(UPDATE: For scheduling reasons, I've had to pass on this opportunity to moderate the debate.)
Just when I thought I'd made a clean getaway...
The WGAw (Writers Guild of America, west) has asked me to host and moderate this year's election debate on September 7 at the Guild headquarters. There are 9,000 of us in the union, and it represents the vast majority of TV and feature writers.
Having served a term on the WGA Board of Directors and a term as the chairman of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, I've pretty much "retired" from politics to get back into my writing and producing career on a full-time basis. As a one-night stand, though, I'm happy to do my part -- it's an important election.
The debate will feature presidential candidates Patric Verrone and Ted Elliott, vice-presidential candidates Carl Gottlieb and David N. Weiss, and secretary-treasurer candidates Elias Davis and Irma Kalish.
There are plenty of issues simmering this year. The perennial, of course, is the dilemma many writers feel they are put into at contract time -- strike or cave. Others include efforts to organize writers in groups that have traditionally not been in the feature and television majority -- writers in animation, non-fiction and, especially this year, reality TV. Then, of course, there are the bread-and-butter concerns like health funds, pensions and a current dispute with our sister Guild, the WGAe (Writers Guild of America, East). And, not to be forgotten, you have the hot button issues like getting a bigger piece of the DVD and new technology pie, free re-writes and r-e-s-p-e-c-t. There's also the uncomfortable issue that in a recent four-month period two WGA presidents were forced to resign. There are obviously a lot of great questions to ask. Here's three to get started:
- What exactly goes into "writing" a reality show, and who does it?
- Should the people who write one-minute "mobisodes" for cellphones be members of the WGA, and what should they be paid?
- Is there really strength in numbers or does the WGA dilute its brand by bringing in non-conventional writers?
WGA members who read this: please feel free to post a comment with the issue or question that you think is important to be heard about.
Ballots will be counted on September 20, 2005.
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