Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #WGAstrong
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🧵#WGAstrong I see scattered #AMPTP shills claiming the #WGA is demanding too much at the wrong time and the executives don't care about our strike and we aren't hurting them and blah blah blah. Maybe. I doubt that, but sure, maybe. BUT...
Maybe these CEOs can't see the damage WE are doing to them because they're doing so much more damage to their own companies and shareholder value that our damage isn't quite as visible yet? I mean, just look at the semi-recent history of Warner Bros. alone…
In 2000, Steve Case, the CEO of AOL, saw that he would soon lose his singular hold on getting average folks onto the internet. Cable companies had swarmed into the internet service market, browsers & email programs had caught up and surpassed AOL's offerings…
Writers are still angry.
Don’t mistake our efforts to make the best of our time on the picket lines for joy or complacency.
It is BULLSHIT that studios are making us do this just to be paid fairly for creating a product that brings in BILLIONS. 🧵#WGAStrong
Don’t mistake our efforts to make the best of our time on the picket lines for joy or complacency.
It is BULLSHIT that studios are making us do this just to be paid fairly for creating a product that brings in BILLIONS. 🧵#WGAStrong
Writers are still angry about streaming residuals.
We are still angry about endless producer passes and free work in features.
We are still angry that there are *no minimums* for comedy/variety shows on streaming.
We are still angry about endless producer passes and free work in features.
We are still angry that there are *no minimums* for comedy/variety shows on streaming.
Writers are still angry about mini-rooms.
We are still angry about being denied a 2nd step on feature deals.
We are still angry about having to repeat staff writer over and over again because of made-up “policies” designed to grind the least powerful among us.
We are still angry about being denied a 2nd step on feature deals.
We are still angry about having to repeat staff writer over and over again because of made-up “policies” designed to grind the least powerful among us.
In my almost 101 years, while I have served other posts, I have been, at my core, a writer.Â
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A writer who struggled and anguished to put words to paper that would provoke, create conversation, humanize us, help us see each other -- words that would matter. Â 1/4
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A writer who struggled and anguished to put words to paper that would provoke, create conversation, humanize us, help us see each other -- words that would matter. Â 1/4
I wrote in the very first year of television, when writers were revered. I now watch talented writers struggle to earn a living wage without the path to a career like mine. 2/4
The stories we tell, the stories I can now watch on any device, are the stories that connect us, engage us, make us laugh and cry together, and inspire understanding and compassion. That is something to be protected and cherished. 3/4
Quick 🧵 about free work, which is a WGA issue with studios but *also* with our reps. Here’s a very typical example: my (former) agents once asked me to meet with a performer who was attached to a studio reboot of a high profile show. He needed to partner with a showrunner.
“It’s basically already sold,” my agents assured me. “A few weeks to develop it, then take it out. Apple and Netflix are already asking for it.”
But it wasn’t a few weeks. The performer kept getting schedule conflicts, which kept pushing our window to take out a pitch. They also became increasingly problematic, pulling their romantic partner into our meetings as a “creative muse.” “Don’t worry,” my agents kept saying.
Today shareholders voiced their disapproval of @netflix’s outlandish exec pay totaling over $166 million for 2022. 1/6
This excessive sum, paid to just a handful of execs, could pay for Netflix’s annual share of all of WGA’s proposed improvements for writers—twice over. 2/6
Instead, this money paid the top Netflix execs who are creating risk for the company and shareholders by not offering writers a fair deal. 3/6
I asked my genius friend @LuceCaroline who teaches labor history at UCLA what past events striking WGA writers can look to for inspiration, and she told me about the War for Warner Brothers in 1945... #WGAStrong iatse728.org/about-us/histo…
@LuceCaroline The intro on the IATSE 728 page I linked above says it all. "It started as a minor labor dispute between a studio union and the producers and ended up as the bloodiest labor strike in Hollywood history...a story of murder, intrigue, bribery, collusion and Communist baiting."
