This is the occasional Jamboree edition of my column, in which I briefly touch on various issues that have popped up in the industry.
Buckle Up for a Bumpy Landing
We’ve entered a strange twilight moment for the shutdown, a moment when the rhetoric is merely simmering rather than on a constant boil, and the truth about what’s happening may have little or no relation to what we’re seeing.
Yesterday, sometimes Ankler contributor, the all-seeing Ken Ziffren, told an audience that the latest meeting had not “moved the ball forward” and, more alarmingly for those who want to see a quick end here, implied that the two sides were talking over each other rather than working towards a solution.
Ziffren would know, and God knows neither of the parties here is at any loss for words to air their grievances. One can have pity for the fly on the wall and the potted plant in the corner for the hot air they’ll have to endure.
Nonetheless! Something really changed in the last few weeks with the studios…
After months of stony silence, the CEOs were suddenly talking about their working-class roots and how much they just wanted this to end. That was quickly followed by the resumption of, I don’t know what you call this — activity, I guess.
So having swallowed the pill that they aren’t going to just stare this thing down for a hundred years until the battered remains of the writing profession begs to be allowed to just do their work, I don’t think they can really just let this fall apart and go back to status quo ante. It is, after all, within the studios’ power to end this— most drastically by just accepting the WGA’s positions in toto if need be.
Can’t afford The Ankler right now? If you’re an assistant, student, or getting your foot in the door, and want help navigating the craziness of this business but don’t have the money to spare, drop me a line at richard@theankler.com and we’ll work it out. No mogul or mogul-to-be left behind here at The Ankler.
