First off, I can't talk about movies this week without talking about the WGA strike.
Yes, this is going to cause the disruption of many of your favorite TV shows, but it's an important cause. This isn't just a bunch of fancypants wordsmiths crying for more money, it's about what's fair. It's also one of the first efforts in what will likely be an ongoing battle for people in the entertainment industry. The writers are just the first to deal with some of these issues, and their success will likely effect how actors, directors, and other members of the production crews will fare when their contracts are up for renegotiation. That's why you're seeing many of these people express their solidarity and walk the picket lines.
Here is a simple video explaining it all:
United Hollywood is a good blog for information about this. They put together the video, and they are the place I found the link to this petition that you can sign to show your support.
Our entertainment doesn't happen magically. It requires a lot of hard work. And though we hear about huge salaries for top tier stars and executives, most industries are carried by the people who are just getting by like any average joe. It's easy for studio fatcats and their flunkies to paint strikers as money-grubbing brats who, like Oliver Twist, dare to ask for more. Don't you believe it.
THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...
* No Country for Old Men, a pitch-perfect literary adaptation from the Coen Brothers. The cast is outstanding. Javier Bardem is menacing in all sorts of creepy ways.
In fact, you really need to click through on the review and see Joëlle Jones' phenomenal illustration for my review. She really captures the darkness and grit of the movie. I think we've really only begun to see how good she is at evoking mood in her art.
THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...
* In Between Days, a surprising portrait of an immigrant Korean girl lost in the frozen urban sprawl of North America. A really affecting film.
* Time, Kim Ki-Duk's 13th film. It's a bit quieter than some of his others, but no less interesting.
* The Two Jakes, the misfired sequel to Chinatown.
Though, apparently I am not allowed to think that. Check out the Socratic logic at work in this e-mail I received from Lynn L.:
I read your review of 'The Two Jakes' and...you are wrong. If you can adore The Sopranos how can you say the follow-up to Chinatown "doesn't deserve to exist".
Which I didn't actually say, so I'm not sure who Lynn thinks she is quoting there. Of course, she has plenty of punctuation issues in that tail end there anyway.
Even so, I wasn't aware that one's feelings about Chinatown and its illegitimate offspring were directly weighed against their feelings for The Sopranos.
In other movie news, though my new blog Criterion Confessions has largely been reprints so far, I have started adding new content. To start, a review of Brief Encounter that explains its connections to Love the Way You Love. So, Love the Way fans need to check it out.
Also, later today, I plan to post a new piece about my revisiting The Royal Tenenbaums in preparation for Halloween. [That piece is now up.]
Current Soundtrack: Morrissey, Live @ Orpheum Theatre, Boston, 10/30/2007; Mareva Galanter, Ukuyeye
Current Mood: pessimistic
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich
2 comments:
Excellent articulation of the very good reasons to support the WGA. Unions don't have a history of always being perfect, of course; but at their best, they provide an essential buffer between the entrepeneurial profit motive and the lower-downs who create that profit with their work, keeping the latter from falling victim to exclusively numbers-focused, bottom-line thinking.
I read an article where someone representing the producers/studios stated that "I don't pay my plumber every time I flush the toilet."
I think he needs to hire a writer for his sound bytes.
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