TMZ Really Stands for The Moronic Zone! (Warning: Rant Alert)

I watched TMZ the other night. I had never seen it, except when passing quickly changing channels. For some strange reason I stopped and watched. And I was mesmerized; the way people slow down on highways to gawk at accidents or gather on street corners to watch jumpers off high-rises. Here’s what I saw:

• A war room.
• A big-board with lots of writing, not unlike an ER whiteboard that tracks critical-care patients.
• A gaggle of twenty-something “reporters” reporting to their boss (Harvey Levin, who I actually like) the fruits of their labors.
• Harvey Levin: wet-marker in on hand, double-gulp soda in the other, looking pained like he hadn’t slept in days and hunched over like his lumbar back was out of joint.

Then it hit me. This passes for news. This is the new “news.” This is what trickles down (or up) to the AP, Reuters, major newspapers, Knight Ridder, evening news broadcasts, etc. Celebritycult crap, and I was watching it: unable to click out, unable to blink, unable to control my own nervous system to command my thumb to push a little button on the remote. For a moment I was lost to the world of thinking beings. I was truly lost in The Moronic Zone.

Okay, this little dramatic diddy is as fluffy as the content on TMZ. But, the point is, the power of this new platform is awe-inspiring. TMZ came out of nowhere a few years ago as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures Productions. This big corporate sponsorship sets it apart from other gossip shows, putting TMZ in a whole other category of—whatever the hell it’s called. For me, this TMZ-thing is now the archetype for celebrity cultism. And it is slowly displacing real news and contributing to the demise of the thinking press.

Oh—but surely you exaggerate! No, sorry. I don’t. Consider this wonderful blog from one of my heroes, Roger Ebert. He wrote this in his “Roger Ebert’s Journal” column on the Chicago Sun Times site, November 26, 2008. I quote:

“The crowning blow came this week when the once-magisterial Associated Press imposed a 500-word limit on all of its entertainment writers. The 500-word limit applies to reviews, interviews, news stories, trend pieces and ‘thinkers.’”
Chicago Sun Times, "Roger Ebert's Journal"
By Roger Ebert on November 26, 2008 9:20 AM

And, as newspapers dumb-down news to cater to the public’s need to be TMZ’d, Ebert recounts some recent casualties of thinking-entertainment-journalists who have been canned to make space for vapidity:

“Earlier this year the Voice fired Dennis Lim and Nathan Lee, and recently fired all the local movie critics in its national chain, to be replaced, Variety's Anne Thompson reported, by syndicating their critics on the two coasts, the Voice's J. Hoberman and the L.A. Weekly's Scott Foundas. Serious writers, yes, but ... Meanwhile, the Detroit Free-Press has decided it needs no film critic at all. Michael Wilmington is gone from the Chicago Tribune, Jack Mathews and Jami Bernard from the New York Daily News, Kevin Thomas from the Los Angeles Times--and the internationally-respected film critic of the Chicago Reader, Jonathan Rosenbaum, has retired, accepted a buy-out, will write for his blog, or something. I still see him at all the screenings. My shining hero remains Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic, as incisive and penetrating as ever at 92. I don't give him points for his age, which anyone can attain simply by living long enough, but for his criticism. Study any review and try to find a wrong or unnecessary word. There is your man for an intelligent 500-word review.”
Chicago Sun Times, "Roger Ebert's Journal"
By Roger Ebert on November 26, 2008 9:20 AM


News has always had its fluff component. But when critics and intelligent commentators are cut loose to make room for tabloid titillation, then something, somewhere is very broken. And that something is US. If we didn't watch it, view it, consume it--IT would not be there. As Ebert points out, the critics are the canaries in the coal mine. When they start dropping, we all need to start running for open air. When a thinking-press starts getting cutback and essentially emasculated so the media owners can pander to popular tastes, then the falling canaries can not be far behind. But, shouldn't the print media reflect the tastes and trends of its readers? That's not pandering, that's just good business. Yes, but there should also be a pandering free zone--and those are the film, theater, and other social critics who's job it is to challenge us to think by taking us places we don't want to go. Criticism involves thoughtful inquiry, evaluation, and the art of valuing judgment (vs. being judgmental). When we lose those who thoughtfully inquire and artfully evaluate in our interests, then we are left with the likes of TMZ and cannibalistic paparazzi. There is no art there; only blunt force trauma, opportunism, and the frenzy of pack animals stripping some poor celebrity carcass bare.

