'Everyone Is Just Running Out of Runway'
Reader mail from an exec, a support staffer, writer and more carries the same message: Hollywood is reaching a breaking point
It’s been an extraordinarily tough time for Strikegeist readers, no more so evidenced by the pained emails that have been flooding my inbox this week. Today we’re hearing from a laid-off studio production executive who laments the “illness of vulture capitalism crippling our whole nation,” a support staffer whose friends in the industry routinely have to talk each other off the proverbial ledge, a “lifer” who volunteered at a recent MPTF food drive, and a TV writer who sold a series but is now worried it will be scrapped.
‘Constantly fighting the anxiety that the show could get cut at any point before we even complete the pilot’
As a TV writer, I went into this year having sold a series to a major network/streamer, and was deep into development, which was my first major step into becoming a creator and Co-EP on a show. At this point, I am constantly fighting the anxiety that the show could get cut at any point before we even complete the pilot, putting me back in many ways at square one. I also had a number of other projects in development, which just get pushed further and further out. Of course, my hope was always to get into a room based on my emerging credits, but without any sign of when the strike will end, that all becomes a fantasy.
If we end this by September or even October, there’s the chance I can get health insurance for my family and actually have a show moving forward for 2024, and the possibility of selling something new. If not… it’s hard to say.
Please understand that I am deeply committed to the Guild and our cause, and am actively on the picket lines and support our cause in every way. But that doesn’t lessen the anxiety and frustration that the studios that I am so eager to be working with seem to be so unwilling to work with us.
‘I find myself set back by 10 years’
Where to begin on the bleakness….
I have more than 20 years of experience, coming up as a DGA Trainee through the ranks all the way to studio Production Executive.
I thought I had finally made it to a “safe” career, “inside.” But beginning in 2019 with the first consolidation of Turner into AT&T, and now with the ongoing mergers losing my exec role at Paramount Global, I find myself set back by 10 years, back to the unstable life of freelance producing at basically the worst time in our biz, and, to top it off, a middle-aged woman in an ageist and (still) sexist industry.
This reader later wrote back to add:
BTW, I want to add that, as a (former) mid-level studio production executive, I feel extra shitty, as so many folks lump us in with “the studio.” Can only tell you how hard I (and other Production Execs I know) work to try to make shows HAPPEN. Everyone I know who is midlevel and lucky enough to still have a job “inside” is saying how unsettled, depressed and helpless they feel. So, obviously, it’s not the worker bees making this strike last - it’s the greed at the top, which is fed by the illness of vulture capitalism crippling our whole nation.
‘On the precipice of pulling the trigger to leave the industry’
As far as we can still tell, our show is still alive at the streamer in question and so whenever the strike ends, I'm mildly optimistic that we would be going into a room shortly thereafter. I'm fortunate to be working for an amazing boss who has been paying me out of their own pocket since the strike began, and while money is still extremely tight, I'm lucky to be in a better position than many others right now.
Unfortunately many of my friends who are also writers' room support staffers are not so lucky. Many have burned through their savings and/or unemployment, and have had to turn to family for help. Almost weekly, it seems that one of us is on the precipice of pulling the trigger to leave the industry, with the rest of us talking each other off the ledge. I support the strike completely, but the near-daily news of layoffs, the collateral damage for our fellow IATSE colleagues, many of whom have been out of work for months, and the collective mental and financial toll of this four-going-on-five month stoppage weighs on me every day. I'm beginning to wonder if / when the WGA and SAG-AFTRA 'win', the human cost of these two strikes will be so massive as to render any perceived union victory as negligible. To be absolutely clear, I believe the fault lies 100% with the AMPTP for dragging this out as long as they have.
‘It feels like when the strikes end, the decimation will be widespread’
Yes, my year is looking bleak. I just finished a commercial with an Oscar winning DP and basically, his agent, him, our post house, everyone is just running out of runway. The post house who finishes major films, has less than a month of ANYTHING left to work on. The crew? We are all like, well, commercials are picking back up, but way less, and yes, it was a spot tied to the NFL. In a nutshell, the key grip and gaffer are retiring next year, people whose resume includes Born on the Fourth of July, Munich, and Jurassic Park. Their sentiment? Glad it’s my time to check out.
