Maybe it’s because if Los
Angeles were a state it would be the 4th largest
economy in the nation.
Or maybe it’s because the entertainment business generates
more than $30 billion annually.
Anyway here they come, politicians to the rescue of the Hollywood writers’ strike.
Former movie star and current California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, former labor negotiator and current L.A. Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa, and former president and current Hillary stumper Bill Clinton
have all offered their services as mediators. Even Jesse Jackson is here cheerleading
the picketers and posing for the press.
The governor seems poised to jump in like an action hero, the
mayor has already met with reps from both sides, rumors are rampant that
Hillary would like Bill to take a trip to the Left Coast
and Jesse has the pompoms at the ready.
The problem is that the writers don’t trust Arnold because
he’s been chummy with studio execs, the execs don’t trust Villaraigosa because
he used to work for unions, no one believes Clinton is going to leave the
Hillary campaign when it’s in trouble and Jesse just continues to float from
one activist photo-op to another.
One exec described the writers’ decision to strike as having
“declared war.” The writers want a bigger share of DVDs and a piece of the
Internet and cell phones. The studios say that the revenue from new technology
is an unknown speculative projection, and therefore they can’t lock in on a
percentage.
A simple solution would be to give the writers a share when
the revenue reaches a specified level. If both sides could conceptually agree,
it would be the start of talks that could lead to a resolution, and thankfully,
more to watch than reruns and reality shows.
Come to think of it, Hollywood
really needs someone to settle the strike who’s apolitical, able to communicate
in monosyllables and is experienced in bringing emotionally charged sides
together. Sounds like a job for Dr. Phil.
James Hirsen is a
media analyst, Trinity Law School
professor and teacher of mass media law at Biola University.
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