Doing it for the ‘next generation’

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‘We’re working. There’s a bunch of writers here, and we’re all breaking stories and working on everything and hoping that things will get resolved.’ That was the optimistic Zak Penn (‘The Incredible Hulk,’ ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and ‘Fantastic Four’). He is currently at work on a new show for ABC -- ‘Section Eight’ and was trying to stay focused while the strike storm swirled all around.

‘It’ll have an enormous impact on this show, far more than any feature project that I have,’ Penn said of the strike. ‘It presumably delays those feature projects, but for this we were gearing up to go into production, so it’ll be a big bummer if it doesn’t happen.’

“Everything’s going to change,’ he added. ‘If we go on strike, then all of us go home and stop working. I have three little kids, so I will spend more time with them, so that’s a positive side of it...But I’m hopeful. I think there’s still a possibility that things will get resolved.’

“Most of the people on the negotiating committee, frankly, when you look at who they are, they don’t stand to gain very much by the strike going on. There’s very little personally for them to gain. Some of those people could make in a week for themselves what they’ll be negotiating for a lifetime [for everyone else]. And that is something that people forget when they look at all this. Sometimes you hear people talk about ‘wealthy writers.’ But a lot of these people are doing it, not for themselves — it’s nothing, a fraction of a residual, some of those guys get gross points on movies. Most people understand, you’re doing it out of a sense of loyalty and tradition. . . . You have to understand that other people allowed you to get here, and that it’s your responsibility to do it for the next generation.”

-- Jay Fernandez