Bryce Zabel's FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

WGA Politics 2009: One for the History Books?

This year I served as a member of the Writers Guild of America west's "Officers Nominating Committee." It was our job to come up with two candidates each for the offices of President, Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer.

We've just concluded by phone conference our final meeting. While I'm sworn to secrecy until the WGA announces those candidates and the candidates who will also run for the Board of Directors in this year's election, I think it's pretty safe to say that this is going to be one astonishingly competitive election, maybe even one for the Guild history books.

Some people around town already know what's going on (obviously, since the candidates and their supporters talk). The likelihood is that either Daily Variety or the Hollywood Reporter or even Nikki Finke are likely to break this news before the WGA gets around to announcing it. Hell, at dinner on Friday, one of my friends told me what the news was and he was spot-on. That was 48 hours ago.

Anyway, after last year's strike, the WGA is about to put a couple of presidential and vice-presidential candidates out there who will have dramatically different takes on what it meant, what we won or lost, and what we should do next. That's democracy, folks, and the WGA is about to practice it, big-time. Stay tuned...

Writing on the Wall?

Fighting Words

The program I write most of my scripts on is "Screenwriter."  It's got a great look and feel.  They have a new program they're marketing now called "Streamline" which, without cheating, gives writers input and tools about changes they might make to shorten their scripts.  This is good news because most methods of making a script shorter also make it look crammed and unreadable and, the truth is, anyone who knows anything about scripts knows it's been cheated anyway, so what's the point?

I digress.  In the mailing today about this new product are some words that could strike fear in the halls of Microsoft.

"Streamline 1.0 is available for Macintosh only.  Streamline for Windows is in development, but no release date has been announced."

That's right.  The program is built for Macs first.  Windows is the afterthought.  Wow.  Maybe that says something about how screenwriters favor Macs, but it struck me as the thought for the day.  "Macintosh only."

Why We Fought

Striking a Blow for Fairness

Aaron is a current member of the Writers Guild of America, west Board of Directors.  FWIW endorses his 2008 re-election and urges WGA members to cast their votes for him.  This is a re-print of his official candidate's statement.  Read more at AaronMendelsohn.com

It should’ve been easy.

On the Negotiating Committee, I’d voted to recommend a strike authorization vote to the Board.  On the Board, I’d voted to send the strike authorization vote to the Membership.  But when the authorization ballot arrived at my desk, and it had come time to check the “yes” box, I was gripped by a sudden spasm of fear and doubt.

You see, I was broke.

The movie I had written – the one that was supposed to go into production before the strike – had pushed.  And the spec script I had rushed to complete before Columbus Day was sitting on the shelf of my agent, who refused to go out with it because of the “de facto thing.”  I was seriously running on fumes, and here I was, with a mortgage, two kids and a sizable debt load, about to advocate for voluntary unemployment.

The Amazing Reality of "Reality" TV

Hollywood Sweat Shops

This column originally appeared in The Huffington Post.

First, a familiar story from America's past.

Around the previous turn of the century, the nation was plagued by sweatshops raking in outlandish earnings while their employees struggled under inhumane conditions. In one infamous example, a factory reported profits of $200 million, one proprietor taking in $50 million himself, yet its employees were discovered to be working loathsome 18-hour days, seven days a week. Lunch breaks weren't allowed, or rest breaks. No basic healthcare, and, obviously, no protective pensions were provided. The conditions of work mills were such a national embarrassment, the outcry so loud that the creation of government protections and unions were understood, even demanded by most of the compassionate nation. Today, we cringe at the memory, yet are proud for the basic protection America has long-since provided its workforce.

Okay, I have to admit that I wasn't totally honest there.

Just Doing It

When Life Throws You Bricks

This column originally appeared in The Huffington Post.

One of the most-asked questions about the business-end of Hollywood is -- how in the world do movies ever get made?? As the level of hoops to jump through grows, it's a question that gets asked even by professionals, who can see years pass before a film comes to life.

For Rob Hedden, the answer is simple. It happens because of a brick being thrown through his car windshield.

Four years ago, Hedden was chaperoning his son and some school friends, caravaning down the California coast into Mexico on a birthday trip. On the way back, driving along the freeway, a brick came crashing into the car, thrown from an overpass above.

When you're at a standstill, this is not a good thing. When you're moving at highway speeds -- it came close to being deadly. Glass went flying, dangerously cutting in to some people. Speeding off, Hedden quickly called one of the other cars to explain the situation, headed out of the pack to desperately find a hospital, and what could have been a tragic experience, turned into a mere harrowing one that allowed for eventual recovery.

