Clouds Darken for SAG and Hollywood

I'VE DELIBERATELY STAYED away from blogging about the ongoing SAG-AMPTP dispute still roiling Hollywood, mainly because I couldn't believe that either side would let it roll so far to a second strike. But the signs are really not looking good, beyond the basic industry panic.

And what seems clear to me is that the AMPTP is playing a serious game of chicken in an environment where their credibility is already non-existent.

As usual, the best coverage for this is with Nikki Finke. Where it stands now is that SAG has asked its members to authorize a strike, which is the first step to going out. The AMPTP refuses to return and negotiate anything better than the DGA and WGA deal.

The Canadian Actors' Union, ACTRA, which went on strike itself over new media in 2007, and actually reached an agreement (that was later walked back by the same Media Multiconglomerates who are dragging their heels now) says it will support SAG to the best of its ability.

Meanwhile, just in case you want to come up and say, "oh, come on, is the AMPTP really all that bad?" comes the news that they're not even sticking to the %$^ing deal they made with the writers last year. Seriously, do these guys have the same P.R. agent as Jim Jones and Idi Amin? (Weird that I went with two 70's references there, but get used to that -- there's plenty more reruns a-comin' if no one puts the brakes to this ridiculousness.)

Why is SAG hell bent on throwing the whole thing into the tank again in the midst of our Chicken Little economy? Well, to hear them tell it, their situation is different because they're the only ones being presented with rollbacks. That's a little bit of creative interpretation to my way of thinking, but that still doesn't change the fact of who's wearing the white hats and who's wearing black in this little scenario.

The question I have is that in an economy where everything's going into the toilet -- where months and months of stories have shown Execs parading around in jets, asking for bailout money while screwing their employees -- the context seems a bit different than it was when the WGA went on strike. I think people have had enough with the whole system. In a world where the government has to buy into the Automakers and Banks and Insurance Companies, is everybody going to just sit by and let the corrupt entertainment industry squeeze the creative community for every last ounce of juice?

I mean, with no money to spend, weren't people kind of counting on staying home and drowning their sorrows in TV and Films? Aren't times like these when entertainment does better?

Variety and Hollywood Reporter can do what they did during the leadup to the WGA strike, and paint SAG as greedy and out of touch, but the mood of the nation is very different now. What our business leaders say has a different smell than it did a year ago.

Up til last week, if you'd asked me to bet whether SAG would go out, I'd have said "no way." Now I think the odds are about even.

Depressermaking!

Don't Kid Yourself Who The Sharks Are In This Scenario

THE WGA STRIKE IS fast becoming an ugly memory. But endorsements of the writers' cause continue to stream in. I'm sure you'll all be relieved to know that the dolphins are with us.

Um, We Need Something Here...

APPARENTLY, IT'S NOT so easy to go back to the room after three months off.

For many writers, returning to work brought an emotion akin to what they remembered experiencing on their first day of high school. There was the giddy mood accompanying the start of something new and fresh — and the pit of anxiety in their stomachs as they made the transition from mostly idle days to a daunting workload. And who was that guy in the corner? “I almost didn’t recognize you with that new beard,” said Mr. Brennan to Greg Weidman, a production assistant.

On the Warner Brothers lot, Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, the co-creators of “Gossip Girl,” the teenage soap opera on CW network, likened reopening their offices to starting up a summer camp after the winter. “Nobody had been cleaning and there was crime scene tape across the door,” Ms. Savage said. Walking into her office, she said, “And somehow I remembered my office being much nicer.”

Dunzo.

It's over.

...but for Jeff Zucker it's just beginning. What an eejit. Man oh man, it's been a bad month for the horses Henshaw backs.

Pencils Up Wednesday?

SO IT LOOKS like it's over. United Hollywood has been posting reports from WGA membership meetings in NY and L.A. yesterday, and it seems that the majority of the membership finds the terms of the new agreement acceptable, if not perfect.

There are other sites where you can get details of the deal if you're so inclined. There is money for internet-related ad supported streaming, but only after a 17 day window. Boo. And there is a percentage of gross in the third year of the contract rather than a flat fee. (You see, I'm starting to glaze over here myself. Enough.)

WGA members will vote within the next two days on whether to lift the strike. If it passes, which now seems likely, writers could go back to work as early as Wednesday. That means a back "mini-season" for shuttered shows. It means Jon Stewart hosting the Oscars with Writers. It means everybody goes back to work.

