dear amptp : talk to the hand

There is more strike news —

Tom Cruise’s company United Artists has signed an independent agreement with the Writer’s Guild — independent of the AMPTP.

This makes United Artists the only film studio in Hollywood that can legitimately employ Guild writers.

When Letterman broke away from the AMPTP to sign the first independent contract with the WGA Jen said Letterman rules.

He seriously does. But not maybe in clearly obvious ways to people outside the industry.

See. In a Guild fight, Letterman is one of the few television personalities that can make this move — break ranks with the AMPTP and sign independently with the Guild — and withstand AMPTP retaliation for doing it.

Ever hear the statement “You will never work in this town again”? That statement originated in Hollywood and when they say that in Hollywood they are not kidding they mean it and will make it happen — if they can and most of the time they seriously can — and that is what anyone signing independently with the Guild is looking at. So to sign first, to lead, you have to be powerful and established enough in the entertainment industry to say back, “I do not think so.”

Letterman is established and powerful enough in television to do that.

[Oprah is another television personality powerful and established enough to withstand the kind of fallout anyone splitting from the AMPTP is facing. Maybe someone should email her and ask her to follow Letterman’s lead : Email Oprah.]

Tom Cruise is one of the only film personalities who can make this move and withstand the hit that will come at him for doing it too.

The number of personalities established and powerful enough to do this without being obliterated by retaliatory action from the AMPTP is very small. Hollywood is home of the black list. But with each powerhouse who takes the first step — and Letterman did take the first step bringing television into the equation and now Cruise and Paula Wagner UA co-owners have taken it too and brought motion pictures into the equation too — it becomes easier to follow.

 

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*note, there is a good deal of hitting and yelling over the wga rejecting requests to sign waiver agreements with dick clark productions to produce the golden globes and with comedy central’s jon stewart — nbc broadcasts the golden globes [and also Jay Leno’s show] and viacom owns comedy central — nbc and viacom are two of the amptp powerhouses refusing to negotiate with the guild gee i wonder why we won’t sign side deals with them to keep their revenue flowing while they punkass the writers at the negotiating table?

 

where the art work comes from :
that is mouse & keyboard by niquin