Oddly hypnotic video of Joss and pencils.
Ninety seconds of Joss and Ron Moore dumping boxes of pencils into a large tub during Tuesday's first set of attempted deliveries of pencils to media moguls. And it did get noticed by the AMPTP.
December 12 2007
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The One True b!X | December 12, 14:16 CET
--why Joss and Mr. Moore, though? Hopefully because they have the most fanatic fans in all the land...
dottikin | December 12, 14:17 CET
Simon | December 12, 14:46 CET
Lots of good ones of Joss.
TheDivineGoat | December 12, 15:28 CET
gossi | December 12, 17:14 CET
zeitgeist | December 12, 17:15 CET
[ edited by PSandusky on 2007-12-12 14:36 ]
PSandusky | December 12, 17:35 CET
And these are writers?
Strike slogans are usually lame, but this one, especially so.
Just sayin', but wouldn't "Don't hate, negotiate!" have worked better?
Chris inVirginia | December 12, 17:36 CET
skeezycheeses | December 12, 17:56 CET
1-3-5-7, You bastards !
Maybe it's Joss and Ron because they "won" i.e. had the most donations in their name ? Or maybe there were other folks filling containers but only Joss/Ron fans are barmy enough to film it ;).
Might that someone be David Fury?
The lack of mustard stains is consistent with this hypothesis.
Saje | December 12, 17:56 CET
And did I catch a glimpse of the Forgotten Writer, holding the Forgotten Box of Pencils, while society Forgot How Heavy They Can Be?
My impression is that the pencil thing worked very well, and was a nice way for those of us who couldn't be there to be there.
Are we now working on a sequel?
Power to the Pencil People! Write On (Once You Get a Shakespearean Share of the Gate)!
Pointy | December 12, 18:03 CET
EditorAl | December 12, 18:05 CET
We wish you would make an offer
We wish you would make an offer
We wish you would make an offer
That won't end our careers.
The future of TV
Is on computers
We must be your partners
So stop acting like looters
[ edited by Pointy on 2007-12-12 15:53 ]
Pointy | December 12, 18:28 CET
BrowncoatG | December 12, 18:33 CET
*sniffle-snork* It's nice to know we are making a difference.
Love's Bitch | December 12, 18:51 CET
Chris inVirginia | December 12, 19:23 CET
Well, David Fury had neither a leg brace nor (artfully trimmed or not) facial hair last Friday, so ?.
[ edited by m'cookies on 2007-12-12 16:45 ]
m'cookies actual | December 12, 19:41 CET
BrownCoat_Tabz | December 12, 19:49 CET
I think when you saw him m'cookies he was pretending not to have a leg brace or beard.
Saje | December 12, 19:49 CET
Now I can't help but picture the human delegation from BSG...patiently waiting for a Cylon delegation to meet with. For 40 years....
Note to writers: If a smokin' hot blond in a red dress shows up at the negotiations, run like hell.
Rogue Slayer | December 12, 19:53 CET
Willowy | December 12, 19:53 CET
He's good
BrownCoat_Tabz | December 12, 19:54 CET
Yes, the studios refused delivery, according to the news this morning.
Rogue Slayer | December 12, 19:58 CET
People just need to start sending boxes of pencils disguised in boxes that outwardly wouldn't look like their contents. Otherwise, the studios will just keep refusing delivery.
leiasky | December 12, 20:06 CET
BrownCoat_Tabz | December 12, 20:11 CET
It was on my local (Los Angeles) NBC news this morning...a nice little blurb about the fans supporting the writers, and how the pencils will be donated to charity.
Rogue Slayer | December 12, 20:12 CET
I think that would cause major security problems which neither side would want.
Simon | December 12, 20:18 CET
Saje | December 12, 20:26 CET
Maybe it said "BUFFY + ANGEL = 4 EVAR!"
Ok, seriously, these photos and the Ron Moore speech are pretty neat. I was a little disappointed yesterday after hearing about the refusals (although not unexpected) and feeling like this was all well organized and well intended but not really getting the message out there quite like we'd hoped. But seeing even more photos and the video today has renewed my hope a bit. We all need to make sure this gets the internet exposure it deserves.