IATSE had Local 37, [which] controlled most of the back lot crafts. When some members of Local 37 launched a rebellion against mob control of the IATSE, the international broke up Local 37 and in 1939 formed four separate locals: Local 44, Local 80, Local 727, and Local 728.
As we rest, reflect, & remember on this holiday weekend, here’s my 129th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week to help ya do all three! Enjoy, & share more below, please. #twitterstorians
Starting with a few favorites from the week as usual, including @ehphd’s delightful thread of some of the best Tina Turner scholarship in honor of the icon’s passing:
Taryn White wrote for @SmithsonianMag on Edna Lewis, the mother of soul food:
smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/e…
smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/e…
Lately I’ve been frustrated at the lack of understanding on the part of Hollywood’s Professional Opinion Havers to adequately suss our strategy and tactics. I keep stopping myself from doing this thread because, as I will explain, it doesn’t really matter to our eventual success-
But we’re in a movement moment. Our labor struggle is highly visible and while our goal is a fair deal for writers, a positive side effect is modeling for others how a deeply democratic and activist union fights and (eventually) wins. So it’s helpful to that cause if -
The Pro Opiners bring a basic understanding of why we do what we do as they’re click clacking out their substacks.
Hey Denis! Your comment below is so egregious & insulting to me as a working actor with a lifetime of friends in the film/TV industry that I’m choosing to respond to it in this here thread in case anyone else is as confused as you are about the #WGAstrike. 1/16
The @WGAEast & @WGAWest are on strike because their future is in jeopardy. Their ability to pay their bills, Denis. To make a living. The AMPTP/studios refused to negotiate with them on key points that would safeguard their rights and acknowledge their undeniable value. 2/16
WGA members overwhelmingly voted to strike if their fair & reasonable requests were not met. And so here we are. Strikes are a last resort—a union’s show of collective strength. They are disruptive because they must be. Which is why WGA writers are asking us to STOP FILMING. 3/16
AI & WRITERS OF COLOR [THREAD] - The #WGAstrong strike has me reflecting how whether AI may someday replace writers, it can never replace writers of color. Algorithmic bias, facial recognition tech, etc. prove AI isn't post-race & studies show AI reinforces racial inequality. 1/6
AI is not an objective thinking machine. It is a structure developed in a white supremacist society. Descartes said, “I think therefore I am.” But, he said it when indigenous peoples of Africa, the Americas & Asia were considered barbarians incapable of thinking. 2/6
Today's AI is the patrimony of a white-dominated tech industry & white-centered knowledge production. It’s programming, references, etc. is sourced from white supremacist society. 3/6
I'm going to tweet out a bunch of fliers for some of our upcoming themed picketing days at Universal, but before I do, I want to address the idea that because writers are planning themed picketing days or smiling as we picket, this is somehow a big party and we're having a blast.
We are not. We would much rather be in writers' rooms or in front of our computers typing away than we would be walking on a picket line. Writers are a sedentary bunch, and many are introverts, meaning that making conversation every day is taxing and challenging for them.
We did not *want* to strike. We wanted a fair contract. We wanted to have reasonable counter offers to the proposals made by our negotiating committee, not silence and a refusal to even engage with our proposals.
Did you hear about #upfronts this week? 1/6
Jon Steinlauf, chief of @wbd US ad sales: “What you’re about to see is not exactly the show we expected to do today.” 2/6
Hey if writers are so easy to replace with reality tv and computers, why are producers contorting themselves and the system to try to secretly keep them working
This SCREAMS how badly they need writers and how inevitably the writers are going to win
This SCREAMS how badly they need writers and how inevitably the writers are going to win
“We don’t care if you strike we have a strike proof five year streaming plan but please please please risk your career to secretly sell out your colleagues for way less money than you deserve, we’re so fucked if we don’t finish Alvin and The Chipmunks 7: Chipperoni Squeakzza”
When this is over they would be fools not to hire me for Chipmunks 7 but until that day THEY CANNOT HAVE ME.
My father, Howard Rodman Sr., worked in one-hour episodic network drama in the 1960s, notably on Route 66 and Naked City. There were no writers rooms then in one-hour drama. Only two people, called "story editors,” and a pool of freelances. That was it.
