Joss comments on the WGA's back channel discussion with the AMPTP

From Unitedhollywood.blogspot.com -

Joss comments on the WGA's back channel discussion with the AMPTP

Joss Whedon said...

I’d actually like to be the guy that rains on this parade. The use of the word "Endgame" is very dangerous. Even if these back-channel discussions are the route to serious negotiations, it could be weeks — months — before anything is resolved. And that’s assuming the AMPTP isn’t about to unveil yet another bullying tactic to draw this out even more. "Endgame" sends the wrong message to the WGA members. We need, now as much as ever, to act as if the strike is NEVER going to end. We need the rage that sends us out onto the picket lines, the passion that makes us look for alternate methods of financing and developing content, and the unity that reminds us how much the studios have taken from the community already by forcing this strike. As far as the WGA is concerned, the studios have not made one decision based on fair business practices. (Funny side-note: they’ve also abused writers as long as there has been filmed entertainment.) Some of the things that have been broken in these last months can never be fixed, some truths about the studios’ power-grubbing inhumanity that can never be forgotten, or laughed over (as they have been for decades).

I’m honestly thrilled about the news. I’m as ready as anyone to get back to telling stories in the media I love. But the studios need to remember that I’m also ready not to.

This is not the end. And it was never a game.

Joss Whedon talks to Ign.com about ME day

From Ign.com -

Joss Whedon talks to Ign.com about ME day

US, December 10, 2007 - This past Friday was "Mutant Enemy Day" on the picket lines during the ongoing Writers Guild strike, named in honor of Joss Whedon’s production company. Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, was joined by writers from all of those aforementioned shows — including Tim Minear, Marti Noxon, Jane Espenson, David Fury, Doug Petrie, Ben Edlund, Brett Matthews, Drew Goddard and more — not to mention a large collection of fans (some of whom had flown from around the world to show support) and many notable actors from Whedon’s work, including Nathan Fillion, Nicholas Brendon, Summer Glau, Eliza Dushku, J. August Richards, Juliet Landau, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, J. August Richards and more. According to fan reports, Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, began the day by bringing 1000 donuts to those in attendance.

The group, all-told about 400 people, walked the picket line in front of the 20th Century Fox Lot, the studio who have produced all of Whedon’s TV series. Summer Glau told me her presence there that day began with an email from Whedon, which she said "Was a very funny email, like it always is. He writes great emails… he’s an amazing writer ! Even his emails are brilliant." Glau added "I didn’t know quite what to picture. I just knew that he was going to be here. So I was surprised the huge, huge crowd that showed up today."

Glau said that stopping production on her new series Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles has "been heartbreaking. No one wants to stop working. We love what we do. This is just a necessary step for us. We’ll support the writers as long as they are striking." Glau noted she had been glad to see fans showing such understanding about the strike, saying "I think everyone’s been really positive and hopeful and it’s wonderful to see how many people showed up to support us."

Eliza Dushku also told me she was glad to see so many fans joining the writers and actors on the picket line, remarking "I think it’s impressive and it’s strong and it’s really showing what these people are made of. Their support is deep that they’ll walk the walk. We all will." Duskhu said that for her the strike was about the writers "Being taken care of properly in the fairest way, so we’ll stand here and support that as long as it takes."

As for TV fans upset about the strike and their shows not being on the air, Dushku said she hoped they would understand that "You don’t have shows without writers and writers can’t live without their respect and the compensation and their rights. So we gotta join together and remember that if it were actors we would hope that there would be a show of support and hopefully everyone will understand."

I also spoke to Whedon himself, to get his thoughts on the strike, the studios, the fans, and even a few comments about Dollhouse, the new series Whedon will be writing for Eliza Dushku whenever the strike ends. It should be noted that this interview was conducted a few hours before word came down that negotiations between the writers (the WGA) and the studios (the AMPTP) had completely collapsed once more.

IGN TV : You know you have a lot of loyal fans, but I assume it feels particularly good to see them out in support of something like this.

Joss Whedon : It doesn’t hurt !

