Daily Digest: Apple's Rotten Day
The WGA road trips to Cupertino as writers tweet about their very bad deals with the streamer
Since the start of the writers strike over a month ago, one major streaming service has been conspicuously absent from the list of picket locations: Apple TV+. Presumably this was a matter of logistics — Apple, unlike streaming compatriots Netflix and Amazon, doesn’t boast a proper studio lot in L.A., just corporate office buildings in Culver City.
But on the start of Week Six, the most valuable company in the world (literally) was put into the spotlight as the Writers Guild led what it called an “Apple Day of Action”, or “Bad Apple Day”, with writers papering a handful of Apple retail locations across the country with leaflets on the strike. Besides L.A. and New York (Wanda Sykes joined in on the action out East), the guild also targeted certain stores in Philly, Pittsburgh, D.C. and, notably, Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., where the company was holding its Worldwide Developers Conference.
As Apple unveiled its new, $3,499 Vision Pro augmented reality headset, writers — such as WGA West board member Liz Alper — and local unions, including those repping Alphabet workers and California nurses, took to Cupertino to hand out leaflets at Apple Park Visitor Center. Writers looking for the attention of Tinseltown’s head honchos got a twofer: who else should happen to have been on stage this year but Disney CEO Bob Iger, who was there to tout a Disney+ integration with the new Apple hardware when it launches in 2024.
Here in L.A., Star Trek: Strange New Worlds writer and local Television City strike captain Bill Wolkoff oversaw the Bad Apple Day picket on Fairfax, where I’m told around 100 picketers showed up, including Severance creator Dan Erickson and Schmigadoon! creator Cinco Paul.
Meanwhile, other TV and film writers blasted the company on social media with tales of frustration with Apple TV+ series in development, from scribes Helen Shang (Rings of Power) to Tawnya Bhattacharya (Bel-Air), who each had experiences with the dreaded mini-rooms — a particular apple of discord, so to speak, amid the guild’s broader issues. Click on the images to read more.
Today in Strike News
Though WGA brass was touting union solidarity as recently as last Thursday, the DGA’s tentative deal leaves many striking writers unsurprised and further resolved in their demands. (The Hollywood Reporter)
In support of the WGA, the Writers Guild of Great Britain will hold a Global Day of Solidarity on Wednesday in London’s Leicester Square. (Variety)
As the strike trudges on longer and longer, Canadian broadcasters that normally display current U.S. scripted series are being forced into a heavy emphasis on unscripted fare. (The Hollywood Reporter)
At the ATX TV Festival down in Austin, strike talk was rampant, whether the panels intended to discuss it or not. (IndieWire)
The former Netflix, now Showtime comedy series Uncoupled, is “on pause” due to the strike, according to star Neil Patrick Harris. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Picket Sign of the Day
The Teamsters’ Lindsay Dougherty “fuck around/find out” axis.
Additional reporting by Matthew Frank