May God, Allah, The Goddess, The Great Pumpkin, Whoever Is In Charge bless Roger Ebert. He may no longer be able to speak, but his voice is clearer than ever.

Recently one media source stated they would be covering the First Family as if they were a Hollywood family. Why this distinction? Being the leader of the “free world” isn’t high profile enough? The point really is: who cares where his kids are going to school? Who cares what his wife is wearing. Do we really have to see all the pictures of the President-Elect's fashion sense from fifth-grade through high school graduation (currently on Huffington Post's Entertainment page)? The answer is no, if you got stumped on that one. And do we really need to see Barack's punim in every open piece of white space in every newspaper or web page? I for one know what the man looks like. So, save the white space and let him do his job saving the world from itself.

While we’re at it, here are some other things we really don't have a need to know:

• Whether Maddona and A-Rod had Thanksgiving together.
• Whether Brittany Spears is feeling old.
• What happened to Karolina’s belly button.
• The battle of the “sexiest men alive” over who should or shouldn’t be such.
• Whether Heidi and Spencer eloped to Mexico

By the way, these were all prominent "stories" on the Huffington Post Entertainment webpage recently (which I read regularly because I love HuffPo, even though it panders to this celebrity crap like every other "newspaper"). Any stories about the impending actor's strike? No. Any entertainment new analysis on the impact of the economic meltdown on the movie industry and television. No. But, Madonna and A-Rod got primo page placement. Need I say more. Thank the Diety--no.

There is a place for fluff and there is a place for celebrity. But it has morphed into something dangerous and deadly. Only we can stop this madness and it starts with our dollars and our consuming habits. Don’t feed this monster with your hard-earned cash.

That’s my advice for you. As for me—I need a shower.

Buy A Book! Save The Publishing Industry!

This is from my friend and uber-author Caroline Leavitt. There is a scary story behind it about the current state of publishing and the challenges facing writers in every genre. But, that is a post for another day.

Suffice to say, it ain't pretty out there people! So ...

Give a book for the holidays! And please post this on your blogs!

If everyone buys a book, authors and readers can save the publishing biz!

Open Letter to the New President!

I usually don't like to have things unrelated to writing in this blog, but I think given the momentous events of November 4th I can make an exception!

A friend sent me this open letter from author Alice Walker to Obama. It is eloquent, elegant, and beautifully stated. It's letters like this that help me remember how important it is to be a writer with voice. The pen is mightier than the sword. Read and remember!

---------------------------------------------

Open Letter to Barack Obama from Alice Walker

Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker

The Tiny Novels Are Coming! The Tiny Novels Are Coming!

Anyone who knows me knows technology is one of my addictions. I’m always looking forward (I think) to see what’s coming, what’s converging, and what’s about to land on us without our seeing it. That’s how it happens, right? Changes in technology don’t greet us at the door with a smile and handshake, it drops on our heads like a piano cut loose from the top floor or a New York brownstone before it can be pushed through the window of that fancy apartment on 5th Avenue! Okay, a long metaphor, but you get the point.

But, sometimes, technology changes, especially in the arts, sneak up on us and bite us on the ass when we’re not looking. This is kind of what’s happening with the revered novel and the cell phone. Technology is now delivering a whole new experience over the cell phone and transforming how we read.

This is from Wikipedia (I just cut and pasted because it’s easier than plagiarizing or paraphrasing):

Cell phone novels are meant to be read in 1,000 to 2,000-word (in China) or 70-word ( in Japan) chapters via text messages on cell phones. They are downloaded in short installments and run on handsets as Java-based applications on a mobile phone. Cell phone novels often appear in three different formats: WMLD , JAVA and TXT.

The first cell phone novel was “published” in Japan in 2003 by a young online writer, Yoshi. His first cell phone novel was called Deep Love, the story of a teenaged prostitute in Tokyo. It became so popular that it was published as an actual book, with 2.6 million copies sold in Japan, then spun off into a television series, a manga, and a movie. The cell phone novel became a hit mainly through word of mouth and gradually starting to gain traction in China and South Korea among young adults. In Japan, several sites offer large prizes to the winners (up to $100,000 US) and purchase the publishing rights to the novels.

