Strike, day 25
I nearly went over to Burbank to join colleagues at the Gay Gate (NBC), but decided to stay local at Paramount. Irene, a fixture on the 5:30 a.m. shift, pointed out that the key to passing three hours is to have at least two in-depth conversations. As a group, we never reached consensus on our discussion of which was more miserable — filming in rain, or filming in snow — but there was unanimity that a certain blonde actress in her 40’s is an evil megalomaniac who should be avoided at all costs.
Jonathan Auxier, a screenwriter and novelist from Vancouver,1 came seeking advice about adaptations. Samantha Goodman told tales of the Nurses pilot she did last year. Al Gough and I talked comic book properties. And like that, it was done.
There’s no picketing scheduled for tomorrow.
One of my strike captains2 forwarded a link to a YouTube video that I resisted clicking for many hours. Based on the still frame, it was clearly a white guy (WGA Boi) rapping about the WGA strike. That combination felt insurmountably terrible. Even with a shield of irony, I predicted myself being annoyed or embarrassed by its existence. But too my surprise, the video is neither annoying or embarrassing. It threads a needle of impossible danger.
I got a Housewife but she ain’t Desperate
‘Cuz she knows that Marc Cherry is handlin’ shit
See it here.
- Q: What is a tuque?
A: It’s the Canadian word for a knitted cap. It’s pretty much a shibboleth. ↩ - I’m actually listed on three different teams, though I’ve mostly stayed at Paramount. ↩
Articles
November 29th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Great new semi-layout!
November 29th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
John (with all due respect):
Next in-depth topic on that strike line: WGA. Needs. Black people. Because wow…
November 29th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I think this should be blasted out on the picket line, as loud as possibly possible. The studios would crumble to the writers’ demands in seconds.
November 29th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
It’s actually Tuke. I was born in Canada. Still use that term, though.
November 29th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Tuque in Canadien. Toque in Canadian. Tuke in Can-American.
November 29th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
That video was chock FULL of win!
November 29th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Missed you at Gay Gate - but there will be a Gay Gate 3 next week. And of course, HOLLYWOOD HOMECOMING Friday at Sony.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
John:
Though I can see why that video of WGA Boi rapping about the strike can be annoying and ridiculous–I felt as you did when a writer friend of mine sent me the link a few days ago–it’s surprisingly hilarious, on point, and does make plain the reasons why the WGA is on strike. I sent this to people I know who aren’t writers but didnt understand why the WGA was on strike, and they not only got the gist of what’s going on..they’re all going to the various strike websites (United Hollywood, Nikki Fine’s site, both the WGA sites, etc.) to keep up with everything that’s going on.
So, the video is working to get information out there about the strike.
Sean: they could have that discussion–they can have the discussion about there needs to be Latino/a writers; Asian and Asian American writers; Native American writers; more LGBT writers, etc. they SHOULD have those discussions and they maybe. But, in addition to those discussions, they should have conversations about the strike, ways of ending it, and fostering stronger relationships between each other when the strike ends…
The Nines: saw the link for the film being shown in London. Congrats! The Nines was such a good film that really didnt get noticed for how good it is (Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy should have been nominated for Independent Spirit Awards; Ryan also. Possible Oscar/Golden Globe push perhaps? :))
November 30th, 2007 at 12:55 am
yeah, i tried to like the video. i really did, but alas my annoyance and embarassment got the best of me…
November 30th, 2007 at 6:17 am
“…a certain blonde actress in her 40’s is an evil megalomaniac who should be avoided at all costs.” Sharon Stone? Meg Ryan? Inquiring minds want to know!
November 30th, 2007 at 6:47 am
Carrie:
I’m betting Sharon Stone. She’s quite LEGENDARY in Hollywood for giving you “divatrics” on film sets…though, I think she’s ridiculously talented. I’m still waiting for her to get a role where she can REALLY sink her teeth into..and her flashing her va-jajay (Grey’s Anatomy) In Basic Instinct (1992) doesn’t count.
November 30th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Two in-depth conversations sounds about right, although five or six casual conversations can fill the gap as well.
Universal Studios has been fun, but I might migrate over to Fox on Monday. As usual, I’ll put in at least one day at Paramount.
This weekend on Second Life we’re having a virtual strike. Just search for the “Fans For Writers” group.
November 30th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Yes. Nice strike. Hasn’t been too bad here at the Mouse and they are wonderful, funny, warm, witty people, those WGA Writers. I, on the other hand, who cannot get into that club because no one seems interested in producing my five scripts let alone reading them, am bitter, cold, angry and vindictive….
