The ongoing WGA strike looks to be taking a new direction - that is studio officials now want to move with their talks with the Director’s Guild of America, talks that were originally slated for after the writer’s strike was resolved and before the pay agreement they currently have expires in June.The studios hope that if they reach a deal with the directors, the deal with the WGA will eventually fall into place and they foresee it being much easier to reach a deal with the directors. With cable executives having to air reruns and reality TV and movie studios dealing with lackluster performance at the box office, they must be feeling a little anxious (although not willing to budge) - hopefully this will work in the writers and directors favor. For now, I just keep checking in the the WGA’s Speechless channel on YouTube (if they keep making content, they may be able to strike their own deal with YouTube for internet money!) And speaking of the relationship between writers and directors, my two favorite in their Speechless series are below :
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Excellent videos, thanks.
On-topic, different theme: I’m quite disappointed to see the Democratic Presidential debate, scheduled for yesterday, 12/10, cancelled over this issue. When I think presidential politics surprisingly the WGA doesn’t instantly come to mind. (Except perhaps for the scripted proselytizing that rolls out of the candidates’ mouths like a trained parrots) Who actually believes these candidates earnestly stand in solidarity with strikers and/or unions? To me this is as another opportunity to get cheap sympathy points, unwarranted press, and to corrode the Democratic process into a circus sideshow.
Granted there have been many, many debates & much more to come — if the strike is resolved, right? — but this is also a republic in dire need of repair. I’m insulted that these top 10 candidates — supposedly the only people capable of running this country — will thumb their noses at the ‘greedy media corporations’ when they’re the same corporations that keep the curtain closed over any alternative candidates that may rock the boat. Like him or not where was Nader in the ‘04 debates?
If people starting striking the fact that third-party/alternative candidates weren’t allowed to have the same voice on this enormous stage I’d be curious to see how these sympathetic frontrunners would react. I envision them blowing through strikers, blanketed in secret service, snapping photos with the scabs before the “scripted” festivities began.
qb December 11, 2007 | 5:26 pm EST