Five out of the ten best selling novels in Japan in 2007 were originally cell phone novels.

The phenomenon has not yet spread to the United States or Europe, but it is inevitable that as cell phone and text message usage continues to increase, cell phone novels will become popular in these locales as well. There is a blog at www.textnovelblog.com referencing a new site that is preparing for launch in the United States market.

The cell phone novel Deep Love, for example, was first “published” via text message, then it was published as an actual book, filmed as a movie, and made into a television show and a Japanese-style comic book. It hasn't simply created a new medium; it has affected other media at the same time.

Well, this Wiki entry is a bit behind the times on one thing: cell phone novels are arriving on our Western shores, and soon. I work for several publishing companies and I know that they are having internal discussions about how to incorporate cell phone services into their business models. The U.S. is behind Europe and Asia in cell technology (welcome to the 21st century), but with the new iPhone and its competitors, the delivery system is now in place and the novels are coming! the novels are coming!

So, get those thumbs in shape and start thinking in 70 word text messages, because that’s the new way to write the great Ameican novel—one SMS text package at a time!

The Bionic Screenplay: Faster, Better, Stronger—More Sellable

A New York Times article recently tweaked my antennae with a curious set of facts about a growing trend in the Movie/TV biz.

The article, by Jay A. Fernandez, suggests we consider this: in the last six weeks (as of this writing on 4/23/08) studios have announced 22 films based on graphic novels or comics. At the box office (domestic and international) films based on graphic novels have grossed all the biggest numbers, over all, and have maintained the largest dollar averages per screen, per week, for exhibitors.

Now consider this: Universal recently partnered with Dark Horse Entertainment to produce and distribute movies based from its independent bevy of comics, Paramount has its partnership with Marvel, while Warner Bros. owns DC Comics, and every other studio is scrambling for comic-based material.

What conclusions can we draw: For studio creative executives responsible for making and breaking writer’s careers and spirits, having a graphic novel in hand makes script development cheaper, faster, and more fun; since essentially the graphic novel is a screenplay with detailed storyboards already included in the mix. Plus, given the average age of the typical studio creative executive (12-19 years) they are already familiar and comfortable with the comic/graphic novel form. Add to this the fact that graphic novels already have a fan base, Internet platform, and sequel appeal; it’s a no-brainer for studio greenlighters. Ironically, as Jay points out, it can also be beneficial for the writer, since he/she will likely preserve more rights than he/she would by selling an original screenplay.

Jay quotes Frank Miller (“Sin City” and “300”), “I don't think there's a single worse story form than the screenplay … They're unreadable. Just about everything makes you want to put the thing down! Whereas a graphic novel is full of pictures . . . and you get a much clearer idea of what you'd have to spend to make a film.”

So, what’s a writer to do? I can’t draw worth a stitch. I guess I could buy some storyboard software and let a computer do it and then add bubbles to the pictures and fill the bubbles with dialogue. Throw in a few text blocks (like they do in the comics for scene direction) and presto-chango; the new screenplay made better, stronger, faster. Kind of like the 6 million dollar man, only in today’s movie dollars it’s more like 100 million, plus foreign/ancillary and new media.

So my advice to you dear writer, forget the screenplay writing program, expensive story consultants, and film school. If you want to sell your screenplays, get thee to an art school and start learning how to draw. Or, give it up for an expensive graphics package and buy a new pimped-out Mac with all the graphics whistles and bells and let technology do the work. All you have to do is add the words. But, doesn’t that just kind of put us back where we started?

Hmmm, maybe writing is still important after all?

Save The Sign!

Hollywood landmarks seem to have bullseyes on them these days.

The iconic Hollywood sign may soon be going the way of The Brown Derby, Musso & Frank’s, Chasen’s, and the Ambassador Hotel. Quietly, last month, the Chicago based investment group that owns 138 sage-covered acres above and to the left of the 45-foot-high, steel-and-concrete H put the land up for sale last month for $22 million, after purchasing the parcel from Howard Hughes’ estate for $1.7 million in 2002. Not a bad profit, even in today’s bull real estate market!

