Strike, day three
Three blog readers took me up on my offer and joined the picket line at Paramount. In chatting with them about their hopes, fears and immediate plans, I formulated some on-the-fly advice about what I’d do if I were a recent college graduate hoping for a career in Hollywood.
It’s not a great time to move to Los Angeles. The classic entry-level jobs — assistants and PA’s — will be hard to come by in a few weeks as production companies and agencies are forced to lay off people.
If you’re already here, it might be worth looking for a generic job sooner rather than later, since things like Barnes and Noble might fill up quickly. Writers and laid-off assistants will be aiming for those same jobs.
While it’s a bad time to be looking for work in the entertainment industry, election season is ramping up. Recent college graduates are always welcome on political campaigns. It’s an amazing, exhausting experience — and you could do it in any state in the country. (Thanks to Matt for this suggestion.)
You’ll never meet as many writers as you can during the strike. For a change, everyone is out of their office and out of their cars. Get to know some film and TV writers and talk to them about their work. It’s especially good to talk with writers who are at the lowest rungs, to see how they got started and what the challenges are.
I asked all three of the writers I spoke with yesterday to write in and report how the next few months go. If anyone else wants to talk today, I’ll be starting at Paramount at 1 p.m. today.
Other details from Day Three:
I wore a pedometer. 13,139 steps, which translates to 4.14 miles.
At Paramount, I was delighted to finally meet Gary Whitta. I also spoke with William Mapother, creepy “Ethan” from Lost, who is both a SAG and WGA member. A lot more SAG folks are coming out to the picket line, which is great.
I missed seeing Jesse Jackson, because my strike captain and I went over to help out at Prospect Studios, where the cast of Grey’s Anatomy had joined the picket line. Prospect was super-mellow compared to the noise and chaos of Paramount. I got to catch up with Allan Heinberg, who is doing a new Wonder Woman comic, and C.J. Cox, who I know from Outfest labs. I met Jonathan Kimmel and talked Crank Yankers, among other shows.
Prospect Studios is also where General Hospital shoots. Writers for daytime serials have an unbelievably daunting job, and never really mingle with other TV and feature writers, so it was good to meet a few.
It’s difficult to clean oatmeal vomit from a car seat.
Articles
November 8th, 2007 at 11:27 am
I was one of the three readers, and I’d like to thank John for allowing me to take a handful of the 4.4 miles worth of steps with him.
For those who haven’t met me, I’m Aaron, and I’ve been walking the picket lines as a future Guild member for the last three days. There’s plenty more to come, as aspiring writers like myself (and Jerome, who also joined us at the Paramount) can do no wrong in showing our support.
I’ll be glad to write in periodically and inform John and everyone else of my progress. Let’s hope this gets resolved soon; and as my fave chant on the line went yesterday — “There’s Nothing Sexy About Dirty Money!” (picketing outside the Dirty Sexy Money soundstage).
Hope to run into some of you soon, and thanks again, John!
November 8th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Hey, John! Could you please dedicate a post to General Hospital writers (like, have you been talking about the state of soap operas etc.)? They have the best dialogue writers team in daytime: Michele Val Jean, Karen Harris, Tracey Thomson, Mary Sue Price and Susan Wald. Who did you speak to? And do you watch daytime serials?
November 8th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Thank, John. I’m not a film college graduate, yet (I’ll graduate in 2009), but this was quite interesting already. I guess I still see the business through rose-colored glasses a little too much… this is probably the biggest mistake one can make in the first place. I’m so fixated on making a career overseas in the US, but never consider my own native country (Germany) as an opportunity. slaps herself
November 8th, 2007 at 11:42 am
John,
I’m assuming you met three readers, not writers. Meeting only three writers while walking the picket lines during a strike would be a little shocking.
And to the person who had trouble cleaning oatmeal vomit from a car seat (I assume you men for a child), you can completely remove the cover and throw it in the washing machine. JUST MAKE SURE YOU KEEP ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER. We lost one tiny piece and had to throw the entire car seat out because we couldn’t get a replacement seat and couldn’t secure the seat properly without it. Man, that’s a bitch.
