I have always refused, and refused on behalf of my crew. As far as I am concerned it is one of my primary responsibilities as a department head, to protect my crew from the studios who continue to attack their compensation in every way possible.

I am proud to be married to a writer who does the same for his crew.

Let me guess; you think Star War themed weddings are wonderful ideas?

You sir, are a complete idiot. Anyone that would type those words clearly hasn’t seen the show.

I’m not really on either side of this strike issue, but anyone who calls BSG a “turd” has little to no credibility.

As for WalMart I have only stepped foot in the place once when my car blew its transmission seal out in deepest Orange County and I had to stop every 10 miles to buy oil to fill the damm transmission and make my way home…frankly Walmart was scarey…but that said do note WalMart DOES pay benefits.

As for me being Union..please, I tried dealing with one Union once about the place I was at using non union people and when the big scarey union guy showed up he could really could care less-as long as the facility WAS union and they got their health and welfare dues payed the studio could have had slave chained to the back walls…as he told the owner; “at least your in business”…it sort of makes sense but really it was lame and add to that while many big studios are union they farm out stuff to totally non union sub contractors…but thats business and unfortunately allowed loopholes like that have made the studios realize they can circumvent union rules and in a way maybe even castrate them

Surely, we would all prefer to avoid benefit-less, low-paying Walmart conditions for ourselves?

As for residuals and everyone getting…do you really think that is going to happen? Creative endeavor…gezz this is a creative industry…whatever the writers “create” the rest of us bring to life, as you are not in the industry have you any idea how many times a feature shows up at a post studio’s doors making no sense, lame dialoge, lifeless, boring? Its the very creative talents of the post people who take these lifeless hulks and bring them to life…but they do not see any residuals…why?

The writers MAY have a point…maybe but the fact is they have created alot of ill will towards their cause with their arrogance…that alone wipes out any ra ra mentality their fellow entertainment workers might have towards them.

If they had any real leadership they would re-group and market their cause better instead the best they now can do is say Mr. Young’s comments were taken out of context…like how is that done when it was taped? Gezz you could have had the guy reading the Bible before and after he said what he did and it still would have been a serious case of both feet in his big mouth

No one should ever work without getting paid or adequate compensation. Unless you actually own the company (which is a real minority) or the actual product (I have written for no money before but I completely own the rights and all decisions regarding the work are mine.), workers need to be adequately compensated. Matter of fact, where I live (Texas, which is not exactly a hotbed of worker’s rights), it is illegal for an employer to ask an employee to work “off the clock.” Also, insurance will often not cover the expensives if an off-the-clock employee is hurt while performing their job. I’ve seen mangers get fired for asking their employees work off the clock. So I don’t know what “these places” are that you refer, but it sounds draconian to me.

Wow.. It is obvious from your statements about writers, you are not one. Every piece of writing is a creative endeavor, regardless if you are handed the idea or not. Do you have any concept of how difficult it is to write a working screenplay? Or create a convincing plot? Or craft believable dialog? Just because you are hired to do the job, doesn’t make it any easier or lesser of a craft. If what writers do isn’t so important, then why has Hollywood ground to a halt during the strike? Why not fire all the writers and just hire some homeless guys off the streets to write the scripts? Because it is a skill, a very specialized one, that most people do not have, nor have any inkling of how it is done.

I think you are missing the point about residuals and the writers. The writers have no problem with everyone getting residuals. They just have a very active and visual voice to contribute to this cause. The writers are very important cog in the Hollywood machine.

And no, I am not a screenwriter. I usually write essays and criticism on pop culture, but have dabbled with fiction and comics. I’ve also edited some seventeen books, which in the publishing world is akin to being a producer.

As for putting in extra unpaid work…again well duh..many places “ask” their employees to work extra unpaid hours; stock, clean, even volenteer their weekend for whatever…most people say yes. In case you didn’t know it…the world of low budget film making everyone does the other person’s job to get the project done and ensure getting paid…sure its not ideal but many are thankful to have a job and cannot afford to dig in their heels and say (in a high prissy voice) “no I won’t do that unless I get paid”. Reality is if you won’t someone is standing behind ready to say yes……you do know that don’t you? Reality is most people are pretty well paid for what they do and most are quite thankful…also do note most do not get the residuals you (if your a writer) seem to feel your entitled to…in a sense endlessly..

Oh and your comment about the people with the ideas…well yes some do create, hire writers and add a touch here and there but for the most part writers do NOT come up with the very ideas…!!!news flash!!! that could be the producer (hence the name), director, anyone and they go out and HIRE a writer to do a JOB.., they review drafts and usually continue to inject ideas intil they are satisfied with the work they payed for.

Oh and no its doubtful I will be bring any doughnuts to any picketers