Councilman Tom LaBonge wants the city, which owns the ground under the sign, to buy the property, but the city can't legally pay more than $6 million. So, Labonge is trying for a repeat of the last time the sign was in trouble, when back in the 1970’s a bunch of celebs paid $28k each to replace crumbling letters.

We can’t lose the sign, folks. Los Angeles losing its sign is like Manhattan losing the World Trade Center towers. The landscape will be changed forever. Besides, if the sign goes, how will the pilots for the major airlines know they’re on the right flight path to Bob Hope Airport? Com’on, folks, we can’t lose the sign. Certainly the moguls, studio heads, media barons, and “A-Listers” can scrape together a few million dollars and save Hollywood’s soul—or at least it’s nametag.

Ironically, the sign was originally designed as a real estate advertisement (Hollywoodland) to help sell development in the region. Now, however, it has come full circle. From ad to icon, now threatened by the very industry that gave it birth (real estate, not the movies).

However perfect this circle might seem, let’s not lose the sign folks.

I'M BACK!!!

After a long absence--I have returned. Very sorry for the disappearing act. Life has a funny (or not so funny--ok, sometimes sicko) way of interfering with things. I won't bore you with details, I'm not a details kind-of-guy, but I will offer this: exercise, eat right, get plenty of sleep, and don't bother with the 8 glasses of daily water--it's a diet myth that is now busted, and if you're a writer-- write like your life depended on it, because it does. As my novelist friend Caroline Leavitt says, "Put blood on the page."

I'll let you figure out how literal you have to get with that one.

Bad Penny for Your Thoughts

The former writer's strike is threatening to become the proverbial bad penny. I alluded to this possibility in my last post (It's Over—Kind of—Maybe—Fingers Crossed!, February 2008), when I mentioned the divisions within the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA). Well, there are now rumblings moving across the land suggesting the bad penny is slouching towards Hollywood.

I’ve been listening closely to the “noise” on the various entertainment blogs and reading much of the member commentary on the WGA’s website, which continues to offer a bully pulpit to supporters and naysayers alike, and based on what I’m “hearing,” one might say the pimple on the backside of the WGA strike may finally be coming to a head.

Witness the most recent salvo by WGA member Harlan Ellison. For anyone who loves words and the music of language, Harlan Ellison is a God (he is to me, anyway). Ellison’s work in TV, film, and literature is hailed far and wide and his genius and talent are legendary. As is the “verbal flamethrower” that is his mouth.

Love him or hate him, and both camps are filled with devotes, Ellison left a colorful and pithy post on the WGA site as to his views of the current deal and his accompanying disappointment thereof:

“THEY BEAT US LIKE A YELLOW DOG. IT IS A SHIT DEAL. We finally got a timorous generation that has never had to strike, to get their asses out there, and we had to put up with the usual cowardly spineless babbling horse's asses who kept mumbling "lessgo bac'ta work" over and over, as if it would make them one iota a better writer. But after months on the line, and them finally bouncing that pus-sucking dipthong Nick Counter, we rushed headlong into a shabby, scabrous, underfed shovelfulla shit clutched to the affections of toss-in-the-towel summer soldiers trembling before the Awe of the Alliance.”

Followed by:

“You [WGA leadership] are their bitches. They outslugged you, outthought you, outmaneuvered you; and in the end you ripped off your pants, painted yer asses blue, and said yes sir, may I have another. Please excuse my temerity. I'm just a sad old man who has fallen among Quislings, Turncoats, Hacks and Cowards. I must go now to whoops. My gorge has become buoyant. Respectfully, Yr. Pal, Harlan Ellison”

(FYI: "My gorge has become buoyant" means he's about to throw up.)

There was more, but these two snippets capture the essence of his ire, point, rant, and talent. What struck me about this post was not the unvarnished, in-your-faceness of it, but rather the numbers of reply posts supporting the sentiment that “it is a shit deal.” There were several Harlan bashers and angry replies supporting the deal, but for the most part members who replied agreed with Ellison.

And this is my point! WGA members full-throatily voted to stop the strike. They may not be so full-throated when it comes to ratifying the deal. As I said in my earlier post, there are lots of sticking points in the current deal that writers are not happy about (promo windows in new media, reality TV and animation writers representation, etc.), and SAG/AFTRA’s negotiations in June with the AMPTP will be dealing with the same issues. So, the question is begged: What happens if the WGA members don’t ratify the deal?