IGN TV : After perhaps some initial confusion over what the strike was about, do you feel like the fans understand the crux of the issues going on now ?

Whedon : The fans from day one have understood what this is about. There’s never been any "Where’s our shows ? Why are you guys doing this ?" They understand that we’re reacting to an impossible situation. They also understand that making a show or a film is collaboration between the artists and the fans. They come out and support not just with us but with each other and the whole concept of an artistic community.

IGN TV : We’ve obviously heard a lot of back and forth the past week or so as negotiations resumed - "things are going good" ; things are going bad." What’s the overall vibe you’re getting ?

Whedon : Things are going bad. I kind of thought it was going to be bad. I had this conspiracy theory that the studios were just going back to the table as a show of good faith but then they offer us nothing and then say "Look, they didn’t even try", as they break off talks with us and send everybody into the holidays in fear for their jobs and their homes and their livelihoods. And that’s exactly what they’re turning out to do.

IGN TV : What do you think it will take to get things to change and to come to an agreement ?

Whedon : We have to break them. These are multi-billionaires who could give a rat’s ass about any of the issues they’re actually talking about except for one – If they can break this union, then they can break them all. If they can do that, then they can control everything. They already, thanks to the [repeal of] Fin-syn laws and all of the sort of vertical integration, control almost everything. They’re very close. They have basically one last thing to figure out how to own and rule in and we’re it. And it’s simply not going to happen. The only way we can break them is just by stopping. By being out here instead of in there. And we’ll do it. We’ll do it for a year. We’ll do it forever. We’ll do it until somebody else steps up and says "Hey, we’ll run a business a different way." We’ll work for those people instead. What you’re going to find in Hollywood is maybe a lot fewer millionaires, but a lot more working people with steady jobs, because these guys can not crush us. It will not happen.

IGN TV : If you did encounter someone saying "I just want my shows back !", what would you say to them ?

Whedon : No fan is saying that. The people who sit in front of the TV because they can’t figure out what else to do might be saying that. Fans are not saying that. Fans are getting on the internet and showing support and coming to this rally and organizing in a way that I wish I could ever. Fans are the people who really, absolutely get it. And so not one of them has ever said to me "I’m upset that I’m not going to get to see your shows because of the strike." They say "Get what you need. Do what you have to. Make it right. And then we’ll get the show."

IGN TV : Your new show was announced about a week before this strike started. I assume you’d be working on it right now if things were different ?

Whedon : Yes, actually we’d be close to filming the first episode. But that’s not gonna happen. Nor am I secretly working on it, as many people talk about. First of all, there’s too much strike work to be done. And second of all, it doesn’t feel right. So I’m very happy to pick it up once the strike is resolved, whenever that is, but in the meantime I don’t go near it.

IGN TV : When this is all over, what can you say about Dollhouse and what it will deliver ?

Whedon : What can I say about the show ? Well, first of all, have you seen Eliza ?! It’s basically going to deliver as many different genres and as many different identities and as many different rhythms and feelings with Eliza. And that was the idea of it, was a show that would keep both of us on our toes and that would really challenge us, both in terms of storytelling and in terms of the morality of the show. It’s very dark and very weird. Eliza is a good, smart, liberal, dedicated person, who wants to make a show of substance. When we had lunch and I came up with this idea, she got it instantly. She got the humanity of it. She’s perfect for it. It’s really about showing America how much Eliza can do that she hasn’t had a chance to do yet.

IGN TV : In terms of tone, will it be similar to any of your previous work ?

Whedon : Not really. It’s different. It’s new ground, which is the only ground I should be watching, except for this ground in front of Fox, which for me right now is pretty old.

Sarah Fain on the WGA strike with Womenandhollywood.blogspot.com

From Womenandhollywood.blogspot.com -

Sarah Fain on the WGA strike with Womenandhollywood.blogspot.com

(Sarah Fain is an AtS alumni)

Interview with Sarah Fain, Executive Producer of Women’s Murder Club

Over the last six weeks of the writer’s strike most of the voices have been male since they do make up 80% of the writer’s guild. Women & Hollywood asked Sarah Fain, Executive Producer of the new ABC drama Women’s Murder Club (ABC, 9pm) to talk about being a female writer in the TV business and how the strike has affected her and her show.