It's said, because it's true, that no one ever wins a strike. But inevitably once the picket lines come down, there will be posmortems and thoughts on what this strike really has wrought for Hollywood. It's hard to crystal ball -- but there are some significant things of notes.

• I think organizations like fans4writers.com are incredibly significant. Forging a more direct connection between the fans of television and scripted enteratinment and the people who create them serves the creative community well.
• Pandora's Box is open. The weary inevitability the screwing of writers has always garnered has lifted. Writers who've started to explore their options when it comes to internet vehicles -- options that don't include the AMPTP companies, and that DO include retaining copyright and ownership; none of that will cease now. Very quietly, something has changed -- and I expect a lot of the "big names" in entertainment you start hearing about in the next few years won't necessarily have a Disney, Sony, New Corp or Viacom attached.
• The Guild DID NOT splinter. They tried their best. But they didn't splinter. And in three years, they'll be back for that 17 day window, and that DVD formula, and maybe reality and animation (in reality's case, the California Labor Board might just get there first.) For all the demonizing of the Guild leadership, they managed to preside over the first contract in more than 25 years that didn't have appeasement, or come from a weak place. They hung tough in the internet age. They should be celebrated for that.
• The Establishment is Tainted. I've been mulling subscribing to Variety for a while now. I'm not mulling anymore. Fuck'em. I can't imagine why any creative would ever subscribe to the industry rag. Because it's their industry rag. Not ours. They've made that more than clear. Nikki Finke and United Hollywood are probably the biggest gainers.
• Jon Stewart, Conan, and Colbert do need their writers. Please, God, no more unscripted feuds. Pay-ha-HEY-ha-HAY-N-Full...

I go back to work tomorrow too. It feels good to know that I'm not gonna be the only one.

In the days ahead on this blog, time permitting, there'll be a further rundown on the writers' submission to the CRTC hearings, what I learned about Culture this weekend, as well as maybe a book review.

Fire up those PVR's. TV's coming back.

And oh yeah, congrats to the writing staff of The Wire, 30 Rock, Mad Men and all the other winners of the 2008 Writers Guild Awards.

Columbus

SO I HAD some time today in my little weekend jaunt, so I went to check out what hopefully might be the last large protest by the New York-based WGAE writers.

It was a nice sunny day, and not too cold. So the conditions for the 250 or so picketers wasn't quite as dire as they've been.

(Every weather station in New York is trumpeting the ARCTIC BLAST! that's coming Sunday. Heh. I forgot they did that. Seriously, they're big about the Arctic Blast here. That's one above "cold front from Canada.")

If you've never seen the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, it's an interesting location for a picket, chock full of multiple layers of symbolism.

First of all, the statue of Columbus, which you can see in the background of one of the pictures, is the point where official distances to and from New York are measured.

(Heh heh, geography geek, heh heh.)

So I guess you could say this was right in the heart of New York. Then there's that hoary old idea of Columbus and the New World, and what has this whole messy, endless, maddening thing been over but this new world we're all experiencing together -- the great, uncharted internet?

The building itself holds the New York offices for CNN, which is trenchant when you consider the sometimes suspiciously pro-conglom coverage the 3 month old walkout has garnered.

See? Multiple entry points.

Watching the pickets shuffle by, the other thing you realize is that even with hundreds of people, there is simply nothing human-scaled about the location. All that glass and steel, and the statuary across the way -- the way the tower shoots up and catches the brilliant midday sun. It is so very, very big, that even two hundred fifty people marching around can't help but look very, very small.

I walked the line for a short while in solidarity -- didn't really see anyone I knew, and didn't really talk to many people.

I kept working up the courage to say something to someone, but just didn't. See? I do have a bit of the Canadian in me, after all. At least I didn't apologize to a lamppost.

I saw Andy Samberg and Rachel Dratch from SNL. Didn't take their picture because hey, they weren't there about the whole picture taking thing. There were writers from Late Show and Writers with strollers. Writers with Jaunty Hats and writers who came in costume. There were baby writers and grizzled veterans who look like they'd worked with Edward R. Murrow and Sid Caesar -- who maybe remember when TV was from New York, and live.

Oh, and Michael Moore.

