THB #387: Both Sides Now

The summer movie season is over. The fall television season isn’t starting. Festivals are ready to go… but they have been a bit hollowed out and the only actors or writers showing up are at serious of risk of being shadow-boycotted by the actors and the writers who are busy not-working and walking around in circles in the heat while others seem comfortable promoting their newest films and shows - while pretending not to - in luxury spots like Venice and Telluride.

In the last few weeks, it’s be almost amusing to watch the role out of new promotions that were clearly organized months ago for release now. It’s not fair, but I find it vaguely unpleasant, regardless of when the interview or photo shoot was done, that talent is out there talking with the lightness of normalcy while so many of their peers are dealing with months not working. I know they are obliged. And I know it was done before the strike launched. But it still feels icky.

Then there are the strikes themselves. They are an emotional whirlwind.

I have rebuilt this column 3 times today because my brain and my fingers type towards detailing the factual strike situation over and over again. And I don’t wanna.

I want to talk about the passions on the union side… that are both fantastic and, to me, dangerously overwrought.

I want to talk about the AMPTP side, which I don’t see as The Evil Empire, but which I do think is doing unnecessary damage by being too clever by a lot.

I don’t believe for a second that AMPTP’s corporate leaders are so stupid that they believe that they could stonewall for 3 months then make 1 real counter and force it down WGA’s collective throat. It’s pretty clear that they see WGA as the bigger challenge and want to overcome it before doing a deal with SAG/Aftra based on the WGA deal.

But they still aren’t clear on the answer to the question of what they see as realistic and what is keeping them from settling. What do they really want? Besides doing nothing but what they want.

Not to bust the union.

They need the union.