Strike, day four
In the shower yesterday, I was scrubbing my arm and silently wondering, “How did I get so dirty?” Then it hit me — that wasn’t dirt.
I was getting tan.
I’ve been on the afternoon shift all week. While the mornings in Los Angeles have been cool and overcast, the afternoons have been sunny. Very sunny. Far too sunny for a pasty writer like me. Even with 50 spf sunblock, my ears were getting crispy around the edges of my USC ballcap, so on Wednesday I had to break out my wide-brimmed Maui hat, which strikes that awkward balance of Australian Outback individualism and post-vanity not-giving-a-fuck.
Fortunately, yesterday afternoon stayed overcast all day, so I could revert to the ballcap.
I spent the first half of my shift at Paramount’s Van Ness gate, where I spoke with three blog-readers who’d come out specifically to say whassup. David is a recent USC English grad who has a remarkably cool job shooting documentaries for MTV. My advice to him was to keep his job and not brag about it. I then spoke with an Australian couple. She’s an actress; he’s a writer; their future children will be gorgeous.
At 3:15, we were hustled down to the Van Ness gate of Raleigh Studios, where the cast of Ugly Betty would be joining the picket line. Whenever Actual Celebrities show up, news cameras are out in force, so you want to have a lot of picketers on hand.
The problem at the Raleigh gate was that there were too many picketers crammed in too little space, which made it impossible to move. And once a picket line stops moving, it’s just a bunch of people loitering, which is illegal. The obvious solution was to extend the picket line further down the sidewalk. I took responsibility for implementing the obvious, doubling the length of the line.
Today, the protest moves to Fox, with all the picketers headed there at 10 a.m. Which means I need to get moving. Once I know my schedule for next week, I’ll post it here.
Articles
November 9th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Farmer tans in Hollywood. This may be the only time we see them!
November 9th, 2007 at 11:27 am
I honked when I passed you guys at Raleigh. I was surprised to see so many people at that tiny studio and nobody up at Paramount. But you were very loud and intense. Yay!
November 9th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Stop writing about that sunny California :cry: It makes me depressive… it’s too cold and cloudy around here.
November 9th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
John, I’d like to support the writers (as well as meet and chat with some, although that almost feels sleazy to me considering the circumstances), but unfortunately I work a 9-5, and cannot make any of the picket lines. How else can I show my support for the strike?
November 9th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
as i commented before in another post, my chant would be this:
“stop with the proctology, you didn’t invent the technology!”
this is just the beginning of the end for the studios with regards to distribution online…
November 9th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE
Awesome.
November 9th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
You’ll get used to the farmer’s tan as your daughter gets older and into soccer. Of course I say that and all my kids wanted to do was pick flowers and stay out of the sun. :-)
November 9th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Photos of todays strike: http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/11/09/photo-writers-strike-grows-stronger/
It’s a beautiful thing.
November 9th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
In light of the writer’s strike, let’s sit back and hear Harlan Ellison’s gentle critique of the Hollywood system: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE
November 9th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
I’m going to say something ill-advised, but through the wonder of the internet I’m going to be able to say it anonymously, so I care less about the ill-advisedness.
Please understand that I’m a good and decent person, I like practically everyone, rarely say an unkind word, and right now I intend no offense or ill will to anyone.
I’m a writer. I like to think I’m a pretty good one, have been at it for years, have sat in giant offices with vice-presidents of production and development (who were gone the next year, if not sooner) who have told me I should — should — be selling my scripts for lots of money. Except they’re not able, they explain, right at that time to be the one to buy them. I am one of those who could, quite literally, die of encouragement. My dirty secret is that I haven’t, ever, made one single solitary penny for my writing. Oh, wait, there was a dollar option for a script (from an actual, major-but-unnamed producer), but then again I never actually got the dollar. I get plenty of referrals from executives and producers to agents, and from agent friends (none my actual agent, of course) to executives and producers. I have, however, never been officially signed by an agent. And of course the only practical reason why I should or could ever keep doing what I’m doing is because I love it so much, it packs my heart full-to-bursting with joy, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Of course at this point is where John would, perhaps quite rightly, give me the advice that, were it not for that last, I should quit.