Women & Hollywood : You’re in the middle of your first season on the Women’s Murder Club and you are now on strike for the foreseeable future. How do you think this will effect the momentum of the show ?

Sarah Fain : It’s hard to say. At this point, there are so many possible scenarios. The strike could hurt us, it could help us, it could have a totally negligible impact, depending on how long we’re out and what ABC’s development looks like. It’s something I really try not to think about (which doesn’t mean it’s not a good question— I’m just trying to live in a certain amount of denial). I can tell you that we have a really great fan base, which pleases me to no end. And we all love working on the show. I’ve worked with some pretty fantastic groups of people, but our team on WMC is something special. So I hope we all get at least five years out of it.

W&H : Women are 20% of the writer’s guild membership, and in TV they make up about 27% of the writers. Why do you think it is still so hard for women writers to break into Hollywood ?

SF : Depressing numbers. Yikes. Liz (my writing partner) and I talked a little bit about this whole woman-writer thing in Written By a couple months ago. It was a bit of a relief, because it’s something we’ve been hesitant to talk about with any degree of candor for a long time. And I’ll still be somewhat restrained, because we’re not sitting in my living room bullshitting with martinis and cigarettes. Although I don’t smoke anymore. And I don’t drink nearly enough. And my living room’s a mess.

Anyhoo— there’s no question that there’s a certain amount of sexism in this town. Probably in every town and every industry. For the most part, we just let it roll gracefully off our backs. I think if you’re not willing to do that, it’s harder to succeed. Which is screwed up and sad, but true. It’s just harder for women— and it’s not like it’s easy for men. Why is it harder for women to break in ? I wish I had a good, specific answer for that. But it’s all so subtle. I will say that I think it’s getting easier. There are great men out there who really don’t operate that way— like Joss Whedon and Shawn Ryan, both of whom we’ve been fortunate enough to work for. And there are a lot of amazing women role models. People like Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin, Barbara Hall, and Yvette Lee Bowser. They made it easier for us, and hopefully we’ll make it easier for the folks who come around next.

W&H : Most of the voices we’ve heard about the strike has been male comedy writers. Can you let us know why you support this strike ? Since women have fewer positions as writers do you think the strike will have a more adverse effect on women ?

SF : This strike sucks for everyone. I think most of the voices out there have been male comedy writers because there are just so MANY of them. Throw a dart in this town and you’ll hit a male comedy writer. Or the model/actress he’s standing next to (read : hitting on). And I say that with love. There are many male comedy writers I adore. But you’re seeing them on the news because... well, they like to talk. A lot. It can be annoying. But the issues are the same for all of us. We all have a lot to lose— as do the actors, directors, and crews.

W&H : Most people don’t know the term showrunner. Can you explain a bit about what you do and how in TV the Executive Producers are writers where in film they are not.

SF : Showrunners are basically the people who carry the vision of the show and make sure that vision is being implemented throughout the process of creating a series— in the scripts, in casting, in the directing, editing, music, etc. Since Women’s Murder Club is our first show, we’re lucky to have Scott Gemmill as our co-showrunner. Which is extremely handy, because there’s a lot to do, and we can all split things up when it gets nuts. On any given day, a we’ll be in the writers’ room (hopefully) approving story ideas, giving notes on outlines and scripts, re-writing, sitting in casting or approving casting tapes, making notes on cuts or sitting in editing, taking notes calls from studio and network executives, approving production choices in any number of arenas (sets, wardrobe, props, etc.), toning directors, and managing whatever crisis happens to arise. It’s pretty much the best job there is— never boring, always engaging, creative, and of course insanely stressful.

Click on the link for more :

http://womenandhollywood.blogspot.com/2007/12/december-11-2007.html

Joss posts at Whedonesque - ME Day approaches

From Whedonesque.com -

Joss posts at Whedonesque - ME Day approaches

As Mutant enemy day approaches, Joss considers what to wear (red), what to bring (powdered milk) and what this ’hygiene’ everyone’s recommending is all about.