Good luck to everyone on the picket line.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
John, I read in the New York Times that the 88′ strike lasted 5 months. Do the writers plan on picketing every week if it were to go that long? You listed other things you wanted to do during the time off from your scripts, so I was wondering if you would be on the front lines that for the weeks to come.
I ask because I wanted to make it up to LA to help picket in a few weeks (although hopefully it won’t last that long, but some people believe it will). What’s the plan?
November 8th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Will you be there until 5? I don’t get off work until 3:30, but I’d like to stop by after that.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
I want to preface this by saying that I fully support the strike and love this blog John, but in all honesty, I have never met a working writer willing to talk person-to-person about how they got started, what their challenges were, or be willing to help a novice. It can also be very awkward to probe for information. But I’d love to pick someone’s brain, or have someone other than my fiance read my script. Would be nice. Anyway, best of luck to you guys.
IMHO, the strike will last until SAG’s contract is up. Unfortunate, but certainly possible.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Samantha (#6):
I’ll be picketing until 5, though I’m not sure at which gate. Look for me. (I look like my profile pic on imdb.)
Jay D (#5):
I don’t know how the picketing plan would change in future weeks. Everyone hopes negotiations could get this settled fairly and quickly.
Tim W. (#4):
It’s not the upholstery as the nooks and crannies that make car-seat-vomit-extraction a problem.
November 8th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Excellent. I’ll see you around 4-4:15.
November 8th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I moved to L.A. in February and I’ve been working at a post-production company, but trying to get a job in production. I was planning to apply for jobs on television shows in the near future, but that’s ground to a halt for now. I support the writers, and I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out in my crappy job before I give it up, and join the writers on the picket lines.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Thank you for the updates from the front lines.
The most effective method I have found for removing vomit from a car seat is total immersion in the bathtub after removing the upholstery. Good luck!
November 8th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
John have you tried a pet product like Nature’s Miracle on the vomit?
It works great for pet urine and vomit…maybe it will work in your car?
November 8th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
John,
Thanks for more updates from Paramount! I wish I could make it over there to say Hi. I’m at Warner Bros. again today… -Scribe
November 8th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Came across a statement by Eisner about the strike. If it has already been posted somewhere on this site, then kindly disreard.
Fromreuters.com:
Michael Eisner says, “I’ve seen stupid strikes, I’ve seen less stupid strikes … This is a stupid strike … It’s a waste of their time. The studios have nothing to give. They don’t know what to give.”
November 8th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Hey John!
Was good to see you today. I hit most gates in the area and will be at Fox tomorrow at 10am. Will you be there too?
November 8th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Hey John -
I finally made it over there at 4:30, but then I couldn’t find you. Still, I wanted to say thank you for inviting people to come talk to you. That’s a very rare and very cool thing to do.
S.
November 8th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
i missed ya today (thursday) too, john. i was at paramount from about 2:45 - 5p. i wandered between the various gates from 2:45-3:15, then just decided to hang out at the main gate the rest of the afternoon. i’m sad i didn’t get to walk and talk with you, but im glad i was able to show my support there and at raleigh studios in manhattan in the morning. i took the day off from my vfx post production job to do so and it was a great experience. perhaps i’ll take a long lunch next week and try and find you again!
November 8th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Samantha and Christopher (#16 and #17):
My group from the Van Ness gate got moved down to the Raleigh gate (Van Ness south of Melrose) to help out with the Ugly Betty cast members. Sorry to have missed you.
November 8th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Hey John–
I’m just wondering what effect this strike is having on those lower profile writers. You know the guys that don’t have money saved up…. Don’t misunderstand me, I support the strike whole-heartedly (I’ve had to explain this way too many times. You don’t know how many people in Ohio don’t keep up with screenwriting news.) But I was just wondering how that’s affecting the smaller guys.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
No, it’s not a great time to move to Los Angeles, unless you want to work in reality television, in which case you should RUN, not walk, to get here. Other jobs that will be fairly safe during the strike, documentary crews, writers, producers and editors, and there’s always porn.
November 9th, 2007 at 2:22 am
porn is actually the perfect example of just how decentralized content creation and distribution is going to become…
crazy how porn is always the technological vanguard for hollywood…
November 9th, 2007 at 3:04 am
Are the picket lines going strong this weekend as well?
