12/09/2007

AMPTP Deja Vu

This was submitted by WGA member Marc Guggenheim.

It’s déja vu all over again in Hollywood.

On October 31, 2007, the day the WGA’s contract with the studios was set to expire, the AMPTP issued the following statement to the WGA:

We’ve been working hard to come up with a package in response to your last proposal. But we keep running up against the DVD issue. The companies believe that movement is possible on other issues, but they cannot make any movement when confronted with your continuing efforts to increase the DVD formula, including the formula for electronic sell-through.

The magnitude of that proposal alone is blocking us from making any further progress. We cannot move further as long as that issue remains on the table. In short, the DVD issue is a complete roadblock to any further progress.
Read that last sentence again: “[T]he DVD issue is a complete roadblock to further progress.”
A roadblock. Gee, I suppose the WGA should take the DVD issue off the table.

So that’s what it did.

Cut to 29 days later -- when the AMPTP finally got around to making its first economic proposal, which they have entitled the “New Economic Partnership.”

What’s that you say? Hasn’t the AMPTP been negotiating with the WGA since July? Hasn’t the WGA been on strike for 24 days? Haven’t hundred of people lost their jobs? And the AMPTP is just making an economic proposal now?

Yup.

But that’s not the kicker. The kicker is that the NEP was vague (purportedly $130 million dollars for an unspecified term) and incomplete -- it didn’t include a proposal on the critical issue of Electronic Sell Through (downloads, think iTunes). But that’s alright, the AMPTP promised, we’ll get the EST half of the proposal to you on Tuesday.

Maybe the AMPTP tried sending their proposal through telepathy, because the WGA negotiators didn’t receive it. Perhaps they’ll get it on Wednesday.

Nope.

Thursday? Nope.

Friday. Surely, the AMPTP would make its Tuesday proposal then. Unfortunately, by five PM, they hadn’t.

“That’s alright,” one can imagine the WGA negotiators thinking. “Maybe they’re OCD and feel like they should present their Tuesday proposal on a Tuesday or something.”

Nope.

Instead of delivering the Tuesday proposal, or any proposal on Friday, the AMPTP delivered a statement which noted in pertinent part, “Instead of negotiating, the WGA organizers have made unreasonable demands that are roadblocks to real progress.”

Waitasecond.

I thought DVDs were the roadblock. Now you’re telling me there are others? Well, heck, the WGA should take those off the table, too. Just like they did with DVDs. Then maybe we could get on with some real negotiating -- after we've given them 95% of what they want without getting a single concession from them on anything, and having been left at the table after they walked out on us.

Yes, we should definitely give up more.

At least, that’s what Neville Chamberlain would say.

44 comments:

Jake Hollywood said...

It's pretty clear that the "roadblock" for the AMPTP to offer a fair deal to the WGA is that the writers actually think they should get paid for their work...

And the AMPTP prefers that the WGA not be paid.

Pretty simple.

Stupid.

But simple.

It's tough to negotiate with unreasonable people. And unreasonable just begins to describe the mentality of the AMPTP.

Dave Anthony said...

Dear AMPTP,

I would rather walk away from my career than give in to your bullshit demands.

Try acting like adults. Or humans.

Sincerely,

Another writer who can actually see bullshit.

Dave Anthony said...

Oh, hey, I forgot,

The WGA dropped 9 of our 25 demands before the strike started in an attempt to get talks going and the AMPTP responded with...NOTHING.

ZIP, ZILCH, NADA.

Hopefully after we have dropped 25 out of our 25 demands, the AMPTP will meet us half way.

Blow me.

Anonymous said...

This is very easy for me to say, living in the UK and all but I just wanted to let you know I totally believe in what you're doing. I always thought writers got a fair cut of DVD sales and at least something from legal downloads but the strike has been a real eye-opener.

So, just to let you know, Most of us viewers are behind you (even if we do bitch) and keep at it.

Vanessa
xOxOx

thenicerguy said...

"Blow me" should become our official motto for this strike.

Phineas Gage said...

Laeta, you have a great understanding of the AMPTP's negotiating tactics. They are attempting to scare and bully the writers into a bad deal and have no real incentive to settle this until the DGA shows its cards. I just don't understand why there's so much WGA fear that the DGA will take a bad deal.

Aryoch said...

I don't think there will be any movement in this conflict until the WGA comes up with a new, shocking strategy to put the hurt on the networks and the majors. Right now, they just aren't feeling the pain.

