Thursday, November 01, 2007

Any Minute Now...

That's how it feels here in Hollywood, as we wait to see what will happen next in the impending writers' strike. Personally, I tend to support the writers. The structure of any given production is so toploaded with producers (one movie I did had 14 (14!), that most of us depend on a trickle down of money to make a living, and I would tend to trust a writer long before I would one of those 14 producers (let me qualify this by saying I have also known, and know, some producers who are genuinely good people and even have one as a pretty good friend). So we wait, nervously checking our bank balances and mentally calculating how much money we need to get us through the holidays and into next year. The Teamsters have given their support and many will refuse to cross a picket line. Trust me, if I had to go to war tomorrow, I would want the Teamsters on my side. I'm also wondering if the IA struck, how many writers would refuse to cross. If we refused to cross their line would they do the same for us? I personally have walked a picket line or two and have watched actors and actresses sail across without a care in the world. I wonder if writers, probably as close to a working stiff as there is above the line, would do the same. Anyway, this is what is rumbling around in my head as I sit here this afternoon on my (hopefully) short vacation. I found a good site to monitor the ongoing events at http://deadlinehollywooddaily.com. It has up to the minute reports as well as postings by writers, agents, producers, and the occasional gaffer. They all seem to yell at each other a lot and it's pretty entertaining (at least as entertaining as "America's Most Smartest Model"http://vh1.com). If that crap is the future of our entertainment industry then we may as well all go on strike.

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