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Silence speaks volumes as actors go "Speechless" for writersHow do you get a bunch of actors to stop talking? Wait, wait: I know this one. Does it involve a pineapple, a screwdriver and a three-legged dog? Oh, sorry; you weren't joking? In all seriousness, the way to get a group of top-flight, big-name actors to finally stop speaking is to stop giving them scripts. A slew of A-list actors are appearing in the new Speechless campaign, a collaboration between the striking members of the Writers Guild of America and members of the Screen Actors Guild.
So far 14 black-and-white, mostly wordless spots have been released, with more on the way. Among the actors already appearing are Oscar winners like Holly Hunter, Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn and TV heavyweights like America Ferrera, Eva Longoria and Ed Asner. Even L Word alums like Rosanna Arquette and Alan Cumming joined in the silence. Here are some of my favorites so far. (For the entire list, check the Speechless channel on Brightcove.) The entire cast of Ugly Betty shows how silence is golden: Holly Hunter struggles with an outsourced script doctor: Laura Linney seeks an intervention: Kate Beckinsale and David Schwimmer can't find the words: So, how effective will the Marcel Marceau-ing be in settling the writers strike? It's hard to say, but the array of talent the WGA aligned for the spots is impressive. Talks between the writers and producers resumed Monday, and there seems to be cautious optimism in some camps. So, what do you think of the spots? And, more important, will they help end the strike?
Submitted by on November 27, 2007 - 4:01pm. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
Din
what I don't understand ...
is how you and I - the average Jo's (e omitted on purpose) - can do anything? Short of giving the actors words ourselves ... That's all I wanted to do while watching this - send them words from FreeRice.com, but that would make me a scab, so that's out.
I mean, as consumers, are they wanting us to boycott reality TV and other type fillers? Are we supposed to stop going to movies? but then again, movies that are already out were made before the strike, so that really won't accomplish anything. I personally don't watch any reality TV anyway (yes, that includes you, Tila Tequila); most of everything I watch on TV comes down to LOGO, DVR recordings of Heroes, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, Pushing Daisies, and Grey's Anatomy ... and then reruns of Golden Girls, Frasier, and Xena, and the occassional Hockey game. Once the current shows run out of episodes, it really just means more reading/video game playing for me.
The only other option that's left, as to the point of these ads, has to come down to an attempt at letting the public in on just *how* important script writers are. But the threat of everyone's favorite shows hitting brick walls (come December/January), I think, has driven the point home already. I find these ads ... entertaining ... I think the most effective one was Holly Hunter calling an India-based out-sourcing company for her script-related woes. I can't give them money (besides they make way more than I ever will), they don't have petitions for me to sign, I can't vote on it .......
but again, I ask:
What are we supposed to do?
And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges....
Fan campaigns
There are a number of things ordinary fans can do to show their support. The big fan campaign right now is Pencils2MediaMoguls: http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/2007/11/pencils2mediamoguls.html It's a way of sending a message to the big companies that we support the writers and want them to get a fair deal. (It's based on the Jericho nut campaign, which got them an extra season after the show had been cancelled.)
You can also call the companies to tell them that you support the writers. (Details of numbers etc here: http://community.livejournal.com/wga_supporters/108254.html)
it's not about reality t.v
There is a video on youtube that you can watch which will help you understand more what the strike is about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk
And http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/ has more information on what you can do, but just being aware is a start. And with out going on a rant this actually does have to do with more then just the writers. It has to do with how American works as a whole, giving the people that actual do the work very little while the corporations, and guys on to top get to keep an unfair percentage of the profit.
I think if we stop
lesbian without borders
well