A couple of things before the big day. First of all Marti Noxon has tried to HIJACK this entire site for some ’cause’. She forwarded this letter she wanted me to print:

"We think it would be unbelievably amazing if Joss were able to tell whomever might be reading his blog for info on the Friday picket that, as a part of the whole thing, the WGA is doing a Holiday Harvest Food drive for local food banks (that have reached an all-time low in donations, recently) and we’re asking everyone who can to bring jars of peanut butter, cans of tuna, and tons of powdered milk. In this way, besides just making a statement in solidarity and support of the WGA strike, we can also be re-stocking the shelves of the local food banks and feeding the poor and hungry of our community."

Like I’d print something so depressing! This event is about one thing: my famousnessness. First everyone’s all about ’the strike’, now it’s ’helping people’... let’s not lose sight of the point, people! You can’t spell M.E. without, well, me.

Powdered milk, Cans of tuna, peanut butter. Other non-perishables will also be gratefully accepted, but those are the key groups. If you get the chance. ’Cause, me aside (for as long as I can stand it), supporting the strike and supporting the community are all part of the same thing. No one in this country should be hungry. I won’t get on the soapbox (’cause it’s too big to fit on the one I’m already on) but totin’ a can really would mean a lot.

MAN DOWN! Yes, Alexis Denisof had to leave town and will not be able to attend. On the bright side, HE HAS A GLASS EYE! No, he totally doesn’t, I’m just bummed and lashing out. We’ll miss him, but I’m still gathering troops, so stay tuned. (Stay logged?)

RAIN! Man, I’m just harshing your mellow tonght, aren’t I? Scattered showers predicted. It was prettty boily today, but who knows. Be prepared! Wear a snowsuit AND a bikini! I’m not frightened. I am unwavering. Nothing will stop us from picketing, unless there’s a single fluffy cloud, in which case I’m just gonna panic and go scab.

I look forward to seeing you all, except the people I won’t be seeing, like ol’ glass eye and the people who live in New Zealand. (Go New Zealand! Road Warrior! Shrimp on the Barbie! G’day, and... and... wait... oh God! WETA! I meant to say WETA! Jeez, I’m losing fans by the boatload here. I gotta stop the bleeding and end this post.)

Bye for now, -j.

Tuna
Powdered Milk
Peanut Butter

joss | Purple prose | 06:38 CET

Michael Muhney meets Joss Whedon on the picket line

From Community.livejournal.com/rack_of_lamb -

Michael Muhney meets Joss Whedon on the picket line

The writer’s strike signs should be blank...

It is really important that all 1,053 people from this Rack of Lamb group learn more about the writer’s strike and why it is happening:

I was doing some looping for my pilot on Friday morning in Santa Monica and was less than a ten minute drive from FOX studios where the writer’s rally was set to take place. I wanted to show my solidarity with the people who (in my experience and belief) are truly responsible for the creation/design/fiber/lifeblood of every show & movie that exists. The onus is on the director and the actor to take what is given to them and execute their job with intense respect for the material. However, that material DOES NOT EXIST without the writer, we have NOTHING without the writers and creators, and this, is an immutable truth.

I want you all to realize that at the very core of this strike is the necessity for the writers to be shown more respect by the studios and corporate machines. The very least I could do was park 8 blocks away, walk to the rally, cheer on the speeches (which were quite entertaining, but what do you expect from a group of 5,000 writers?) and burn the images into my head so I can tell my grandchildren about it one day.

During the rally, a very good point was made by one of the speakers, he said that the strike was for the majority of the writers who make up the WGA and are NOT millionaires. They are the ones that depend on those residuals, that money really means something to them. This strike is necessary to help the little guy, the underdog. I always find myself rooting for underdogs...hell, I’m a Cubbies fan born and bred. Anyway, I just thought you all should hear a little bit about what I think about this whole situation...getting it from an actor’s perspective. I’ll go to bat for those guys any day.

