11/07/2007

Supporting the Strike

Two brief items as we reach the end of Day Three:

1.) There are rumors flying around about Friday's picket. The information we've heard is that Friday's picketing will be consolidated to the Fox lot and will begin at 10am. This is unofficial, but if it becomes official, we'll let you know here. In the meantime, start thinking about car pools.

2.) We've received an incredible amount of email expressing support for the WGA and many people from all over the country are wondering how they can join the cause. The most important thing is that all this enthusiasm and goodwill not be wasted on futile activities. In the very near future we'll post information on what you can do to support the unions. Thanks to everyone for paying attention and staying informed.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good for you all. I blogged about you, let's get the word out for other people to support your cause.

Brian K said...

Another great site following the strike is Chad Gervich's Script Notes over at Writer's Digest (I work at WD).
http://www.writersdigest.com/scriptnotes

Brian

Anonymous said...

Maybe all blogging should stop. Having a break from all the bullshit floating around there would be nice.

JB said...

Wouldn't it be great if the WGA would let its membership KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?

Unknown said...

as a proud member of the screen actors guild and a strike captain of our 2000 commercial actors strike, i whole-heartedly support my brothers and sisters in the writers guild.

cuz what ever the man steals from you guys, he'll steal from us next year...

hopefully i'll be able to walk the fox picket line with you all.

Anonymous said...

I'd love to know if there's a clearinghouse to find out exactly WHICH showrunners are still, despite the Shawn Ryan and Shonda Rimes letters, crossing the picket lines to finish "producing" their episodes -- whether it involves tweaking, editing, or other final steps.

I heard today that Silvio Horta of Ugly Betty is NOT crossing the line. Yay, Silvio! Way to go!!!!

However, I was upset to hear that both Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, who co-created Eli Stone, are crossing the line to do editing, etc. Berlanti also does Dirty Sexy Money and Brothers and Sisters, though Eli is the one he is most involved in at this point. Is there word that this is true or not?

I also heard word about the following showrunners crossing the line to edit or do post-production or be near set, etc:

Jonathan Prince, Cane
Greg Garcia, My Name is Earl
John Hamburg, the Captain (CBS midseason)

Any word if this is accurate?

I understand that showrunners not doing their producer duties could put them in breach of contract and make them liable for a lawsuit. But I also think that because of the bravery of John Bowman, Greg Daniels, Shawn Ryan (my personal favorite -- great writer, great showrunner, clearly great guy), and Shonda Rimes, etc, being public, it should make it easier ofr others to not cross that line.

Amused2bHere said...

I hope ya'll know how much the fans support you!

We are prepared to turn our tvs off and READ BOOKS, or watch our DVD or VHS libraries while we wait for TPTB to see reason. Meanwhile we stand behind you!

And yes, Carlton, we DO want to know what the Island is. We're just willing to wait until you are ready to tell us.

Anonymous said...

Both sides calm down and get back to negotiating! The guild can't get a fair deal, a bad deal or any deal without making a deal and to do so you have to sit down and bargain! So, do it. You are a negotiating committee, so negotiate!

Anonymous said...

as a future WGA member, and a big fan of health insurance and general financial wellbeing, I whole-heartedly support your plight.

i hope you guys get your 8 cents!!!

Me said...

I support y'all!

Stick it to the man.

Lorelei Armstrong said...

WGA Members, don't forget that we have a members-only BBS called WriterAction. All the latest news can be had there. You just have to have your name and WGA member number verified, and then you will be part of the best mosh pit in town.

http://www.writeractionbbs.com/bbs/

Anonymous said...

I'm a member of SAG and I've been on the picket lines at Paramount everyday so far. Everyday I've brought water and snacks for the writers and it's been a great experience. Today, however, seven writers at the Lemon Grove gate helped themselves to water and snacks, left their signs, said "we'll be right back" and NEVER CAME BACK.

I picketed for the WGA by myself today. I also had to return their signs and clean up their garbage.

SAG supports the strike and the writers, and we are willing to walk the picket line with them. We are NOT there to relieve writers who want to leave early so they can eat or go home.

Today's experience makes me not want to go back.

Anonymous said...

Just another fan who watches everything on the web, and is appalled that you don't get anything for every time I watch your show. Let us know how we can help.

Steve said...