On a lighter note, a nomination: Pointy as official Whedonesque hair commentator.
Sunfire | December 12, 20:27 CET
Saje | December 12, 20:31 CET
ETA: Hey! You're just saying that so I won't write another strike song!
[ edited by Pointy on 2007-12-12 17:39 ]
Pointy | December 12, 20:34 CET
(know what you mean Pointy but hey, at least we can kid ourselves it's due to a surfeit of testosterone ;)
Saje | December 12, 20:38 CET
Pointy | December 12, 20:41 CET
Thanks, Rogue Slayer. I've been wondering about you and Ed - SNT too. Did any of you guys make it to the picket? I didn't see you in any photos...
Willowy | December 12, 20:42 CET
Saje is already the de facto facilitator of taking things to the weird place.
Sunfire | December 12, 20:47 CET
(clearly the next logical step is a song about the Great Hair Battle of '07. A tenner on Moore BTW)
Saje | December 12, 20:54 CET
totally0random | December 12, 21:17 CET
zeitgeist | December 12, 21:43 CET
C. A. Bridges | December 12, 21:45 CET
m'cookies actual | December 12, 21:48 CET
And the Thank you Fans made me mist up a little, I must say.
Lioness | December 12, 21:51 CET
This pencil thing was a very good idea that failed to produce results. I say it's time for the torches and pitchforks. These networks execs are overdue for a good old-fashioned lynchin'!
ZachsMind | December 12, 21:56 CET
cymerin | December 12, 22:11 CET
I was there for the NBC leg yesterday. It wasn't so much that the delivery was rejected as a large mob of people and two Mysterious Hampers weren't allowed past the security gate. Disappointing but not at all surprising. Anything could have been hidden under those pencils -- explosives, rabid hamsters, those sproingy prank snake thingies. Really, who has that many pencils on hand (and boxes and boxes left over)? From what I heard, it sounds like the security people were pretty nice about the whole thing.
ZM, I don't think painting either the writers or the fans as a bloodthirsty mob will do anyone any favors, aside from the AMPTP.
Lady Brick | December 12, 22:11 CET
Phase 2?
ZM, I don't think painting either the writers or the fans as a bloodthirsty mob will do anyone any favors, aside from the AMPTP.
Agreed.
Sunfire | December 12, 22:28 CET
When they formed the human chain to load the boxes back onto the truck I asked Jane if this was the first time Joss had done any manual work (those boxes were heavy!). She said he's stronger than he thinks he is...
And leg-cast guy wasn't Fury.
Can't believe how much name dropping I'm doing, but it actually got to the point where it became just natural to be walking down the street having my eye nearly poked out by the sign Danny Strong was carrying or chatting to a guy and having him casually mention he directed several episodes of Buffy and Angel before becoming a writer on Smallville. I did ask him what Kristen Kreuk was really like (Very sweet) and what her phone number was (Dammit, where did I put that bit of paper?)
A surreal day.
zz9 | December 12, 22:31 CET
Nope, didn't make it. We were in Holland visiting Ed's fam. Otherwise we probably would have been there.
Rogue Slayer | December 12, 22:37 CET
I'll have you know that I got all sorts of comments at ME Day about my hair.
Mainly, "Hey, you have hair!"
The One True b!X | December 12, 22:38 CET
Where is Patrick Dempsey ranked in the Great Hair Battle? My money's on him.
Lady Brick | December 12, 22:50 CET
That's EXACTLY what I said when I saw your pics :)
Dempsey is awaiting the results of another bracket as he is eager to defeat them and move on to face Ron Moore or Kyle Chandler.
zeitgeist | December 12, 22:53 CET
Mainly, "Hey, you have hair!"
I didn't say it out loud, but I thought it! ;)
m'cookies actual | December 12, 22:55 CET
These guys seem to be acting reflexively, rather than reflectively. Shrewd bad guys sometimes make an offer you can't refuse, but these guys are making an offer the artists can't accept.
A decent residual rate is the only way these artists can make their careers in their art. There are very few things that will lead people to voluntarily stop drawing a paycheck, but the knowledge that the alternative is sabotaging their own careers is one of them.
