Writers strike?, PLEASE don't tell me this is true! = ( Options

[Brimble]

I know there are plenty of differing opinions being expressed here about the WGA strike, and I think it's great that NBC is allowing a free discussion to take place here on their website. According to DeadlineHollywood.com reporter Nikki Finke, Disney/ABC has been censoring any and all comments that are sympathetic to the writers in any way. Here's a quote from her column:

That the studios and networks have been twisting the truth about the WGA strike to suit their own purposes looks to be standard operating procedure during this strike. But no company seems to be doing this more than Disney/ABC. For instance, comments that are even mildly friendly to the WGA are quickly deleted from ABC.com. Here is one striking writer's experience on Tuesday: "I was on ABC.com today when I saw the Leno story and that there were comments where writers were being bashed and scabs promoted. I defended writers and less than two minutes later the comments were deleted. I tried again and, once again, my comments were deleted. Talk about ABC/Disney censorship."

Thanks, NBC, for allowing people to express their opinions, even if they happen to be pro-writer.

[Shenandoah]

I know there are plenty of differing opinions being expressed here about the WGA strike, and I think it's great that NBC is allowing a free discussion to take place here on their website. According to DeadlineHollywood.com reporter Nikki Finke, Disney/ABC has been censoring any and all comments that are sympathetic to the writers in any way. Here's a quote from her column:

That the studios and networks have been twisting the truth about the WGA strike to suit their own purposes looks to be standard operating procedure during this strike. But no company seems to be doing this more than Disney/ABC. For instance, comments that are even mildly friendly to the WGA are quickly deleted from ABC.com. Here is one striking writer's experience on Tuesday: "I was on ABC.com today when I saw the Leno story and that there were comments where writers were being bashed and scabs promoted. I defended writers and less than two minutes later the comments were deleted. I tried again and, once again, my comments were deleted. Talk about ABC/Disney censorship."

Thanks, NBC, for allowing people to express their opinions, even if they happen to be pro-writer.

I hear that "Nikki Finke owns the writers strike story and everyone knows it". Well, not everyone, the man on the street never heard of her nor cares what another sharp tongued woman afflicted with 'four-letter-word-itis' has to say. She can be pro-WGA all she wants but her views mean nothing to the viewing public who is growing weary of hearing about the dratted writers strike and their marches and posturing about all over town. The strikers want to disrupt everything including the Oscars, Golden Globe Awards, Late Night TV, whatever.

What's at the bottom of this strike is as follows -- the writers want to be given special status, they are seeking to exalt their image in the entertainment field, raise their salaries, and bask in the same glow as the so called 'stars' who command huge salaries. The writers want a piece of the huge entertainment pie and one day (soon enough) entertainment will be so costly for the consumer, only the well-to-do will be able to afford to be entertained (even now it costs an arm and a leg to see a rotten movie). If you're supporting the strikers, you're dooming yourself to paying even more for movies, DVDs, and TV. As usual, the public is being taken. The entertainment industry will be right up there alongside the medical industry and will be one of the highest paid industries in the world. The extra money the writers eventually get out of all this will be passed on to you, the consumer.

SO LONG, SUCKER!

[Brimble]

Shenandoah,

Wow, you sound like a press release from the AMPTP's P.R. office. Oh, wait...

[Shenandoah]

Shenandoah,

Wow, you sound like a press release from the AMPTP's P.R. office. Oh, wait...

Typical response and one I expected -- I'm not for the AMPTP or the WGA -- I'm for ME, like in 'ME, MY and MINE'. I care about what I spend my money on and what value I receive for my hard earned bucks. Nobody's stopping you from opening your pocketbook and paying the writers more money -- it's your money, go ahead, throw it away on those hacks, but there is a wise saying -- "you'll wish you had that money some day!"

[Brimble]

Shenandoah,

Oh, I see. You'd rather pay billionaire CEO's like Sumner Redstone or Robert Iger every single cent of your entertainment dollar than allow the mostly middle-class writers a.k.a. "hacks" to have even one-tenth of one cent of it? I understand. After all, Redstone is the one that writes, directs, and acts out all of your favorite Viacom shows. That's actually him in the Jon Stewart and Spongebob costumes.

[Shenandoah]

Shenandoah,

Oh, I see. You'd rather pay billionaire CEO's like Sumner Redstone or Robert Iger every single cent of your entertainment dollar than allow the mostly middle-class writers a.k.a. "hacks" to have even one-tenth of one cent of it? I understand. After all, Redstone is the one that writes, directs, and acts out all of your favorite Viacom shows. That's actually him in the Jon Stewart and Spongebob costumes.

Well, Brimble Bramble, you are trying to put words in my mouth and accuse me of doing things I wouldn't even dream of doing but that's alright, you're obviously worked up about the strike and indiscriminately lashing out in all directions in your feverish frenzy over your little TV favorites who don't even know you exist, you poor misguided soul.

[Brimble]

You're right, I shouldn't put words in your mouth, but you seem pretty comfortable putting words in the mouths of all the WGA members. You seem very confident in your "knowledge" about what they all want, and why they don't deserve it.