After the rally, as I was walking among arguably the largest throng of creative minds in our modern western literary culture I enjoyed the quiet peace of the unity shown on this day. I eventually skirted out of the crowd and crossed over a street leaving FOX behind me to head back to my car so I could get home to a very pregnant wife at which point I heard a man’s voice saying, "Michael, Michael." I turned around, and it was Joss Whedon jogging over to me with his hand extended. I was intensely flattered that he came over and introduced himself to me. I have heard from many sources that this man is a class act, and it seems that rumor is true. He has a very approachable quality, and from an actor’s perspective, that is a great quality to have as either a show runner or a director. I have less than a handful of writers that I can step outside of myself and just be a fan of their work, and he is one of them.

I left the rally feeling a tremendous sense of unity, and floated a little bit towards my car after my brief encounter with someone who had me at "hello."

Seth Green supports the writers

From Riskybusinessblog.com

Seth Green supports the writers

Seth Green passed out Krispy Kreme donuts. A woman walked around in a yellow No. 2 pencil costume. Professional autograph peddlers chased after stars like Nicollette S heridan and Ashley Scott, pulling multiple 8x10 glossies and asking them to sign. And TMZ was there filming it all. Yup. J ust another day in Hollywood, or in this case, outside several entrances to Universal Studios.

Day 9 of the writers strike turned into "Bring Your Star to the Strike Line Day," when, by SAG’s count, 500 of its actors turned up to show their support for the striking scribes. Garry Marshall was there for his fifth strike as a producer, director, writer and actor. "It’s the future, and now at my age, the future is important because I might not be around much longer," joked Marshall, who was with two of his three actor children. "We’re fighting for what’s going to happen."

"Desperate Housewives" star James Denton said the WGA happens to be the one striking because its contract was up first, but SAG members have the same issues with revenue from Internet. That led this reporter to ponder what would have happened if SAG’s contract expired first. Would the outcome be the same, and instead of the writers we’d see our favorite actors out walking the picket lines every day? Or would both sides have had more power sessions, because the actors are the face of the product?

Here were some of the responses by SAG members:

"We used to be right behind the WGA. We were the 1,000-pound gorilla behind them. When we did the one-year extension, that all changed. Now the nearest is the DGA, which has never been on strike. That is why this strike is taking place. What could have been settled was not. It didn’t have to be taken to the streets." — Valerie Harper, member of SAG’s national board of directors

"It makes no difference who struck first." — Christopher Titus, "Big Shots"

"It’s hard to say. I think the actors would have been in the same position." — Charlie Day, "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

"I think the companies are clinging to the past. No matter who is striking, they have to do the fair and right thing and they are not willing to listen nor negotiate." — Nicollette Sheridan, "Desperate Housewives"

"I can’t answer that question realistically. I don’t know what’s happening. I just beg both sides to go in a room and talk. I’ve spent my life in this industry. This country needs this industry to thrive. I want them to be talking. They can yell at each other, but talk." — Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters"

Meanwhile, around the corner at Warner Bros., scribes continued to walk the line sans stars. Sitting nearby was a Burbank Police Department motorcycle officer assigned to monitor the strike line who decided to use the assignment to her advantage. Perched on her bike, the officer pulled out her radar gun, looking to tag speeders. (Leslie Simmons)

More from Joss. I have news... that I might have news!

More from Joss. I have news... that I might have news!

PURPLE PROSE: because you (meaning "I") demanded it!

Friends, Echo, Bunnymen, lend me your ears. Well, eyeballs. It's been a few days and I wanted to tell you what's the what in me-land. Yes, I'm still sick (@#$&#!). Yes, I'm still striking… ly handsome! Zing! Still got it! I haven't been on the front lines as much as I'd like but I do have some reports.

PICKETING WITH THE STARS! Unbelievable! An amazing experience. Wasn't there.

PICKETING WITH THE WRITERS at Fox. Still a good experience, though starless. The oddest part of the strike to date: A man came up to us, expressing sympathy and wishing us success and handing out his card… for his jewelry store. I guess he thinks we're gonna win big. Or maybe he was handing out his card to the wrong side. SO random.

