Example by Zohar Lazarus
Now, Warren Leith – the oldest show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit And the Writers Guild strike captain – who is losing sleep to keep a TV show from airing. He is a key figure in their association’s pillar to adopt a more targeted selection strategy, closing products.
“Two dozen people blocked the road at 2am this morning. BillionsIt is figuratively perfect,” he said. The Hollywood ReporterS TV’s Top 5 podcast on May 24, discussing the recent proliferation of show-off protests at corporate headquarters to more impactful actions aimed at influencing bottom lines and changes in power dynamics. The change in strategy comes from membership ranks and portfolios, although the team now “recognizes that this is a very powerful thing,” he said.
Drawing from his long history as a TV writer and presenter, as well as his strong reputation on social media, Leith has helped organize a series of successful labor activities with a growing number of WGA partners – small groups come together within hours. Their lines of protest were often honored (and sometimes joined) by Teamsters, IATSE members, and other sympathetic allies. The result is production shutdown. “The whole idea is to empty it. [content] pipeline,” he says.
The closures crossed the country, from Robbery And Good problem In Los Angeles to Chi in Chicago and Evil in New York.
In early May, writers auditioned for writer-director Aziz Ansari’s Liongate film while attending the LA shoot. good luck On May 19, production was suspended indefinitely for two and a half days. Picketer Kira Jones (ed.)Wake up, Queens) these actions “hit [employers] More in our pockets than anything else we do. And hopefully this will get us back on track and back to work. Lauren Cohn adds (The missing sign), who also joined good luck picket line, “We have to make sure no writing is happening on the board.”
The focus on closures, based on workplace union cooperation, is a dramatic change for the Writers Guild. In the year In his previous strike in 2007-08, when he found himself extremely isolated and at odds with his nominal labor partners, there was no strategy. Now the union finds itself a beneficiary of the union, allied with the divisive Hollywood workers’ caucus of other unions, each nursing its own set of sometimes overlapping grievances, and eager to soften the ground for its own contract negotiations. For its part, the WGA declined to “discuss the details” of its closing strategy.
An average lost production day costs companies $200,000 to $300,000. Insurance policies do not cover shutdowns caused by the strike. Leading industry author Allianz Notes to THR“It’s too early and too soon to speculate on any impact on future insurance premiums.”
As the pandemic has recently hit studio boards, some in-progress production abandoned during the strike may not return when it ends, the company’s top decision-makers said. At this point, it is necessary to consider the number of episodes left to be filmed, the availability of actors and the importance of the show on stage.
Many senior officials who spoke THR Using the same term to avoid anonymity, he describes guerrilla-style operations as “effective.” It prompted an ongoing game of cat-and-mouse. Quick-reacting WGA member classes move to select studio doors and shooting locations based on suggestions. Although LA’s location permits are publicly registered (neighborhood filming notices are posted before production, 48 hours after production ends), at least some actionable information, especially last-minute intelligence, is born out of sympathy. Members of other associations.
Picking shifts often start, end or stay overnight to ensure their lines don’t cross. To counter these efforts, some brands have distributed call sheets showing incorrect call times and Billionsbussed crew members in, allowing them to ease their way through the picket lines and allow some anonymity.
Jones recalls that he picketed production at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood and that no production activity occurred. “No one came – they pushed the shot back or they went somewhere else or maybe we got the wrong information,” she said.
Lindsay Dougherty, head of Hollywood Teamsters, whose drivers are walking off the picket line (her company is scheduled to negotiate with AMPTP next year), said she was not surprised by the WGA’s move to close productions. “If this was our strike, we would do the same thing,” she said.
Key holder and stunt rigger Wade Cords is an administrator of the Facebook group and has become a conduit for WGA voters for production information obtained by staff members. He believes the anger in the industry has created a unique moment of solidarity. “Everybody’s ‘below the line’ these days,” said Kordts, a member of SAG-AFTRA and IATSE. These are the mega-corporations that are trying to destroy labor.
One programmer noticed that the shutdown was putting team members out of work on projects the writers had already paid for. “Who does this really hurt?” They are there. “Does it really hurt the studios? It’s not true.” A senior product executive echoed the sentiment in another case, adding: “It’s all cost-driven. He taxes them.
One veteran showrunner and longtime WGA member doesn’t buy the idea that there’s any silver lining for studios considering that spin. “If it’s going to save them money, shutting down all the shows and getting out of showbiz will save them all the money,” said this man. “The whole point of a studio is to be in production,” agrees another seasoned studio player. Those were predictions of what they were. [stopped] Shows do it for us. This is a loss.”
Regardless, labor experts say, for the writers and their team, the shutdown is broadly about flexing their muscles, developing their alliances and boosting their morale.
“It stops production, but it’s also a way to promote strength and commitment,” says Georgetown professor Michael Kazin, who has studied union power.
University of Rhode Island Professor Eric Loomis adds American history in ten attacks“Maintaining morals is very important. Otherwise, people will slip away – they will look for another job, they will cross the line of the ship.
Factory labor scholar Joshua B. Freeman of the City University of New York agrees. “Doing something as a group really preserves solidarity,” he said, and a production shutdown in the entertainment sector requires the cooperation of workers from other unions. “If you’re looking at the long-term power dynamics between these workers and these employers, the visible solidarity tells the employer that they’re not just taking on one independent group. They’re taking on all of them.”
Dougherty, head of the Hollywood Teamsters, said of his tacit and open support for the writers’ lockout strategy, “It’s a sacrifice that everybody is going to make because everybody wants the strike to end as soon as possible.” The hope is that – the products will be back soon, because these projects are obviously important to employers.
A version of this story first appeared in the May 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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