In support of you guys. I hope things finally resolve soon, also. As a fan of so many of the shows you all write for it's tough to see them go to rerun. That said, I'm in favor of the WGA because they are the real showrunners. Keep going till you git 'er dun!

Anonymous said...

I stand behind you!

David Alexander McDonald said...

Just a note on another source of support, this time mainly from fans and viewers, wga_upporters on LiveJournal, currently heading for a thousand members, passing lots of news, and making strike and WGA support icons by the bucketload.

I went through the 1988 strike. Management were asses then, they're being even more so now.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to let you know that support for the WGA is coming in from everywhere!

Livejournal
Facebook
Myspace

Keep it up!! =)

Chansi said...

I really support you guys. A lot of us viewers do. Let us know how we can help you.

I have boycotted the Internet feeds, and DVD purchases until a negotiation has been made.

Stay in the fight. I hope it is resolved soon, as it's difficult to abstain from watching online.

beerisgood said...

i had no idea writers weren't getting ANYTHING from online delivery/sales until just now upon viewing the 'why we fight' video that's up on youtube. seriously, this is a sad state of affairs. let's get this sorted out and make this a winning precedent for new media as an economic commodity for all involved, not just cast it off as 'for promotional purposes only.'

Sam Crutsinger said...

More videos! I think the best way to get massive support is to get those writers and actors to whip up a new show along the lines of "WGA TV" where the content is all centered around educating the masses about what it's like to be a writer and how writers are treated. The picket lines don't really get the viewing public steamed nearly as much as the YouTube videos explaining it all.

Anonymous said...

Please keep us updated on the Friday strike. I work as a PA on the FOX Lot and I'd like to know if I should drive to work 2 hours earlier on Friday!

I support you guys, but I wanna get to work on time! ...additionally... hire me as your assistant and I'll join the picket line!

Anonymous said...

anonymous -- sorry you got stranded at the Paramount/Lemon Grove gate. I was at WB today. No idea why your writers took off.

There could be a variety of reasons. Yesterday some of the people at our gate checked in on another team and got wrangled into the 'Desperate Housewives' picket -- and we didn't seem them again. Some of our people have also met up with crews of their TV shows and we didn't seem them again for the rest of the shift.

So who knows what could have happened. Come on out to Warner Bros. We had some good SAG folks join us today and we'd be proud to have you!

Anonymous said...

Another site (a great one in fact) keeping tabs on the strike:

http://televisionary.blogspot.com/search/label/WGA%20Strike

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong: I really do believe you guys deserve a piece of that new media pie, because pretty soon, it's going to be the only pie out there. And, I support you standing up for what you genuinely deserve from the studios. But just remember that a lot of us "below-the-line" people are going to suffer terribly for it. Some of us are going to lose our jobs, and some of us our homes because of this strike. The last SAG strike put me out of business, my credit got killed, I came within seconds of losing my house, and it shaved 5 years off the end of my life because of stress. It took me 2 years to build up my business back again, and now this strike is poised to do the same. As you can imagine, I'm really not happy about it, despite my support. Remember this, and treat the below-the-liners with genuine respect for the serious financial sacrifices they're going to make for you.

Patrick Meighan said...

"I also heard word about the following showrunners crossing the line to edit or do post-production or be near set, etc:
...Greg Garcia, My Name is Earl"


I don't believe this one is true.

I've been picketing with the Earl writers (including Greg Garcia) all week long, and I'm pretty sure that they said that Greg has completely shut down all showrunning duties.

Patrick Meighan
Culver City, CA

Anonymous said...

I work in the business, and quite frankly I think you all should put down your wooden sticks and go back to work.

It's no one else's fault but your own that your technology deficient, and didn't see this coming. It was pretty obvious. In the end the internet will screw Hollywood over completely.

On monday I have a job, I am going to work, I will cross your line, I'll be the guy in the white truck doing the real work and being grateful that I at least have a job.

David Alexander McDonald said...

Well, Mr. White Truck Anonymous, I guess someone does have to clean the bathrooms and vacuum the carpets even when things are mostly shutting down, and now would probably be a good time for a full-on steam-cleaning job too.

Anonymous said...

Not be ignorant or anything but if the stars / producers are so supportive why then can the producers and actors not make the residuals part of the writers contracts with the show they are writing for? It would go a long way to show thier true support directly and set an example. An end run around the politics if you will.