier, who apprenticed under Silverman. The studios are run by men and women who know very little, if anything, about how to make a good film. That is why so many studio films are so shamefully (or shamelessly) bad. These are men and women who simply do not have the recipe, although each fancies himself as a modern day Cohn, Warner or Zanuck. From what I read of Hollywood history, Zanuck had more talent for how to fit the disparate elements of filmmaking together in one finger than most of today's crowd has in their whole production department. Make no mistake, there are extraordinarily talented and capable people at the studios and networks. Ron Meyer, once the greatest talent agent of them all (he was mine, and I mean every word of that) and Brad Grey are two smart men who have had remarkable careers and yet run major studios that answer to demanding corporate parents.
The writers' strike is upon us because the writers want more of the back end and the studios claim they don't have it. If the studios don't have it, it's more their own fault than anyone else's. We are now in the fully realized age of the modern entertainment corporation, with lawyers and accountants calling nearly all of the shots. Some say the old studio system was bad. However they look more and more like the Medicis compared to what exists today. Even in independent film, so much of the product seems tired. (If I see one more Indie Icon Guy and Indie Icon Gal put one of their parents into a nursing home, while the lighting is dialed down real low to hide the cheap set design, I might cry.)
Many contributors disparaged the striking WGA on this site. I was dismayed by this. Do you honestly believe that most writers are ultimately responsible for what goes on screen, even if their name is on it? That's like saying a plumber is responsible for your taste in fixtures. Sometimes a writer is like a plumber: he installs what he is paid to install. Most writers I know have a great script in one file and a commercial one in the other. They have BILLY BUDD and PORKYS all in the same computer. Don't ever judge a writer by any screenplay that gets made. Unless you're saying something admiring about a real giant, with real power, from another time. Like Welles or Mankiewicz or Robert Towne.
Everyone in the film industry seems to be searching for the risk-free project. There is no such project. Movie-making, music, theatre and TV, even publishing...all creative enterprises that struggle to discern the taste of a mass audience are in a risky business. We need more risk-takers to make movies and produce TV. We need more Mike Medavoys. And let's hope the strike ends soon.
Let's Hope the Writers Get a Good Contract
October 30, 2007 07:59 PM (EST)
I remember the last WGA strike. It was sad. I had been in LA for a couple of years, just getting my feet wet in the movie business after working in TV for five years. The trickle down was incredible. Restaurants, limousine companies, real estate brokers, clothing retailers, travel agencies. The list went on and on. Not to mention all of the direct impact on actors, directors, crews, office staff and accounting, the studios and networks themselves, talent agencies and managers, publicists and business managers. It was a disaster and it was painful to witness.
However, as an actor who has worked in film and television since 1980, I have always been pretty clear about the fact that we are nowhere without the writers in our industry. And that goes beyond the scary concept of a world of unscripted reality TV. Television and film writers are responsible for some of the greatest literature in the history of our society. Go to one of my favorite websites, the Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb). You can pull up CITIZEN KANE, ALL ABOUT EVE and SUNSET BOULEVARD. You can read, online, hundreds of the greatest movie screenplays of all time. Members of the WGA wrote those scripts.
The studios and networks claim that their profits are eroding and blame the cost of stars' salaries and expensive marketing campaigns. One more thing the studios and networks ought to consider is how overstaffed they are themselves. You've never seen a business where more people are required to do the same job until you have worked at a TV network or film studio. Actors don't put a gun to the studio executive's head. They negotiate a price and the studio agrees, or disagrees, to pay it. Sometimes, as an actor, the price you pay is a pretty big number that you arrive at before you even open your mouth.
The not-so-secret truth is that everyone in show business, of those who live "above-the-line," are overpaid. The only ones above-the-line who usually are not are the writers. Let's hope there is no strike and let's hope the writers get a good contract.
With courtesy, re-posted from the Huffington Post
05 November 2007
i love my Writers -- they're life's absolute essentials.
Now is the time to give to the writers.
The shows won't survive successfully without them.
for starters, let's sign the petition!
first note
i decided to create a new blog solely for the WGA. i wish i had more time to post everything i wanna post! i'm gonna put up links first, and hope to spread info on the strike as far and wide as possible. obviously, i am from another country, but man, i am in the same page. they have been a part of my life and i'll try to say how in the days to come.
more later!
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