News broke this weekend that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike in Hollywood may be ended before members approve a final contract. According to the WGA, members will consider the three-year tentative contract during a ratification process before a final vote.
This puts the cart before the horse. Why end the strike, which began on Nov. 5, 2007, before the writers approve an agreement?
Hollywood’s establishment, especially the entertainment press, has tried to lay a guilt trip on the union since the strike was initiated. This argument was based on altruism—the idea that writers should put self-interest aside for the sake of those who have been adversely affected. There has been particular disdain for striking writers over whether the Academy Awards would be upstaged by the contract dispute, as if awards, not the creation of motion pictures, are what moves Hollywood.
The union’s demands, such as compensation for content used through new technology, are based on legitimate points (the studios never really made a case to the public) so ending the strike now blunts the union’s contractual gains. The WGA consistently put the writers’ position at the forefront of the debate and they succeeded in getting most of their demands met. But ending the strike without a member-approved contract deprives the writers of having the last word.
Disney Theme Park Changes
WGA President Patric Verrone’s statement acknowledged the efforts of Disney’s CEO, Robert Iger, who helped to broker the deal. Negotiating skills aside, Mr. Iger’s doing an excellent job running the Walt Disney Company these days, with a string of movie, cable and home video hits adding up to double digit returns on investments.
Last quarter, Disney’s theme park business spiked an impressive 11 percent in spite of the economic downturn and the New York Times published a major article on upcoming theme park changes at Disney’s California Adventure (DCA) in Anaheim, California. The piece focuses on a new attraction called Toy Story Mania, currently under construction, which sounds like a giant video game.
The name of the attraction alone is a turnoff to those who prefer Disneyland’s classic immersion in storytelling to manic, whim-worshipping perceptual assaults designed for the short attention span but read the article for a good sense of what Disney has in store.
Through the grapevine, I have heard that, while DCA changes will incorporate an attraction based on the brilliant 1989 animated classic, The Little Mermaid, DCA will not build the thematically superior version featured in computer simulation on last year’s Platinum DVD edition. That’s not a good sign.
Implementation of DCA’s proposed changes, which generally sound like an improvement, is a crucial test for Mr. Iger. If he’s as respectful of the Disney creative philosophy—that works be built around a high caliber story—as I think he is, he’ll rebuild the maligned park, Little Mermaid attraction included, in the bold spirit with which the studio’s founder built the original theme park, Disneyland.
Judging by his sharp, sober and optimistic interview on CNBC last week, Mr. Iger has all of what it takes.
Clinton vs. MSNBC
CNBC’s sister network, MSNBC—Microsoft’s joint venture with NBC News—punished political reporter David Shuster, for pointing out that the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign is using an adult Clinton relative to get nominated—he used a slang term—prompting an outraged response from the Clinton camp. What a crock.
That MSNBC suspended Shuster, who is a total professional, is the real outrage. How can anyone take seriously a campaign that employs another prominent relative—the former president who is the candidate’s spouse—who openly discussed his underwear on national television and despicably played the race card a few weeks ago? Informative Shuster, who already apologized for his choice of words, is an important part of TV’s best political coverage. He should be reinstated without delay.
Roy Scheider Dies
Roy Scheider has died. He was 75. Though known for his cop roles in The French Connectionand Jaws, he was underestimated for top performances in Robert Benton’s thriller Still of the Night, in Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz and in the 1973 New York City action picture The Seven-Ups. Sad-eyed Scheider was a strong, reliable screen presence during five decades of motion pictures and he’ll be missed.
