How will the strike affect the little people?
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Sure, members of the WGA will be out of work for the length of the strike, but they aren’t the only ones. Their decision to strike will affect everybody from teamsters to writers’ assistants. Many will lose both their income and their insurance. We asked a handful of writers assistants and aspiring screenwriters how the strike will affect them; this is what they said.
“I’m having to rent out the extra room in my apartment to make ends meet…. I will be looking up the unemployment website today and figuring out how to apply…. I will be going through my entire budget to see what I can cut out…. If this goes on a while, I will probably look at going back to school and maybe getting a grad degree.”
- Producer’s assistant
“Seriously, I am almost giddy, having not had a break in 2 1/2 years. I am looking forward to writing and fishing and that sort of thing -- is that weird? I really am.… I am not afraid for some reason … maybe I am crazy.
“Also, I believe in unions and think that they are striking for the right reasons…. I understand the frustration of film crews with wealthy writers striking over pennies, but I see it much more as a fight for artists and royalties of a product that they create. And sadly, for every AD [assistant director] I have ever talked to, writing well isn’t nearly as easy as you think.”
- Writer’s assistant and aspiring screenwriter
“As a writer-director who was unemployed even before the strike began, I’m pretty happy that the strike is happening. It legitimizes all of the unemployed writers and sort of puts everybody on equal footing. Now staying at home and developing your own ideas for your own sake is what everybody in town will be doing, not just the unemployed. Everybody will be writing specs. Nobody will be working for pay. I think that’s a good thing.”
- Aspiring screenwriter-director
“I’m bummed about the strike -- not about the cause but that it had to come to this! I want to keep working! I hope they find a common ground and wrap this thing up fair and square and fast. If we need to strike to get what we deserve, bring it on -- I just hope to settle quickly. I think it’s better for the writers to strike now -- more leverage -- as opposed to waiting. If the WGA gets a good contract, the actors and directors can use that as a template and avoid another strike. We can all keep working.”
- Actor and aspiring screenwriter
“Well, it won’t affect me immediately. My boss is a hyphenate and is contractually obligated to finish cutting what’s been shot, so I’m on until that’s done. The long-term effects are what’s scary. Most immediately, pilot and staffing season are totally up in the air. So it might mean another year of being a desk monkey before I get a chance to break in.”
- Showrunner’s assistant and aspiring screenwriter
--Compiled by Stephanie Lysaght