🧵1/8
🧵1/8
The two of them, my father and Sterling Silliphant, wrote or rewrote every single episode.
You can only imagine — meaning you can't imagine — the pressure they were under.
2/8
You can only imagine — meaning you can't imagine — the pressure they were under.
2/8
They wrote pages in Los Angeles that were put on airplanes in hopes that they could be shot the next morning in New York. They used every prescription drug available to keep up the pace. During the course of this my father worked through three minor heart attacks.
3/8
3/8
When you look at the AMPTP’s (non) response to WGA proposals, you see that the studios want to dismantle the WGA. How? 1/
For 70+ years, television was produced in assembly line fashion. A pilot was shot. A series ordered. A premiere date set for the fall the schedule. That meant DEADLINES 2/
With writing happening DURING production, studios *needed* a writers room to write scripts quickly 3/
So, I made a TikTok about how we need to be talking more about #freework in #screenwriting. Then it came to my attention that… a lot of people don’t know what a rewrite is, or how one-step deals work. So I did a basic breakdown! #wgastrong #wgastrike tiktok.com/t/ZTRK7gcQx/
Here’s the original video. I stand by it! We need to be talking more about feature issues, even if they aren’t buzzy like AI or mini-rooms or minimum staff sizes. tiktok.com/t/ZTRK7qHdr/
Ever since I joined the WGA in 2012, one-step feature deals have been a pervasive problem. And you know the Companies. If they can get away with some shenanigans in one place, they’ll try to expand it to other areas until it becomes normal everywhere.
Just a #WGAStrong PSA and some food for thought from your friendly neighborhood Captain & lot coordinator.
The theme days/meet ups/et al are fun! I’m a fan… that said I have a few tips for folks to keep in mind to help lessen the load on the captains and coordinators. 🧵
The theme days/meet ups/et al are fun! I’m a fan… that said I have a few tips for folks to keep in mind to help lessen the load on the captains and coordinators. 🧵
First of all, we are here to picket. We can have fun while we are doing it but let’s remember why we’re here and to stay on message.
If your captains or coordinators ask you to do something or to help out, please do it.
If your captains or coordinators ask you to do something or to help out, please do it.
Those that are planning/hosting events — make sure you talk with the coordinators at those lots! Cannot emphasize this enough.
Do not drop an event on us and expect us to be able to accommodate you. We’re working with a finite amount of resources and a ton of generous donations.
Do not drop an event on us and expect us to be able to accommodate you. We’re working with a finite amount of resources and a ton of generous donations.
I’m going insane.
David Zaslav made them pause Fleabag on a yacht because a sex scene made him uncomfortable.
I read this and now you have to. vanityfair.com/news/2021/10/d…
(1of4) Why shutting down productions is the best (FASTEST) way to get us all back to work.
The cost of a shut down production day starts at $100,000. Could be more. Much more. It's never less.
And these are right now costs that hit the books today.
Shut downs also mean...
The cost of a shut down production day starts at $100,000. Could be more. Much more. It's never less.
And these are right now costs that hit the books today.
Shut downs also mean...
(2of4) ...meetings. "Should we try to go tomorrow? Can we move somewhere else? Can we even get the @!#@# trucks to show up?"
Meetings mean emails. Emails means annoyance. And all of this is centered on negative numbers in some spreadsheet somewhere.
This is important, 'cause...
Meetings mean emails. Emails means annoyance. And all of this is centered on negative numbers in some spreadsheet somewhere.
This is important, 'cause...
(3or4) ...while this #WGAStrong strike is about existential shit on our side (will writing be a sustainable career in 5 years?!?) for the AMTPT its just a number; a knowable number at which the shut down is MORE expensive than a fair deal.
And the faster we hit that...
And the faster we hit that...
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have reimagined the production model with a worker-first profit-sharing system and I don't know if enough people know this.
Their Artists Equity is one of the most impressive, inventive, and intriguing production companies at the moment.
