Since David Iserson graduated from Northwestern in 2000, the Los Angeles-based freelance writer has either been writing or looking for something to write.
That came to a halt Nov. 5, when Iserson, a School of Communication alumnus, and other Hollywood NU alumni – along with rest of the screenwriters’ union and the Writers Guild of America – went on strike, trading pencils for placards, and days at the computer for time on the picket lines.
Alumni said the writers are united, but it is hard to be without work and the strike’s resolution is still uncertain.
“We need to fight,” said Mad TV writer Bruce McCoy, Communication ’92. “The unions are a big help and are essential (to protect the writers).”
Being a writer is a “difficult profession,” he said, adding that producers make millions of dollars and need to treat their workers fairly.
Most of the public seems to support the writers, he said.
“The majority of the population is not going to be for the big studio moguls,” he said. “They view us as the underdog.”
On the Los Angeles picket lines, Iserson, who has written screenplays and an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” rubbed shoulders with the actors of “Grey’s Anatomy” while picketing outside of the show’s studio.
Media interest in the picket line swelled when the actors left the studio, he said.
“Writers are fairly anonymous people,” he said, adding that it is interesting to meet other writers and that the picket lines are a place for good conversation among writers who otherwise would not be talking to each other.
Writers’ biggest complaint, and the core issue behind the strike, is not getting compensation for “new media” distributions like Internet downloads and “video on demand” on cable TV. The strike, now in its third month, has cost the industry at least $21.3 million per day, according to estimates by FilmL.A., Inc., a nonprofit group that promotes the film industry.
“(The strike) has already cost the industry quite a lot of money, which is why I can’t rationally understand why they won’t sit down and make a deal,” Iserson said.
Where DVDs used to reap the most profits, the Internet is taking over, said Joy Gregory, Communication ’88.
“We’re asking for a really reasonable deal,” said Gregory, whose latest work was for the TV show, “The Nine.” For her, the strike has provided a source of down time.
“I’m working on some long-neglected writing projects,” she said, adding that her husband is supporting her while she is out of work.
People who think writers are rich and are just demanding more money have “fallen prey to studio propaganda,” she said.
Iserson agreed that the studios distort the truth about how much writers make.
“Most writers are middle class,” said Iserson, who also said it is in the studios’ interests to focus on the few rich, famous writers. “It is easy to distort.”
It is hard to predict when the strike will end. The last Writers Guild strike in 1988 lasted more than five months, costing the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million. In that strike, studios said they were skeptical of the home video market’s potential profits, while writers said they wanted a share of the emerging market. Writers fear the studios are claiming similar ignorance about Internet’s potential.
“We historically got screwed (by agreeing to a bad deal),” Gregory said. “We can’t allow ourselves to get screwed twice. This is something we absolutely have to take a stand for.”
Reach Rachel Kopilow at [email protected].
