I love this guy, 93 and feisty as hell... take a look at his screen credits when they come up.
UPDATE: Here is it in all its glory, it's a wonderful piece and a great reminder of the genius behind the camera on one of the best shows on TV (I get all my TV news from the Daily Show and Colbert, it's the only way I can soften the blow of what's going on out there).
ORIGINAL: Okay, so this is not a bit from a very talented and funny Daily Show writer because, obviously, YouTube's database hasn't been updated to pick up that clip. For now, let's remember the greatness that is Stephen Colbert:
It's simple, really, how many of you download a show on iTunes or watch it online, with commercials, on the network website? Did you know that the writers don't see a dime from that? Did you know that NBC had the writers create content EXCLUSIVELY for web delivery, including selling ad space for it, and none of them were compensated? I didn't know any of this, but am I surprised by corporate greed? No, of course not.
If you are feeling bad that The Office and whole bunch of other great shows are no longer shooting new content, get pissed off at the studios. And do some research, please. If I hear one more person complain about "those pampered writers," I will smack someone. The vast majority of writers are not high-paid prima donnas. And even the ones that are successful now mostly toiled in obscurity, leading a pretty hand-to-mouth existence for years.
Oh, and Ellen Degeneres, shame on you!
For more information, check out this website: United Hollywood. They have the most exhaustive coverage I've been able to find, including tons of links to other blogs and stories all over the internet. They also have some pretty great quotes, like this one:
"This morning, I picketed with an 86 year writer, who wrote for 'Mr. Ed.' He said, 'It pisses me off that that fucking horse wound up speaking Italian, Polish and Rumanian, and I never made more than a nickel.'"
-Peter Leftcourt
As well as a YouTube channel for videos, this one is my favorite:
And now, I leave you with some words of wisdom, Joss Whedon on the Writer's Strike:
Reporters are funny people. At least, some of the New York Times reporters are. Their story on the strike was the most dispiriting and inaccurate that I read. But it also contained one of my favorite phrases of the month.
“All the trappings of a union protest were there… …But instead of hard hats and work boots, those at the barricades wore arty glasses and fancy scarves.”
Oh my God. Arty glasses and fancy scarves. That is so cute! My head is aflame with images of writers in ruffled collars, silk pantaloons and ribbons upon their buckled shoes. A towering powdered wig upon David Fury’s head, and Drew Goddard in his yellow stockings (cross-gartered, needless to say). Such popinjays, we! The entire writers’ guild as Leslie Howard in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Delicious.
Except this is exactly the problem. The easiest tactic is for people to paint writers as namby pamby arty scarfy posers, because it’s what most people think even when we’re not striking. Writing is largely not considered work. Art in general is not considered work. Work is a thing you physically labor at, or at the very least, hate. Art is fun. (And Hollywood writers are overpaid, scarf-wearing dainties.) It’s an easy argument to make. And a hard one to dispute.
My son is almost five. He is just beginning to understand what I do as a concept. If I drove a construction crane he’d have understood it at birth. And he’d probably think I was King of all the Lands in my fine yellow crane. But writing – especially writing a movie or show, where people other than the writer are all saying things that they’re clearly (to an unschooled mind) making up right then – is something to get your head around.
And as work? Well, in the first place, it IS fun. When it’s going well, it’s the most fun I can imagine having. (Tim Minear might dispute that.) And when it’s not going well, it’s often not going well in the company of a bunch of funny, thoughtful people. So how is that work? You got no muscles to show for it (yes, the brain is a muscle, but if you show it to people it’s usually because part of your skull has been torn off and that doesn’t impress the ladies – unless the ladies are ZOMBIES! Where did this paragraph go?) Writing is enjoyable and ephemeral. And it’s hard work.
It’s always hard. Not just dealing with obtuse, intrusive studio execs, temperamental stars and family-prohibiting hours. Those are producer issues as much as anything else. Not just trying to get your first script sold, or seen, or finished, when nobody around believes you can/will/should… the ACT of writing is hard. When Buffy was flowing at its flowingest, David Greenwalt used to turn to me at some point during every torturous story-breaking session and say “Why is it still hard? When do we just get to be good at it?” I’ll only bore you with one theory: because every good story needs to be completely personal (so there are no guidelines) and completely universal (so it’s all been done). It’s just never simple.
