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Posts Tagged “
Strike
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webtards
critical stalker
Diablo Cody's Very First Stalker
We love to love smartass Juno screenwriter and ex-dancing girl Diablo Cody. But not in a weird way, like this guy. He wrote an essay about the "at least nine things" they have in common, and recently accosted a lookalike screenwriter on the WGA picket line, mistaking her for Cody. "My sign today on the picket lines at NBC," he blogs. "ASK ME ABOUT THE NINE THINGS I HAVE IN COMMON WITH DIABLO CODY." OK, fine. What are they? More »
books
"I Always Wanted to Write Novels Anyway:" Striking Screenwriters Explain It All
Now that they've conquered the market for snarky/bemused strike commentary, hungry screenwriters are finding new ways to pass the time and earn small amounts of money: novel-writing, as the LAT reports! What do we learn? Well, writing a book is different from writing a screenplay, for one. Also, we have projects like this to look forward to: the Rune Warriors, a "Viking saga that's a mix of Harry Potter and 'The Princess Bride' with a little Python thrown in." More »
scabs
Leno's Self-Penned Monologue Broke Strike Rules
Last night, America's late night talk show hosts went to back to work. Letterman and the Scottish Guy had their writing staff, as Letterman's production company worked out a deal with the WGA. Leno and Conan, stuck with the less liberal negatiators of NBC, were unable to work out a deal and went on writer-less. Conan filled the time with close-ups of his strike beard and a thrilling segment in which he spun his wedding ring on his desk for 36 seconds. Leno, though, delivered a monologue that was more or less indistinguishable in its bland hackiness from any other Tonight Show monologue of the last dozen years. Because, as he admitted part-way through, he wrote it himself. In advance. In specific violation of WGA rules! (Leno—like Letterman, like Conan, and unlike
evil corporations in action
WGA Strike At Viacom: "The MTV Freelancers, What?"
We sacrificed vidkid Alex Goldberg to possible pneumonia and sent him to check out the joint WGA-Viacom protest outside Viacom this afternoon. There was some confusion among WGAers about what exactly they were doing in midtown, other than, you know, trying for the 39th day in a row to get paid or something. "The MTV freelancers, what?" said one guy, dismissing us swiftly by explaining that "It's the Viacom building so it's very high-profile." You don't say! Any thoughts on the never-ending writers strike, the length of which is inching us closer and closer with each passing day to watching The World's Most Smartest Model? "I thought they resolved that a couple weeks ago," someone walking out of the Viacom building told us. "I don't really go to Broadway shows," he apologized. Uh....
analysis
How To Tell If You're A Freelancer Or An Employee
Is anyone confused by all the fuss over freelancer benefits in the Viacom mess? Freelancer, permalancer, part-time employee, full-time employee: What's the difference anymore? Why are Viacom's independent contractors complaining about having their benefits cut when the general impression is that freelancers don't qualify for benefits in the first place? Where does the actual, you know, law come down on this issue? And do most media companies abide by it? Let's learn more! More »
More photos from today's Viacom walkout—a crowd of about 200 rallied.
A photo from the Viacom walkout going on now in Times Square.
From the mailbag: "The Viacom Walk-Out seems to have disintegrated into a dance session in Times Square. The chanting is sooo catchy!"
The Writers Guild of America East is marching on Viacom Thursday morning! "Students and future members of the Writers Guild will join us to march with us, learn about the issues of our strike and show their support," reads a description of the event on their website. Hey, the longer the picket line, the shorter the strike—but will there be stickers and t-shirts? Let us know!
strike
The Viacom Walkout: It Is On
Thousands of Viacom's permalancers and contract employees have been encouraged to walk out and rally today at 3 p.m., in protest of the terms of their new contracts. N.B.: we rebut this announcement a little. The Times and the Post and others certainly have been alerted, and no doubt they'll finally show up today, but they sure aren't covering it yet—and that's absolutely absurd. A developing news story that affects thousands of working New Yorkers? At one of the largest media corporations in town? Hello? Anyone?