I hear the chorus already, “You’re nuts—not in a million years.” I’m not as crazy as the idea I’m suggesting, trust me. I realize if the WGA starts pushing back on the AMPTP deal the producer’s guild could just say “f*&k you—we will bury you.” And things get very ugly very fast. Not ratifying the deal would be a clear statement that the WGA was adopting a strategy of wait-for-SAG, meaning let SAG negotiate a better deal for its members and then let the favored nations clauses kick in and the WGA wins by proxy. Or, SAG goes on strike and then the WGA joins them and the united front of writers and actors dismantle Hollywood completely. This is a strike, by the way, that would last about one week!

Some argue this is what the WGA should have done from the get-go. Rather than go on strike last November, the guild should have just waited until June of this year and then engaged in a joint strike with SAG/AFTRA. Some say not doing this was a severe strategic error on the part of the WGA leadership. Could the WGA have held out eight months in dead-end negotiations, stalling with the AMPTP? Who knows, hindsight is usually bullshit, but it’s an interesting concept.

I do not make these musings to upset or freakout people. I just think that Ellison’s clarion call (as nails-on-a-black-boardish as it might sound) is a barometer worth heeding. After all, he has a mouth, and he must scream!

We all might want to listen.

It's Over—Kind of—Maybe—Fingers Crossed!

It’s over—even though the plus-size woman (not PC to say “the fat lady”) hasn’t sung yet. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for three months, I’m referring to the writers’ strike! Soon, writers from Bangor to Baja will once again be crunching their keyboards churning out new programming, pitching creative executives, taking lunches, and rolling their phone calls with agents and producers, all in the spirit of bringing back normalcy to the most abnormal of industries on the planet.

Money will finally start flowing again, florists will blossom; caterers will deliver; high-priced salons will pretend like nothing ever happened, as they are above the fray of petty real-world concerns like separated rights; and all will be right with the collateral marketplace that suckles off entertainment’s benevolent teat. The celebrating has already begun, if the WGA’s all-hands meeting on Saturday night was any indication, with its 3,500+ member turnout to discuss the terms of the new deal.

Historically, such meetings heralding new contracts (1981, 1985, and 1988) can get pretty raucous, if not plain ugly. Apparently, the only “incident” to come out of this general meeting was one writer (unnamed—I’m sure his mother appreciates that) who accused the negotiating committee of “blinking” on the issue of the proposed 17 or 26 day, residual-free “promotional” window for Internet ad-supported content. This fellow got downright testy and was apparently met with chuckles and hooting to the point he was driven from the room. Maybe there was a big, red, “WGA” branded into his forehead to warn other naysayers and misanthropes, I don’t know, but there were no other disruptions.

Other than this one firebrand, the standing ovations for the negotiating committee and the unanimous support of the membership for the tentative deal sent a clear message to all congloms: the WGA is strong and united and is basking in the victory wrought by labor’s mighty hammer—the right to strike. At least until June, when the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) steps up to bat and takes its turn at pummeling the AMPTP and it’s Robber Baron masters. But, the two major guilds representing performers are a house divided, with SAG and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) squabbling amongst themselves.

Although both unions have jointly negotiated pieces of contracts since 1981, the unions traditionally maintain separate authority over production, with SAG controlling filmed projects and AFTRA overseeing videotaped shows and commercials. The line for jurisdiction over digital production became blurred in 2000, when the unions’ settled into a last-minute agreement with the AMPTP.

Currently, both unions claim the jurisdiction to negotiate digital television contracts on behalf of their members. Last year, SAG claimed it was undercut by AFTRA on a handful of 20th Century Fox television pilots shot in a digital format. The two unions reached a confidential settlement on those productions after threats of a lawsuit. But the larger issue of which union, or combination of the two, has the right to represent actors in new media productions, remains.

What will they do? Rumor has it that SAG and AFTRA are trying to mend fences before June to present some kind of united front, so that when they slay the AMPTP dragon they will come out with all their fingers and toes, and hopefully a better deal than even the writers. But, if all does not go well, the WGA could find itself back on the picket lines supporting actors and it’s dejavu all over again.

I don’t think it will come to that, because the spirit of victory and a vision of a united-labor front fighting for its future are too strong. And the momentum is clearly on the side of the guilds.