I did take his picture because, you know...it's not like he's camera shy. It was good to see him out there, though.



The mood, overall, seemed positive, and cautiously upbeat. There was laughter, but a lot of weariness, too. It didn't take a lot of intuition to pick up on the general feeling that it would be really super if this was the last time they had to walk around in a big circle like a dinkus.

Especially with the ARCTIC! BLAST! on its way.

I wished a few people Good Luck on the big meetings tomorrow night. The New York meeting takes place at the Crowne Plaza, not far from where I'm staying.

If I pick up a disturbance in the Force, like a million souls suddenly cried out at once and were silenced -- I'll let you know.

Negotiation 101

I DON'T KNOW John Jabaley. He's a location manager. I'll probably never meet John Jabaley. But if I ever do, I will shake his hand and tell him that he wrote the greatest post of the 2007-2008 WGA strike about how, exactly, you negotiate. And why you don't hurry up the people who are negotiating for you.

Go read it at United Hollywood.

"Extremely Emotionally Complicated"

AN INTERESTING AND candid interview with Greg Berlanti in Forbes. (H/T to Jaime Weinman @ Macleans) Ostensibly, it's about his new show, Eli Stone (which means this season he's resp. for Brothers & Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money, AND Eli Stone. Whoa.) He also, for you trivia buffs, is the guy who came up with "Pacey Kisses Joey," which Jeffrey Stepakoff describes in his excellent memoir Billion Dollar Kiss (coming out soon in trade paperback!)

Some excerpts that caught my eye:

Eli Stone is premiering at a time when there is little scripted competition on the airwaves. Do you feel even a little guilty about taking advantage of the strike?

It's interesting because I think people sort of see it that way, but I don't think the strike is good at all. I think there's almost no good that can come out of it, because the reality is yes, there's not that much competition, but it's also harder to promote your show since there are less talk shows to go on and less people are talking about TV. Given the choice of premiering in a strike or non-strike environment, hands down I would have chosen a non-strike one. It's made the whole thing extremely emotionally complicated.

So it's not just Canadian shows that are putting people in complicated positions. And when you're a writer/viewer, too. I was really interested to see Eli Stone. I've heard from some people who watched it that it was good. And I wanted to watch Lost, too. But I just couldn't bring myself to watch either one. I watched House the other night and it just felt wrong to me -- it felt like I was doing something wrong. I know that's not logical. But I don't want to write about Eli Stone or watch it til this thing is settled. And I know that's not consistent, because I did write about Breaking Bad -- but maybe that's because AMC seems like it's a bit of a maverick right now.

I guess it's just extremely emotionally complicated. More from Berlanti in Forbes:

There's been a lot of talk about the strike being used to overhaul some of the inefficiencies of the current television model, whether it's pilot season, the traditional TV season or the upfront ad bazaar. If you were at the helm, what would you fix first?

I do think that how pilots get made is an antiquated system. The reality is everyone is making the majority of network pilots at the same time, so you're grabbing for the same actors at the same time, the same directors at the same time and the same crews at the same time. It just creates a sort of craziness. I've done four or five pilots over the last four or five years, and it makes the process more sort of luck of the draw--it's not designed for quality.

What do you think television will be like after the strike? Will it change much?

Television is always kind of changing. I've been writing TV for about nine years, and I've already seen a few different changes. There was a time when I first got into the business where feature writers were just starting to write their own TV shows, that first sort of crossover. And then a few years later, people started spending more and more money on pilots to make them bigger events to capture people's attention.

So I'm sure it will change again, and I'm not so certain that it will happen as a result of the strike, or it would have just sort of happened anyway. I think the biggest--or at least the most interesting--change to me that is on the horizon: what it means to be a hit these days. Shows that are doing much lower in the [ratings] than their predecessors are deemed hits. And there are younger shows where 50% of your audience is watching online and how do you register success there. As television becomes more and more niche, what defines a hit will be the next question that comes up.

Hey, Henshaw, your whole thing about ratings for Canadian shows -- hmm -- sounds like the on-the-fly "hit or no hit?" thing isn't just a Canadian problem.

It's almost like we ... face some of the same problems? Ooooh.

At The Negotiating Table

YEAH YEAH, it's awful that there's no news. Everybody's all antsy. I'm with you.