Do you seriously think that writers went on strike in hopes that they could ever "bask in the glow" like celebrities? That's totally laughable. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a professional TV writer myself, and believe me, my fellow writers and I know as well as anyone else that we'll always be treated like the ugly stepchildren at the Hollywood party. I have tremendous respect for many of my fellow writers, but I don't expect anyone else to, least of all people like you who sit back and toss blanket terms like "hacks" over them, regardless of what they've accomplished. Sure, there are plenty of "hacks" in this business, but there are also a lot of very talented people that are doing great work, and they deserve better than what the AMPTP is currently offering. So do all the future writers that don't even know yet how much they'll contribute themselves.

The WGA doesn't expect the AMPTP moguls, or people like you for that matter, to ever actually respect us. We know you never will. That's just fine though, since just like you and everyone else on Earth, we only care about being respected by people whom we respect ourselves.

Happy Holidays from a "misguided soul"!

[Shenandoah]

You're right, I shouldn't put words in your mouth, but you seem pretty comfortable putting words in the mouths of all the WGA members. You seem very confident in your "knowledge" about what they all want, and why they don't deserve it.

Do you seriously think that writers went on strike in hopes that they could ever "bask in the glow" like celebrities? That's totally laughable. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a professional TV writer myself, and believe me, my fellow writers and I know as well as anyone else that we'll always be treated like the ugly stepchildren at the Hollywood party. I have tremendous respect for many of my fellow writers, but I don't expect anyone else to, least of all people like you who sit back and toss blanket terms like "hacks" over them, regardless of what they've accomplished. Sure, there are plenty of "hacks" in this business, but there are also a lot of very talented people that are doing great work, and they deserve better than what the AMPTP is currently offering. So do all the future writers that don't even know yet how much they'll contribute themselves.

The WGA doesn't expect the AMPTP moguls, or people like you for that matter, to ever actually respect us. We know you never will. That's just fine though, since just like you and everyone else on Earth, we only care about being respected by people whom we respect ourselves.

Happy Holidays from a "misguided soul"!

That's the trouble with these message boards, people come on and call themselves whatever they want, like professional TV writer, college professor, and on and on, -- if you're what you say you are, then prove it -- if you can't prove it, then shut up. I'm calling your bluff -- a professional TV writer wouldn't spend his time on this idiot board. You're probably one of those fat middle aged housewives that hangs around on message boards deluding yourself into believing Conan reads your posts and wants to meet you.

[Brimble]

You're absolutely right. Anyone can come on to this board and claim to be anything without having to back it up. The truth is, my embarrassment over wasting even one minute arguing with you (or anyone else) on this "idiot board" has outweighed the impulse I usually have to identify myself by name. Not that my name would mean anything to you anyway. I'm just one of those semi-anonymous staff writers who's only known to other semi-anonymous staff writers. The only reason I brought up the fact that I'm a professional writer in the first place is because I thought it was only fair to own up to the fact that I am prejudiced in terms of this strike issue. I didn't bring it up to add any weight to my arguments. If anything, I assumed my obvious bias would actually make my opinions less credible to others. I have a vested interest in how this strike turns out so my views are far from objective.

Oh, and I'd like to thank you for reminding me of what a huge waste of time it is to be posting here at all. I guess I needed some other pathetic anonymous ******* to point out that I'm being a pathetic anonymous ******* myself. I'll just move on now for good and leave you to your legions of admirers. You're welcome, ace.

[latenightgoddess]

I have said this before, but it's been a while. Personal attacks are totally unacceptable and are against the rules of this message board. It's ok to disagree with others but please do so in a thoughtful and respectful way.
Shenandoah, Brimble might have been one of the two writers you self-righteously claimed to support earlier in this thread; you never know (although more than two writers were involved in the sketches you referenced).

If you're supporting the strikers, you're dooming yourself to paying even more for movies, DVDs, and TV. As usual, the public is being taken.

Nobody's stopping you from opening your pocketbook and paying the writers more money

This argument doesn't make sense to me. The writers are not asking for the price of DVDs, internet downloads, etc. to be increased and to receive the extra money. They're asking for a bigger percentage (or any percentage - in the case of the internet) of the current profit.

[Shenandoah]

I have said this before, but it's been a while. Personal attacks are totally unacceptable and are against the rules of this message board. It's ok to disagree with others but please do so in a thoughtful and respectful way.
Shenandoah, Brimble might have been one of the two writers you self-righteously claimed to support earlier in this thread; you never know (although more than two writers were involved in the sketches you referenced).
This argument doesn't make sense to me. The writers are not asking for the price of DVDs, internet downloads, etc. to be increased and to receive the extra money. They're asking for a bigger percentage (or any percentage - in the case of the internet) of the current profit.

