Okay, that's not entirely true... but for those of you Battlestar Galactica fans, showrunner Ron Moore has started his own blog where he chats about BSG, Razor, and the impending destruction of the Cylon race, including the AMPTP.  Click here to check it out...

All of us, whether we're in L.A. or not, have felt the impact of the writers strike over the past few weeks.  Every evening when we turn on the TV and are confronted with reruns or reality shows or big gaping holes where The Office of The Tonight Show or David Letterman used to be, we're reminded of what's happening on the street of New York and L.A.

But yesterday, loyal reader Ellen asked a good question: what about movies?  We haven't heard as much about them, and we certainly haven't yet seen the strike's impact at the box offices.  Here's Ellen's message...

"Chad, Random question...If the strike continues, how will the movie business be affected? In the absence on new television shows, is it possible that more viewers will head to the theater in the coming weeks/months? Does the big screen have a place in this debate?"

Great question, Ellen.  Here are my thoughts...

Unless this strike lasts for many months, it's unlikely its affect will be felt by normal movie-goers across America.  Unlike TV shows, screenplays are often written long before they're shot... and they can even sit on the shelf without aging.  In othe words, studios currently have plenty of scripts just waiting to be filmed as actual movies-- scripts that have already been written-- so while writers may not be giving studios new scripts to film, the studios certainly aren't hurting for material.  (In fact, some movies are also filmed several months before they're released, so many features that are to be released next year have already been made.)

Television, however, has to put a mini-movie on the air every week, so TV writers are constantly pumping out new scripts.  Basically, a TV show's writing staff must churn out a script a week in order to make sure they can produce an episode a week.  So when TV writers stop working, the studios and networks are suddenly left with no scripts to go out and shoot.

So this strike will have to last a long time before the studios begin to feel a lack of scripts.  Basically, the strike has to outlast the studios' reserve of unfilmed scripts.

How the strike WILL affect movies, however, is in their promotional attempts.  Without late-night talk shows like Jay Leno and David Letterman, studios and actors have lost one of their most critical platforms for promoting upcoming movies.  So while movies studios may not feel a lack of scripts-- yet-- they certainly feel the loss of promotional muscle.  Studios also like to promote movies by putting trailers in the commercial breaks of primetime scripted shows like E.R. and Criminal Minds... so if fewer people are watching those primetime shows, fewer people are seeing trailers and learning about the movies.

Movie studios will also feel the burn because-- while they do have already-written scripts-- they have no one to rewrite those scripts if need be.  Just this week, Brad Pitt dropped out of a Universal movie called State of Play, because he felt the script needed a rewrite... but Universal didn't want to wait till the end of the strike to have the writer fix it.  Universal's movie execs simply wanted to get the movie into production so they could release it on schedule-- even though Pitt felt it could be better.  Rather than star in what he felt was a half-baked script, Pitt vacated the picture.  (Rumor has it Russell Crowe may be taking his place.)  So there may be a dip in quality of some of the movies you see coming out, although scripts being shot right now won't be released for months, so it'll be a while before that happens.

As for people going to the movies instead of watching television-- great question, and-- to be honest-- I dunno.  Maybe.  But I think people tend to watch TV because they can do it in the comfort of their own home, or keep it on the background, and going to the movies requires checking the schedule, leaving the house, driving, parking, spending money, etc.  It's a very different experience.

I think the more likely outcome is that people will move away from the networks that show scripted shows that depend on writers-- ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW-- and spend more time with quality non-scripted programming like Top Chef or Project Runway on cable networks like BRAVO, A&E, etc.  Many people also think the writers strike may give a boost to the internet... that without new shows on TV, people will start downloading shows, watching streams, or seeking out original series online like Clark & Michael or Coastal Dreams. 

I'm not so sure, honestly, that that will be a massive result of the strike, because just like movies are a different experience than television, so is watching the internet.  Watching a 15-minute episode of Sanctuary isn't the same as watching an hour of Desperate Housewives, and propping yourself in front of the computer isn't the same as relaxing on the couch.  People may spend more time working or playing on their computers because there's less to watch on TV, but I don't think the internet is quite ready to replace television as our dominant form of in-home entertainment, strike or not.  Someday it'll happen... but we're not quite there.

Anyway-- to wrap up, while the movie execs and moguls are certainly sweating a bit as they watch the strike play out, and the strike is definitely giving them headaches, I don't think you-- the average viewer going to the movies on a Friday night-- will notice much of a change unless the strike goes on for several months.  And let's all hope it doesn't.

From Bob Kushell at Samantha Who?, you gotta see this...


THE STRIKE, YOUR MARRIAGE, AND YOU

Calling all east coast writers!  The writers guild has no intention of slacking off simply due to a few positive rumors about the WGA/AMPTP negotiations.  To show its strength, the Writers Guild East will be holding a rally this afternoon (Tuesday).  If you're in the Big Apple show your support by joining the striking writers at noon in Washington Square Park...

Over the last three weeks, we've seen a lot of familiar (and famous) faces walking the picket lines and supporting the writers: Sandra Oh, Steve Carell, Alyson Hannigan, Paul Haggis, Jesse Jackson, Katherine Heigl, Alicia Keyes, Greg Daniels, Tina Fey.  And while it's great to see the A-listers out there fighting the good fight, the truth is: most of the people on the frontlines aren't top-shelf writers, producers, and showrunners.  Many are normal, middle-class writers fighting to put food on their families' tables.  But even more are struggling writers who don't work regularly, who live paycheck to paycheck, and for whom losing even one of two months of work can be disastrous to a hopeful career.

These are the people we rarely hear from.  Their lives aren't glamourous.  They don't live in million-dollar houses or condos (most don't own homes at all).  Their agents aren't calling every twenty minutes.  They're still pounding the pavement, hoping for a break.  And while the outcome streak may not affect them immediately, they're still there-- side by side with the big-guns-- fighting for the rights of writers everywhere.

