The Writers Strike is Over! Hurrah!
Why do I care, teevee and movie know-nothing-and-care-less kind of curmudgeon that I am? Because Janet Batchler, beloved HogPro AllPro and author of What Will Harry Do?, has been on the picket-line for months. There is no word yet at Quoth The Maven blogspot about what she thinks of the deal; I hope she’ll check in here and let us know if the good guys won or were just worked over.
Amen! Here’s hoping!
John–
Thank you for your kindness in this post — I am touched. Sorry it took me so long to get over here, but I have had my nose glued to various strike-related sites and bulletin boards for the past few months…
Is it a good deal? I think there are aspects of it that are very good indeed, probably good enough for us to proclaim “We won!” There are some loopholes that may be closeable in the future, but may come back to bite us. I think there are those who will still be debating if this was a good deal while we are negotiating the next deal (hopefully *without* a strike!) in three years….
Is it good for me personally? I’m not sure it affects me that much. This was mostly about TV writers. But years ago, TV writers would have said that DVD sales didn’t matter to them — and now we all know differently. So in the long run, this deal could be quite good for me. But that’s in the very long run.
If anyone wants to hear more about the deal itself, I will probably blog about it in the next couple days at http://www.quoththemaven.blogspot.com.
The strike itself was wearying in many ways. And the shift from the strike — where all writers were equal, where we were all comrades — back to “normal” life (which, in Hollywood, doesn’t quite match up with anyone else’s sense of normal) is, well, abrupt. “We now return you to your regularly scheduled unemployment.”
Working in Hollywood often means getting beaten up every single day — often a wearying, soul-numbing pursuit. You know how sometimes you don’t know how much something hurts until it stops? That factor was definitely present during the strike — a relief from the day-to-day grind of being a writer in Hollywood.
But the strike was limbo, and at the very least, the end of it brings hope of something good happening. So is the end of the strike good for me personally? Not so much at the moment. But, with your prayers and by the grace of God, maybe soon.
Hope I don’t sound too weary here. I really was truly touched to see this post, John. Thank you.
–Janet
Janet, I sincerely hope that this will all work out for the best for everyone (not the usual Hollywood/big business way, I know). I was impressed at how the writers hung together and prayed for you. The laborer is truly worth his/her hire and that’s not some sitcom snark!
The kitties all wave their tales at you and send a purr…
Janet writes about the strike outcome: worth reading!
Arabella…
Thank you greatly for your prayers and kind words. They are much appreciated, believe me!
Janet