CHANNEL ISLAND: ‘80s deal haunts writers guild
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
VOLCANIC rhetoric. Heroes with provocative flaws. Plot twists that hinge on issues no one completely understands.
I tell you, this writers strike has something for everyone. It’s like ‘Lost’ with labor law thrown in!
We all understand that the Writers Guild of America strike has something to do with residuals. Beyond that, though, the daily back-and-forth between the guild and the studios is, after just two weeks, congealing into a toxic sludge of accusation and counterattack.
It’s certainly good preparation for the ’08 presidential campaigns. The public is for now lining up with the writers against the studios, although next week’s return to the bargaining table could spawn another round of chest-thumping rhetoric on both sides.
According to a Pepperdine University online poll conducted this month, 63% said they supported the strikers, while one-third weren’t sure (only 4% -- true contrarians! -- dared take the side of the mustache-twirling villains at the studios and networks). But oftentimes even the writers are a bit confused by the finer points. Last week I logged time with picketers and found no shortage of TV writers who’d collected residual checks, for amounts they said ranged from a few cents to $20,000. What I didn’t find is anyone who knew breakdowns of where this money had come from or who had seriously questioned whether the figures, which the guild monitors, were even accurate.
--Scott Collins