I’ll miss the strike though. While not a WGA member (yet), I have enjoyed the feeling of participation in the struggle made possible by the rich media coverage and the excellent strike information put up on the WGA’s strike-site, as well as on countless blogs. The general public has never been so privy to, or so educated in, the inner-workings of the WGA and labor politics of Hollywood. Sadly, now I have to stop visiting the WGA site daily to check status and read articles. I kind of, almost, nearly felt like I was one of them. Oh well, now it’s back to pacing in my study, talking to myself and listening to the voices in my head. But, that’s another blog for another day; maybe in June when SAG goes out on strike?

God, I hope not.

Writer's Voices--Who's Listening?

In these dangerous, polarizing, and sometimes too politically correct times, writers who bravely tackle issues of international or homeland security, or U.S. involvement in you-know-where, and who are not sufficiently cautious to keep at least one creative foot firmly planted in God-Bless-America territory, are quick to grow bullseyes on key body parts. Just ask George Larkin, a Los Angeles writer, developer, and producer of award winning film, theater, and television.

For the past five (or more) years, Larkin has been trying to get his play, Baghdad Prom, produced and the reception of the project has been other than embracing; even in liberal-land L.A. The play is a weaving of an American writer’s life and family, with five Iraqi writers and their lives and families; people who have lived through the invasion and occupation, and who are doing the only thing they can to deal with the horrors of that life—write about it. In the play, the main character “talks” with the Iraqi writers through e-mail and these e-mails act as the source material of vignettes from the writers' lives, which are acted out.

At one point, Larkin tried to gather help for the production and contacted the main Yahoo bulletin board for Los Angeles-based actors, some 1,200 members strong. Here’s what Larkin wrote on the bulletin board:

"For the past three years, I've been getting in touch with writers and artists in Baghdad and getting their stories about what's going on now. We've heard from our media, government, pundits and even soldiers, but we've heard almost nothing from the Iraqis themselves. I've gotten amazing stories of life there, both fiction and nonfiction, of kidnapping, robbery, murder and forbidden love. They've also written to me what it was and what it is now like to be an artist there, and how dangerous that was and still is. I think we have a real chance to have our artists working with theirs. If you're interested in helping, or think your theater group would be, let me know."

“Smart boy,” you say. “Artists helping artists,” you say. “This is a no-brainer. He’ll have to turn actors away!” Well, the result? "I got nothing," he says. "Not a peep."

I read this and my jaw fell open. For the past three months I’ve been reading how militant, and activist, and committed actors are (and have been) to union activism supporting the writer’s strike, and I have a hard time reconciling this image with the deafening silence Larkin received in his appeal for help. When it comes to Iraq and the war, people get weird, and it becomes easy to slough off the indifference to, “L.A. isn’t a political town.” Well, tell that to the Democratic front-runners! They’re banking on just the opposite come Super Tuesday.

But, it’s not just L.A. that sees the world through narrow, self-interest-colored lenses. I suspect Larkin has had similar responses in other parts of the country, and not just from actors, from everyone. How does someone create a sense of urgency about something like this? How do you shake people awake or distract them from their mortgage worries, or their daycare problems, or general life-stuff that in the moment seems (and is) so important, and get them to care about five pissed off writers from a country we’re all sick and tired of hearing about? Sadly, I don’t have the answer to that question. If I did, Baghdad Prom would be at the Geffen Playhouse.

Now, granted, I haven't seen the play and don't know if it's good or bad as art, but I'd sure like the opportunity to see it, and make up my mind. What Larkin is doing is heroic, important, and uncomfortable. You don’t have to even like what all these Iraqi writers have to say—because these guys (yes, they’re all men) don’t sugar coat anything. But, as one of them (Safa Saad) stated so eloquently, “If they [his stories] can reach the American reader, I will write all these stories and I will never be tired. All the people in the world are brothers."

Baghdad Prom recently had a reading at a theater in Massachusetts, and they were overjoyed 45 enthusiastic people attended. What’s next? They don’t know. No one has stepped up to take this project under his or her wing. This play has no home. It is one more Iraqi refugee.

So, the next time you're browsing through Yahoo bulletin boards looking for a job, just remember: writers helping writers, artists helping artists, and like the man said, “All the people in the world are brothers."