So how about this link to a video produced by Disposable Television, featuring, among others, Seth MacFarlane and How I Met Your Mother's Josh Radnor?

It's profane, not like that thing with the cup that I've only heard about, but profane enough that I don't want to host it on the blog. But it involves puppets. And the subtle comic stylings of Seth MacFarlane. You were warned.

"Now let's go make Bionic Woman!"

Why Is Don Draper Smiling?

BECAUSE LIONSGATE signed an interim deal with the WGA today. So that means that even if -- touch wood -- the informal talks go to hell and the strike goes on and on into Bataan Death March mode -- at least Matthew Weiner and his staff are going back to work.

Mad Men Season 2. And more Weeds, too. Mush. MUSH.


Mmmmmm, yesssssss. Give me my Mad Men crack. I neeeddds it. In a very deep and Amy Winehouse kind of way.

You can tell me I need Rehab for my Mad Men jones, and I say, no, no, no.

Hit the keys, Weiner! Hit..the...keys!

Jerry O'Connell Cruises for the WGA

THIS WILL PROBABLY only make sense if you stared, gape-mouthed, at the Tom Cruise Scientology video sometime in the last week. If you did, it's pretty funny.

Deal Or No Deal?

SO OVER AT United Hollywood there's the first reaction I've seen to the content of the DGA settlement with the AMPTP.

The big question is whether there's enough here to get the WGA to end the strike.

There are a lot of caveats attached up front. People are trying to take the temperature a bit. And anybody who's ever negotiated a contract, or heard stories of a period that cost ten million dollars knows that when a summary raises questions, the only thing you can do is wait for the long form contract and see what the thing actually says.

What seems to be the emerging consensus, at least from the few reacts I've read and the WGA members I've talked to: there's some good stuff in here, and there's a lot of bad stuff in here.

The AMPTP was never very serious about negotiating with the writers. They never did table a full, serious offer, and when they walked out of the negotiations 42 days ago, it was with six poison pill conditions -- one of which they just unceremoniously dropped in making the deal with the DGA.

There's already posts you can read being all impressed that the DGA did in six days what the WGA hasn't been able to do with a three month strike. Suffice it to say that I have my doubts that anyone making this point could ever exist for five minutes in a writing room, since they clearly don't have the sort of intellectual vigor needed to parse labor strategy. What concessions the DGA have gotten from the AMPTP in their deal -- and there were some -- was only possible on the back of that three month stoppage. They can spin it however they want -- they talked to the adults, whatever...but the reality is that the scuttlebut says that the AMPTP only realized that they had to talk about some of these serious issues when the DGA got a backbone and said they wouldn't make a deal without them. That resolve was bought on the backs of three months worth of writer pickets.

The New York Times gives its take on the deal here. The boil-down: the DGA did make inroads, but also punted -- they think that online revenues won't amount to a lot before 2011.

The problem? Repeats. Writers can definitely see the possibility that repeats will shift entirely from broadcast, to the internet. Which means that a payment for reuse that used to be 20K will now be $1200. Not good. That doesn't affect Directors the same way.

Some of the formulas are things that I didn't think they would ever get. I didn't think anybody was going to give up compensation based on ad dollars derived from streaming.

That being said, the length of promotional windows feels long to me; the 100 000 threshold for downloads before a better rate kicks in seems high, and there does seem to be quite a few outs and figures that don't really gibe to me.

In short, it's a start. But I think it's only a start. My only hope is that it's enough to get "informal talks" restarted with the AMPTP.

The DGA Makes a Deal

I GUESS NOW we see.


EDIT: Details are up here. If you're looking to read tea leaves of how good a deal it is, or whether it's likely to be acceptable to the writers, check out www.unitedhollywood.com -- not Variety, which has continued to write the most breathtakingly, FOX-news level biased bullshit all week.

When is a Theoretical Market not Theoretical Anymore?

I'M GOING TO go out on a limb here and say, "Oh, About five minutes after Steve Jobs announces it from the stage of Friggin' Macworld."

"It's too new! We don't know how to make money!"

From Today's San Jose Mercury News -- "Apple Makes a Big Bet on the Digital Living Room."

SAN FRANCISCO - The digital living room has been a tough nut to crack, but Apple is giving it another try.

