Writers can Strike?!

This is news to me. Seriously, I didn’t even know writers could strike! I mean, they’re self-employed on commission aren’t they, who are they going to strike against? Themselves? Weird.

BBC NEWS- There is no end in sight to the increasingly bitter Hollywood writers strike. Union members and their employers, the studio producers, are rigidly sticking to their position that they are not to blame for the deadlock.

Okay, so apparently every screenwriter in Hollywood is refusing to write. Shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives will purportedly suffer the hardest (as if these shows are well-written anyway, I’d rather watch Scrubs and Chickfights on Youtube). And Oh No! The Jay Leno Show is going to have to air re-runs! NOOOOOO!!!

Writers are ticked because apparently with the inundation of digital media like DVD’s and TIVO and internet broadcasts, Networks are doing things like airing shows online or selling DVD’s of the series and not paying the writers every time they do so. Writers want what are called “residuals” for when their media is used outside of a regularly scheduled program, even though they’ve already been commissioned and let go.

What they heck, so they want to get paid for work they’ve already been paid for? O.o

And even actors are walking off their jobs to support the writers! Someone please tell me what actors have to do with this? No one’s more air-headed than actors nowadays, they strike for jobs they don’t even have. Hah, I’m going to laugh when they get sued for breach of contract.

You know what, I’m a firefighter. I spent the summer fighting raging wildfires in the worse fire season in California history. I got paid about $12 an hour. I’d sure as heck like to make a little more money seeing as I’m like, you know, risking my life and all. But hey, that’s what they pay me, and I took the job. What am I going to do? Refuse to go fight a fire until they pay me more?

So now there are a bunch of writers wandering around Hollywood with red shirts that say “On Strike.” I’m temped to get a red t-shirt that says “Go Back to Work” on the front, and “8 Cents” on the back.

Right now, if I were an up and coming writer, I’d jump on the opportunity to be a scab for a big show right now. Screw the Writers Guild’s threats of retaliation, use a pen name and get your foot in the door while everyone else is at home sleeping.