(After picketing I went to an acupuncturist for the first time ever in order to help beat this terminator-like cold. A warning to the uninitiated: this is not like visiting a typical Western physician. Do you have any idea what goes on at an acupuncturist's office? For the love of God, they PUNCTURE you with needles! They really ought to make that clearer in the name.)

But the big event of the day: got together with a bunch of showrunners whose fans have significant online presence. I won't say which shows, as the meeting was tippety-top secret, but I will tell you – JUST BETWEEN US – that one of them rhymed with "Cattlecar Flalactica". And one rhymed with "Gyureka." And one sounds just a little bit like "Fritz Galway's Bunny is Really Wealthier". MORE I CANNOT SAY. And Jane and Marti were there. And a lot of others. There was no food.

The point of the meeting was that the WGA is aware of – and a little blown away by – the passion, tenacity, and organizational savvy of the online community. The "Jericho" nuts are the stuff of legend. Whedonesque and the creation of Fans4Writers were spoken of in awed whispers. I'm not kidding: one of the WGA workers asked me, "So, your fans. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?" I swear, having you guys in my corner is like being friends with Zorro. People in the community are amazed.

We met to see if there was some way for US to organize the way YOU have – to use the nettyweb to show the studios that there are no longer two sides to this struggle; there are three. The audience has a voice, and a right to be heard. We talked about different ideas that have been floated by fans to make some kind of nut-like show of unity and support. How can we do something so noticeable it might even get into the mainstream press? I'll let you know when it's worked out – should be within a day or so. Should be fun, too. Hell, it was fun just being in a room full of smart writers again, pitching ideas. (Also fun was typing "Hell". Makes me sound butch.)

I also asked about a Mutant Enemy strike day, and the WGA peeps said they had no problem with that. We still don't have a date (I still don't have a lung) but I'll be organizing that soon. Here's the deal for whomever can come: Bring a sign, walk the line. (If you can't make one there'll probably be extras, but I think it's more fun to make your own. Nothing rude, please.) I'll get as many M.E. writers (and hopefully a few actors) as I can to walk outside one studio for a four hour shift alongside… well, any fan that carries the banner. More on that as it develops. Back to you, Bob.

Jaime Paglia of "Eureka" – I mean Flaime Flaglia of… florget it – talked about getting this movement into the non-California-or-New-York states, and I thought that was wisely wise. There are shows shooting in Boston, Rhode Island, Philadelphia – and there are fan-bases in EVERY state. We talked about getting some rallies going at local affiliates all over the country. I, of course, got to boast about the Browncoats and the "Serenity" screenings… The idea of people massing in different cities, whatever their fan-affiliation, is exciting, newsworthy, and let's face it, fun. (Personally, I'd like to do a whistle-stop tour of the country, but right now that may be a bit ambitious for a man who can't stand up for more than two hours.) (Still, standing at the back of a train, waving – and the WGA offered to provide bunting. Who doesn't love bunting?)

The point is twofold. The first is that we expect this to take a long time. We want to make an impression NOW, but we also want to keep thinking of ways to spread awareness and keep you all engaged and, frankly, entertained. Because the second point is that there was no one in that room who didn't understand that they were there BECAUSE OF YOU, because you guys have already proven yourselves not just dedicated fans but an active, forceful community. Take a moment to be all up in yourself. Now get over yourself. Now doubt yourself. Now hug yourself. Now touch your knee – Hah! Didn't say "Simon says". Like, ever. FOOLS! It's you unauthorized-knee-touching fools who are proving that the internet is indeed the line in the sand ("…must be drawn Heah! This fah! No fuhther!"), for it's the one medium the congloms don't control. Televised news is largely ignoring us, the print media is eating Nick Counter's astonishing lies like candy they get paid to eat, but you upon the ether… you haven't been silent and you can't be silenced. Go ahead. Touch that knee. Simon be damned.

It's nice to blog sans rage for a change. Better for the immune system, too. Thanks, all, and keep watching the skies.