It’s necessary, though. We’re talking about story-telling, the most basic human need. Food? That’s an animal need. Shelter? That’s a luxury item that leads to social grouping, which leads directly to fancy scarves. But human awareness is all about story-telling. The selective narrative of your memory. The story of why the Sky Bully throws lightning at you. From the first, stories, even unspoken, separated us from the other, cooler beasts. And now we’re talking about the stories that define our nation’s popular culture – a huge part of its identity. These are the people that think those up. Working writers.
“The trappings of a union protest…” You see how that works? Since we aren’t real workers, this isn’t a real union issue. (We’re just a guild!) And that’s where all my ‘what is a writer’ rambling becomes important. Because this IS a union issue, one that will affect not just artists but every member of a community that could find itself at the mercy of a machine that absolutely and unhesitatingly would dismantle every union, remove every benefit, turn every worker into a cowed wage-slave in the singular pursuit of profit. (There is a machine. Its program is ‘profit’. This is not a myth.) This is about a fair wage for our work. No different than any other union. The teamsters have recognized the importance of this strike, for which I’m deeply grateful. Hopefully the Times will too.
Audio: Share a song you just can't stand.
Book: Show us a book you've read more than once.
Not the response you were expecting, is it? I like to mix things up like that, plus I love children's books anyway. Having a child is just a great excuse to get to read them again, over and over and over again. (Kids are like that, they love the repetition of the same song, book, video, you name it: pick your media wisely, you are are going to be stuck with it for quite some time.)
p.s. Did you know it's the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Cat in the Hat this year? Wow, that's hard to believe. (If you say anything about how old I am, you die...)
and decided to participate in the National Novel Writing Month Write-a-thon. I have a very slight story idea I've been percolating for a few weeks and not much else. If nothing else, this will get me out of my head for a month and, believe me, that's a good thing.
Have you ever ridden in a hot air balloon or a helicopter? Where did you go?
No and NO! Are you out of your mind?? (I am afraid of heights, I don't even like walking up a steep staircase or across a bridge... seriously.)
What's the most memorable crush you have had?
Submitted by spectacular.Well, I don't know how memorable it was if I can't remember the guy's name now... but when I was in high school there was this blonde surfer boy that I just adored, from afar of course. I am pretty sure he never even noticed me since I was a year behind him in school and not exactly in his target demographic (blonde beach babe). I think his name was Kelly, think Kelly Slater and you've got the image. I wonder what ever happened to him?
What movie did you expect would be terrible, but was actually really good?
Well, I didn't think it would be terrible but I didn't think it would be all that interesting either, and boy was I wrong on that count. I just watched "The Hoax" with Richard Gere, which is the true story of Clifford Irving, maybe one of the best con men ever and a truly fascinating individual. He convinced McGraw-Hill that he was authorized to write Howard Hughes' autobiography and got a $1 Million advance and almost got away with it. In fact, it took the recluse HH himself calling in to a press conference with journalists that had previously interviewed him to disavow any involvement with the author or the book! (An amazing feat in and of itself since no one had seen or heard from Howard Hughes in 16 years and he was never seen or heard from again.)
Great performance by Richard Gere too. I highly, highly recommend this movie, which is out on DVD now.
is the dude from What the Buck. If I need a pick-me-up, this is my go-to source for entertainment. I found him one day on YouTube and fell in love immediately. Right now I am getting ready for the ultimate in humiliation, the parent teacher conference (if you want to feel stupid, become a parent), so I need a little something to make me laugh.
"Why no, I had no idea he doesn't listen, follow directions, complete assignments, etc. etc."
Love,
Me
p.s. I love my son's teachers and this is in no way a criticism of them, I just know what the issues are and, believe me, we have tried it all... This is what I get for having an "artistic" child rather than a scholar or a jock.
p.p.s. The conference actually went very well. Group hug. Carry on...
