Okay, then strike.The strike is on.
From what I’m hearing, it’s the usual he-said, she-said, but the bottom line is this: both sides finally got all of their stupid crap off the table (and for those of you who honestly though the WGA really really really meant that DVD increase demand, all I can say is…listen more closely to Uncle Craig next time, okay?)…and still…
…the AMPTP wouldn’t step up on The One Issue.
This strike is mostly the fault of the AMPTP, in my humble opinion. They had a choice here. Once the other demands were gone, they were in a perfectly good position to finally start talking in a real way about internet residuals, and they chose instead to insist on the DVD rate for electronic sell-through…and their ridiculous “promotional” position on streaming.
Nonsense.
On the other hand, the Guild bears some fault as well. They played their strike threat hand well, but I think they seriously believed their own hype. They convinced themselves that the AMPTP would wobble in the face of a strike.
Wrongo.
Any of you see that South Park where sanctimonious intellectuals stand around smelling their own farts?
Yeah.
Anyway, here we are. I’m not sure we wouldn’t be here if, say, I had been running the Guild. No way I’d ever take the DVD rate for internet sales.
Still, the backchannels will continue. And in a weird way, both sides have accomplished something very positive.
We’ve finally broomed the crap off the table. It’s down to the real issue.
One last thing.
I have to amend my “praise the leadership!” post from a few days ago.
The one about The Teamsters.
I praise the leadership for convincing everyone that the Teamsters were going to support us. In reality, the WGA is picketing studios between 9 AM and 5 PM.
Trucks come in before 9 AM, and they leave after 5 PM, so this isn’t really conducive to getting Teamster support…
Furthermore, I know that writers will be picketing Warner Brothers today…but at one gate.
Warner Brothers has…I think 9 gates…maybe 8. But more than one.
So I wouldn’t be counting on anything valuable from this alliance of the unions’ leaderships, although I still believe that the rank and file of the Teamster Brotherhood are behind us, and I know I’m behind them.
Lastly, if you see writers out on the line today…do more than honk your horn. Talk to them. Shake their hands. Tell them that you’re behind their fight to ensure their rights as authors…and to secure those rights for the writers who are yet to come.
I hate this strike, I hate the circumstances that led to it, I hate the missteps that occurred along the way, and I really hate to say “I told you so” to all the people who said “Patric Verrone will keep us out of a strike!!!”….
…but the strike is here.
Back it all the way.
And if the companies are serious about eliminating residuals (which is what much of their proposal would achieve), then back it to the death.