-j.

No Money, No Funny (Joss Whedon comments)

http://www.citypaper.com/columns/story.asp?id=14792

POLITICAL ANIMAL by Brian Morton

No Money, No Funny (Joss Whedon comments)

IT SERVES AS ONLY PART OF the bitter irony of the American entertainment history that the man who began the modern-day assault on the union movement served as the president of a union for six years and to this day is the only president who was ever a union member.

Ronald Reagan is quite likely the paternal grandfather to the corporations trying to break the Writers Guild of America in its members' quest to be remunerated for the work they do that gets ported to new media. Of course, Reagan was the president who broke the air traffic controllers' strike in August 1981, after his transportation secretary had trained replacements secretly ready to take over--this after both the controllers' union and the Teamsters endorsed Reagan over Jimmy Carter in 1980. Considering that Reagan, while head of the Screen Actors Guild, was also a squealer to the FBI during the House Un-American Activities Committee, it only adds that much more grim irony in an era when Hollywood is constantly being tarred, by blow-hards like Bill O'Reilly, as a hotbed of liberal sympathizers and pro-terrorist effetes.

Normally, strikes are over the simple things that have been fought over for almost a century: time, wages, and benefits. But in the entertainment industry (think of the baseball strikes), the issues are not always as clear to the consumer as they are in the case of the truck driver, the factory worker, or the prison guard. And it is always in the interest of the corporate fathers to make sure that the strikers are looked upon as poorly as possible--something relatively easy to do in a world where most of the media is owned by barely a handful of companies.

Responding to snide coverage of the strike in The New York Times--a recent news article on the strike pointed out that "instead of hard hats and work boots, those on the barricades wore arty glasses and fancy scarves"--Joss Whedon, the creative mastermind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, slammed that characterization in a blog post.

"[T]his is exactly the problem," Whedon wrote. "The easiest tactic is for people to paint writers as namby pamby arty scarfy posers, because it's what most people think even when we're not striking. Writing is largely not considered work. Art in general is not considered work. Work is a thing you physically labor at, or at the very least, hate. Art is fun. (And Hollywood writers are overpaid, scarf-wearing dainties.) It's an easy argument to make. And a hard one to dispute."

But in the new millennia, when the Bush presidency has driven the national debt to new skyrocketing heights, when China owns a mortgage to our future, and when it takes $1.10 to buy one Canadian dollar, there may not be much the United States creates anymore except intellectual product. The backbone of that intellectual product is the entertainment industry, and people all around the world are buying it up by the pallet. That is, when they're not pirating it they way they do in China.

And the way of the future isn't television anymore, or even cable for that matter. It's the internet. And the companies that have done business the same way for decades now want to change the rules.

Think of it this way--if you've ever watched a snippet of Comedy Central's The Daily Show online, you know that before you watch any of it, you have to watch an ad. So the studio is making money off that--but not the writers, who don't see a dime. When a show airs on regular television, the writers get paid. When it airs in reruns, the writers get paid a residual, which is less, but they still get paid. But right now, when it airs on the net, or on your phone, or heaven forbid in the future, they beam it right into your skull, the writers get bupkis. And the studios like it that way. In essence, that's what we're talking about.

Like the baseball players said, no one ever went to the game to see an owner. Nobody ever watches Desperate Housewives or Heroes or Lost to see some suit take a piece of the real action, and that action is created by the writers. The studios created the garbage that is "reality TV" in order to get around writers, even though, when you listen to the participants later on, it's clear that "writers" juiced the storylines at every stage of the game. From Dancing With the Stars to Survivor, the fix has been in.

Last week on the picket lines, the writers for the late-night talk shows in Manhattan chanted "No money, no funny" as they walked carrying their signs. If you can't muster up any sympathy for the Writers Guild, then perhaps you deserve to watch The Biggest Loser. There's your irony for you.