As expected, CEO Steve Jobs announced a new digital movie rental service today at the company's Macworld conference here. Unexpectedly, the company will offer movies - including some in high definition - from all the major studios. And consumers will be able to order the movies directly from their TVs using an updated version of the company's Apple TV device.

Consumers will be able to start renting movies through the company's iTunes store by the end of February, Jobs said. The company will send out a software update to Apple TV products in two weeks that will make it compatible with the new service, he said.

At launch, the rental service will offer 1,000 movies, including 100 that will be available in high definition. Movies will be available 30 days after they come out on DVD. Apple will charge $3.99 for a new movie and $2.99 for older ones - and $1 extra each for high-definition versions.

The reports and rumors surrounding the rental service in recent weeks had Apple signing up one, maybe two of the major studios to the service. That Jobs was able to get all the studios on board is "staggering," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a tech consulting firm. Few digital video services to date have found such widespread support.

"What Steve did today is show he is the master broker," Bajarin said.

But they can't make a deal with the people who create the content.

"Pffffffft."

Deals and Wheels Within Wheels

SO HOLLYWOOD IS abuzz with fresh rumour that the DGA will announce a deal with the AMPTP today -- a deal that includes a formula for residuals for new media. This could signal a deal that through pattern bargaining, might serve as a template for the WGA to settle. In a perfect world, the DGA -- who are known for being pushovers, and who foisted the notoriously bad 4 cents a video formula on the world in 88 -- actually got religion after commissioning a 2 million dollar study on New Media. If the deal's any good at all, it'll give the WGA a life preserver, and the AMPTP a chance to say they negotiated with a "reasonable union" and spin the jackass behavior they've been engaged in for three months.

Hollywood responded by shedding lots and lots of writer deals yesterday. Business goes on. Yawn.

By the way, another plug for Jeffery Stepakoff's Billion Dollar Kiss here. If you weren't there for the writer gold rush in the 1990's, the book lays bare the leadup to this strike. These brilliant businesspeople who are holding up a deal that even Wall Street says is fair? They're same guys who spent money like a chocoholic at the Hershey factory all through the 90's. Bad management that they now want to fix on the backs of labor. Sound familiar?

If the DGA deal is crap, or if there is no deal -- this one's going on for a while.

One interesting thing that will merit attention -- one of the side deals the WGA made in the last couple of days wasn't with a traditional "producer" at all.

LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and MRC, the independent film, television, and digital studio, have reached a comprehensive interim agreement that forges a new alliance between writers, producers, and financiers in the production of feature films, television shows, and digital programs.

"This is an exciting agreement that will open up opportunities for writers, especially in New Media," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East. "We know that Guild members will be eager to be a part of the MRC creative team."

"MRC operates from two basic concepts and this agreement is a natural extension of that ethos: we treat talent as our partners and we maximize distribution across all digital, film and television platforms," said MRC co-CEO’s Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk. "As with all of our partnerships, we could not have accomplished this agreement without creative talent. In this case, we especially want to thank our colleague Seth MacFarlane for helping pave the way with the WGA and also to the leaders of the Guild who worked with the utmost professionalism."

The Media Rights Capital deal grew out of a deal with Seth McFarlane for Family Guy webisodes. And I believe they're also the group that last year announced some obscene deal for Sacha Baron Cohen's next film. This is the real potential game changer, because they allow creators to retain all rights. Hmm....While everyone tries to figure out the endgame, something else is happening here.

Out of the ashes comes the future.

Me, I'm still on my couch reading scripts.

So, Then.

TWO WEEKS GONE in 2008. Anyone else sick? I've been sick. It's a lot of fun.

Let's ease into the week with a few links, shall we?

It looks like Story2oh is up and running, with a rather all-too-revealing post from Simon Beals. The many Facebook friends of Simon and Ali were shocked yesterday to see her relationship status go from "in a relationship" to "single." Simon didn't waste any time. But maybe he should have checked his equipment first...

Story2oh is fun and diverting in ten minute increments, just like the Internet. There are those who don't get it, but I gotta say it's kind of fun to get email from imaginary people. I mean, let's face it, some of my Facebook friends feel a little imaginary already. Diane deconstructs the user experience here.

Striking writers, becoming impatient, might just go the Mary Pickford route....Mashable has an interesting article here.