Of course maybe he’s right.
I figure part of it is I just haven’t been that lucky. Maybe I’ve never written a script as good as Go, but then again I’ve never had someone at the right time and place as Doug Liman post-Swingers interested and involved with one of my scripts. I mean, part of it’s got to be luck, doesn’t it? Because let’s be honest, even in John’s case, the Charlie’s Angels movies were fundamentally no good (even though it pains me somewhat to have the opinion that the second was even worse than the first) and Titan A.E. really kind of blew. Just to pick a couple. (Was Titan A.E. the same thing that years ago was called Planet Ice? I blew off a meeting to pitch a rewrite on that because I read the original and thought it was a mess.) All of this suggests to me that there’s something else at work other than sheer, unadulterated talent.
Okay, I’m not saying all of this — or any of this — to pick on John, or on anyone else. Just to present some long-winded background to a point, which is this:
I would love to be paid for my writing. Absolutely fucking love to. I have many friends in the industry whose houses, cars, careers I would love to have, too. (Of course that may just be sour grapes on my part, but by this point it’s a little hard to tell. Perhaps understandably. Either that or it’s a given.)
And I would absolutely love the opportunity to not make N cents per DVD or download, and to not have to pay my rent working nine hours a day at a “real” job to come home to do the writing that I love.
So while yes, I can watch all the YouTube clips featuring the “Office” writing staff I can find, and I can nod sagely and wish John and all the other working writers the best in solidarity, I just…
Well, you don’t have it that bad, you realize?
You could always have to get a real job.
November 9th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Hi John,
Do you recommend any comedy writers who are freelance? (I suppose the pool of freelancers is much larger now that the strike is going on…) I do a comedy ventriloquist show and am having trouble creating material for one of my characters (he’s a narcissistic monkey whose confidence far outweighs his talent). My e-mail is corporate.shows(at)gmail.com in case you know someone who might be able to help!
Thanks in advance!
November 9th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Non-pro writer:
They do have a real job — it’s called writing. Just because you have a passion for something doesn’t mean you should do it for free. I’m an actor and I’ve been in about 25 films. I absolutely love what I do. You know why I have an agent and a union card? Because people take advantage of people who love what they do. You know how much I made last year from my work? $23k — and about a third of that was from residuals. Doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? Would it surprise you to know that I’m in the third largest film market in the US and work more the 90% of my peers? Residuals put food on the table, help me pay bills, and allow me to reinvest in my work. Headshots, reels, and auditions are not free. Not to mention that, like you, I also write. I’ve invested quite a bit of time in my screenwriting over the years and haven’t received one cent for it. Next year there is a chance that one of my scripts might get made. Do I expect to be paid for all the years that led up to that script? No. But I do expect a portion of the profits made from it. And hopefully, the project will get me in the DGA.
By the way, I did write for a living at one point. I used to be in advertising. If you think just because you love something it’s all fun and games, you’re wrong. Writing can be one of the most stressful, hair-pulling jobs you’ve ever had. Just wait for someone to hire you: “You love writing? Great, you hired! Now, what you have here…this script…it’s not doing it for me. I can’t figure out why or what it needs, or even where it started sucking for me, but I need to have something I can shoot by Friday. Can you fix it by then, babe? Want me to have someone get you a coffee?”
And lastly, more power to you. I’m glad you have a passion for writing, I hope your pictures are made, and I also hope you get paid well for it — you deserve it. You’ve put a lot of years into reaching this point. Maybe once you get a few under your belt, you’ll realize the strides the WGA have made in your being properly compensated for all your hard work — strides that will benefit you even if you don;’t join. And maybe we’ll be sitting next to each other at a WGA meeting one day.
November 9th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
^ooopsy^
“….will get me in the *WGA.”
Damned alliteration.