Today's guest perspective comes from screenwriter Charlie Stickney.  You probably haven't heard of him... yet... but when the strike's over, and you get that next residual check, you can give him a bit of thanks...

GUEST PERSEPCTIVE:  "NED SAYS NO"
 
Heart racing, the alarm jolted me awake.  Five A.M. W-why?  What would possess me to set the alarm for… oh right, time to go walk the line.  I threw on my good jeans – only one hole in the knee – and stumbled down to my wife’s 87 Nissan (my car doesn’t run anymore, but that’s a sad story best left for a guest blog on Car Talk) and motored over to Fox.  I grabbed a picket sign and started marching. The crisp 58 degrees made me shiver, my LA acclimated skin betraying my New England roots. One of my fellow marchers muttered out loud the question that I’m sure was going through all of our collective heads - Why are we putting ourselves through all this?  For me, the answer is simple, I’m a screenwriter, a WGA member and I’m on strike.

Oh the strike, it’s quickly becoming a four letter word around town. The AMPTP would have you view the (insert favorite explicit adjective) strike as a battle between the billionaires and the millionaires.  Why? Public relations.  Because it’s hard for most people to have sympathy for someone fighting to be able to afford a summer home in the Hamptons, or make sure that their 10 year-old can get unlimited texting on his 8 gig iphone.  The baseball strike of '94 made it abundantly clear, no one likes to hear rich people whining regardless of how just their struggles are.

Well, I’m a working writer and as it turns out, no matter how much my wife wishes it were the case, I’m not rich.  I’m not a billionaire, I’m not a millionaire, or even *sigh* a thousandaire. Not through lack of trying mind you, but regardless of what you’ve seen WRITTEN (subtle, no?) in the movies, it’s not always that easy.

I wrote a feature that was set up with an independent film company in Europe.  They convinced my manager that they had the money to go into production in about a month…  that was two years ago. Unfortunately for me the commencement of payment coincides with, surprise, surprise, the commencement of shooting.

I worked in children’s programming where I created an animated series that’s been and still is shown all over the world. But unlike regular television where this would have netted me a small fortune, most daytime animation isn’t covered by the Writers Guild, thus doesn’t pay any of those magic residuals everyone’s fighting for.

I even worked with one of the struck AMPTP companies.  A script I wrote was optioned and developed by Sony through Revolution Studios.  Then Revolution hired another writer to develop it further. And then another.  By the time the final draft was turned in, the script was unrecognizable, unproducible, and Revolution was spiraling out of business.

The truth is it’s really, REALLY tough to make it as a writer in Hollywood.
 
It’s also just as true that I haven’t had healthcare in two years… that I’ve made less than $10,000 writing in the past eighteen months... and that I have had to take time off of my part time job just to walk the line. 

I want this strike to be over as much as anyone.  A month before the strike I met with an A-list director, in a meeting set up by an A-list producer with the intention of the two of them packaging a script I wrote and taking it one of the studios for an A-list deal with an A-sized budget.  While not a lock, in the biz this is about as sure as a thing gets.  But it was all put on hold until the strike resolves.  And if the strike goes on for too long, who knows if the director or producer will still be interested in the project, or when I’ll ever get a chance like this again.  Still I feel the same now as when I voted for the strike, we need to see this through.

And the truth is seeing it through is tough.  I’m a writer without a nest-egg. I have a part time job that barely pays the bills. And these residuals that I’m fighting for, I may never get even if we win the strike. See most screenwriters make the bulk of their living doing uncredited rewrites of other people’s scripts for studios. Getting your own script made is the dream, but that rarely happens.  And unless you get credited on a script that’s produced you don’t qualify for dime-one in residuals.

So why am I out here walking the line?  Why am I not sitting at home working on a spec that I can hopefully sell once the strike resolves?  Why am I not letting the “millionaire” TV writers who stand to benefit most directly from the strike do the heavy lifting? Well, because of people like Ned.

Let’s go back to 6AM this morning, when I was shivering and doubting myself.   A tow truck with a gray BMW SUV perched on the back pulled up to the Fox’s delivery gate. A hand-lettered slogan on the side of the cab read “Ned Never Says No.”   Turns out “never” meant except for that morning.  See the driver (I’m gonna call him Ned) wouldn’t cross the line.  He parked his truck on Pico and sat in the turning lane for over two hours.  Inside the lot I’m sure some executive was fuming that his BMW wasn’t delivered on time.  Perhaps he called the company that Ned worked for and demanded Ned get fired.  Maybe Ned lost his job later that afternoon. (I hope not) I’ll never know… the only thing I’m sure of is that Ned understands unions.  He understands how important solidarity is and what it means not to cross the line. He knows that when we show a united front, that even the giant corporations behind the studios get nervous. 
 
The truth is while Ned isn’t going to be affected by the outcome of the strike, he put his job on the line for it. And while I may or may not ever make money from internet downloads, they definitely won’t help Ned put his kids through college. The only real question that I should have been pondering pre-sunrise was if Ned and the many teamsters like him are willing to stand up for us, how can we not stand up for ourselves?
 
So over this Thanksgiving weekend, I am grateful that the sides have agreed to meet again. I’m hopeful that we will be able to come to some quick accord and that everyone can get back to work.  But mostly I’m thankful for Ned who’s shown me that we’re all in this fight together. And if Ned’s willing to say no, how could any of us ever say yes.
 
 
Charlie can be found most mornings walking the line. He hopes that when (yes, when) this resolves, the writers don’t forget all the teamsters who have stood with us. And, if they ever need our help, that we remember solidarity over the solitary life of a writer.