They are taking the episodes they have and staggering them over the next few weeks and months to maintain people's interest. People will often watch re-runs if they are sandwiched around an actual show they want to see. So all they really need is 1 "new" episode every night and a lot of people will watch 2-3 other shows near it even if it is a rerun.

Then you have a whole batch of the popular reality shows about to come on soon (American Idol, that new Dancing With the Stars spin-off, etc.).

Then you have Holiday Season, where the networks have traditionally been able to easily get away with rehashed Christmas specials and marathons of old episodes.

And if people want to watch older seasons, they can turn to DVDs or watching online, which is a major reason for the strike in the first place.

The networks aren't going to feel the pinch for MONTHS at the earliest. In the meantime, the writers are devastated now as well as everyone else who has lost their job.

Is the WGA ready for this to last many more months? It seems clear that the networks are fine with that.

Someone needs to come up with a shocking, revolutionary strategy or else this isn't going to end any time soon.

I suggested in another news article that the WGA should handpick a few sets of writers who write for shows on one or two networks, and send them back to work. Then that 1 or 2 networks will have a tremendous competitive advantage over the other 2, since they will have a full boat of new shows. This will drive a major wedge between the networks since the 2 without writers will be getting absolutely savaged as advertisers bail like rats on a sinking ship.

Here is another radical idea: have the writers threaten to "spoil" some of the most popular shows with information about where those shows are headed. Ruin the plots to some of these shows and they damage future earnings of the networks. Yes, this is crazy, and maybe a horrible idea, but the WGA has to do something radical or nothing is going to change here.

Christine said...

ArMPiTP leaves the table after dropping a steaming load. Apparently, this must be the take a dump and leave strategy to negotiations. Funny, it's something my 4-year-old nephew did once. He didn't get his way then either.

Unknown said...

A new bold strategy is a good idea. Alot of WGA writers are busy writing specs right now when not on the picket lines. Why not take some of those specs and actually make some of them without the studios? One hit TV show and one hit feature film would be all that's required. The talent is all there and there's plenty of btl folks looking for work. The proceeds could then go towards the poorest victims of the AMPTP's greed. I guarantee you a play like that will get the AMPTP back at the table.

Unknown said...

Aryoch - I love your thinking. I think the WGA isn't thinking radical enough.

Here's another idea. Take copies of the few episodes that haven't aired yet, and upload them on youtube BEFORE they air on the networks. This way, the networks will know how it feels like to not get anything for online streaming.

HOW ABOUT THAT?!

ReelBusy said...

Bend over, take it up the butt and don't forget to say thank you....

Samantha said...

So, if the WGA recognizes that they have been conceding far too much without good faith reciprocation, is it finally going to put its foot down and start demanding a fair game? Why doesn't the WGA bring DVDs back to the table? I still can't really understand why it was taken off the table to begin with- even with this article. Surely a total concession of DVDs would have signaled to the AMPTP that the WGA was willing to make major changes to its proposals resulting in an incredible underselling of talent. And, if that's the case- can you really fault them for wanting to milk that inclination for all it's worth, given that they are an organization with its own special (albeit, unscrupulous) interests?

I really want you guys to stick to your guns. I really want to see the writers come out on top. But, I'm not sure if that can happen if you keep giving the AMPTP exactly what it wants.

shortgirl said...

Where are they hiding? Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, George Lucas, Steven Speilburg, Katzenberg, Geffen, etc..., where are you? When will you help? Hanks, Travolta, Afflecks, Damon, Roberts, Clooney, Bullock. WHERE ARE YOU?

When will you step up to the microphones?

I hope soon.

shortgirl said...

My point with previous post is that the AMPTP has the media and the trades tied up and I don't believe a joint press conference could be ignored by the media.

The writers and the BTL need some voices that can't be silenced.

"Think. It ain't illegal yet." - George Clinton

Caitlin said...

Amen, aryoch. I don't want to insult the author of this awesome post, because he's right. But I'm tired of hearing what assholes the AMPTP are. I want to hear what's going to be done about it. This might not end soon, but it does not have to take months and months. We need a bold new strategy and we need to use it. I like your idea. I like memeology's. I like shawn's. Let's try one of them. For my part, I have bought pencils, will boycott all unscripted programming and will write letters once I have a moment's free time in about a week. But the fans are on the sidelines. This is WGA's fight. You deserve to win it, but it shouldn't take ages. Please, please, please: keep up the old, the waiting to talk and the picketing and posting. But please try something new as well.