November 9th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
non-pro writer –
what the heck? First of all, Mr. August got several studio writing assignments before GO ever got made. Check some of his older posts for the details. So don’t even go there about “luck.” Second — ALL of us came from “regular jobs.” We all worked our day jobs and then came home and wrote all night and gave up our weekends. We all know what it means to work our day jobs and we appreciate our ability to write for a living every day.
I stood with a writer outside of Warner Bros. the other day and I asked him how he got his start. He pointed to a corporate WB building across the street and said: “I used to work an assistant job right over there.”
We’re coming from all walks of life and all kinds of different experiences. But right now we are fighting for what we deserve and have EARNED. I leave you with this, a quote from Chris Kelly from the Huffington Post:
“A residual isn’t a handout or an allowance or Paris Hilton’s trust fund. It’s not a lottery payout, or alimony, or an annuity from a slip and fall accident at a casino.
A residual is a deferred payment against the lifetime value of a script.
It’s not a perk.
It’s okay if you didn’t know that. It’s in the best interests of a lot of fairly large corporations that you don’t.”
November 9th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
I have to ask, is the girl in the photo http://imdb.com/name/nm1901842/ ? When I saw it, she looked familar, but then I thought, what would a Neighbors actress be doing in the middle of the writer’s strike in LA. Reading the blog answered that question.
November 9th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
hey john, you can still get sunburn when it’s overcast.
November 10th, 2007 at 2:07 am
“Fortunately, yesterday afternoon stayed overcast all day, so I could revert to the ballcap.”
C’mon, John. Everyone–well, nearly everyone–knows that you can still get sunburned if it’s overcast. The UV easily penetrates the cloud coverage. So, I’m sorry to say, you must always wear your Irwin. (Actually, it’s advisable–this tidbit only being useful for pasty writers such as yourself–that you wear your Irwin indoors, too.)
“The obvious solution was to extend the picket line further down the sidewalk.”
Goddammit, it’s farther. Not further. Granted, you’re probably tired. But still. Please consider this a friendly heads up. Also, while I’m at it: It’s Web site, not website or Website. And Internet is capitalized.
-Allswell
November 10th, 2007 at 7:04 am
Seem like a dick (#17):
You’re being a dick. A tool, in fact. I approved your comment just to point out the extent of your needless needling.
Re: Sunblock. Sure. You can get a sunburn on a cloudy day. But there’s a vast difference between spending four hours walking on a cloudless day and four hours on a day that looks like winter in London. I don’t think Londoners are fools for passing up the 50 spf on those days.
“Further/Farther” here tips towards farther (since there’s implied distance), but the preceding sentence was describing an ongoing process (thus, further). So while I would probably pick “farther” next time, it’s nowhere near as clear cut as you’re presenting.
In terms of “Internet,” Wired Magazine — who wrote about the internet before almost anyone else — stopped capitalizing the term in 2004. So please catch up, or shut up, because there is no correct usage. English is not Latin. It is also not German.
November 10th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
I know a pretty good way of removing a tan if you dislike it. ½ pint new milk, ¼ oz. lemon juice & ½ oz. white brandy should remove a tan. Just mix all of these together. Boil the whole and skim it. Apply to the face, neck –where ever- night and morning. It’s worked for me in the past. I hope that helps. -Peace
November 10th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
“In terms of ‘Internet,’ Wired Magazine — who wrote about the internet before almost anyone else — stopped capitalizing the term in 2004. So please catch up, or shut up, because there is no correct usage. English is not Latin. It is also not German.”
Never go by what one magazine’s style guide suggests–they are, after all, different for each magazine. The AP style guide is the only way to roll. You’re a j-school graduate, so I thought you’d know that. Plus, style guide aside, they’re both proper nouns. Simple as that.
“You’re being a dick. A tool, in fact. I approved your comment just to point out the extent of your needless needling.”
Honestly, I was pretty bummed when I read that.
November 10th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Well, speaking of Wired, I thought you might want to spread this around with the picketers: http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/11/picketers-pal-m.html