a writer's perspective

As rumors that the writers strike is going to end begin to morph into a reality. I have been spending way too much time every day trying to differentiate between the truths, the rumors, and the half-truth/half-rumors. (AKA truemors)

At this point, here is what I can tell ya. The WGA has scheduled an “important” membership meeting for this Saturday evening at the Shrine Auditorium. Without even knowing exactly what the meeting is about, it is already creating some dissension between the WGA and the striking writers - Especially those who had plans Saturday night. Seriously, I was supposed to take my mom out for her birthday. You couldn’t schedule the meeting for Thursday night? Or Saturday afternoon? Some time more convenient for me?

Presumably, Saturday night’s meeting will be for the WGA negotiating committee to present writers with a deal from the AMPTP that they believe is worth signing. Many writers will be happy. Some will be angry. And those of us that go to La Parrilla for Margaritas beforehand will be tipsy.

At the meeting, writers will take the floor and tell the WGA leaders how they feel. Someone who loves the sound of their own voice will talk for way too long. Writers will find a dozen different ways to rephrase the question “when will the strike end?” all of which will really just be euphemisms for “when can we start working?”

Someone preoccupied with their own personal situation will phrase the question in a really complicated manner. (“If we like this contract but decide to continue picketing until the contract is ratified, could a person begin writing the outline for a ten minute animated presentation pilot for a Canadian production company which is based on pre-existing characters from an L. Ron Hubbard book and may or may not be developed as a mini-series for Spike TV?”)

I imagine that the WGA will answer the questions the same way each time. They will most likely remind the crowd that the strike isn’t over, and tell them that the negotiating committee has a meeting scheduled for early next week to discuss what to do next.

For the record, the WGA can call off the strike without membership approval. However, it’s the members that must ratify a new contract.

What happens next week is anybody’s guess. All we really know is that the WGA has a meeting scheduled Saturday night to present an AMPTP proposal to its members. Other than that, everything else is just a truemor.

photo by Heath Biter for LAist