The group of disaffected WGA members, led by Aaron Mendelsohn, are now pushing for an independent, writer-owned venture, called “Virtual Artists,” to be launched sometime later this year. The NewTeeVee blog reports that the new coalition is currently seek startup capital of $30+ million to begin the development of film features and television programming.

If anyone needs any reminder that the locus of creativity has shifted away from the networks, get a load of the downsized Golden Globes results. Mad Men, Damages, Extras, Longford....Jesus, when a bunch of whores like the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are hipper than the Emmys, you know you got some strange mojo going on.

Finally, Jon Robin Baitz, who I gushed over here, has got the third part of his "Leaving L.A." series up at Huffington Post here, wherein ABC cancels his deal and fires him off the show he created. This is a fun business, chickens. If you're gonna suit up, wear a cup.

I've Restrained Myself

BUT COME ON, I know you wanted to hear more about the WGA strike. Luckily, for where it sits right now, there is merely the excellent Robert J. Elisberg's Writer's Strike Primer, (via Huffington Post.) Go read. It's even funny.

And while you're there, Roger Wolfson has a very clearheaded article, too:

The stakes are far higher than either side admits publicly.

The surprising reality of the Writers Strike is that the Companies truly believe they had no choice but to force the writers to strike. This is not because the Networks want to write off a bad season in 2007, or because the Companies want to void expensive overall deals. That money is chicken feed compared to what is truly on the table.

Here's what's going on, and it's chillingly simple: by forcing Writers and Actors to accept a fraction of their rightful share of DvD sales twenty-odd years ago, the Companies saved over ten billion dollars. If the Companies can do the same with the Internet, they stand to save that amount many times over. The Companies are employing a cold but somewhat logical strategy. In foregoing a certain amount of current revenue - perhaps as high as the value of an entire season of TV - they hope to save tens of billions in the distant future.

Before negotiations with the Writers began, the Companies said to their negotiator, Nick Counter: "This is how much of our future profits we are willing to share with the Guilds, and this is how long we can wait before we have to get back to work." And then they concluded, "between now and that certain deadline, get the Guilds as far below our maximum as you possibly can."

So Nick did his usual dance - pretend to negotiate with Writers, and then try to cut a deal with Directors that can be used against the Writers. Why does Nick prefer the Directors Guild? Because it is more reasonable or powerful than the other Guilds? It's not necessarily either of those things. No, Nick prefers the Directors simply because they are the least expensive Guild. Half of the DGA's members don't depend on residuals, as do all of WGA and SAG. Nick has given DGA preferred status over the years, granted it early negotiations, and declared it "powerful," simply so he can try to use DGA deals to apply pressure on WGA and SAG.

And just as Nick tries to use DGA as a front to pressure the Writers, he tries to use the Writers as a front to try to weaken SAG. SAG is Nick's ultimate quarry, not just because it is large and beloved by the public - but because it's the most expensive Guild. Every residual WGA gets, SAG contractually gets three times more. Nick's cynical strategy of using the Directors to force a bad deal on the Writers, so that the Writers deal will apply to the Actors, has worked more or less perfectly for thirty years.

So what's different this time around? The stakes. Just as the Companies are looking at higher stakes than ever before, so are the Writers. This time around, probably to the consternation of the Companies, Nick has gone too far. The deal he laid before the Writers is bad in the short run, but in the long run, disastrous. "New Media" is an inaccurate term. It's no longer new, and in a few years, it will encompass all Media. By trying to cut writers out of New Media, Nick has declared that he wants to cut them out of the business altogether.

But as many wars have taught us, imperial powers routinely underestimate what people will do to protect their homeland. While the Companies are only fighting to avoid sharing profits that the writers will earn for them in the future, the Writers are fighting for their professional lives.

The clock is quietly ticking toward the secret deadline the Companies gave Nick. That deadline could be February, or, God forbid, September, depending on how much the companies have decided to invest in this strategy. But it will come. And for every indication that Nick's old tactics may be working, there are ten never-before-seen indications the Writers are stronger than ever.

"A" Daily Show With Jon Stewart

JESUS. The man is a fucking rock star. He really is.

Deep laughs. Deep hurt. Man, I missed this guy. I hope this thing ends soon.

That being said...just...wow. Wow.

United Artists can Make Movies Again

NIKKI FINKE has info on a side deal between Tom Cruise-helmed United Artists and the WGA.

