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The Strike Is Over! On Wednesday! Let There Be Rejoicing! But Not Too Much!
Posted by Mark at 3:35 AM on February 12, 2008
With word arriving over the weekend that Saturday night's WGA Scribeapalooza II: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off event at the Shrine Auditorium sent TV showrunners back to work today and will return everyone else to their jobs on Wednesday pending the outcome of a strike-ending vote to be counted tomorrow night, Hollywood can safely upgrade its feelings of Cautious Optimism to full-blown This Waking Three-Month Nightmare Is Finally Over Euphoria.
Those who don't want to kick their gloom habit cold-turkey can feel free to fret about the June 30th expiration of SAG's contract with the studios and the possible (if increasingly unlikely) walkout that could follow, or spend some time perusing today's "Was the strike worth it?" piece in Variety, which attempts to throw a sobering bucket of cold water upon those still drunk on this weekend's good news by making them consider the "here and now" losses incurred while achieving "victories in new media that may pay big dividends in the future." (Example: Did you know that some of the aforementioned showrunners may have sacrificed hundreds of thousands of dollars during the stoppage to help save writers' livelihoods in the internet age? They must be crazy!) In the interest of preserving the first days of positive feelings the industry has experienced in about fourteen weeks, can't we all go back to swigging champagne and not picking though the wreckage of the post-strike landscape, at least for the next 48 hours or so? No one wants his Monday morning hangover exascerbated by the tsk-tsking pal who insists you move the car you've parked on his lawn before your headache begins to subside.
- Showrunners back to work Monday [Variety]
- Dealmakers spurred by fear, loathing [Variety]
- TV's new developments [Variety]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
TheStarterWife
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@hack-a-rific: Heh, tell that to everyone who's worried about if they're going to get staffed again now that the strike is over and budgets are still tight.
"It's not over yet."
TheStarterWife
hack-a-rific
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@CrankYank: Whew- thank goodness, cause it's one snuggly soft shirt. Quite well made for strike swag!
hack-a-rific
gwendemarco
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
Woooo... back to work....hey, wait a minute...
gwendemarco
Sweet Panda Love
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@Glass_Family: And here I thought the blumpkin was just an urban legend...
Sweet Panda Love
Sweet Panda Love
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@thehmsbeagle: Where's it come from? From the studios that pay for the ads that perpetuate their existence, I assume.
Sweet Panda Love
hack-a-rific
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@bess marvin, girl detective: Don't be discouraged, those are the same responses you'd get if there never was a strike. That's showbiz, baby!
hack-a-rific
thehmsbeagle
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@nick_r: Are they all frustrated screenwriters? I can't imagine where else their blatant player-hating comes from.
@bess marvin, girl detective: I would wait two or three months if you're looking for assistant level work. Things will even out as people go back to work, but for now, it's going to be a scramble.
thehmsbeagle
bess marvin, girl detective
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@TheStarterWife: ouch.
@Glass_Family: not good enough.
i'll take shit out of luck for 300, alex.
bess marvin, girl detective
nick_r
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@thehmsbeagle: Yes, it is rather perplexing how a group of people who, you know, WRITE FOR A LIVING could have so much contempt for other people who write for a living.
nick_r
Glass_Family
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@bess marvin, girl detective: How are your cock-sucking and shit-eating skills?
Glass_Family
CrankYank
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@hack-a-rific: Nah, Ben is perpetually king of the prom.
CrankYank
hack-a-rific
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
Does this mean I have to retire my BSHS t-shirt?
hack-a-rific
TheStarterWife
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@bess marvin, girl detective: No, there are always plenty of Coffee Beans that need staffing.
TheStarterWife
Sweet Panda Love
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
@thehmsbeagle: I know. They're preachier and more negative than a 1980s PSA about drug use.
Sweet Panda Love
bess marvin, girl detective
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
i'm thinking of moving to los angeles soon. am i more likely to find a job now that the strike is over or am i shit out of luck? discuss please
bess marvin, girl detective
thehmsbeagle
Posted 6:51 AM 12/2/08
Variety is staffed by such anti-labor assholes. I keep being surprised by this. "Was it worth it? TOTALLY NOT."
thehmsbeagle
gwendemarco
Posted 7:52 AM 12/2/08
O@hack-a-rific: Failing at stripping was an option until 15 minutes ago.
gwendemarco
TheStarterWife
Posted 7:52 AM 12/2/08
@hack-a-rific No worries.
TheStarterWife
nick_r
Posted 7:52 AM 12/2/08
@bess marvin, girl detective: I don't think there's ever really a better or worse time. Come on down, rent something cheap, start temping. The most important thing is to start while you're young. Once you get past your mid-20s your tolerance for long hours and bullshit will start to erode.
nick_r
hack-a-rific
Posted 7:52 AM 12/2/08
@TheStarterWife: I mean no disagreeance...just sayin the newbies should always come with the low expectation of doing barrista duty, shit-eating and cock-sucking. Aw, memories...
hack-a-rific
Pomalina
Posted 7:52 AM 12/2/08
@bess marvin, girl detective: Bess, you gotta do it at one point or another, right? No need to stay forever.
You've got a solid 6 months to work the Shiny New Girl In Town magic. Then you're stuck just like the rest of us.
And hey -- don't knock the Coffee Bean! (Or tutoring. Or weird late-night post production gigs.Woo!)
Pomalina
Glass_Family
Posted 9:09 AM 12/2/08
@gwendemarco: do you now or have you ever had a hamburger phone?
Glass_Family
SilverFlake
Posted 9:09 AM 12/2/08
Let's hope this is not the beginning of strike baby's tragic introduction into the underworld of former child-blog-stars.
SilverFlake
Pomalina
Posted 9:09 AM 12/2/08
@nick_r: Oh yeah. Jesus, Bess, you don't have kids, do you? If so, please stay where you are. It's just too painful to watch, let alone live.
Pomalina
GreatZardoz
Posted 9:09 AM 12/2/08
@hack-a-rific: cheap being relative.
GreatZardoz
hack-a-rific
Posted 10:17 AM 12/2/08
@gwendemarco: heehee. You are the cringe-worthy cheese to my over-hyped macaroni, so to speak.
hack-a-rific
hack-a-rific
Posted 11:31 AM 12/2/08
btw, we haven't discussed the WGA Awards winners, have we?
hack-a-rific
SuperUnison
Posted 11:31 AM 12/2/08
Wow, my screenwriting degree just became slightly less worthless. Time to start the quirk a crankin' in hopes to sell off the next "Juno!"
SuperUnison