David Grenier said...

Caitlin,

Sometimes strikes take ages. Sometimes they're over quickly. But for the most part they're battles of attrition and morale.

Caitlin said...

david, I know. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't kick the AMPTP where it counts for being such assholes.

Unknown said...

I think the WGA does have to be more radical. There's just no way that this won't go on for months and months unless they do.

And stick to your guns. Don't take another thing off the table and start adding new things (within reason).

Continue to get the word out there. I'm going home to NY and I'll be out on the picketing lines when I'm not telling my family and friends (who are not on top of this strike or much going on in regards to this issue) how they can help.

gadfly said...

So this strike is about really about restoring "respect" to the Writers Guild. Nice. On the backs of blue-collar workers. Something doesn't quite jibe here. Respect isn't demanded, it's earned. And while I have deep respect for the many writers I work with, I have lost all respect for the leadership of this guild. Pulling us all into a devastating strike, all because they don't feel respected.
"Those who don't learn from history are destined to repeat it."
I'm old enough to remember the haunting phrase from the Vietnam War: "We burned the village to save it."
From more recent history, we've seen a US Administration, so ideologically intent on creating a bright and gleaming vision of the Middle East that they trumped up reasons for invading, refused to see the consequences of their misguided vision, and brought about the greatest foreign policy debacle in US history.
The WGA may find itself with a similar mess on its hands.

St. Michael said...

For the common good, I call for a series of “Dark Days” (i.e. turn the lights off at all the studios, stop work in all the offices, stop equipment from being delivered, stop props from being returned).

The only way to break the resolve of the AMPTP is to act as a collective, to deliver a swift deft blow that knocks them to their knees, and then follow up with a blow to the head. The WGA says that they have struck, but without the support of all guilds, unions, non-union labor, vendors, and the viewing public the WGA’s action isn’t even a slap on the AMPTP’s fat overfed chubby face.

Some have asked the DGA to stand down from negotiating until the WGA has completed their talks. I say enough with talk. The AMPTP’s plays by the rules set down by Machiavelli and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. They don’t negotiate. They go into battle to decimate their foe. Even archangels are fierce in battle. You can’t talk a bully out of beating the shit out of you. Sometime the smallest have to band together to defeat the giants in their path. To win a war you must cut then off the enemy off at their knees, crush them, do not allow them to retreat and reform to attack again.

SAG, the DGA, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 80, Local 600, etc, have to act as one. Without solidarity the WGA will fail and everyone will suffer through their hopeless fight.

It’s not a coincidence that this strike comes at a time when our country faces great economic strife. People are already losing their homes. Months ago an article in The Wall Street Journal foretold of foreclosures, 4.4 million foreclosures due to the sub prime loan market. Banks are writing off billions of dollars. People are already financially overextended. People are already losing their jobs. The dollar is plunging. America is on the brink of a recession.

Of course, Big Business knows that the best way to leverage themselves against their workforce is to keep them just above starvation levels, to keep them so concerned about feeding their family, keeping a roof over their heads. When the workers have to struggle to survive then they don’t care about anything else.

So a protracted strike is not in the best interest of anyone. Reality TV will be used to fill the gaps, carpet baggers will become robber land barons, the film industry will see a surge in theaters goers, DVD rentals will increase. This will all lend aid to the AMPTP’s conifers and cause. If the community of artist and workers in the entertainment industry do not pull together as one, they can not expect to accomplish their goals. I say to everyone, stop being so self-centered and self-serving. We all want to work and take care of our families. We all want the good life.

The police call it the blue flu. I say sacrifice one day a week of your pay, which after taxes for the average BTL worker is only a few hundred dollars less a week. But if the strike is a protracted one, who gets hurt most, the BTL worker. Who loses their home, the BTL worker, who doesn’t have massive savings, the BTL worker, that’s who.

As a BTL worker, I say that we all should in unison turn off the lights once a week. Every week until this matter is settled, everyone in the industry should call in sick, take the day off, not go to work, not deliver the services or products. If we turn off the lights once a week and knock the wind out of the AMPTP’s inflated sails, if we all look at the reality of this situation and the long term devastation that this WGA strike will deliver, we should all see the logic in deft, decisive, unified action.

I call for rotating “Dark Days”. I call for the collective to act and be heard. Otherwise, it’s ever man, woman, or child for themselves, then chaos will rule and the AMPTP will prosper.

