A hyphenate hits the line
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James L. Brooks took to the picket line at Fox’s main studio entrance at the intersection of Pico and Motor at the stroke of 9 a.m. today. The writer-producer-mogul said he felt ‘horror’ at the idea of a strike while both sides were still negotiating. But when talks broke down, he said, he felt a ‘clarity’ about what he needed to do: join the picket line.
‘We write alone,’ Brooks said. ‘So to come together like this is to feel a sense of unity. That you’re part of something bigger than you.’
Asked if he felt conflicted about whom to side with in the dispute, Brooks said the choice to stand with other writers rather than fellow producers wasn’t difficult.
‘I think you’ll find that there are a lot of hyphenates out here,’ he said. ‘And when you have to look into your heart to decide where you stand, a lot of us know we’re writers at heart. I wasn’t conflicted at all.’
-- Chris Lee