Joss & the WGA Strike - 5 Great Strike Movies

From Whedonesque.com -

Joss & the WGA Strike - 5 Great Strike Movies

PURPLE PROSE – THE NEXT GENERATION

Hi campers (and people not currently camping)! Still phegmtastic, but wanted to say a quick thanks to Dreamlogic (I will not reveal her real name here, for I know she has many enemies) (which is weird ‘cause she seems nice enough) for bringing the sign and the food and the love yesterday. The place was mobbed, and in addition to Drew and Marti I got to hang with BKV, and Liz Craft and Sarah Fain (Women’s Murder Club – Catch it! When it comes back!) and many other fine folk. And yes, there was talk of a Buffy picket (or really a Mutant Enemy picket) being set up when I’m not sick and Tim’s not on jury duty.

Since I don’t have any real news and don’t feel like waxing poetical (can you bikini wax poetical?) (like short, painful prose that reads real smooth after?) I’ve decided to list my five (off the top of my congested head) favorite strike movies, to get us all in the proper frame of mind. Hopefully, none of them can be downloaded.

FIVE FAVORITE STRIKE MOVIES.

#5: BILLY ELLIOT. This is primarily about a boy who wants to dance, but the backdrop is the miner’s strike in Manchester in the 80’s, and it’s gritty and tough and depressing and uplifting. (Thatcher and Reagan really got the ball rolling on anti-unionism. Thanks, guys!)

#4: DAY OF THE DEAD. Okay, not a strike movie. And it’s a stretch as an allegory, but it’s not a stretch to find a critique of capitalism laid out in it. Expanding (as Romero always did) on ‘Dawn of the Dead’s themes of mindless consumerism and conformity (zombies outside the mall) and ‘living the American dream’ of pointless acquisition (people living IN the mall), Romero takes us here to the bleak end of that scenario, where the ‘haves’ (soldiers and scientists) are holed up in a cave with acres of trailers and boats and goodies – all of them useless – going completely insane while the ‘have-nots’ (zombies) are left outside or kept in a pen, the lucky few being fed the occasional dead person. The zombies are much more sympathetic than the humans, especially ‘Bub’ (the unforgettable Sherman Howard), who is being tested and showing signs of humanity, and who becomes the ‘voice’ of the starving (okay, for brains) masses. I myself am a capitalist, but like any system, taken to its extreme it’s unfair, untenable and results in the destruction of the system. And what is this fight about if not capitalism at its untenable extreme? How much money do these corporations need to take from us? Seriously. In what way can our basic rights actually damage them? Have they ever said “We can’t guarantee you fair residuals on all media because of such and such, because it will lead to this and that?” What, exactly, is their position besides “Nuh-uh”? The bile riseth. So I have no problem including a film with entrail-munching on my list.

#3: NORMA RAE. Duh. ‘Sides, Sally Field was on the picket lines yesterday. Yay her.

#2: NEWSIES. Oh, you knew this was coming. The wonderful irony of Disney making a children’s fable about the power of workers’ unions was lost on me when I first saw it (it was not lost on the L.A Weekly). The politics of this film are clear, intelligent and uplifting. And the songs are catchy. And Batman’s in it. (And hearing my children walking around the house singing “No one can make us give our rights away” makes all of this a lot easier.) Is it dorky? YOU’RE dorky! Dork.

#1: MATEWAN. This is one of my favorite movies, period. John Sayles captures a coal miners’ strike from the thirties with beauty and pain and extraordinary verite. He also captures Chris Cooper, Mary McDonnell and David Strathairn long before they were well known, in indelible performances. And you don’t know what contempt is until you’ve heard James Earl Jones use his James Earl Jones voice to spit out the word “scab”. A classic. (Fun fact: Kevin Tighe plays a heavy in this AND ‘Newsies’. Have a Kevin-Tighe-is-a-meanie double bill!)

There! Now you can makes some popcorn, cosy up on the couch and get all strikey! I’ll check back in when I’ve got actual news, or any leads on Dreamlogic’s many enemies. (Wait a minute… didn’t I see her talking heatedly with TrollLogic?) Let me know if there’s any good movies I missed.

Parenthetically (seriously, what’s up with that?), –j.