At the gates of Paramount
Yesterday, I braved Actual Sunlight to speak at the Indie Gate gathering at Paramount. It was a great turnout, with a collection of writers expressing a range of opinions, from moderate (me) to far less than moderate (Harlan Ellison).
I’ll have a full recap of the day up later, but I wanted to post what I (more or less) said while I could still reconstruct it.
A few weeks ago, I got involved in a pretty heated discussion online, talking about one issue that screenwriters think about a lot. Namely, where would you go if Los Angeles were suddenly overrun by zombies?
There are many good options. If you can get to Angeles National Forest, great. The desert is another possibility. But if you’re stuck in the city itself, I’d propose a good choice would be one of the movie studios. They have big walls and defensible gates.
They’re really the castles of Los Angeles.
And to an outsider, seeing us here today, it might look like we’re villagers trying to storm these castles. Like this is a siege. But that’s not really accurate. We’re not trying to get in — we’ve been inside, and really, it’s not that nice. Rather, we’re here because we want those guys to come out. We’re not here to bring war. We’re here to make peace. And we can’t do it alone.
The theme behind today’s gate is “Independent Film.” But I think we all know that’s a misnomer. We might write our scripts independently, but shooting them requires the cooperation and hard work of a crew, producers, and financiers.
And over the last few years, companies like Paramount Vantage have taken a big interest in our movies. Yes, some of them make money, but more importantly, they make the studios look classy. It’s no accident that most of the movies “For Your Consideration” were first considered in our heads. First written with our hands.
If anything, we should be calling it “co-dependent film.” We’re good at making movies. They’re good at releasing movies. Yes, we have a fucked-up relationship — but it’s a relationship. And we’re here every day because we want to make it work.
I have a blog, and every day I’ve been writing up what happens on the picket lines. One of the things I never anticipated is how many non-WGA writers would be joining us. I like when they sign-in as “Future WGA.” Because they’re recognizing that what gets decided through this strike will be the contract they’re working under for the next 20 years. So I want to give a shout-out to them now. [cheers]
What they see — what we all need to remember — is that however long this strike goes, it’s nothing compared to the 20 years ahead. These studios, these castles, they’ll probably be here. We want to make sure writers are too.
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December 14th, 2007 at 10:02 am
You made some good points and I really enjoyed the zombie analogy. Well written / spoken!
December 14th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Well said. You just made me want to take a day off work and go strike as a Future WGA, which I hope to be one day. I appreciate the stand that you guys and gals are out there making on behalf of future Guild members.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:46 am
“A few weeks ago, I got involved in a pretty heated discussion online, talking about one issue that screenwriters think about a lot. Namely, where would you go if Los Angeles were suddenly overrun by zombies?”
phew I thought it was just me! In fact, everywhere I ever live, I always make a mental assessment of how defensible it would be against a zombie outbreak. You never know when it’ll happen! :D
December 14th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Oh, I dunno, I kinda like Harlan’s approach. Baseball bats at ten paces. Guess that makes me a non-moderate.
Anyway, if as the AMPTP likes to say, writers and the studios are partners, why the fuck don’t they treat us as such?
No, we’re not partners, nor are we co-dependent. We’re barely tolerated, so-called schmucks with Underwoods, the black-sheep of the family.
If we were really partners, true partners, we’d be the owners of our own work and enter into limited partnership “agreements” with studios to turn our scripts into films and it wouldn’t be some director claiming, “a film by ________” the opening credits would read: “a script by________ and an interpretation of the script by _______ and produced by_______.” And we’d be compensated fairly.
But we’re not, and therein lies the rub.
And until we are granted (and I use the term loosely) full “partnership,” I’ll never be satisfied with any contract the WGA signs with the AMPTP in my name.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Future WGA’ers thank you :) As well as all current and future union members everywhere, fans of entertainment, and, well, generally, all of mankind and his pets. Kitties like TV too.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:35 am
I like that. Future WGA member. I fully support the writers strike and hope to call myself a WGA member sometime soon.
December 14th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Nice intro. And nice use of the subjunctive.
December 14th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Great speech! :) Especially the point about zombies! O.o
December 14th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Could this be the first political speech to use extensive zombie imagery?
