Variety reports on a boisterous "unity rally" attended by 900 writers this morning. Organized by the Writers Guild of America, the rally was the kickoff for its campaign leading up to next year's contract negotiations.
Showing no let-up in its aggressive tone, the WGA West drew an estimated 900 members Wednesday morning to an enthusiastic "unity rally" at the Pan Pacific Park amphitheater followed by picketing outside CBS Studios in Hollywood. Although the current WGA film-TV contract doesn't expire for 13 months, WGA West president Patric Verrone promised that the rally was only the first of a string of such events.
"As we build up to the 2007 contract negotiations, this guild will be hosting more of these rallies, more meetings, more events," Verrone told the crowd. "We will be taking all sorts of actions as needed. Your support is vital."
Event coincided with the season's launch of "America's Next Top Model" on the CW, part-owned by CBS. "Top Model" has been struck by its dozen writers for the past nine weeks over the netlet's refusal to grant the WGA jurisdiction.
Despite the WGA's inability to organize a single reality show, Verrone insisted the guild's not wavering from its increased emphasis on organizing non-union work.
"The purpose of this morning's rally is to unite writers of various disciplines -- TV with features, fiction with nonfiction, live action with animation, daytime with latenight, new media with traditional markets," Verrone said. "And it is in that regard that I announce today the WGA doctrine for the 21st century -- that every piece of media with a moving image on the screen or a recorded human voice must have a writer. And every writer must have a WGA contract. For our friends in the press, that was the sound bite."
Loudest cheers during Verrone's speech came when he asked the crowd to recognize the striking writers from "America's Next Top Model." And he cited guild unity as the key factor in WGA advances -- from pension and health benefits and residuals to recent deals for "The Daily Show," "Lost," the vidgame version of "The Family Guy" and the Fox feature "Everybody's Hero."
"When we win a contract for the writers of 'America's Next Top Model,' and for all the reality writers and editors who stand with us today, it will be because we are united," he added.
"[E]very piece of media with a moving image on the screen or a recorded human voice must have a writer. And every writer must have a WGA contract." Now that's aggressive. As for the studios and producers who will whine over the WGA's 21st century manifest: hey, it's just the inevitable blowback for all those reality shows where you refused to pay the writers.
