I am so relieved, I can’t even tell you. The WGA and the studio executives reached an agreement today, and there will be no strike.
I had the radio on all day at work today and yesterday, and with each newsbreak, I allowed myself another degree of hope. Now it’s official.
Mr. Rilch and I have been living with dread these past months. I still don’t have a permanent job, and I was not looking forward to the job market being crammed with displaced film people. Mr. Rilch, for those who haven’t heard me mention it, is a union electrician, and this would have crippled him. He kept saying that this would force him to fall back on his art. He is talented in that area, but I couldn’t help quoting James Thurber: “That would be like falling back full-length on a kit of carpenter’s tools.”
Of course I always side with unions, and particularly in the case of writers, but that doesn’t stop management from being stubborn. I had been picturing a fleet of U-Hauls headed for the border, like the Westward Expansion in reverse.
Sigh. Big, huge sigh of relief. When Mr. Rilch gets home (he’s still on Spiderman!) we are going to toast the agreement, and then screw like there is a tomorrow!
I too, had a big sigh of relief when I heard the news today. I’m working in the restaurant business in L.A., and the company I work for owns several restaurants near the studios (plus we cater often for several of the studios, too). It’s bad enough we’ve already felt the economic slump, but a strike on top of it? It’s nice to know I’ll still have a job tomorrow.
And gasoline! Two dollars a gallon in LA. That was adding another dimension to my panic.
**
Thank you!
Java, we’ve been thinking about that too. Restaurants and caterers, personal trainers, hairdressers…Almost every business in LA is in some way connected to The Industry. And I’m sure a lot of people would have scarpered on their bills. Mr. Rilch’s boss predicted a while back that Sprint PCS would be wiped out, because no one would settle their cell phone account before they left. I asked if he would and he said, “Well, uh…”
A few months ago, Newsweek blamed the impending strike for that horror of horrors: ALL OF THE ARQUETTES WERE WORKING! With the rush to get plenty of stuff in the can there was a shortage of actors so ANYBODY could get a job. Even David. Hell, they woulda dug up grandpa Cliff if they thought it would do any good.
Which it would. Thirty years dead and he’s STILL funnier than David.
