a writer's perspective

On the heels of last weeks announcement that Warner Brothers would be laying off as many as 1000 people this week, the WGA hosted Employee Solidarity Day at the studio today. All picketers, barring those at NBC, were asked to report to Warner Brothers instead of their usual posts. As a result, my usual gate was the place to be today.

I think it was a pretty savvy move on the Guild’s part to schedule the event – putting the responsibility for the layoffs on the studios before their PR people could blame the writers.

The studio was so crowded, that it was actually pretty hard to walk around. A simple task like crossing the street became an obstacle course. On a duller day, I might have imagined that the other writers were asteroids, and that I was Han Solo steering the Millennium Falcon. But not today.

There was so many distractions, that the day flew by at light speed. Okay, Heath, that’s enough of the Star Wars references. The point is… there was a lot going on. Splitting my time between Gates 3 and 4, I could hardly say hello to all the old friends I saw today. Oddly enough, it seemed like people were traveling in clusters with the people they walked with every day instead of co-mingling.

Me and one writer spoke about how we’re trying to watch our spending. I’ve met a few people who are getting strike loans from the WGA, and I imagine there will be a lot more before this thing gets worked out. We talk about $1 Happy Hour beers at The Griffin, and the free breakfasts at Bob’s Big Boy. I mention that there is a hair stylist offering free haircuts to writers. (Maggie G in Toluca Lake – (818) 752-6567) The writer is excited about taking advantage of the deal. When I mention that I had my hair cut there last week, the writer checks out my bedhead and become visibly less enthusiastic. (It’s actually a really good haircut. Thanks Maggie!)

Between the honking and the cheering, it was almost too loud to carry on a conversation. I swear I could hardly hear the asshole in the convertible Lexus calling us “Losers”. At one point, a strike captain shouted for everyone to be quiet so that he could make an announcement. It took a while, but he finally got everyone quieted down. The announcement? To make as much noise as possible, because we were being filmed for Korean television. 반어!

Hopefully the studios will start to take notice of the human toll that they are leaving in their wake and have the decency to return to the negotiating table. It would be really nice if we don’t have to have any more Employee Solidarity Days.

photos by Heath Biter for LAist