“Oh, hell, I’ll write a novel about writing the screenplay and making the movie.” - Charles Bukowski, Hollywood (an excellent take on the Hollywood scene, from the perspective of a writer)
The writers strike began on November 5 and the end is no where in sight. This is a big deal. For the writers, producers, viewers, and the city of Los Angeles. There are 12,000 writers on strike. The producers are losing viewers which means advertising dollars. Viewers are stuck watching reruns. And the city is losing 80 million each day.
The writers are currently out of work. This is not an ideal situation for them. But, they clearly believe that they have good reason to strike. And I have to say that I agree with them. Since I work in the creative industry, I see first hand the low level of respect/pay this industry receives. This is not always the case. But it is not rare either.
The writers and producers could come to an agreement. Which would not be terrible. We would just be back to watching the same bad television as before.
Or, there could be one of two positive outcomes.
1) The writers could head out on their own. Start independent studios. And ultimately provide more interesting viewing for us all.
2) Viewers will finally get fed up with the whole situation. Support independent television and film. And ultimately provide more interesting viewing for us all.
More access to independent and alternative media for us all!
I have my fingers crossed that this will turn into an extremely good thing.
(Image by Kevin Steele via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.)