Pointy | December 12, 23:00 CET
kurya | December 12, 23:00 CET
Consider the less fortunate.
ETA: Blast it, kurya, I thought I'd had all those pictures destroyed!
[ edited by Pointy on 2007-12-12 20:05 ]
Pointy | December 12, 23:02 CET
zeitgeist | December 12, 23:05 CET
kurya | December 12, 23:07 CET
zeitgeist | December 12, 23:13 CET
Dempsey gains on natural looking colour but loses out in the "swingability" stakes. I'm no expert but surely one of the criteria has to be how readily your hair could be adapted into a weapon, right ? I mean it stands to reason. Chandler loses out here too so I give Moore a narrow lead as things stand.
Shrewd bad guys sometimes make an offer you can't refuse, but these guys are making an offer the artists can't accept.
Y'know this is so true Pointy. Their "offer" and subsequent posturing is only strengthening the writers' resolve.
If they'd offered a middle way deal that was still favourable to the studios but not by as much then I think they'd have people asking about compromising and taking things off the table, as it is, they've just made the decision simple. Strike now, and what's more hold out until the deal is done come what may OR the AMPTP will break the union and you'll be in danger of losing all the gains made over the last 50 years. They've taken a complex, nuanced decision and made it a no-brainer for the writers. Tactically it just seems stupid.
Saje | December 12, 23:14 CET
Madhatter | December 13, 00:03 CET
Moguls to Artists: No Future for You.
Artists to Moguls: No Future for Us = No Future for You
Pointy | December 13, 00:24 CET
igj | December 13, 00:26 CET
But remember, you don't need hair to be hawt.
Look at Principal Wood.
jcs | December 13, 00:56 CET
It was fun to see Joss dumping all of those boxes of pencils into those big linen bins (that was a great idea to visually show off the amount of pencils!).
embers | December 13, 01:25 CET
Madhatter | December 13, 01:35 CET
The video was great. I missed it all in real life. I was busy slicing all the boxes open with a mean looking box cutter.
I want to see a video of us all putting the pencils back into the truck. We were a mean machine. That would also probably be oddly hypnotic. And oh my aching back today...
Pliny | December 13, 01:50 CET
Lioness | December 13, 02:16 CET
"Nice" is a bit of an exaggeration. They weren't overtly hostile, but were kind of lame. To paraphrase the response I overheard at both the NBC and Disney gates - "No, uh, we're not taking any deliveries. At this gate. At any gate. For anyone. Ever." Sure, because I've worked at a lot of places that never take deliveries, from anywhere, ever ;). Compounding the lameness, I read on the United Hollywood site that the UH organizer called the deliveree's office from the NBC gate, and was hung up on by his secretary. Smooth, these captains of industry. I realize any business might turn down a delivery that they didn't order. But I hope the awkwardness of the putative masters of media came across in the media reports. I didn't manage to catch any of them.
dreamlogic | December 13, 02:25 CET
Madhatter | December 13, 02:49 CET
Pliny | December 13, 02:56 CET
Amidst this alternating mix of personal attacks and picket line frivolity, we must not forget that this WGA strike is beginning to cause serious economic damage to many people in the entertainment business.
Link:
Simon | December 13, 02:58 CET
Mainly, "Hey, you have hair!"
Yeah, that was me last month when I hadn't seen you in a long while and then we looked for you at The Gypsy and we couldn't find you because you had hair! I'm still amused by that.
[ edited by ElectricSpaceGirl on 2007-12-13 00:25 ]
electricspacegirl | December 13, 03:01 CET
Everyone's a critic. Listen.
I don't know about you, but I wanna see Eliza Dushku portray Echo before she's old enough to play Buffy's grandma. I wanna know how Nikki survived the explosion in that burning building some time before hell freezes over twice. I wanna find out how Jack & Kate got off The Island, and I've already waited way too long for that one.
If we're ever gonna make headway against corporate behemoth monsters, we're gonna have to suck it up and storm some frikkin castles.
ZachsMind | December 13, 03:06 CET
[ edited by Madhatter on 2007-12-13 00:22 ]
Madhatter | December 13, 03:12 CET
Monday will probably be the last day of picketing till January. It was great being out there in front of Fox, fighting The Man with lots and lots of like-minded, extremely awesome people. IMO, it's the reverse of "Barbarians at the Gate;" the barbarians are on the inside, and it's the artists and humanists at the gate. I really am going to have to make sure I get out there more!