For those of us who LOVE movies, and our job is kind of a bonus in this “carney” like industry where we used to make enough to take one or two jobs a year— it’s a shift to the model, where we have to work all the time, and sad to see the lack of passion infiltrate and malaise set in with those coming up / at the top.
Feel free to reprint my words, nameless, but being mid-career and a “lifer” for movies— I’d say that it feels like when the strikes end, the decimation will be widespread. From caterers I spoke with yesterday to PAs, to rental houses, to suppliers, to stages, on the way up to the top.
On the bright side, it will end, but I’m not certain who will stay or be left.
Last week, I handed out food at the MPTF food drive and it was nice to spread positivity, but difficult to see the hardships of the untold stories, people not in SAG-AFTRA or WGA, people like me, “lifers”, who don’t fit into a traditional career, or want it.
Thank you so much for those who have taken the time to share your experiences with me. You can always talk to me at: elaine@theankler.com.
Today in Strike News
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma sent letters this week to seven different companies — Netflix, Disney, Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple, Amazon and Paramount — urging them to negotiate “fair deals” with the writers and actors. “The impact of these two strikes paralyzes Hollywood and reverberates across the state, affecting countless businesses, thousands of pension fund beneficiaries, and millions of Californians,” Ma wrote to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, as well as the heads of each studio. “Your failure to come to an agreement is threatening the industry’s ability to ensure that writing, acting and other positions are viewed as sustainable careers in California.” (Los Angeles Times)
SAG-AFTRA is extending health care coverage for out-of-work members due to the strike. “This will come as a great relief to our members,” said guild president Fran Drescher. “I think it’s important that we never forget that we are in a contract negotiation with the AMPTP and under no circumstances should the health and well-being of members and their families ever be weaponized against them because of this strike.” (Variety)
The Walking Dead universe’s production will be in a similar state as the original show — a couple people surviving while everyone around them bites the dust — as SAG-AFTRA has granted approval for two Walking Dead spin-offs, as well as AMC’s Interview With the Vampire, to resume shooting. (Variety)
Legendary executive Barry Diller suggested on Kara Swisher’s podcast that the traditional studios should split up from Netflix, Apple and Amazon to cut their own deal with the guilds. “I think one fundamental thing, they should certainly get out of the room with their deepest fiercest and almost conclusive enemy, Netflix and probably with Apple and Amazon because Netflix is in one business and they are the rulers of the business,” he said. “Apple and Amazon Prime are in completely different businesses that have no business model relative to production of movies and television, it’s just something they do to support Prime or something they do to support their walled garden at Apple.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
Gallup conducted a new poll which found that a majority of Americans support the writers over the studios by a sizable 72 to 19 percent margin, and support the actors 67 to 24 percent. (Deadline)
Though the U.K. government is “engaging with industry to understand the impact of continued U.S. strike action,” they have yet to agree to the income replacement scheme that has been the focus of a popular petition. (Deadline)
One of the few big stars able to attend the Venice Film Festival this year, Adam Driver, used a press conference promoting his film Ferrari to support his union’s strike. “I’m very happy to be here to support this movie, and the truncated schedule that we had to shoot it and the efforts of all the incredible actors working on it and the crew,” said Driver. “But also, I’m very proud to be here to be a visual representation of a movie that’s not part of the AMPTP and to promote the SAG leadership directive which is an effective tactic, which is the interim agreement.” (Vanity Fair)
Following an election with the National Labor Relations Board, 18 Broadway trainers and therapists are joining IATSE’s Associated Crafts and Technicians Local. “Physical therapists for dance and the performing arts deserve the respect of union and a contract that recognizes the value, education, and time they put into their work,” says IATSE International Representative Dan Little. “Coming together in a union is the ultimate sign of self-respect.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
Picket Scene of the Day
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery prove to be the most popular pickets on both coasts. Here’s the Thursday morning scene in the Flatiron District.
Additional reporting for Today in Strike News by Matthew Frank.
Disclosure: Elaine Low is an inactive member of SAG-AFTRA.
AMPTP gloats reading these comments. Their one big goal is to break you, force you back to work on their terms, meaning a couple fluff giveaways that do not translate into dollars, a training program for show runners. FIGHT ON!