I just checked and saw my first post was up…here’s a little bit more of my 2 cents:
I saw first-hand how hard it is to even get in the unions (SAG/WGA…doesn’t really matter which) and then once you are in the union, that just gets you the POSSIBILITY to get work for anything that is union.
* I have an award-winning script — please someone just read it
Oh wait, you don’t have an agent…well, you need an agent to get your script read. Oh, you don’t have any purchased scripts, you can’t get an agent.
Somehow!
* I have an agent!
Once the agent is secured, a set of rejections, script doctoring (sometimes uncredited) and other grunt work is the most likely way you will go as a writer in Hollywood.
You are thankful for that work since it is very sketchy, seasonal and can end at any time. Oh, and the pay is probably spotty unless you happen to “hit” with a TV show, movie, etc…
Welcome to Hollywood…
A couple of very quick comments:
* You must be in the union to get union work. Non-union work for writers = video games, the Internet and reality shows (oh wait, those are “editors” and not writers…sure they are…)
TV and Film = union
No choice in the matter so don’t even bother making comments like “I will never join a union”. It’s just not a realistic choice for real work in Hollywood.
* Below the line folks
I know a lot of “below the line” folks in the crew, art department, etc…
This strike sucks for them — no way around that. They are really caught in the crossfire of the strike and certainly want it to end ASAP.
Everyone connected to the industry (from the obvious like talent agencies to the not so obvious like hotels, restaurants, etc…) are impacted by the strike.
Conclusions
* NO ONE (repeat NO ONE) wants to be out of work — especially over the holiday season.
These folks have gone through tremendous trouble and effort to get into a Hollywood union and be a working writer. Jobs are tough to come by and steady jobs even harder to come by for writers.
* Someone has to give and I don’t think the writers are going to move. They got jacked out of millions of dollars over that crazy new media known as VHS (and then DVD).
* There is a real possibility of a combo strike of WGA/DGA (Directors) and SAG (Actors). That would be the ultimate “scorched earth” scenario where we have 13 episode TV seasons or (God help us) EVEN MORE reality TV.
For those that don’t like TV now, wait until you have so much reality TV that you forgot how actual actors look onscreen. You will beg for the so-called “scripted” TV!