I’d love to get up there and support, but I don’t have a ride (yes, I’m that broke). Anyone down for picking me up and walking the line a little with me on Monday?
November 9th, 2007 at 6:30 am
Nick,
“…how’s [the strike] affecting the smaller guys?”
I’m a smaller guy and I’ll tell you.
I’m not hurting yet.
But once I start yelling, “Four shot venti half sweet Valencia soy no foam ez H20 w/ three ice cubes American misto.” And some guy walks up to the bar, picks up his drink, sticks his eyes balls to my face like I’m Sean Penn with hair missing behind my ears, and says, “I asked for two ice cubes, retard….” You’ll know I’m hurting.
That’s 6 weeks from now.
In my heart of hearts, even though they were slow out the gates, I believe the WGA is working a winning program, with a planned conclusion of sooner than later, and I support them %104 (just saw JUNO… so good).
In the meantime, treat your Starbucks baristas with some love people! Especially 6 weeks from now. Because if you’re mean to me I will punch you in the face like you were Nick Counter. And it will hurt. And you will bleed. And my hand will ache.
November 9th, 2007 at 7:19 am
John,
Will the writers be picketing over the weekend? I ask because it’s hard to get from Boston to L.A. during the week due to my job getting in the way. I would not only like to be able to network with writers, but I’d like to show my support as a future WGA member.
Thanks for your updates and good luck!
Brian
November 9th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Nothing on soap opera writers?
November 9th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Brian (#24):
As far as I know, there are no pickets planned for the weekend. I don’t even know what’s happening Monday — our strike captains will be sending out email updates.
Marco (#25):
I love my soap opera writers, but I have nothing special for you at the moment.
November 10th, 2007 at 4:05 am
Thank you, John. I’m sure you’ll write something as soon as you get it.
P. S. David Goldschmid, General Hospital’s breakdown writer, said on We Love Soaps that scabs are already writing for GH.
November 10th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Hey John,
I’m a recent college grad that just moved out here to LA. I’ve been looking for a job since the beginning of September with almost no luck at all. I landed a few PA gigs here and there, but they were small and short. Toiling away over Mandy, UTA, and Craigslist was becoming more and more tedious as each day passed.
Just a couple weeks ago, as the strike grew almost inevitable, I lost almost all hope of finding a job in the business. And then, by the grace of God, I got a call back for a PA and shooting job for an entertainment show here in town. And then by sheer luck, I got the job, and ironically my very first day was the day the strike began. I can’t stop thanking my lucky stars that I got a job in the business just as the strike commenced that’s almost entirely unaffected by it.
So by my luck, I have some advice to anyone out here looking for an entry-level job with fear that the strike may prevent them from finding anything: look for something in entertainment news. With what’s happening right now, the news is surging, and there are plenty of entertainment news sources to look at, like E! for example. It doesn’t necessarily have to be entertainment news, but just something that’s in the business that wouldn’t be affected by the strike, like companies that produce commercials (I don’t think these are affected, are they?). My friend, for example, just got a good job as a receptionist at a production company, so jobs like that are ones to really consider if you come across them. There are many excellent alternative jobs still open out here you might not have considered before. Take advantage of them before they become impossible to get, because they will be if this strike lasts awhile.
Anyways, on Thursday my boss told me they needed B-Roll of the strike. So I told her Paramount was a good place to go (even though it’s one of the farthest studios from our office) for the sole reason of wanting to get out to the picket lines to meet you, since I’m an avid reader of your site and a very big fan. Sadly, though, I couldn’t find you. But I got some great footage of the strike!
Hopefully they’ll send me out again to get some footage, and this time maybe I’ll be lucky enough to run into you.
My support is with all of you 100% You guys are paving the way for me and every other young person with aspirations in Hollywood. I am beginning to look at all you writers as father figures, much like how one’s parents work their entire life so that one will have a better and more fruitful life than they had.
P.S. I have a hypothetical that’s been bothering me: let’s say a writer/director that’s part of the WGA is currently in production on a film. Let’s say that the director is shooting a scene, and as written, a scene that he’s shooting is not working. The only choice for the director is to re-write the scene to make it work. Would the director just have to cut his losses and shoot the scene as written, or would there be ramifications from the WGA if he did rewrite the scene and they found out?