Their Artists Equity is one of the most impressive, inventive, and intriguing production companies at the moment.
Okay. So. Why did they start a new production studio, what does this even mean, and why am I hyping it up? Well, SURPRISE, it's a sneaky history thread because of Frank Capra, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon.
How You Like Them Apples?: A Thread
How You Like Them Apples?: A Thread
So way back in May 1946, Frank Capra was livid (I swear it's relevant)
He came back from WWII and jackasses who didn't go to war (John Wayne et al.) had fucked Hollywood. It became thid conglomerate of major studios that suffocated independents, and Capra was having none of it.
He came back from WWII and jackasses who didn't go to war (John Wayne et al.) had fucked Hollywood. It became thid conglomerate of major studios that suffocated independents, and Capra was having none of it.
WGA PICKET TIPS (ymmv)
As some of you know, I used to work on film sets as a grip. So long days on my feet used to be the norm. And as I put in 8 miles a day like the rest of you, I was reminded of some of my set "tips".
Maybe you'll find something useful. #WGA #WGAStrong 1/10
As some of you know, I used to work on film sets as a grip. So long days on my feet used to be the norm. And as I put in 8 miles a day like the rest of you, I was reminded of some of my set "tips".
Maybe you'll find something useful. #WGA #WGAStrong 1/10
EPSOM SALTS
End of day foot care is key. Helps you recover, so you're ready to go again tomorrow. Epsom salts may seem antiquated or for the "olds", but Epsom salts are still here and they're for everybody.
healthline.com/health/epsom-s… 2/10
End of day foot care is key. Helps you recover, so you're ready to go again tomorrow. Epsom salts may seem antiquated or for the "olds", but Epsom salts are still here and they're for everybody.
healthline.com/health/epsom-s… 2/10
SPIKY FOOT MASSAGE BALL
Also for end of day foot care, get you a spiky foot massage ball. They generally come in two sizes: one about the size of a large orange, the other about the size of a kiwi. I prefer the smaller one. 3/10
Also for end of day foot care, get you a spiky foot massage ball. They generally come in two sizes: one about the size of a large orange, the other about the size of a kiwi. I prefer the smaller one. 3/10
Gather round the fire! Auntie Sierra's gonna tell you about Network TV in 2010! I had never been in a writers room, I was a dirtball state school grad with little to no connections. But by some miracle, I staffed as the Disney Fellow on a new show called Happy Endings.
Season 1, we had 17 writers. Including me there was 7 staff writers. SEVEN. A seasoned writer called the show “America’s Next Top Staff Writer”. But I didn’t care, I was in, baby! On the Paramount lot, eating free food and living my dream.
Yes, I made peanuts as a “free writer” aka below minimum, but I was in a room with folks who’d worked on big shows: Conan, Will and Grace, Veronica’s Closet. (This is not a joke, I fucking loved all TV and couldn’t believe my luck. He also worked on Bette. BETTE!)
I’m going to lay out some strike truth here because it’s important to understand the gravity of what’s happening. I’m not pointing to any specific show I’ve been on. Except for my experience in live action under WGA, in general, it’s always been a version of the following:🧵
Imagine if you will, being at WGA ep, co-ep, or producer level, with no residuals under any circumstances, no per episode fee, and no script fee. Only a weekly salary equal to or lower than WGA staff writer level minimum.
Also, often no amount of weeks guaranteed, and no real salary bump in season 2, because they often combine season 1 and 2 into what they call “one cycle” and say it’s all season 1.
Reposting as a thread everything I wrote on instagram following the stupidest comments from @sagaftra president at the #wgastrike in regard to #actors.
1. First off- our concerns should be VERY similar to the writers. Actors, no longer receive residuals due to steaming. Soooo, we understand that writers deserve residuals but don’t think that actors do!? I die.
AI is also a threat to actors. As a soulful actor I don’t think they should be a threat, but knowing soulless decision-makers who think there is not difference of COURSE it is a threat. AI models are taking jobs away already. (A black one created by a white male even.)
