George Clooney, Tom Hanks and others trying to end the Writer’s Strike
I haven’t written much about this whole Writer’s Guild of America strike that is really coming close to ruining some great entertainment this year, not to mention the amount of money its costing people who used to have a job and now don’t.
John over at The Movie Blog today reported that not only did the canceled Golden Globes cost the city of Los Angeles’ economy close to $80 million, but he said that it’s been estimated that over $1.4 BILLION has been lost in potential wages overall.
I was all for this thing from the start because I felt the writers had a case (and they still do), but the fact that both sides haven’t met to get this solved is starting to piss me off. I mean, the strike is starting to affect way more than just writers, production staffs, etc., it’s now starting to make dents in other jobs that depend on things like award shows and other events.
It’s totally irresponsible for these two sides to not lock themselves in a room THIS VERY DAY and get this crap hammered out. Inexcusable.
Now, from what I read though, it’s mainly the STUDIOS who wont resume negotiations with the writers. I mean, how are you going to exist without them anyways? Let’s get going!
Well, at least some people are starting to feel the same way and are going to try their hardest to make this damned thing end.
Nikki Finke from Deadline Hollywood is reporting today that George Clooney has personally offered to set up a “mediation” panel to help solve the differences between the two sides. He wants to ask Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and some other top brass to be there as well.
Finke writes:
The offer came in a phone call today with Harvey Weinstein who promptly volunteered to be part of the panel. Clooney suggested its purpose should be to oversee the talks and tell the WGA as each term is bargained “you have to live with this and get over it,” and tell the AMPTP “you have to live with that and get over it”, Weinstein quoted George as saying. It’s also Clooney’s idea that everybody would be locked in the room together and not leave until the deal is done.
It’s about time this happens and I just pray that both sides immediately agree to join this.
Tom Hanks was also interviewed in London about the possibility of the Academy Awards being canceled and Finke quoted an except from that discussion:
Both Clooney and Hanks are making it clear publicly that they’re concerned about the writers strike’s collateral damage. Hanks said corporate bosses should remember that many ancillary businesspeople were suffering from the studios and networks refusing to restart negotiations with the Writers Guild. “There are caterers and carpenters … and electricians and gaffers,” Hanks told Reuters in London Wednesday night. “There are a lot of people out there associated with the industry, for whom the sooner this work stoppage is over the better.”
Like I said at the start, I don’t write much about the WGA strike because there just never appears to be anything but ugly news, but this gives me hope and I wanted to pass it on.
Finke closed her blog with these thoughts and let’s hope she’s right.
Now that Clooney and Hanks are at the head of the line, then Will Smith, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Julia Roberts and other AAA-listers may follow their lead. As I wrote way back on November 7th soon after the WGA strike started and have said repeatedly since, the only time I’ve ever heard of Hollywood CEOs caving on a major negotiation is when they get in the same room with a major star. There’s just something so needy within the Hollywood moguls’ psyche that they want to be liked and respected by the creatives they in turn like and respect.
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Clooney must be so big he can follow his own lead - nice, I did not realize he was that big of a star!
Glad to see Hanks and Clooney stepping in though. Hopefully Finke is correct and more top-tier stars will become catalysts to get this ship “writed”.
yeah, I couldn’t resist…
I wish people would stop automatically assuming the studios are the ones at fault here. Everyone like to assign blame to the big companies, when in reality, it is an equal share.
Everyone believes that every day the writers are asking to meet and the studios say “NO!” That is absolutely not the case.
Warner Bros. recently came out and told 1000 people that they would be laid off (and rehired when the strike ended). And yet, WB got blasted for it. Why is that? Yes, the studios need to step up to the plate, but the writers need to as well.
Writers are left in the cold in many issues, I agree. But the issue they are spending all their time on, Internet profits (which don’t exist, by the way), is going about it the wrong way and is why there is no movement.
Someone is saying no, or else why would this not be ended? All parties are just sitting around, loving to lose money?
I think Nikki Finke is pretty “in the know” when it comes to her blog, and at least for her, that’s what she says about it.
I don’t get your Warner Bros. question. Why would they get blasted? Maybe because they are laying people off instead of sitting down and hashing out a deal with the writers? I dunno…
Again, you are throwing blame around without real substantial information. Granted, I am a bit biased, but I’ve worked for my company for a long time and while it is easy for outsiders to portray them as awful corporate Nazis, that’s not the way it is at all.
It’s really easy to say that WB is laying off people rather than going to the negotiating table, because that makes more people flock to the writer’s cause, when they have no clue as to how much either side is doing.
The writers are using the media (and their children) very shrewdly by swaying public opinion. EVERYONE is losing in this. Not just the writers. To think that the studios would rather just sit on their hands instead of negotiating is just plain wrong.
Why don’t you ask the writers why they sit down with the studios and all of a sudden add a bunch more things to their demands? With no warning? How are the studios supposed to react to that? That’s what happened the week before Christmas and why talks broke down. The writers got greedy and it’s biting them in the arse right now.
Look Michael, I know you are pretty biased, and unless you sat in on those meetings, you probably know as much as I do.
I read the news, I read blogs, etc, so please don’t tell me I’m coming from somewhere without “substantial” information.
Nikki Finke has inside sources, some of which were in THAT particular meeting you say, and nothing like that happened. Here is a quote from what SHE says happened:
“4th UPDATE (more new information throughout): Let me recap what happened tonight, first and foremost. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers today at 2:35 PM put a so-called revised proposal, including a list of demands, on the bargaining table to flesh out its New Economic Partnership for the Writers Guild Of America.”
She basically states the exact opposite of what you do:
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/talks-day-8-toldja-amptp-quits-talks-issues-statement-filled-with-lies/
I’ve read enough and seen enough to believe that yes, both sides should be working harder, but I still think the studios are the ones in control and if they WANTED to end this, they’d get the WGA to sit down and hammer it out.
You are the one who brought up laying off 1,000 people, yet you still haven’t told me who is to blame for that? Is the AMTPT not negotiating on purpose, or are they waiting in a room somewhere for the WGA to show up and work on a deal?
Look, Mike, maybe you didn’t know, but I work directly in the New Media field, where the writers are having their differences. So I’d say yes, I DO know more than you do on this particular subject.
Do you understand negotiating? The WGA sits down with a proposal, the studios say “no, here is ours”, the writers say “no”, and they go home. In fact, the week before Christmas (the last time they had talks), the writers ADDED new demands to their deal, which I’m guessing the producers weren’t prepared to address.
My god, you actually don’t think the writer you’re quoting isn’t biased? The producers submitted a proposal according to her, and her WGA friends told her it was full of lies. That’s a bunch of crap. She is so biased against the studios that it won’t matter WHAT they do.
But hey, you know more than me because you’re in the business. Oh. Wait.