The WGA Releases a Picket Line Fashion Statement

It was on Monday morning that NBC Entertainment chief Ben Silverman took to the radio on Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM morning show to make his case for the WGA granting a strike waiver and agreeing not to picket the Golden Globe Awards. This was mere hours before NBC was forced to cancel the ceremony and strike a lose-lose "compromise": a Sunday evening press conference at the Beverly Hilton during which the winners will be announced -- though with none of them actually present.

Silverman: "It feels like the nerdiest, ugliest, meanest kids in the high school are trying to cancel the prom, but NBC wants to try and keep that prom alive."

Sorry Ben. It seems the nerdy, ugly, mean kids won. And let me just add parenthetically that as someone who was too nerdy to attend his own high school prom, I feel your pain. I'd have gotten mine canceled if I'd had the chance, too. My rationale was, "Hey, if I can't have any fun, then no one can!" And it's really pretty amazing, you know, because the Writers Guild situation clearly has everything absolutely nothing in common with that. For one, that was high school. For another, it didn't involve people who were part of a labor stoppage designed to generate a more acceptable living wage. Otherwise, honestly, the similarities are just uncanny.

Be that as it may, the WGA obviously took notice of Silverman's peculiar whine and surmised that a paraphrased edition of the already-famed quote would make a dandy slogan to emblazon on T-shirts, buttons, refrigerator magnets and tote bags and sold to benefit the WGA Strike Fund. Yes, one man's embittered rant is another man's golden opportunity. In this case, it reads like so:

"Nerdy. Ugly. Mean. Proud of it. WGA."

You can find the Cafe Press site selling the stuff right here. The prices are surprisingly reasonable. And the fashion line even includes babywear -- a thoughtful gift for the pro-union infant in your life!

Silverman no doubt will be demanding his 10% cut.

Comments

[Roger Franks]

Since I have been trying to break into the screen writing profession for several years now, I totally understand the position of the WGA. Writers truly are the backbone of the industry but seem to be the least compensated for the work they do. Since writing jobs for many can be few and far between, royalties are counted on to keep the household operational. As long as there are new venues to showcase a writers work (including actors, directors and crew) it is unfair that all or the bulk of money made from this goes to studios. Knowing that writers give the spoken word to film, television, etc., you would think the producers would be eager to work a deal with the WGA to keep the wheels rolling in a slumping economy that eventually is going to hurt everyone. Consider a graduated scale of compensation, over a period of three to five years that takes into consideration the growth of the internet market (i.e. the demand for online content) so that all would be treated fair in this arrangement. Review the agreement on an annual basis and adjust it according to market growth. It's just a thought to get everyone back to work and lessen impact on the economy and get people back to work.

[Joe Bua]

You just sold a shirt.

I needed something in red.

And I'm no fan of Ben.