The hot story here in LA – hotter than the Santana Winds that set the canyons ablaze last week (and potentially even more economically devastating) is the very real possibility that the Writers Guild of America will be forced to go on strike. If that happens Hollywood film and television production will come to a screeching halt.
No more episodes of your favorites. Desperate Housewives will become even more desperate, your favorite Heroes may end up frozen in time like the images on one of those prescient paintings, and the folks Lost on that mysterious island in the South Pacific may never figure out what the hell has really been going on. It will be a national case of Narratus Interuptus.
On one side of this labor dispute you have the AMPTP (The Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers) that represents the movie studios and television networks – some of the most powerful conglomerates in the world. These folks actually own the television news networks and control, through their advertising dollars, most of the print media (those big full page ads for movies give them lots of leverage in a newspaper world increasingly strapped for cash). In terms of getting out their message they have the obvious edge.
On the other hand the WGA proudly (and rightly in our opinion) calls itself “America’s Storytellers.” They actually create all that content that makes you tune into the networks in the first place. If anyone knows how to tell their story in a way ordinary folks can relate to, it should be them.
As with any political contest the side that tells its story best and gets it out quickest will probably win. This is shaping up to be a battle royal. It is definitely worth watching closely. We’ll be doing just that in the coming days.
The WGA contract runs out Midnight October 31st. Happy Halloween Hollywood.
Comments