I don’t call for anyone person to sacrifice alone. I call for unified, organized actions, before the BTL worker, the people who really make the movies and televisions shows are devastated by the pride and principles of the AMPTP and the WGA.

Criminal Minds Fan said...

I agree that the WGA needs to become much more radical. Selling pencils is a nice gesture of fan participation but the AMPTP isn't going to be moved by a pallet of pencils. I don't care how big the pallet is.

The WGA has the support of tv and movie fans and they need to unify with them to make a much larger statement: boycotting tv, boycotting advertisers, boycotting movies, etc. There are so many different splinter movements amongst groups that support the WGA. I think the WGA needs to find one or two very specific radical actions and unite everyone behind them in implementing those actions.

Cutting ofh the AMPTP's money source is the way to end this strike.

hotline said...

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=122495

Read the above article about how if they don't get a fall TV schedule together, then advertisers will take their money elsewhere. And not just for this season, but for the rest of television's life - however long that is.

The AMPTP is going to lose so much more than we ever will.

Unknown said...

Incidentally, higher DVD residuals are still a top priority for most of the writers I'm marching with. We feel that our original DVD proposal needs to be returned to these negotiations at the very least (because I for one feel that doubling the current DVD rate still isn't sufficient).

dp said...

aryoch-

Great idea!!

A bold radical new strategy is what is needed. Young is not your guy. His last contract negotiation was a failed garment workers strike and everyone lost their jobs to mexico.

First get a new negotiator with experience that can think outside the box. Young just rehashes the same strike strategy from the 60's. Everyone has that playbook.

As far using spoilers and posting eps on the net that might border on illegal. The studios have put their stamp on every script and every set of dailies.

I do think sending writers back for one network is a great idea. Kill NBC they are the weakest. They owe so much for their sports deals and have the weakest ratings. Silverman is new at the helm and will be the easiest to put the screws to. ABC is on top and we should send writers back to ABC shows. Let Mcpherson double charge for ad time for the only network with new programming. Suck the ad dollars dry on one network. Advertisers have a budget too. When the money is gone for the fiscal year it is gone. Play this card just as the amtp plays our own personal savings as a card.

This is important! Only send writers back for abc shows produced by abc studios. Not shows that are produced by WB or any other studio for ABC. Keep it all in house.

Lets keep this forum going by thinking outside the box by thinking of new strategies.

makomk said...

Sometimes I despair. Posting spoilers on the Internet would (a) almost certainly be illegal and (b) probably mean that no sane company would employ you again.

Asking BTL workers who are probably lucky to still have jobs to deliberately sabotage their employers probably won't fly. (I think that's also legally iffy too.)

The strike seems about as likely to kill TV advertising as pigs are to fly. If it does, though, the writers are screwed. Sure, there's film (but probably not enough of it) and the Internet (but at much worse pay) and whatever rump of TV will be left, but they're screwed.

JimBob said...

The AMPTP's mindset is like the one that believes an interrogator can get good information by means of waterboarding.

JimBob said...

DP, who ya workin' for?

"First get a new negotiator with experience that can think outside the box. Young just rehashes the same strike strategy from the 60's. Everyone has that playbook."

What do you mean? What box? Are there miraculous new hi-tech tools out there for us to use in trying to pry money out of the cold, greedy hands of the AMPTP? I don't think so. What "strike strategy from the 60's" are you referring to? Picketing? Withholding labor? That's from way before the 60's. Withholding one's services and picketing to show solidarity and try to get others to honor the strike is pretty much all we've got. As for negotiating tactics, are you saying that an honest statement of what we want and an honest willingness to talk, day or night, is somehow lame? What do you suggest in its place, please?

Come on, man, if you're going to shill for the companies, at least make an effort to appear as if you know what you're talking about.

dp said...

JIMBOB-
I am not a shill for companies. I am a DP. I want the WGA to win on this issue, believe me. I just don't agree with the way it has been handled up to this point.

How come nobody has actually looked at Young's record? Please look. I am not making this up.

You sound like everyone did when they said the world is flat. What, is there some miraculous new boat that won't sail off the edge of the earth? I think not!!

I am just encouraging everyone to take this strike as an opportunity to search out other styles, strategies, and efforts that might break amptp hard liners. What's wrong with that?

Why do a vast number of WGA bloggers choose to attack people rather than staying on topic? Address the issues not the person. It's almost like that moment when you have a writer block and you stare out the window, then look something up on the internet, then get sidetracked for hours, then before you know it the day is done. This isn't a spec script without a deadline. Stay focused people so we can ALL go back to work.