fakin' the a train
Subway Assault Video Could Be A Hoax, Random People Speculate Wildly
Keach Hagey, the short-lived former Village Voice press columnist, is suggesting over on her blog at CBS News that yesterday's video of an average white man being assaulted by a group of black teenage girls on the A train could be a hoax. Why? Because the girl who filmed it was an aspiring filmmaker who claimed, at first, she didn't know the assailants but, right after being interviewed by The Smoking Gun, deleted her YouTube page! Oh, wait. that doesn't mean anything! In related news, Katie Couric's viewership on CBS is down a million viewers over a year ago.
i wanna be a scab
Plum Sykes Saps Our Good Will Towards Striking Writers
In Gandhi's 1929 autobiography The Story of My Experiments in Truth, the founder of modern-day non-violent resistance wrote:During the Satyagraha in South Africa I had altered my style of dress so as to make it more in keeping with that of the indentured labourers....I regarded the scarf and the cloak as too much of an incumbrance, so I shed them and invested in an eight-to-ten-annas Kashmiri cap. One dressed in that fashion was sure to pass muster as a poor man.Nearly 80 years later, Vogue gal and screenwriter Plum Sykes isn't going to make the same mistake. More »
Broadway negotiations are going about as expected: "About 2 a.m. yesterday, a union official who was outside with other officials for a cigarette break got in a fistfight with a panhandler walking around 48th Street."
[NYT]
strike
Hungry Screenwriters Strike Out On Their Own
Now that they're on strike, it seems like screenwriters are busier and more productive than ever. But left to their own devices, it turns out that they are a distinctly unfunny bunch. Put a bunch of 'em in a room and eventually they'll write Six Feet Under, but in the end they're just monkeys—monkeys writing for the LA Times and New York mag and making their own blogs and getting all up on the HuffPo. Here's our Striking Screenwriter Roundup—clearly the work of simians. All they can think about is food! More »
transparency
Should We Be On Strike?
Magazine and newspaper advertising folks just don't know what they're missing! While they may have invented the advertorial ad, wherein, say, Washington Post articles get reprinted in ad space, print folks have none of the boundless freedom of online ad folks, who aren't restrained by the physical facts of editorial vs. ad space. Online ad sales is now the most creative editorial job going! Some folks call the online campaigns that get integrated into the full space of the web page a "complete takeover." That's quite an evocative phrase! This morning, this very website is in the hands of the ad department; completely taken over. We need your advice about what to do. Should the editorial department take a stand? More »
So apparently, due to the taxi strike, we're now operating on the zoned fare system so popular in backwater burgs like D.C. The map here (click to enlarge) shows the zones and fares. A ride from 62nd Street to 22nd Street will run you a good twenty bucks, but what the hell are you doing up above 14th Street anyway? For those who wonder why we chose not to include Brooklyn on the graphic, get real: You're not getting a cab to Brooklyn no matter what. At best, you'll get an angry "Fuck you," followed by a string of Syrian profanity. Still, if you're a crazy dreamer, you can find the whole thing on the TLC's site. [TLC]
taxing times
Sorta Taxi Strike Sorta Inconvenient
So some taxi drivers are on strike? And some aren't? Live from the carnage:
The taxi strike is having a noticeable affect on Manhattan streets. During the morning rush hour there have been a lot fewer cabs at the Port Authority Terminal on Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street. Uusually there are a line of cabs to pick up passengers. But this morning there was a line of people waiting. People have been sharing cabs — two and three passengers at a time.Did you read that? Two and three at a time! It's like the goddamn Blitz out there, people! We need to pull together and show our fighting spirit during these trying times. Stick together, and we'll make it through. If sharing a cab is what's required of you, do your patriotic duty as a New Yorker and share a cab. Or, you know, TAKE THE FUCKING SUBWAY.
Taxi Driver Group Begins Two-Day Strike [AP] [Image: 1010 WINS]