Writers Helping Writers

I am posting here a blog entry from a wonderful writer, novelist, teacher, and all around fantastic person, Caroline Leavitt. She posted this on her own blog and I'm reprinting it here with her permission. It is important and inspiring because it shows how the community of writers can lift everyone up and make a difference in this crazy world. Here it is:

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In Praise of Patry: Liar's Diary Blog

Writers are a solitary bunch. We live in our heads and in our work, and come out to do readings. But when one of our own is in trouble, we all band together as a community and help out. Case in point: Patry Francis.

Patry’s Francis’s debut THE LIAR’S DIARY came out in hardcover from Dutton last spring. The trade paper release is set for January 29th, but a few weeks ago, Patry was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. She’s had several surgeries, and her prognosis is good, but given that she won’t have much energy for promoting, ITW Debut Author members Laura Benedict and Karen Dionne, along with Susan Henderson and Jessica Keener, have banded together to do it for her with THE LIAR'S DIARY BLOG DAY.Brilliance Audio has also put together a special audio clip with excerpts from Patry’s novel, and Circle of Seven Productions is producing a promotional video.This is no ordinary blog day. Rallied by ITW members Laura Benedict and Karen Dionne, along with Susan Henderson and Jessica Keener, over 300 people from the publishing community have agreed to mention her book online on release day.

Liar's Diary has an irresistible premise. Suburban school secretary Jeanne Cross has a loveless marriage with a slickly creepy husband, and a secretive son. But when new teacher Ali Mather comes to the school, the two women begin to bond. But what are the secrets in Ali's diary and who is breaking into her house? and stalking her? And what secrets of her own is Jeanne harboring that could shatter them both?

Patry's book makes me want to use all the best adjectives: seductive, dark, thorny, mesmerizing. What I also loved was the way the novel twists, turns and comes to a razor sharp finale. Patry's psychological portraits of these two women are tense, acute and unforgettable. Nothing is what it seems (oh, how I love that) and the last chapter is truly shattering. So Patry, you wrote a gorgeous book that gets under your skin and stays there and I urge everyone to go on out and snap it up. Read Patry's blog. And when you're up at three in the morning because you can't stop reading the book, feel free to email me because I know the feeling.

Now get well fast, Patry, because we need you to write more books. And more importantly, because we need you.

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Now, do what Caroline says. If this life isn't about giving something back, then what's the point?

Someone Please Hit the WGA Upside the Head!

I promise, I won’t turn this blog into a running commentary on the Hollywood writers strike. There are many more articulate people running off at the keyboard on this already (Robert Elisberg, Michael Zeitzman, Nikki Finke), and there are so many other interesting things to write about concerning writers. But—what are they thinking at the WGA?

This from the heads of the WGA branches (East & West) in a joint Letter From the Presidents – State of the Negotiations, dated 1/22/08:

“In order to make absolutely clear our commitment to bringing a speedy conclusion to negotiations, we have decided to withdraw our proposals on reality and animation.”

Meaning, the union is going to buckle on its former commitment to unionize reality TV and animation writers. Originally, on day six of the initial negotiations with the AMPTP the WGA had “played hardball” by demanding that network and studio CEOs make no deals with Reality TV producers unless these producers signed up as signatories of the WGA; the idea being to bring the writers of these shows under the wing of the union and to cover them with the same salary and benefit protections of other guild members (these folks can work 90 hour weeks!).

This backtrack by the WGA is a little like the UAW going into heated negotiations with Ford and saying, "Okay, we'll come back to the table, and to show good faith we'll agree not to unionize any other auto workers in the country for the length of our new agreement." Can you imagine the leadership of the UAW doing that? Not unless they wanted to end up like Jimmy Hoffa (okay, he was in a different union—but still)!

Pulling back on this demand may be good politics, especially considering all the pressure coming to bear on both sides of the negotiations to settle, but is it really in the interests of writers (and the Guild) to cut loose reality and animation writers? I imagine the thought process of the Guild leadership is that in three years (the length of any new contract), when they return to the table with the AMPTP to start this dance all over again, the Guild will put this issue back on the table and everything will be hunky-dory. The problem is, that probably won’t happen. Many years ago video residuals were withdrawn from the negotiations, to be revisited later, and guess what—25 years later—it never happened. That’s how it works. It will be very hard to “revisit” the reality/animation issue in three years, and even if that happens, I’ll bet Gil Cate’s paycheck for producing the Oscars that the deal won’t be anywhere as sweet as the one the Guild could get if they just pushed through now to make it happen this round.