Attacking people and not the issues is how THEY win. They want us all to be divisive. Your comments are not productive. They don't help WGA image or BTL support.

hollarback said...

Shortgirl, Ron Howard has been walking the line in the bad weather in NY (He lives in CT) and has spoken to the press. However, as the major media is owned by the giant congloms, they still choose what the public gets to see and hear. The NYTimes quoted Mr. Howard in it's strike coverage. He comes from a strong union background and is a member of the WGA, DGA and SAG. He remembers where his healthcare came from when he was growing up - his father's union benefits and residuals.

From the hollywood reporter: ...Howard said it was "imperative" for members of the WGA, SAG and the DGA to share meaningfully in DVD and download revenue.

"The problem is even though it's hard to define what the downloading really means, on a fundamental level, it's going to start eroding the market for television residuals," said Howard, a member of all three guilds. "Both television residuals and DVD sales are things that creative union members really depend upon in order to sustain careers. The backbone of the industry -- not the elite and not the fringe members -- but the real backbone members need it."

hollarback said...

dp, you can disagree, but I don't see how people defending Young are going "off message or topic". Young is doing a really good job actually. My opinion.

It's the alliance of studios that you should be ranting against, but then, they don't have a blog where people can participate - they have really expensive trade ads and PR firms. The WGA is being very open about everything they do, keeping a high level of transparency in their tactics. They have nothing to hide. I think the leadership is doing a great job....but it's hard to try to make a deal when only one team shows up ready to play. The AMPTP took their ball and went home.

The fact is, the AMPTP is using the BTL people and other unions/guilds as pawns. Face it, they are cutting you all just to watch the blood flow. The writers haven't laid a glove on you.

dp said...

Hollarback_

When someone makes a comment that there are no new avenues or strategies to explore and that I am working as a shill, then that sir is a personal attack.

Jimbob says nothing to defend Young. He instead rants that all the new ideas have already been discovered and that his tactic is to accuse me of working for the amptp.

You have to be a jimbob to think that everything is working. That we should "stay the course".

Please be serious when you say that the WGA hasn't laid a hand on BTL workers. The writers assumed by delaying early talks in 2006 that they could leverage the impending strike deadline to force a contract. Once again Young's strategy horribly failed. In assuming that the amptp would move as fast as Young assumed, he has recklessly put 100,000 btl workers out of work. Don't say the wga had nothing to do with it. They hired him to represent YOU. He is a reflection of YOU.

You still on Young's side? If he was your agent and this was your script, does he deserve a commission?

Nick said...

The AMPTP has been completely irrational and childish up to now, culminating in this latest walkout. Maybe it's time to fight stubborn fire with fire. They want to call reality/animation jurisdiction and sympathy striking "non-negotiable"? Then MAKE them non-negotiable. Tell them you won't listen to a word about anything else until they grant you those two demands unconditionally. No discussion of residuals, credits, you name it until those issues are settled. Show them how far they're going to get in this and any future negotiation by arbitrarily labeling
topics as non-negotiable.

JimBob said...

DP, sorry about the personal nature of my comments. Coming onto this site and suggesting, rather strongly, that we can our negotiator in the middle of negotiations -- without suggesting what effective new tactic you have knowledge of that we're not using -- comes off as the work of those who would seek to divide us, not of someone who sincerely thinks there's another road we should be taking. What is it in David Young's record that convinces you he's not handling this properly? Please, don't base the notion of his incompetence on the fact that we're not getting anywhere with the AMPTP; they're very powerful, they are totally disinclined to grant us a portion of internet proceeds and they can afford to drag this thing out. That has far more to do with why we're not getting anywhere than anything David Young is doing wrong. Our negotiators have been honest, forthright, clear in their demands and willing to bend over backwards (taking DVDs off the table was HUGE!) to come to an agreement.
If you want to call for David Young's head on a platter, please give some basis for it. If you don't, I will continue to be VERY skeptical about your allegiances. Take that personally if you will.

dp said...

Young tried to negotiate a contract for the garment industry workers against Guess jeans. Guess jeans pulled its operation and moved to mexico. Every single worker lost their jobs. He is a hell of an organizer but a very bad negotiator. You can look all this up on the Los Angeles Times website.

JimBob said...

