Writers Strike - Day One Recap
a writer's perpective
The first day of the strike is in the books. I marched at the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank. I was one of the only people who didn’t have a red shirt, but someone gave me a solidarity rubber wristband that says “No Justice. No Scripts.” I actually ended up walking for about five straight hours, and, even though I didn’t have tape to protect my hands from splinters (like some other writers did), I can say that I escaped the first day injury free. Sure, I’m tired, a little sore perhaps, but inspired and emboldened from the experience.
Here is a first day roundup:
Shortly after 9am this morning, a writer was intentionally struck by a car at Sunset Gower Studios. The driver was apparently a disgruntled editor who was late for work. According to witnesses, he got out of his car and screamed at writers to “get the fuck out of the way” before getting back in, and driving towards the picket line. The writer was Tom Johnson of the Spike Feresten talk show. I don’t care how much you’re against the strike, that’s ridiculous. I think that editors are like the drummers of the Industry.
Nothing that hostile happened where I was stationed. We were warned that there would be booing, but the response was overwhelmingly supportive. All honks and thumbs. However, one woman did stop at the intersection I was standing with two other guys. When the light turned green, she screamed “assholes!” and peeled out.
Throughout the day, actors stopped by to show their support. I saw Wanda Sykes, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall at my location. At Disney, Rachel Griffiths from Brothers and Sisters apparently went on a Starbucks run for the strikers.
At one moment there were suddenly some really well-dressed people joining in with us. They were very eager to talk to the nearby media, and proudly announced that they were actors. After a half hour, these people disappeared back into the studio, and I realized that they were extras who were working today, and thought they would use their lunch break to do a little self-promotion.
I’m not sure what productions were disrupted as a result of the strike, but there was talk that writers were able to cause Cane to stop a location shoot in Studio City. Most pleasing were reports that The Office shut down after teamsters (as well as actors/WGA members Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson) refused to cross the picket line.
Cheers to The Shield creator, Shawn Ryan, who was expected to continue producing duties during the strike, but instead sent out an email that said "The only thing I can do as a showrunner is to do nothing. I obviously will not write on my shows. But I also will not edit, I will not cast, I will not look at location photos, I will not get on the phone with the network and studio, I will not prep directors, I will not review mixes. ... I can't in good conscience fight these bastards with one hand, while operating an Avid with the other. I am on strike and I am not working for them. PERIOD."
Barack Obama issued the following statement today. "I stand with the writers. The Guild's demand is a test of whether media corporations are going to give writers a fair share of the wealth their work creates or continue concentrating profits in the hands of their executives. I urge the producers to work with the writers so that everyone can get back to work."
A late email from the WGA breaks down the numbers from today. 3,029 members picketed in Los Angeles. All in all, today is considered a success.
ap photo by Rick Francis