Now, I’m not some red diaper baby from the 1920s singing the Internationale (though I have sung the Internationale—many times) calling for world revolution (though I have called for world revolution—many times, but that’s another blog), screw the bosses, and up with the proletarian revolution (yes, you guessed it—been there done that too). I actually do understand that the function of negotiation implies give-and-take, concessions, etc., but the opportunities here for making historic gains for writers, strengthening the union movement in the U.S. (which is in wretched shape), and setting the tone for future negotiations are huge. Let’s not blow it!

Don’t abandon the reality writers, don’t cut loose the animators; find a common ground where common ground can be found, and where the ground opens up into an chasm and, rather than talk, both sides just want to throw each other into the abyss, step back, take a deep breath, make a concession to throw all the lawyers into the abyss instead of each other, and then get back to the table and figure it out. After all, we’re all in this together.

Brave New World

The biggest thing to come out of the Hollywood writer’s strike isn’t going to be a settlement. Not that a settlement is chopped liver, it is a necessity and needs to happen as quickly as possible. But, something “bigger” and more profound is emerging from the clash of the multi-millionaire vs. the millionaire titans (let’s face it, that’s who’s really dukeing it out) of the WGA and the AMPTP: new media-mania. Yes, everyone has gone Internet crazy and a revolution that was slouching toward Hollywood has finally broken into a full gallop, foaming at the mouth.

The move to Internet TV has been evolving for a number of years. IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) the video equivalent to voiceover IP (Skype) is still slowly emerging, though not quite there. Numerous standalone companies are offering network streamed shows (Joost, Live-TV-Net.com, all the networks themselves). And streaming movies are an actual profit center for some companies (Amazon, Netflix, and soon iTunes), and old news in the “new media world.” But, the promise of Internet streamed, original, broadcast-quality programming developed by writers and distributed through social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube was a distant dream for writers and producers, prior to the strike. People knew the potential was there, but while the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak, and few had the courage to go it alone and break new ground. It was easier to just let somebody else do it, and keep working that housekeeping deal at the studio or network. Better the devil you know, etc.

Until November 17th, 2007, that is. With much ballyhoo and anticipation (and some consternation) the Internet’s first broadcast quality TV series, Quarterlife, debuted on MySpace.com. The show went up right at the beginning of the writer’s strike and if you don’t think lots of people started seeing Internet stars in their eyes, think again. Writers, producers, show runners (writer/producers who get TV shows setup at the networks) started chomping at the bit wondering, “How can I do that?” And, “Can I make any money doing that?” Well, the jury is kind of out on the profitability of Quarterlife—not looking good—but it’s only the first try, and a successful business model is only a matter of time. Profitable or not, the toothpaste was out of the tube, the genie was out of the bottle, the fat lady had sung—pick your metaphor, it was a brave new world.

But, those conservative Nellie’s too skittish to jump into the deep end, willing only to wait and see, are finding themselves choking on the dust of the mad dash by more courageous hearts who are now (as I write) storming the doors of Silicon Valley’s venture capital community, business plans in hand, beating the bushes for startup money for Internet TV development companies. And—they’re getting those deals. At least eight deals were inked to form new companies before mid-January 2008, and it seems more are announced every day.

It reminds me of the beginning of the dot com boom; investors willing to throw money at any Tom, Dick, or Jane who could demonstrate some capacity of jumping through their financial hoops and who had “the next big thing.” Well, now, lots of very talented and savvy entertainment folks are wading into the deep end, and while many will drown, because they don’t know how to avoid the rip tides of Silicon Valley, many will succeed and forge a new model for creative success on the World Wide Web.

So, why am I giving this little history lesson and diatribe, because it is a brave new world, and there ‘aint nothin’ Orwellian about it. If you are a writer you should be excited as hell about where this is going. If you are a producer, you should be excited as hell about where this is going, And if you are a studio or network (which I’m sure all of you are—not) you too should be excited as hell, because I think this can be win-win for everybody; especially us writers.