a writer's perspective

Today was buzzing on the line – in no small part because Thursdays at Warner Brothers are now officially “Teaching Thursdays at Warner Brothers”. Wannabe writers, students, and fans are being encouraged to show up and learn about the craft from the experts. Each week there will be a different theme, and today was “Multi-Camera Sitcom Day”.

Those of us who have worked on multi-cam shows were asked to wear nametags so that people would know that we were approachable for questions. Dozens of people were on hand to take in the experience. The big draw was clearly Everybody Loves Raymond’s Phil Rosenthal, who had a circle around him for almost the entire three hours.

The first hour flew by as I answered a flurry of questions from aspiring scribes. The questions were actually very intelligent, and I surprised myself by answering many of them correctly.

Of course, the one question we constantly get, and that no one can answer is “How much longer?” The press blackout is certainly good for the big picture, but it’s also leaving the writers with very little to gossip about. Not much has leaked about the “informal” talks that picked up last week.

However, The Daily AMPTP Propaganda Report (AKA Variety) ran an "article" this evening that is so biased and transparent in it’s motives, that it makes me want to buy a subscription to Variety, just so I can cancel it. I think I sprained my eyes from rolling them so much.

The first paragraph of the “news” article is a thinly-veiled threat to the writers that they better enter into “formal” talks soon, or the producers will walk out of negotiations again. The second paragraph suggests that the combination of “strike fatigue”, and the Screen Actor’s attitude towards the DGA deal means that the strike could last well into the fall. The third paragraph suggests that the “informal” talks have been unproductive, and the fourth paragraph asserts that WGA members don’t have faith in their leaders, who they attempt to portray as incompetent. The tenth paragraph… Forget it. I'll tell you about it later.

The article is very discouraging, but not because there’s any truth to it whatsoever. It's discouraging because it attempts to instill fear in the writers; it attempts to divide the union and cast doubt on its leaders. It’s discouraging because it suggests that the producers are back to their old tricks.

To put the onus of a formal negotiation deadline on the WGA is absurd. And what the fuck is “strike fatigue”, and why would it make the strike last longer?

If you were one of the people with a strong enough stomach to make it that far, that tenth paragraph I mentioned actually contradicts the emphasis of the entire article by saying that some people are calling the “informal” talks productive! Now Variety can claim that they are unbiased and presenting both sides of the story instead of just being puppet mouthpieces for the producers. The article might have had a different feel to it if that was the first paragraph, eh?

The thought of a prolonged strike should be more threatening to the studios than it is to the writers. The pressure of entering into formal talks should be on them not us.

Nobody I know wants to be here into the fall, but everybody I know is willing to be if that’s what it takes to get a reasonable deal.

photo by Heath Biter for LAist