Short Thoughts On Strike!: Day Nine

Hot one today. Well, hotter, at least. If we keep walking around for hours in the sun like this, all of us are going to become both fit and tan, at which point we'll just say screw WGA, we're going SAG...

...just in time to strike again in June.
Food brought to the line today: Pizza from various sources, Monster Energy Drinks from the Monster Van (and they took a lot of photos of us drinking 'em free ad!), some weird granola-bar things from a nearby cafe', and turkey wraps from an actor's mom, because she was worried that we weren't eating properly. Aw.
Today was "Bring a Celebrity To Strike Day" over at Universal, but I chose to stay at Warner Brothers. I've seen a lot of celebrities, I'm very glad they were out with us, but I'm looking for a bit of normalcy these days, and my low-key WB group has become something of a little family. There's a wonderful female feature writer who acts as the mom (sunscreen, tending to ouchies), a laid-back showrunner who's clearly the dad (dispensing advice, which is usually heeded), one sage old-timer (37 years in the biz and still working!) who's Gramps, and we're all the rambunctious kids making the place a mess.
We still got a few actors down at WB, but no one you'd recognize. Well, maybe y'all would recognize them, since there were a lot of the "Hey, it's that guy!" types, but nobody who'd show up on Extra or Access Hollywood.
My favorite actor on the line was a guy named Phil who must have been 6'2" and 300 lbs, nearly all of it in a serious gut. He was straight out of Sopranos central casting, with accent and gravelly voice to boot. Been acting for a few years; before that, he was in sales. Before that, he was in the "nightclub business" in NYC. Yep, that's what I thought, too. If things get hairy, we're sending Phil in to talk to Nick Counter. From what I hear, he already sleeps with the .

Also, Phil has a chihuahua, which he holds in one meaty fist. The dog's about the size of Phil's big toe, I'd wager. It's so fantastic I can hardly write about it without trembling with joy.Rumors began to fly today about a CBS show called Moonlight hiring British scabs to keep pumping out scripts. Word is that Joel Silver doesn't feel like shutting down his show, so off he went to get the pages he needed. If it's true and I can't speak to the veracity I can't entirely say I blame him. Silver's never been writer-friendly, and I'm sure he feels like he's got a job to do. What's he care for one writer over another? To some degree, I get that, even though I don't like it.

Meanwhile, while showrunner Chip Johannessen is out there on the line with us, Joel's undercutting his EP's position in order to push out more product. Chip's a good guy; I'm sure he's caught in the middle. A lot of showrunners are. I've spoken to so many over the last week and a half who are chafing, creatively, at what the studio/networks are doing or will do to their shows, their babies but are sticking it out nevertheless. We've all got desires and dreams, and for now, they're on hold for the greater good.

I respect those sacrifices.

What I respect even more are the sacrifices of the few Teamsters who have refused to cross the picket lines and possibly been fired as a result. Many are still crossing, and I can't blame them they're not on strike, and it's only up to their conscience as to whether or not to cross ours. But the ones who've been holding back and showing solidarity I can't say enough. I only hope that when the time comes that the Teamsters have to strike we remember what they've done and do likewise.
Which leads me to a discussion we were having today on the line: We're all coming around to the notion that the studios don't particularly care about the residual fee. In the long run, it doesn't mean that much to them. The way they're acting, the fact that they clearly have no desire to come back to the table, makes us all believe that they're doing what we all knew/feared/believed they'd try to do one of these days, which is bust up the unions.

L.A., and Hollywood specifically, is a Union town it's what makes it so darn expensive to film here, for one and the AMPTP would like nothing better than to see that all go away. Again, it's just conjecture, but it's the kind of conjecture that only strengthens our resolve, and I think (hope) that's a good thing, even though I fear the possibility that they might succeed.

Back to food for a second: A big black BMW with SOUTH BAY BMW on the side pulled up to our gate and, rather than driving in, lowered the passenger window. We approached, to find a lovely young woman with boxes of pizza for the striking writers. It was the middle of the day, and we all happily accepted. I was sort of hoping for some coupons for free BMWs like you get in the Oscar bags, but perhaps that was a bit too optimistic.
While eating said pizza, a car drove by and a woman stuck her head out and yelled with glee, "I hope it tastes good 'cause soon you'll all be starving!" Our mouths full, all we could do was raise our signs even higher and salute her with our pickets. Journey on, fair maiden!

I do feel a bit like I've become the kid at the back of the classroom, though. Every once in a while, someone at the gate starts up a chant, but I don't really join in unless the main caller ventures my way, at which point I'll bellow out a few choruses until he/she walks away. I just know I'm going to get a C in conduct.
More and more screenwriters asking me how to get into the book business. Only took 'til week 2, and already I'm giving hints to my future competition. What am I thinking?
Had three aspiring screenwriters on the line with us today; I dug that. They clearly came out to network, but we were all good with that. They realize that the future of the industry they want to be in is all tied up in that line, and rather than sit at home and wonder about it, they decided to be proactive. Props all around, boys.
Speaking of networking: We had one actor hang with us on the line for about an hour or so. When he left to head off to another gate, he gave us all business cards with his headshot printed on the back. Crass? Perhaps. Smart? Definitely. He got his face seen by people who cast small TV roles every single day at least, if they still have jobs when this is all over...
More tomorrow!
emg