7:14:23

Jim Carey on Jimmy Kimmel. Pyramid symbol.

The writer’s guild strike, which began on May 2, is still ongoing—the two-week extension for negotiation just expired. This makes me so happy. I hope the nightly talk shows, or as a friend refers to them, “The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse,” never return after what they did to people during Covid. Yesterday, Vanity Fair reported “The Actors Strike Is On, Throwing Hollywood Into Turmoil.” Turmoil is what they deserve.

Insider reports, “Everybody's really nervous because there's going to be no cash flow — they won't be making anything,’ a top talent agent said….Jonathan Handel, an entertainment lawyer who previously worked for the WGA, told Insider ahead of the actors' official announcement that he believes the industry is in for a long slog — if only because of how complex and existential the issues are. It's hard to overstate the magnitude of change that's swept Hollywood since 2008, as Handel sees it. The rise of streaming has upended the way writers and actors are paid. Generative AI, with its potential to write entire scripts and recreate actors, has erupted. The media conglomerates for their part are drowning in debt and struggling to make up for traditional TV declines with streaming dollars. ‘There is so much at stake,’ Handel told Insider. ‘I don't think that filmed entertainment has seen a more rapid change in such a short period of time than since the end of World War II."

This is what happens when you outsource creativity to AI and woke ideology, print fake money for years, and keep raising the debt ceiling when there is massive inflation. This is what happens when the 1% is shamelessly profligate while everyone else can’t afford to buy good food or pay their bills.

Lethal Weapon 2, 1989

This is the first time since the 1960s that writers and actors are on strike at the same time.

At best, these TV shows and movies suck, and are a complete waste of time and money. At worst, they are immoral and ideological vehicles of indoctrination—not art; not entertainment (though we know Hollywood has always been ideological, but it was cloaked). From a cinema perspective, it’s sad. But it’s been sad for a long time. By now, everyone should be up to speed and let this shit go. These industries and institutions are rotten to the core and must be dismantled. I don’t want to watch deep fake actors, CGI, or listen to woke AI-generated scripts, do you? And good actors (good faces) are gone anyway, as are real movies. So until real art and real people return to society on a collective level (not just a handful of individual exceptions), and the system is remade into something new, good riddance. I’ll continue to watch old movies and read old books.

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July 13, 2023, USA Today:

”This marks the first time in 63 years that both Hollywood actors and writers have been on strike simultaneously. Commercial actors last walked off the job for six months in 2000, while the last strike by film and theatrical actor members of SAG lasted 14 hours, back in 1986. The writers staged a 100-day walkout in 2007 and 2008.

The ongoing Writers Guild strike has meant that many TV shows and movies have had to cancel production, although animation (minus voice actors), reality TV and some projects shooting outside the U.S. with actors who aren't in SAG have been able to carry on. But with an actors' strike, very little can continue.

For movie theaters, already facing an uphill climb after the pandemic and a shift to at-home viewing, it means another big financial challenge after they're run through their supply of already-shot movies.

Strike rules forbid actors from promoting their projects, a constraint writers have faced since May. That means no premieres, no talk show appearances and no glossy magazine cover stories that aren't already banked. (USA TODAY's interviews with actors for upcoming movies such as "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were conducted before the strike began.)

The strike will also depress the fun at fan favorite events such as San Diego Comic-Con, usually chock-full of popular actors, writers and directors pitching their movies and TV shows to thousands of cosplaying admirers.

The Emmy Awards, planned for Sept. 18 on Fox, would likely be delayed until both strikes are resolved. If the strikes drag on into 2024 (unlikely but possible), other major awards shows like the Oscars would be put on hold.”

Sasha Stone, “How Hollywood Destroyed Itself”:

“Now that COVID is long gone, and studios are putting out blockbusters again, it almost seems like things are back to “normal.” Yet, movie after movie keeps underperforming, which is a polite way of saying Hollywood movies are bombing at the box office.

Why? Well, I don’t have to tell you why. You know why. Everyone knows why except the people tasked with covering Hollywood who are too afraid to say why. You can’t fix a problem you can’t name.

In a recent poll, 42% cite movies getting worse as the main reason they no longer pay to see them. Why have they gotten worse? Because Hollywood swapped great storytelling for franchise movies long ago, then they transformed those franchise movies into agenda-delivery devices. Those at the top don’t need movies like the rest of us do, especially now in troubled times. They don’t need unity only a universal story can provide. They don’t need movies to save their lives, as they did mine. What they need is absolution from their sins of wealth and privilege. Hollywood can’t make movies for an America they do not understand. They certainly can’t make movies for people they detest. It is unseemly to see so many of the richest people in the world position themselves as morally superior to the people who have been their bread and butter for decades.”