But I am in another club, the Editors Guild, and we editors are planning to take some doughnuts out to the writers to show our support, perhaps with some hot coffee (Bailey’s, anyone?). We’d better hurry, though, before they starve to death. It would be extraordinarily inconvenient should we have their bleached bones to drive over every morning just to get to our hard-working, physically demanding, time-constricted jobs.
I would love to get paid to write, to stay at home and do what I really love, conjure stories out of my head, commit them to paper, do endless rewrites under the demands of some brainless executive, just to have my onscreen credit pop on momentarily well below his. I want to be able to afford the free time to picket what I believe in!! I want to be in the WGA!!!
Until that happens, I will continue to work.
November 30th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Yes…please bring food to us at the Mouse gate. The box of snacks we have has completely fused into one large unrecognizable mass of sugar.
I must admit. I like the WGA Boi video too. Who knew…a rap song. Seeing Verrone’s second mug at the camera is priceless.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Deal. Monday morning. Riverside Gate.
Old Fashioned, or Glazed?
November 30th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
No one has guessed the actress yet. And I think no one will, because it’s a name that’s familiar but never top-of-mind.
November 30th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Is Faye Dunaway still in her 40s?
Nahhhh…..
November 30th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
So…you have the Ajax editor enabled, huh? Let’s see if yours works better than mine…
November 30th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Tea Leoni? Kelly Lynch?
November 30th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
John August, you’re a tease. lol. I’ll take that difficult actress challenge. Helen Hunt? Nicollette Sheridan? Pfeiffer? Uma? Jennifer Jason Leigh? I got it, it’s Jennifer Aniston? Right? How many guesses can I have? lol.
Anyway, I’m lighting a candle to Jeebus every night, in hopes that the WGA and the studios/networks can agree on a fair deal. For whatever it’s worth, you writers have my full support from afar.
November 30th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Isn’t a toque a chef’s hat?
November 30th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
I’m really hoping it isn’t Hope Davis because I really like her work. I was going to guess Gwyneth Paltrow but she’s 5 years too young to be in her 40s. You should just tell us because this will drive me crazy forever. At least say if someone mentioned who it is.
December 1st, 2007 at 2:08 am
Rapper:You would think that a working WGA writer/wanna-be rapper in the middle of a strick-action could come up with better and less inflammatory word choices than “bitches” (sexist and insulting).
Race:I am new to L.A. and outside of John and this site, I don’t know any WGA writers of any color. I have taken John’s advice and showed up at a few picket sites to show my support. I have talked to a couple of striking writers there but ,truthfully, the sparsity of minority faces in the crowd is a little intimidating. When you see a fellow minority you feel that you can approach them easier and usually that’s true. Unfazed, I will try to meet up with John at Paramount next week b/c then I will know at least one person there. John can you post your Paramount strike schedule for the week of 12/3 ?
December 1st, 2007 at 9:13 am
I’d been thinking for ages that this blog was just really quiet….. Never quite got around to checking, but then, when I saw the review of The Nines in a UK paper, I had to come and find out what had happened…. Turns out I was still using an old RSS feed…. I’ve finally managed to get through 7 pages worth of posts!
That said, I’ve read little in the way of comments, so if some of this has been put up by someone already, then I apologise…..
Someone pointed me at a fantastic clip of Harlan Ellison a few weeks ago. Not specifically to do with the strike, but very appropriate.
It’s on YouTube here.
December 1st, 2007 at 11:56 am
I wanted to guess Nicole Kidman for some reason, even though (like most blondes) she’s only blonde by way of bottle, and only turned forty this year. Her name just jumps to mind when I hear evil megolomaniac for some reason.
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:20 am
Uma Thurman?
Charlize Theron?
Laura Linney?
December 3rd, 2007 at 12:05 am
I think Charlize Theron is only about 30 though she does play older characters. Also, I don’t think that there are many natural blondes in Hollywood.
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:24 am
wait..john more guesses for the “megalomaniac actress in her 40’s”
Joan Allen Kim Bassinger Meg Ryan Glenn Close
I’m just guessing…I’m totally curious (it’s totally bad I know–I’m reveling in salacious gossip! :))
December 3rd, 2007 at 10:50 am
Bonnie Hunt
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Penelope Ann Miller
December 3rd, 2007 at 10:11 pm
WGA Boi reminds me of John safran’s Jew Town (Jewish boy band).
And anything that reminds me of John safran can only be good.