'My Year is Gone Career-Wise'
'My Year is Gone Career-Wise'
A striking actress on the heartbreak and anguish of the shutdown
Appears in this episode
Before the strike, actress Addie Weyrich (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) had been booked for an FX pilot. Today, she is waiting tables. In conversation with our hosts, she puts words and feeling to the escalating stakes from the vantage point of a picketer, as the fight for a new agreement, and mounting frustrations with the structure of an industry and its CEOs, grind on. It used to be ‘‘we’re a family, we all have the same goals,” says Weyrich. Now, “it’s like a dumb, evil villain — we can see what you are doing.” Like others, her career dreams also are on hold: “I cry every day,” she admits. The studios “are denying people to just be middle class.” Also: the AMPTP-WGA memo wars (3:21), waning sympathy for both sides around town (27:35), and the demise of the R-rated comedy (33:26).
Transcript here.
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'My Year is Gone Career-Wise'
Let me start by first stating that I have absolutely no dog in the fight (in regards to The Hollywood strike). As a fair-minded individual a truly seek out hearing both sides of a situation. However, this podcast almost made me crash my car while listening to it in traffic (405 south, transitioning to the 10 east). Anyway, what I had a hard time listening to was the point being made that, this entire strike was due to "corporate greed" (or the actress you had on from Philadelphia was making this point). Recently I read that the Tom Cruise new Mission Impossible movie failed at the box office. I believe the studio spent $400MM+ on the movie, after 6 weeks the movie has grossed $150MM. Now the studio lost several hundreds of millions of dollars. When this happens, do the guilds offer to reduce their fees or salaries on the next projects to help offset the studio's losses? Everyone probably got their salaries and fees, but in this example the studios are just suppose to take the loss? It would seem as though the union is telling them..."hey, that's your problem...you need to not only continue paying us, but give us more of the revenue." Meaning while the entire TV and film industry is fighting against online content creators (i.e., YouTubers, Twitch, TikTok, etc.). It would appear that most films and tv shows are not profitable. How many box office films have made a profit over the three years, compared to how many have lost money for the studios? How much longer can (for example) Disney, pull money from their profitable businesses (e.g., ESPN, theme parks, cruise lines, hotels, licensing deals, etc.) to support their failing businesses (tv & film). How did their Haunted Mansion film do at the box office recently? Perhaps I am missing something, because I am not in the entertainment business, but I am a business owner, so I tend to look at things from a financial perspective. While I am in support for those out on the picket line fighting for what they believe is fair and just, I would hope that the members of this podcast would bring someone on that may have a different viewpoint on the matter. I'm hearing all the emotional sentiment, but not a balanced, well thought out view of the financials from both sides. Please feel free to contact me directly if you feel I am completely not understanding the situation at all. Thank you for your time.