December 14th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Was the zombies a reference to “I am Legend”?
December 14th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
It was a good speech. The idea of the castle went well with Harlan Ellison’s assertion that we should break in and kill somebody.
I was there – in fact I’m in the sunglasses directly to your left in that picture there – but you were really into the conversation you were having during the walking so I didn’t say anything.
December 14th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I’m a big fan of the blog and a big supporter of the strike. However, as an LA resident, I’m also concerned about the many people who work as crew and support staff who are currently unemployed. I’m wondering – what’s the best way to provide support to those people, particularly as the strike goes longer and longer? Is the WGA doing anything to help out those people? Are there things that I or other members of the public can do?
For example, in this age of the interwebs, it seems like it would be relatively easy to set up some support systems for those who are struggling the most. After all, if websites like Kiva let me loan money to farmers in Uganda, then it shouldn’t be all that hard to get resources to people right here in LA.
A really simple example: you could imagine setting up a website where unemployed crew members could post a gift that their child wants for X-mas, and writers (and/or fans and members of the public) could “adopt” a crew member and volunteer to buy that gift for that child. A small gesture, but one that would help to convey goodwill to those who are unemployed during the holidays.
If X-mas gifts seem too frivolous, then perhaps similar systems could be set up to help crew members who are struggling to cover basic needs.
I don’t know the industry that well. Those of you who do know the industry might know reasons why these ideas are not feasible. (For example, I’m sure lots of crew members might, like many of us, be too proud to ask for help, even if they need it.) Mostly, I’m just thinking out loud here. Obviously, feel free to suggest better ways to address this problem!
December 14th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Not gonna lie — that made me a little teary.
Love, Future-WGA
December 14th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Should the Zomilypse happen, I have a phone tree, and a series of preset, distributed meeting points throughout the city.
I swear to god. I wish I was kidding.
December 14th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
As a complete outsider to the Hollywood process, I have a question. Is it totally outside of the realm of possibility that the WGA can form it’s own production house that offers the terms that writers are looking for? Or is it just completely financially un-doable? Why must writers deal with production houses that don’t want to play ball? I realize that these questions probably seem rather naive. But wouldn’t distributors of media still be interested in a movie shot by the WGA vs. by Paramount or some other large production house?
December 14th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Bittersweet!
Part of my heart is torn for you guys out there without work, making sacrifice after sacrifice so that someday others (like me, hopefully) can follow your path towards a better destination.
But the other part of me is giddy with anticipation on “necessity being the mother of invention.” If the AMPTP keeps screwing this thing up, I am certain that creativity will berth new partnerships and methodologies for a more fair tomorrow!
Thank you all, WGA’ers! If I am ever blessed enough to make it where you are this karma will be repaid in some way. I will swear to that!
May your holidays be the merriest ever, despite these difficult times!
December 14th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Actually, Eric, this strike has given the AMPTP the opportunity to explore “new media:”
AMPTP Discovers a Cash Cow, aka “The Internet”
December 14th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
“…it’s nothing compared to the 20 years ahead”
Very nice job of bringing relevance to future WGA-ers joining in.
John it seems you are one of the few pros that really welcomes all who want to stand up for the WGA and a fair system… your non-elitist attitude is fresh air and is necessary IMHO for a healthy industry future. -Cheers
About time the AMPTP was reminded the studios and walls were built with ideas birthed first by the creatives (inside their heads).
December 15th, 2007 at 3:03 am
Nice picture of you with a sign… http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/strikediary
December 17th, 2007 at 11:12 am
We thank you for the work being done now to secure our future. As a member of The Dramatists Guild of America (and future WGA member), I stand with you in solidarity. I just wish I was standing in that sunshine in L.A. instead of the rainy northwest…
December 24th, 2007 at 1:27 am
Great speech. You’ve just renewed my determination to keep writing and most of all, support the WGA by telling my friends what this is all about. Next to say, soldiers, aid workers, police, fire, medical personnel, etc, writers take so much crap from EVERYONE. Survival. Not about having the cake and eating it too, but actually getting a slice. And not even a big one at that. Without writers (aka storytellers), what kind of society would we be living in? A pretty boring one I’m sure.