Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Writers Strike Update



As you probably know, my husband is on strike. Right now he's picketing in front of Universal Studios. He's tired when he comes home every day--picketing is physically demanding, and yet boring at the same time. But he's out there for the cause.

But just what is the cause? Well, here's a video produced by members of the Writers Guild to answer that very question, in case you're interested. There's also more info at Unitedhollywood.com.

If you're not interested, sorry for this personal post! I'll get back to books next post, promise!

16 comments:

Kelly said...

I heard on the radio that the last strike was in 88 and the industry lost a bunch of money. Hopefully it wont come to that this time. I want my shows~

Gentle Reader said...

myutopia--I think folks on both sides would like this resolved as soon as possible! But for a strike to be effective, it has to disrupt business as usual at the big studios. Which means no shows being produced, which means reruns!

But hopefully it will be settled sooner than that!

Stephanie said...

There was a skit on SNL this past weekend about the strike.

Hopefully, you husband will get what he wants. I know what it's like when a corporation doesn't take care of it's employees.

Gentle Reader said...

stephanie--that's the crux of it, big corporations keeping it all for themselves. An age-old problem, as we all know...

Thanks for the good wishes! I'll have to check out SNL to see that skit (on the internet, so of course no writers will get any piece of it...sigh).

Joy said...

The YouTube clip was excellent. Thank you for sharing it. All the best to your husband (and you).

Anonymous said...

Sending some good wishes. Hope the strike ends soon.

Anonymous said...

I've been listening with interest to news reports about the strike. I completely support the writers. The studios have gotten away with far too much for far too long.

Gentle Reader said...

joy--thanks! And I thought the clip was a good explanation of the writers' side of things, for people who don't know what all the fuss is about :)

iliana--me too! Thanks for the good wishes :)

stefanie--hear, hear! And thanks for the solidarity :)

Anonymous said...

The situation does sound very unfair as it stands (now I understand it!). I do hope you get the right outcome very soon.

Anonymous said...

Lots of wishes to you!!! I hope everything goes the way your hubby wants it to and if I have to miss a few shows, so be it! I think without the writers, there are no shows anyway....even a fantastic actor can't make it work with bad writing! Good luck!

Dewey said...

We should never have to apologize for personal posts in our blogs! I hope the strike is resolved soon, to the writers' benefit.

Anonymous said...

i was thinking of you and wednesday morning as the picketers whistled and megaphoned at 5:45 AM underneath my bedroom window downtown. while you know how much i love my sleep, instead of getting irritated, i bought 15 cups of coffee for them. it's going to be a long strike, and i support it 100%.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update. My thoughts are with you all. Hope it's resolved soon. Hang in here! :)

Gentle Reader said...

litlove--hope the helped clarify things a little, and thanks for the good wishes :)

kristina--thanks! Even the actors have been acknowledging that everything starts with the writers--I saw some nice statements of support from Robert Redford, Sally Field and Glenn Close on the internet yesterday--but of course I can't find the link--sorry!

dewey--thanks for your support! And I guess ultimately everything is personal, right?

kerri--yea! I picketed with my hubby today and those cups of coffee from fabulous supporters are so, so appreciated :)

matt--thanks for the good wishes!

Literary Feline said...

Please let your husband know that there are many of us out here that support him and the strike. The writers' demands are not only fair but I think worth fighting for, and I do hope they come out on top in the end.

Gentle Reader said...

literary feline--thanks so much for your support. It means so much to the writers to know that people feel their demands are reasonable. I picketed with hubby yesterday and it was heartening that so many cars honked and gave us the thumbs up!