“Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?” - Princess Leia

By Teresa Jusino
As you entertainment junkies probably know, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike at midnight on November 5th. The WGA is the union that represents the thousands of writers in television, film, news programs, documentaries, animation, CD-ROMs, and content for new-media technologies (internet, mobile phones, and beyond). You can read all about it here. Brian K. Vaughan, one of my favorite writers, explains the writers’ position in layman’s terms here.

Basically, the writers’ contract expired on Oct. 31st. Since then, they’ve been trying to negotiate with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for better terms for residuals (the amount the writer is paid every time something they’ve written is bought or aired), particularly in the areas of DVD sales and new-media technologies where they are being paid very little and not at all, respectively.

I sympathize with the writers and want them to get what they want and deserve for two reasons:

1) I am a writer (albeit not a unionized one), and I’d like to think that I work in an industry where writers get the respect they deserve. Very often, Hollywood will be really deferential to actors, directors, and producers, but treat the writers like the red-headed stepchildren. It’s really inexcusable, considering that without the writers, the entertainment industry would be far less entertaining. They’re not asking for anything unreasonable, and they should not be denied the opportunity to earn a living in this industry that’s already making other people so much money.

and

2) I WANT TO BE ABLE TO WATCH LOST IN FEBRUARY! If the AMPTP doesn’t cut the shennanigans, give the writers what they deserve, and end the strike in time for the long-awaited fourth season to be written in its entirety, I’m going to go to L.A. and punch every producer in the face!

Some of you may be members of one union or another. Some of you, like me, are artsy-types who are not members of a union yet, but hope to be someday. All of you watch TV and go to movies. You wouldn’t be card-carrying geeks if you didn’t! I read that the WGA was welcoming non-union supporters to picket with them. While I don’t have time for that, I thought I would send a letter to the AMPTP expressing my support for the writers as a viewer. Thought I’d get other interested parties to do the same.

If the spirit moves you, and you’d like to extend your support, you can contact the AMPTP here. You can either:

* Send an e-mail via their online form (quick and easy!)
* Send a letter to the mailing address on the page to the attention of AMPTP president, Nick Counter (nothing has the knives-out poetry of angry letters stacked on a desk!)
* Or you can call the phone number on the page and leave a polite message with Nick Counter’s assistant (depending on how concerned you are about the whole thing).

Your letters don’t have to be long. It can be something like this:

Dear Mr. Counter,

I am a television viewer and movie-goer. It is the job of your organization to make and keep me happy so that I continue to go out and buy things, thereby keeping your advertisers happy and those in your industry gainfully employed (and also happy). What would make me happiest at the moment would be if you treat the WGA fairly and give the writers what they want and deserve to successfully end this strike. The entertainment industry needs its writers. It also needs its audience. The longer we have to sit through re-runs, the less likely we’ll be to keep coming back - especially when we have On Demand cable, Netflix, and YouTube to keep us warm. I’m writing this note, as one of the many viewers you are trying to court, to express my support for the writers. Thank you.

Sincerely,
(your name here)

Or something like that. In fact, feel free to steal that and alter it for your own purposes. Feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone you think might be interested, too, as there is power in numbers. Post the links I’ve included in your blogs, on your networking sites, or on any relevant message boards you visit. I would love the writers to know that it isn’t just fellow union members who support what they do, but average viewers across the country who enjoy the stories they tell, and want to keep them coming. Thank you!

TERESA JUSINO entered the world kicking and screaming in 1979 and hasn’t stopped screaming since. An actress, writer, and producer, Teresa’s work has been seen in several venues and mediums. As an actress, she has appeared at several venues in NYC and regional theater. As a writer, her work has appeared in Elmont Life newspaper, and on the sadly defunct website, CentralBooking.com. As a producer, she is currently producing a new theater piece - Emergency Contraception!: The Musical, which runs through September, as well as acting as Associate Producer for a New York theater company, Stone Soup Theater Arts. As a geek, Teresa loves Star Trek, Lost, comics, and anything Joss Whedon ever touched. Also, she has a fangirl *squee-ing* crush on Brian K. Vaughan. Yes, she knows he’s married.

Technorati Tags: writers strike, nick counter, amptp

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