On Tuesday December 18th , the Writers Guild of America is holding a bicoastal “Scene of the Crime” Rally for writers of crime and cop shows. Writers
and stars of over 35 current and past crime/cop/law shows will be in
attendance in Los Angeles and New York.
This is a great opportunity for
fans of TV crime dramas to show their support for the writers who bring them shows like CSI, MONK, LAW AND ORDER, DEXTER and many more.
And here’s the best part – in Los Angeles, we’re holding the rally at the headquarters of the AMPTP. The Death Star itself.
In New York, the rally will be held at historic Foley Square downtown, in full view of the Federal and State Courthouses. Here are the details:
Los Angeles: December 18th, 10 am to 12 pm PSTAMPTP HQ, 15503 Ventura Blvd., Encino, a few blockswest of the 405 at the corner of Firmament.New York: December 18th, 12 pm to 2 pm ESTFoley Square, Downtown NYC
I’m in Munich right now, but I am rushing back to be in Encino in time for the rally. I’ll be the Pierce Brosnan look-alike with the picket sign and the bloodshot eyes, staggering around in a jet-lagged haze…
Awesome. Stay strong, and keep it up! It may not mean much, but my group in Portland OR is in support of the writers. We’re ready and willing to do whatever we can to help the writers win this fight. Solidarity!
Those are good locales for the rallies. It is dawning on the public that it is not simply actors, directors, photographers and producers who bring them gripping dramas week after week, but the writers, the people who create the stories. Now if only the moguls would get the message.
Actors are a dime a dozen; their glamour can easily be manufactured. Any high school drama teacher can become an adequate director. Anyone adept with a camera and a light meter can film the action. But fine writers are rare, possessing larger gifts and richer experience than the others, and writers deserve much larger recompense and recognition. They are the Shakespeares; no one remembers or cares who played in the Bard’s dramas or how they were staged.
Won’t be there, only in spirt. Explain to young writers that the fight today is nore for them tomorrow. I raise my WGA sign in honor of those on the line.
I support the writers’ position, but I don’t support the strike itself because of all the innocent people who get affected by it. Lots of people are having to be laid off because of this and it’s right before Christmas.
Every job has aspects where you’re treated unfairly. But not everyone strikes. Strikes were a drastic measure that was started originally because people were literally dying in their jobs.
I used to think I’d like to write for television, but now that I know it means being in a union, I’m glad I never made it.
You have my support, Lee. This seems like the time to be there for the WGA, and if everybody contributes a little bit, each day, then it adds to the energy and maybe keeps the momentum going.
I also agree whole-heartedly with Richard S Wheeler. Shakespeare, the writer, was the real talent behind the staging of his plays. And what is also significant was, Shakespeare received ten percent of the gross. He owned ten percent of the theatre. Ten percent of a $20 dollar DVD adds up to $2 dollars for the writer, not 4 cents or even 10 cents. The remuneration is really skewed badly against the writers.
I also feel somewhat the way Meg does — that a stike causes damages and these are to be deplored. But I disagree with placing the blame on the writers, alone. It takes two to make a fight. But when the fight is about standing up for your rights, or for justice for your people, then the issues are worth fighting for. After Pearl Harbour, after 9/11, or after somebody doing an injustice in the financial marketplace, it takes resolve to make things right again. Unfortuately, we are all called, at one time or another, to make sacrifices for the common good. To me, the writers have a clear mandate and by hanging together, the AMPTP will feel it, and respond, and bring more justice into the financial marketplace. I hope. For those making sacrifices this Christmas, God Bless. What goes around, comes around. When the time of REWARD comes around, you will have deserved it.