"Oh, and I'd like to thank you for reminding me of what a huge waste of time it is to be posting here at all. I guess I needed some other pathetic anonymous ******* to point out that I'm being a pathetic anonymous ******* myself. I'll just move on now for good and leave you to your legions of admirers. You're welcome, ace" .... Brimble

You will notice that Brimble has to use stars instead of words when attacking ME --also calls me 'ace'. I've played a game of cards or two in my lifetime and am well aware that 'ace' is often used interchangeably with another word. There's no way for me to know if Brimble is a professional TV writer or just putting everyone on. You say I have made personal attacks against Brimble -- how could I have done that when I don't even know who Brimble is, or for that matter, WHERE Brimble is. The very premise of a message board is that everyone is anonymous. Believe me, I am in no condition to attack anyone. I am lucky to be able to get out of bed in the morning.

However, I'm sticking to my guns when I say it's the consumer who pays in the end -- if you think the big wigs at the AMPTP are going to take a cut in their profits to pay the writers, you're sadly mistaken. I do believe a good writer should be paid well and I'm sure they are -- Jay's top writer makes $200,000/year -- the trouble with a strike is that the not-so-good writers piggyback the good writers. Of course, LNG, the writers are not asking the price of a DVD be increased -- they just want a bigger percentage of the profits! I can't believe the WGA is so naive that they don't know the price of a DVD will go up to accommodate the writers demands. It's just that transparent.

Shenandoah

[Shenandoah]

You're absolutely right. Anyone can come on to this board and claim to be anything without having to back it up. The truth is, my embarrassment over wasting even one minute arguing with you (or anyone else) on this "idiot board" has outweighed the impulse I usually have to identify myself by name. Not that my name would mean anything to you anyway. I'm just one of those semi-anonymous staff writers who's only known to other semi-anonymous staff writers. The only reason I brought up the fact that I'm a professional writer in the first place is because I thought it was only fair to own up to the fact that I am prejudiced in terms of this strike issue. I didn't bring it up to add any weight to my arguments. If anything, I assumed my obvious bias would actually make my opinions less credible to others. I have a vested interest in how this strike turns out so my views are far from objective.

Oh, and I'd like to thank you for reminding me of what a huge waste of time it is to be posting here at all. I guess I needed some other pathetic anonymous ******* to point out that I'm being a pathetic anonymous ******* myself. I'll just move on now for good and leave you to your legions of admirers. You're welcome, ace.

Thank you, Brimble.

[Brimble]

I would like to apologize to the moderators of this board, and to everyone else here, including Shenandoah, for allowing my own personal anger and frustration over this unfortunate strike to erupt in this forum. I certainly don't expect anyone else to necessarily see things the way I do, especially since some of my fellow writers don't even see things the way I do. Also, in repeating the term "idiot board", I didn't mean to imply that anyone is an "idiot" for posting here. There are obviously quite a few thoughtful, intelligent people offering comments here, and I'm very sorry if I offended any of you.

This will be my last post here. I actually mean that this time. No, really, you'll see, I ain't playin'. Again, my apologies to everyone, and Happy Holidays.

[Shenandoah]

Okay everybody, back to basics! Here's a timely article about the strike from our old friend the New York Times ....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Holl...h-Holidays.html

[latenightgoddess]

I've made some clarifications about the board rules at "This board has mods." Everyone who posts here is responsible for being familiar with and following the rules. (I'm not deleting the personal attacks in this thread since apparently the definition may have been unclear. From now on, all personal attacks will be deleted and you will receive "warnings" against your accounts accordingly.)


Deep in December, it's nice to remember without a hurt the heart is hollow... this song reminds me of the strike. I think we're all just upset for so many people.

[Conan_the_shooti...]

Okay everybody, back to basics! Here's a timely article about the strike from our old friend the New York Times ....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Holl...h-Holidays.html

The grinch who stole xmas? A classic and so sad considering the writers strike.

[Conan_the_shooti...]

Deep in December, it's nice to remember without a hurt the heart is hollow[/url]... this song reminds me of the strike. I think we're all just upset for so many people.

I think the song 'Try To Remember' is from the broadway show Fantasticks? -Sad and profound. Thanks for posting it.

LNG, I agree, we're all effected by this strike for so many reasons... In fact I really had a very mellow xmas this years. I feel badly for everyone affected by the strike, since I know what damage it can cause the families.

[sexy_conan418]

yep it is from the Fantasticks! I love that musical

I am praying that things get worked out soon. It's almost been 2 months!
I'm glad that the Conan repeats this week are a bit older than ones they've been showing.

I'm counting down the days until he comes back...only one week away!

[pm_in_ny]

I have been watching Conan since he first went on the air and have always loved his quirky sense of humour. While the writers' strike is certainly an inconvenience to viewers, it is also costing writers and the networks by the day. Johnny Carson crossed the picket line long ago during a strike and I couldn't respect him after that. I am not a union person, but I thought Conan was less a "company man" and was a person who was not afraid to speak his mind. If he does cross, which is what is being reported, it will be a great disappointment, and I will not watch his show anymore.

[Conan_the_shooti...]

yep it is from the Fantasticks! I love that musical

I am praying that things get worked out soon. It's almost been 2 months!
I'm glad that the Conan repeats this week are a bit older than ones they've been showing.

I'm counting down the days until he comes back...only one week away!

Thanks for verifying that for me. I love FANTASTICKS too! Yes, only one week away. sniff tear...
PS I love your myspace photo with your friends... awe.