That's two Late Night shows and one Movie making studio who don't think the terms the WGA were after were all so unreasonable.

Whatever can it mean?

Leaving L.A. & The Good Fight

I'VE NEVER MET Jon Robin Baitz, but he's pretty familiar to me. At least through his words. I mean, I didn't watch his show or anything, and I've never seen his plays. But I do love his work.

Wow, I really need to explain that better.

Jon Robin Baitz is a writer and playwright. He created a show that I only watched twice, called Brothers & Sisters. Or, as my father calls it, "Bruddas and Sistisss," when he calls and asks me if I watched it this week.

No, Dad. I haven't. I don't watch that show.

"Yew shudd. Iss Good."

(For the record, my father is an almost complete teetotaler. My keyboard, sadly, does not feature an English-Bronx English transliteration function. Get on that, Google.)

Jon Robin Baitz isn't a reason to watch the show, anyway, since he's not involved in it anymore. He was rather unceremoniously booted from the show as it found its way through three showrunners. He seems mercurial, and passionate and brilliant and pissy. He seems all this through his writing -- which I have little doubt conveys what he's like in person.

Writers are ego and neurosis and convictions that are sure, but that can change. We can contradict ourselves. We go on instinct and on passion, and so sometimes, we find we've got to backtrack.

I've been thinking a bit lately about what kind of writer I am, and how I got here. I've heard from people in my past who helped shape me -- thanks, CBC Radio -- and I've finally had time this holiday season to hang out with like minded writers; or even not so like minded. People with the passion of my approach, but different backgrounds and experiences.

There's this New Yorker Cartoon I saw some time ago - it's a picture of a girl sitting in the window and she's writing and the caption says "Dear Mom and Dad, thank you for my happy childhood. You've ruined any chance I have of being a writer."

I've felt like that in the past. And the nearest thing that I've come up with is that my writer entry point was moving around when I was a kid. You live in different countries and you pick up a different perspective. In my adult life, I've often been surprised to find myself drawn again and again to people who were born somewhere else, or who have spent time living in other countries. Baitz has that in his past. And in his writing for the Huffington Post, he seems impulsive, and frequently intemperate, and engaged and alive. I can see how maybe he wasn't well suited to work in the weekly grind of television.

I don't necessarily burn with the same revolutionary zeal as Baitz. I know that, in the pinch, I'm able to shove aside the personal and knuckle down to do what needs to be done to deliver the show. It's surprising how long in a short career I've had to employ that skill, but there you go.

What I want to direct you to now, is two columns on the Huffington Post that Baitz wrote about the end of his tenure on Brothers & Sisters, and his decision to leave L.A. It's about work, and love, and thinking intemperately, and saying too much, and fighting for what you believe, and maybe changing what you believe. In the second post he even backtracks and clarifies an earlier column he wrote about the strike -- even admitting that his reasons for writing the column might not have been pure.

That's a writer for you. It's why we would make lousy candidates. It's refreshing to read it in another. I haven't done anything as revolutionary as Baitz, who, I'm told, has finally gotten Gay characters to the point of banal normality in the family drama -- no mean feat.

The column fills me with hope, because I recognize traits in myself that I'm always laughing off and trying to apologize for. It fills me with hope because everything he says about L.A. makes me realize anew the things I love about my adopted city, and the reasons why I'm making my stand here. It recommits me to my purpose -- to not let go of the rope, to not stop fighting to make good TV in this country where so many talented writers and performers have been schooled to throw up their hands and flee south, leaving the business to charlatans and scoundrels -- and the beaten down creatives who could do so much more if they were allowed. It combines with the great swath of people I met this year who are capable and aching to do more. It fills me with the hope of working with and meeting more interesting, passionate people like Jon Robin Baitz.

Tomorrow, CBC premieres The Border, a kickoff to a week of new Canadian programming that I hope, finally, will connect with the people of this country. I'm hoping that 2008 is a good year. It's grey and foggy outside my window, but I read Jon Robin Baitz and I hear clips of Barack Obama in Iowa and I think, maybe, just maybe, the cynicism can take some time off.

We'll see.

Part one of Baitz's "Leaving L.A. - Work" is here.

Part two, "Love," is here.

And hey, cause I never said it, Happy New Year to you all. Thanks for reading. (And H/T to Henshaw for the article)