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January 22, 2008
Why the Writer's Guild Should Give a Pass to the Oscars
Heath Ledger's death today was a big loss to the Hollywood community. It is a notable national tragedy when young talent is lost from the spotlight in America, when someone so young and budding has his life cut short.
Ledger's death, as well as artists like him reminds that the Academy has an annual tribute for such notable passing -- a tribute that will be completely absent this year if the Oscars don't go on.
These awards are more than just for the fans, they are a celebration amongst the Hollywood community that recognizes the crowning achievement of select artists. Yes, I stand behind what the writers are asking for, and I do see the networks as an unbudging, exploitative force in this issue of artistic merit -- but this award ceremony should be considered ancillary to all of that.
Above business we need to put family. Hollywood in a sense is a family of artists. And in my family, no matter what is going on at work, we put our own pursuits aside when it comes to recognizing each other's achievements. Our duty also lies with friends, especially in death.
Give writer's a pass for this year's ceremonies, or strike a small deal for this one exception. Am I off base in this request?
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Sure. I say let’s go ahead with the awards ceremony, to celebrate our family in Hollywood and recognize those who have passed. Let’s just not televise it.
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Hollywood is a family, the Manson family.
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barf
the guy offed himself
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What?!?!
The WGA should give a pass to all the people that are not working and struggling to make ends meet right now. All the caterers, grips, writers, companies that only deal with production companies, on and on.
You writers are making more enemies than friends.
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"the Academy has an annual tribute for such notable passing -- a tribute that will be completely absent this year if the Oscars don't go on."
The Oscars should go on because those who have died will not be properly honored unless they appear in a montage for 10 seconds?
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A death from drug use by a performer, no matter the level of talent, is not a new thing. It is also not a notable national tragedy. It is however sad and pointless.
Yes, you are off base. This is an industry that approaches being an art at times...but an industry nonetheless. The writers are striking for fair pay and for the preservation of their union through which they receive healthcare and pensions. The Oscars celebrate film, and all film starts with a script. There is nothing without a script. Why should the writers give a pass to an awards ceremony held by the industry that is trying to cheat them out of just compensation? To you it is a spectacle.To the WGA and SAG it is their livelihood. Pretty dresses and film clips do not make up for bad labor practices.
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This is a tragedy. But this strike is never going to end unless the studios actually feel pain - if it ends before then it's just going to happen again in 3 years. And since the studios are able to make gobs of money by exploiting young children in the middle of the New Mexico wilderness, they don't really need scripted TV when all of the idiots in the flyover states will watch basically anything that involves blood, gore, or sex.
I want this strike to end soon, and fairly, and the only way for that to happen is for the WGA to stand firm. And you want it to end early so that people around the world can sit on their couches and shove popcorn into their mouths 2 seconds after a tribute to him passes?
If you really feel that way about him, I'm sure a memorial fund is set up in his name. THAT is an appropriate way to express this.
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You're not off base at all Henry. And there are plenty of other reasons for the Oscars to go on. Several amazing films were made this year that deserve just as much attention as the films nominated last year and the year before that.
I support the WGA, too, but moves like this are causing my support to waver.
Hey Spoon, the writers are part of the "industry", too. And last time I checked, writers won Oscars, too.
And Aaron, I heard today that the WGA and AMPTP are returning to the table today after the WGA dropped two major demands.
Guess those studios are really feeling the pain now.
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When it comes down to it, it's an awards show. That's all.
Ben Bang, I doubt you ever supported the WGA, and I also doubt your info about the "demands being dropped". You were in the room, huh? There are informal talks scheduled, everyone knows that. Waver all you want.
Yes, writers are obviously part of the industry. They also have every right to chose to protest an awards show put on by their struck employers, the studios (the oscars started as a marketing ploy after all) and walk a picketline. The nominated writers are willing to accept their awards from the picketline. Some of the nominated actors such as Viggo Mortensen have already stated that they will not cross the WGA line if it comes to that.Tony Gilroy, Best Director nominee for Michael Clayton won't cross either.
It would be a shame if it happened, but that is entirely up to the AMPTP. They have already spent more on PR and in lost production (much more) than they would have if they had agreed to every single WGA contract point. They can end this strike by just negotiating fairly. Or they can send the Oscars up in flames to a worldwide audience.
Ask the studios why, not the writers guild.
Hollywood is not a family. Maybe one that would be on Springer, but get real.
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Perhaps my loose definition of family should fall back to community. I'm impressed by the amount of flack that assertion is getting.
And spoon, if you eased up for a second and actually read ben bang's blog you would notice that he has been supporting the WGA strike for the past two months completely in all of his reporting. Let's please not be so quick to burn others without pausing first.
What I'm saying is that even Ledger's death aside, there should be RECOGNITION for everyone else in the industry for their achievement. The WGA should give a pass to the writers to
A. allow written dialogue for the ceremony in a side deal just like Letterman is getting. Why the fuck shouldn't there be Oscars if lame-duck Letterman gets writers?
B. make it the WGA's policy not to have picketers outside of the Oscars.
I'm saying this as not as a pseudo-writer (if that), but as someone whose mother already lost her job at one of the big 5 networks amidst this strike because of cut-backs. Despite the shit that my family is going through right now, I still support the writers and their right to get their due.
I'm not just pleading for the Oscars because it has always been a tradition to watch at my house, but simply because performances like Viggo Mortensen's, Day-Lewis, and films like No Country and Juno all need recognition for excellence. Not a press conference.
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And spoon I was a little alarmed at your lack of sensitivity towards someone who has just passed.
To dismiss the death of someone due to drug overdose as "sad and pointless" says a lot about your character.
Think about it.
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Hey spoon, ever hear of google?
The WGA dropped its jurisdiction demands. That's a complete abandonment of their proposal to fold reality workers into the guild as well as the animation field.
It's also something they totally balked at like a month ago.
Assuming you can count (which is a major leap given your ineptitude for operating the complex network of gears and levers that form the google search bar), you see that, indeed, two demands were dropped.
It hit the news on 1/22, the same day this discussion began. No need for me to be in the room. I can search the web.
Whoopeee!
Dumbass.
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And PS, the Oscars are put on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, not the studios. True, the Oscars air on ABC and ABC certainly profits.
But you know you're mischaracterizing.
You sound like a resentful wannabe writer who knows he has no shot at every being nominated for such an award, and thus feels compelled to cast heaps of scorn on all award shows in order to boost his own puny ego.
And furthermore, it's PR suicide for the guild, whose PR efforts have frankly felt stale for almost 2 months now and has a lot to lose in the event of a turning of the tide in public opinion.
We'll see.