TV Hot Spot: STRIKE!

TV Strike Turns Ugly: Writer hit by a Car

Post by: Sal

A picketing Hollywood writer was injured just hours into the strike.


"The guy basically said, 'Get the 'F' out of the way, and then hit the gas and just plowed into this guy," said writer Linda Berston, who witnessed the incident according to KABC-TV

"The group was just walking across the driveway, and the guy basically started running him over without giving him a chance to move out of the way," said Berston.

KABC reports that police are investigating the incident.

One photographer on the scene told Eyewitness News that he believes that the writer may have suffered leg injuries, but it is not believed to be life-threatening.

The strike began 12:01 a.m. yet writers did not picket until 9 a.m. at Paramount and other studios across the region.

Writers want a bigger piece of DVD and new media sales.

"This is a really easy one. If they make money off our products, we get some of that money," said writer Bernard Lechowick. "We're talking about a revenue-based income from Internet downloads."

Joining the writers, at least symbolically, are the members of the Screen Actors Guild.

"In the long term, it is important that writers get the formula so actors will get a fair formula, and, you know, the rest of the creative talent community in Hollywood as well," said Ray Rodriguez of the Screen Actors Guild to KABC.

"DVD revenues have surpassed theatrical revenues, and that needs to be recognized in a fair and equitable fashion," said actor Judge Reinhold.

A total of 12,000 writers will be involved in the strike.

Studios maintain that writers are getting a fair share of the revenues from television shows and movies.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) did issue a statement regarding the strike: "Notwithstanding the fact that negotiations were ongoing, the WGA decided to start their strike in New York. When we asked if they would 'stop the clock' for the purpose of delaying the strike to allow negotiations to continue, they refused. Ultimately, the guild was unwilling to compromise on most of their major demands. It is unfortunate that they choose to take this irresponsible action," said Nick Counter, the president of the AMPTP in a prepared statement.

The Writers Guild responded in their own statement: "The AMPTP made no response to any of the other proposals that the WGA has made since July. The AMPTP proposed that today's meeting be 'off the record,' meaning no press statements, but they have reneged on that."

The movie studios have stockpiled films in anticipation of a strike.

Sal