[ edited by swanland on 2007-12-13 00:20 ]
swanland | December 13, 03:13 CET
Madhatter | December 13, 03:26 CET
And spoken of here...
Leg-cast guy was a riot. I didn't get his name, though, but definitely not Fury. We got into a faux argument about who rocks more, the writers or the fans. I said the writers, he said the fans. I think I lost. It is his booming voice at the end that you hear chanting "thank you fans".
Is it the same guy in the leg cast seen in this WGA video (at about 1:00 in and onward)?
Because if it is, the video explains why he won the argument.
ETA: Also I think he may be the best WGA spokesperson I have seen. As in, face of the strike. And no one's been exactly bad with words.
[ edited by Sunfire on 2007-12-13 01:09 ]
Sunfire | December 13, 04:03 CET
Fans pretty.
(I won't write until it's right either! ;-)
OzLady | December 13, 04:47 CET
For those who haven't checked out the link in Sunfire's post, please do. You will see one of the heroes of the great pencil delivery and what and who we are fighting for. We are with you, Michael!
Pliny | December 13, 05:26 CET
Pointy | December 13, 05:39 CET
Too bad the deliveries were refused. This whole thing just keeps getting messier and messier.
UnpluggedCrazy | December 13, 06:36 CET
Fans pretty.
Awww. How sweet. :) I'm stealing that slogan, OzLady, if there's ever another Mutant Enemy Day. Hope you don't mind.
electricspacegirl | December 13, 07:31 CET
Regardless, a thought occurred; it was so cool to see all those actors show up, just as people, as themselves, for the cause. I got to thinking: What if Juliet had shown up as Dru. What if Nathan had shown up as Mal? Eliza as Faith? ACK! If just one or two kind makeup artists from ME had shown up with their supplies, can you IMAGINE what we would've been treated to? I am fully aware that this day was NOT a fan day (and they don't even do that at cons). You - and they - were there to support the strike, and I am fully cognizant of this - but what if? Those amazingly cool actors, in character.
Did anyone else's head go in this direction?
Willowy | December 13, 08:09 CET
electricspacegirl | December 13, 08:20 CET
I immediately got glued to the tube, all excited to see the story. Well, I saw it, and the staggering lack of what one might call coverage, or detail, or accuracy, left me enraged. Yet another example of the evil that has resulted from the FCC deregulation, and the entertainment congloms controlling the news media.
The entire "coverage" of the pencils to media moguls story consisted of brief, tightly framed (so as to give the impression of only a handful of participants) footage of some pencils tumbling into the bin, then a shot of an impressive group of folks around one of those huge, wheeled, pencil filled bins, dragging, pushing, with a surprising bit of strength and speed... and our own intrepid Joss was at the lead, directing and dragging that huge bin with great alacrity and aplomb. A few more quick shots of folks with WGA strike signs, and that was it.
WTF?!
No mention, at all, by name of Joss, or Ron, or any particular detail of what was happening, or why, or what the pencils meant. No interview, not even a lame, quick sound bite. No attempt to inform... more like a perfunctory pass at coverage so they can deny claims that the media are not covering the writer's side of this issue.
And this from our CW (formerly WB) affiliate. Joss and Buffy made the WB when it started as a fledgling network. That network owes so much of its early success to Joss' work. To just ignore that Joss Whedon was at this event, not even get an interview, or even mention his name, makes me feel disgust. Just goes to show how the media are downplaying and dismissing the writers' side in this issue, and how very important it is to NOT let the congloms control so much.
11thHour | December 13, 11:34 CET
This gives me more hope that the word of mouth over the internet will win out in the end, with people like Michael Tabb telling stories of how they struggled to remain professional writers, and with showrunners like Joss Whedon and Ron taking leading roles too. And fans refusing to go along with what the AMPTP is saying. But I do agree with what Simon said in Joss's recent post-- I think it will be touch and go because the AMPTP has a lot of money.
Sunfire | December 13, 20:50 CET