I know about the Guess Jeans thing. True, the workers -- with Young as their negotiator -- overplayed their hand. Or perhaps Guess was intransigent because they were looking for an excuse to move to Mexico and would have done so no matter what. Do you know the answer to that? I don't.
I read very carefully what our NC is putting forth and deem it reasonable, fair, clearly stated and non-provocative. The tactics on the other side are high-handed, dismissive, insulting and unproductive -- ON PURPOSE.
I would like to see some new tactics, too, but that's more an emotional thing; I don't know the law. For instance, if you read Bob Elisberg's piece on the Huffington Post, the immediate impression is that we should be taking the AMPTP to antitrust court for collusion. But, well, it turns out there's a little wormhole in the law that allows them to band together and take us on as a group. Should we try to set a new precedent in court rather than continue doing what we're doing? I am completely certain that is an option that's being carefully considered. Are there other tactics you'd like to see put on the table for consideration? Is there some Maxwell's Silver Hammer you believe exists in our arsenal that we are stupidly not using? Please, tell us.

JimBob said...

P.S. David Young is not negotiating for us unilaterally. The negotiating committee is not his rubber stamp.

dp said...

Jimbob-

If you take the amptp to court and win over collusion then you (wga) will have struck the biggest victory for all labor in the entertainment business. I am not an attorney and my experience in legal maters seems to be that it costs too much and takes too much time to be worthwhile. If this is an option and it looks winnable the you have my support 100%.

I appreciate you using this forum for what it is truly meant to be. A Socratic discussion about the options.

I have heard first hand that the amptp is doing 2 things. First they are stalling on purpose. The purpose is to clear out bad deals that they want to time out(i.e development deals, script deals, etc..). The second is to play against each other within the amptp member companies. Remember they are all in direct competition with each other. Some companies are in a weak position and stand to grow weaker while other companies are positioning themselves to take over their competition by buying them at reduced prices or killing them all together. It is standard corporate takeover policy.

These are huge corporations that have a bigger agenda like buying a spun off NBC for a bargain.

So to me collusion seems viable.

JimBob said...

I agree, it's a wonderful scenario, divvying and conquering the giants through the courts. Apparently, it isn't a simple matter because labor law does allow them to collude to some extent. It's that law that is wrong so we wouldn't be suing them we'd be suing to change the law. It's a biggie and like I said I'm sure it's been -- or is being -- considered.
I've always thought that dragging their feet to get rid of a few deals they wish they hadn't made seemed a weak rationale. In the '88 strike it was different; they used to hand out development deals rather freely, nowadays those deals are hard as hell to get, so it's not likely there are a lot of bad apples in the barrel. And how much would they save, really, compared to what this is costing?
As for the notion that the bigger fish are holding out so the smaller fish weaken and can be gobbled up -- whether it's true or not let's pray that the little fish start to feel this might be a possibility, because they will start scrambling to make favored-nation deals with us.
I still don't think a shake-up of our negotiating team is the answer, but great minds can differ on this.

PootieTwo said...

My dad once told me that you can tell a woman that she's beautiful all day every day but if you told her she was ugly once, she'll never believe you.

I know, my dad sounds like a real peach. But my point is this.

I think that's alot of what we have going on here. Jimbob, you apologized to dp, as you should have. You also make some good points. But the hateful accusations are so hard to get past. You've got to understand that. You guys are going to have to do a much better job of controlling your tempers and reign in some of the maniacs that go off on people here if you want the support of the BTL. How about the writers take it upon themselves to call down the haters posting on their behalf. We could take it down a peg too. How would that be?

JimBob said...

I don't see anything so awful or ugly going on here. We're hashing some things out and the nature of blog comments, bulletins board repartees and the like is that words are not softened by gesture or tone so people can at times get a little hot. The strike isn't going succeed or fail by whether we tussle a little. DP and I aren't enemies for life because he thought I was a little harsh, or because I thought he was criticizing unconstructively.
At the risk of pissing YOU off, and with all due respect to your wise old father, we don't need a referee. But thanks.
Now, can we get back to what we were talking about, not how we were talking about it?

PootieTwo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
PootieTwo said...

Oh. I'm sorry Jimbob. I thought when you called dp a shill that works for the AMPTP you meant it as an insult.

I stand corrected!

JimBob said...

Apology accepted.

Captain Obvious said...

"A new bold strategy is a good idea. Alot of WGA writers are busy writing specs right now when not on the picket lines. Why not take some of those specs and actually make some of them without the studios? One hit TV show and one hit feature film would be all that's required."


I finished writing a spec mere days before the strike began. I'd be more than happy to pursue it as an independent strike / inter-union solidarity project if the right people want to get on board.