My Creative Mojo

That’s right, the contract was approved by 93.6% of the vote. It’s officially done.
And now back to our sedentary lives…

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It looks like the strike is wrapping up and the vote to end the strike and ratify the contract is just a formality.
This blog was originally intended to be about the creative process, and it got sidelined by strike news and experiences. It was unfortunate that the strike had to happen. The upside is that [...]

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The contract looks okay. Not great, but also not the polished turd that the AMPTP offered in November and December.
The WGA members will vote on Tuesday to either lift the strike, or to continue striking until the contract is ratified. The ratification vote will be in the next 10 days.
Things are looking good, and I’d [...]

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Apparently a deal is imminent. We don’t know the terms, which won’t be released until late tonight, whenever they are ready. Several of the studio CEO’s have a handshake deal with the WGA, and now it’s a matter of drafting the legal contract language to support it. I expect this will get slowed down by [...]

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I got a Tivo HD over the holidays. I don’t have an HD setup in my living room, but I liked the dual-tuner feature. There were times in the past where it would have been great to record two channels at the same time.
Yesterday I sat down and flipped through the “Now Playing” screen to [...]

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I hit the 2:30 - 5:30 shift at NBC, the only active picket today. I left a few minutes late and had trouble finding parking, so I was on the line from 3:00 - 5:30. It was a good shift with writers that are typically at various studios throughout the week.
Hours logged today: NBC 3 [...]

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8-12 WB Gate 2. There was an event at the WB picket this morning with comedy writers, so I went to check that out. My gate captain, Steve Skrovan was there with Phil Rosenthal and Tucker Cawley (Everybody Loves Raymond). I met some of the writers from Samantha Who? Lots of talk about multi-cam vs. [...]

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Radford 8-12. Ran into my new friend Lana from Alabama. She introduced me to Doug Eboch, a screenwriter. Had a great long chat with him. He got his start at Disney in Feature Animation and knows a lot of the people that my wife, Melissa knows from her time there. A little excitement today. It [...]

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I was a little slow getting around this morning and barely made my usual 6-9 am Radford shift. I walked 8-12 at Radford, jumped over to WB Gate 4. Spent the 12-3 shift chatting with Don Foster, met a writer named Laird who looks like a character actor with a William H. Macy type look. [...]

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The shifts are 7-10, 10-1 and 1-4. I show up at 8am & plan to walk 8-11, crossing over the first two shifts. I run into some of my Universal Gate 3 crew on the early shift. As I start, the picket is a large oval on the sidewalk along Pico, mostly along the wall [...]

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I was picketing at NBC today, chatting with a few writers and actors when I was asked about my typical gate shift. I sometimes put in more than the required 15 hours/week because although I wish that we weren’t in a fight with the studios, this is a great opportunity for all writers to mix.
Writers [...]

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Here’s a fun video with a ton of people from our Universal Gate 3 crew:

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In case you missed this one…

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Here’s a picture of my Universal Gate 3 homies, taken just before the holidays.

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http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/01/qa-with-sags-al.html
I wanted to post this because SAG president Alan Rosenberg gives me huge props. Here’s a quote. Click on the link above for the full story.

When would SAG typically begin negotiations with the AMPTP? Would it be a couple of months before the contract is up, like the WGA?
That would depend on Doug Allen, our [...]

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In his previous life, he was Hitler. Nick Counter will die and come back to life as a writer.
I have never had a more burning desire to hold a crucifixtion in Encino (home of the AMPTP).

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It hadn’t occurred to me before, a really easy way to get the AMPTP back to the negotiating table.
The WGA should trick Nick Counter into showing up at a hotel meeting room, perhaps by baiting him with an underage girl. Then when Nick shows up, he encounters the WGA’s secret weapon: Chris Hansen, who corners [...]

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WGA support got substantially stronger today when the WGA (that’s the Writers Guild of America) gained support from the WGA (the Waggers Guild of America.)
Not only did the dogs pledge their support and march on our picket lines, they also promised to shit in Nick Counter’s lawn, and also place paper bags of dog poo [...]

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I actually arrived early to the picket line, just a moment before our gate captain showed up with the picket signs.
So I got “first tracks” and four of us started the picket line. It was kinda like going skiing, being the first skiier off the lift and getting “first tracks” through the fresh untrekked snow, [...]

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I would like to apologize.
Sincerely apologize.
I was a little tired and wasn’t completely paying attention while driving.
I honked. Not just a nice and friendly tap on the horn, but a HONK! HONK! HOOOOOOOOONK!… HONK!
Oh crap! That’s not a picket line. That’s a large group of people waiting for the bus.
To all the people waiting for [...]

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