WGA Makes Deal - Gives Awards - We're Celebrating!

Talk about everything happening at once...

On the same night that the WGA leadership presented to the membership the details of a tentative deal that looks almost certain to end the strike this week, the Guild also announced the winners of the "Writers Guild Awards '08" and PANDEMIC, a screenplay I co-wrote with my wife, Jackie, actually won the "Long Form Original" category! 

This odd merging of events happened because, pre-strike, the Writers Guild Awards were scheduled for February 9.  Once the strike was on, all attention had to go to that, so the black-tie and gown festivities were sacrificed.  A simple posting of the winners on the web-site was substituted. Then, as fate would have it, the tentative deal came together this past week, and the membership meeting got scheduled for -- you guessed it -- February 9!

Who cares?  Jackie and I are thrilled that the long nightmare of a strike is almost over and with a deal that seems to be reasonable, if not everything we'd want.

"Pandemic" was a Hallmark miniseries, four hours, that was, as the award states, "original," meaning that it was not based on any pre-existing material. It's a number of interlocking stories about an unexpected strain of Avian flu and how an outbreak in Los Angeles leads the military quarantine of the entire area. In its struture, it's a bit like "Crash" with microbes.

On a personal level, Jackie and I are so honored because this award comes from a panel of writers who actually read the scripts instead of watch the movies.  We think it's humbling to be among the honored screenwriters who demonstrate why the work of writers is valuable and worth fighting for at this critical moment in the WGA's history.  Here's to everyone going back to work in the days ahead!

WGA coverage
Daily Variety coverage
Los Angeles Times coverage

Download a PDF of the PANDEMIC screenplay - Click Here

Jon Stewart on the WGA Strike

What's the WGA Writers Strike all about anyway? Well, since America gets so much of its news from the Daily Show, let's let John Stewart explain.

Makes you think, huh? How about they just offer a fair deal, we take it and it's over? Well, first somebody has to offer the deal...

WGA Voices: Peter Lefcourt

• The contract between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires on October 31, 2007. Currently, the WGA leadership has called for a strike authorization vote. Here is an e-mail I received from another WGA friend and board member (we worked together on an ABC series) Peter Lefcourt.
  

From Peter Lefcourt, WGAw Board of Directors

In the mail you have received, or will soon, a ballot for a strike authorization vote. This is probably the most important Guild membership vote in the last 20 years. Some exposition: First of all, A STRIKE AUTHORIZATION VOTE IS NOT A STRIKE VOTE. It merely authorizes your elected representatives, the officers and Board of Directors, to call for a strike if we deem that management has not negotiated in good faith and/or floated a substandard contract. It is, in essence, a vote of trust that the people you helped elect will make a reasoned decision if and when a strike becomes a clear option.

A strong membership vote, 90% plus, will give the Negotiating Committee leverage and may prompt the conglommerates we are in business with actually to stop stonewalling and get serious. The fact is that up till now the only thing they seem to be interested in talking about is the dismemberment of our residual system -- something we've had for 30 some odd years and had to strike to get. They have refused even to discuss any of our pattern of demands: compensation for digital delivery; jurisdiction over reality TV, improved percentages for DVD's, etc.

WGA Voices: Aaron Mendelsohn

• As you may have heard, the contract between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires on October 31, 2007. Currently, the WGA leadership has called for a strike authorization vote. I'll be writing more about that, and the issues involved, on this blog, as a two decade member of the WGA, and a former member of the Board of Directors. We'll also be posting what other people have written about it, and start today with this e-mail I just received from a good friend.

From Aaron Mendelsohn, WGAw Board of Directors

I am writing to all of you -- my friends and colleagues and writers I barely know whose e-mail addresses I happen to have -- to urge you to vote in favor of the strike authorization that your WGA leaders have asked you to support.

Why are you being asked to approve a strike authorization now?

Because there has been no movement on the part of the AMPTP in negotiations.  The draconian rollbacks they are offering is untenable (making residuals profit-based, gutting reacquisition, allowing movies and TV shows to run free on the internet as "promotion" etc.), and so far they have been completely, almost belligerently intractable.  We need to let them know that we are committed to our well-considered, realistic and reasonable proposals.  With the likelihood that distribution will be shifting to new media, we are pretty much screwed unless we can secure a fair share of all future revenue streams generated by our work.

Does this mean we will go on strike?