Insiders say strike will last to summer

Theaterland's Tinseltown connection said in a telephone interview over the weekend that the strikers who caused the cancellation of the Golden Globe awards and threaten the Academy Awards show have no intention of buckling any time soon.

Yuba City native Rodney Kageyama, a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), said Sunday that friends in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are predicting they will keep their walk-out going at least until mid-summer.

"Mid-summer" would be June 30, the expiration date for contracts SAG and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) have with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Kageyama's writer friends - "the ones on the line" - were at his home for dinner Saturday night, and their strike mood was militant.

"It's going to go another six months," Kageyama reported.

Such sentiments apparently reflect a consensus among the principal unions involved in - or most directly affected by - the increasingly bitter dispute: WGA, SAG and the DGA.

Some reporters have speculated that the more management-oriented DGA is likely to break first and force the writers to cave in on their demands.

"The unspoken story in Hollywood is that the directors have always taken care of themselves first, and the other two unions - especially the writers - are forever dubious about the directors' intentions," San Francisco Chronicle columnist Tim Goodman opined Monday.

But Kageyama countered that, saying the directors realize that the writers' demands are reasonable and that the strikers' spines are stiff.

"The strike is going to go six to nine months. The writers are asking for a pittance, really," Kageyama said.

The mood of rebellion and staunch writers and actors struggling to get by on little or nothing resurrected memories of the mid-1980s Hollywood strike Kageyama went through.

"I feel like a hippie again - back in the days," he reminisced.

But for a first-hand account, Kageyama suggested calling a certain involved scriptwriter who has "walked the line" right from the start.

He gave me an e-mail address, the response to which brought a telephone number which I called and spoke to a youngish striker who agreed to talk, but only on condition that his true name not be disclosed for fear of later retribution by producers.

I checked his bona fides, and he's legit, so let's just call our guy "Skript Ryter."

What is it like to be picketing the stars? How are the stars taking it - for instance, Jay Leno, who has come under some criticism for going back on the air at NBC?

Leno has been friendly and helpful to the strikers, bringing them food on the line and sharing jokes in some cases, as news reports have it.

And Skript Ryter wanted to make sure the public understands that the writers like Leno. He's a nice guy.

But, Skript Ryter noted, "Just to put a button on the Jay Leno issue: The important thing is that he is not receiving any material from his writers."

Skript Ryter agreed with Kageyama that the strike looks to be a long haul.

If so, what has the public reaction been so far for those on the line?

Largely supportive, Skript Ryter said.

"Of the people driving by, maybe 20 cheer us on and then one gives us the finger," he said.

Movie-goers know a lot is at stake if the sparring parties don't come to some agreement that provides writers with fair compensation for their creativity. Otherwise, a slew of business categories may be totally wiped out in Southern California.

Tom Nadeau has written for and acted on stage, screen, radio and television. Write to him at theaterland@gmail.com.