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Myers fears Hollywood's end is near: Publicist worried strike will hasten erosion of biz
Variety ^ | Fri., Jan. 11, 2008, 1:16pm PT | TATIANA SIEGEL

Posted on 01/11/2008 1:45:42 PM PST by bahblahbah

Longtime Hollywood publicist Julian Myers will turn 90 soon. And he worries the end may be near ... for Hollywood.

Myers frets that the WGA stalemate -- with all of its acrimony, vitriol and job losses -- is a harbinger of ill things for the industry.

"The strike impasse is speeding the end of Hollywood filmmaking and television production," says Myers, who has been working in the biz since 1939 and is still an IATSE member. "There are more union contracts coming up for renewal, and already unionists are crossing union lines. IATSE is urging its members to go right on through. Insults are being exchanged, faces will be bashed and fatalities are a possibility."

Myers, of course, remembers when such confrontations were more common. He recalls participating in a 1946 strike in which 900 unionists were arrested in front of Warner Bros. Studios and bussed off to a Burbank jail.

Now, with tensions again running high, Myers worries that the town might be consumed.

"Does a dying Hollywood need a civil war today to hasten its erosion?" he asks.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: feelgoodstory; goodnews; hollywood; strike; unions; w00t; wga
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1 posted on 01/11/2008 1:45:48 PM PST by bahblahbah
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To: bahblahbah

Good.


2 posted on 01/11/2008 1:46:10 PM PST by Resolute Conservative
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To: bahblahbah

What strike? /sarc


3 posted on 01/11/2008 1:48:23 PM PST by Spok
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To: bahblahbah

4 posted on 01/11/2008 1:48:35 PM PST by PetroniusMaximus
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To: bahblahbah

WE can hope!

I think a lot of people finally woke up after 9/ll and the WOT who the REAL heroes in our lives are.

The strike may, God willing, be the icing on the cake.

Maybe more people will discover books and - OMG - conversation!


5 posted on 01/11/2008 1:49:59 PM PST by maine-iac7 (",,,but you can't fool all of the people all the time" LINCOLN)
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To: bahblahbah
Publicist worried strike will hasten erosion of biz

I'm thinking Flavor Flav, Anna Nicole Smith, George cLooney and Captain Douche-Nugget himself, Sean Penn did that for ya'. Don't blame the strike.

6 posted on 01/11/2008 1:50:58 PM PST by IllumiNaughtyByNature (To Err Is Human. To Arr is Pirate. To Unnngh! is Freeper.)
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To: maine-iac7
But what is there to talk about other than movies and tv shows?

/sarcasm?

7 posted on 01/11/2008 1:51:33 PM PST by Hazzardgate
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To: bahblahbah

I think the monumentally crappy movies they’re making will do them in before the strike does.


8 posted on 01/11/2008 1:51:47 PM PST by 3AngelaD (They screwed up their own countries so bad they had to leave, and now they're here screwing up ours)
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To: maine-iac7

I’d be happy to see it close down. There hasn’t been anything to interest me in years.


9 posted on 01/11/2008 1:51:54 PM PST by CASchack
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To: bahblahbah
Hollywood's end is near. Oh Please oh please oh please.......
10 posted on 01/11/2008 1:54:22 PM PST by BBell
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To: bahblahbah

What he seems to be worried about is the end of the writer’s union. The end of the union is hardly the end for Hollywood, and might be exactly what Hollywood needs.


11 posted on 01/11/2008 1:56:32 PM PST by untrained skeptic
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To: bahblahbah

Let it be so.


12 posted on 01/11/2008 1:57:09 PM PST by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: bahblahbah
No way.

Like it or not, Entertainment is a big business, and there's $$BILLIONS to be made in it. Eventually they'll solve the money problem and life will go on.

13 posted on 01/11/2008 1:58:14 PM PST by theDentist (Qwerty ergo typo : I type, therefore I misspelll.)
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To: bahblahbah

I am probably more sympathetic to unions than most Freepers, but there was a staggering stat about the TV industry in NYC and the strike. The strike of 500 writers had stopped an industry that in toto provides up to 25,000 jobs in the NYC area. Those folks are not working, and I think that fact is being understood in California as well as NYC.


14 posted on 01/11/2008 1:58:26 PM PST by xkaydet65
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To: bahblahbah

There have been very few good movies I find worth my money to see. I don’t necessarily want to see H-wood movies go down the tubes, although I’m not crying major tears, either. I’d like to see movies start being made which are more family-oriented, without all the smart@ss kids and dumb parent types and doo-doo jokes, and more pro-America movies. Maybe, when and if the writers and everybody get back to work, they’ll realize the types of movies that would be real money-makers.

I won’t be holding my breath.


15 posted on 01/11/2008 1:59:10 PM PST by Theresawithanh (This is my tagline. FRED!!!!!!)
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To: untrained skeptic

The WGA will prevail in this strike. The union is right in its stand, unified in its membership, strong in support from the public, and has already begun making interim deals with individual companies.


16 posted on 01/11/2008 1:59:32 PM PST by karnage
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To: bahblahbah

Only if we’re lucky! :)


17 posted on 01/11/2008 2:00:27 PM PST by Hazcat (We won an immigration BATTLE, the WAR is not over. Be ever vigilant.)
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To: xkaydet65

The Film Industry is mostly blue collar. And that’s who’s suffering the most from this strike.


18 posted on 01/11/2008 2:05:28 PM PST by Borges
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To: xkaydet65
I guess the real question is “WHY do they need writers”
A decent idea comes up for a commercial and EVERYONE else “steals” the theme and we get flooded with ‘dupes’.
A successful drama (L&O) becomes a hit and it immediately has 4 clones...worse yet is the CSI phenonomen..they even got the military involved and oh yes, ALL the same theme shows have a ‘disgruntled, angry boss’, a young whiz kid supersleuth, a doll, and a wide eyed innocent and oh yes, don’t forget the quirky AA or coroner.
This year a detective show with 3 female stars opened and the 3rd version will be coming along in a little bit.
I think HBO is on the right track. They give you GOOD drama, run it a couple of years and put it to bed, then come out with new ideas....how novel...
19 posted on 01/11/2008 2:08:45 PM PST by xrmusn
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To: bahblahbah
I agree with most of the comments here. I rarely see a movie that I like any more. If I do it is most likely made for kids. And television... oy veh. I can name only a few entertainment programs that I enjoy. Let's see... Monk and House are about it for the dramas. I can't stand to watch ANY network sitcoms any more. About the only TV comedy I like is a kids show call Josh and Drake that my son turned me on to.
20 posted on 01/11/2008 2:10:52 PM PST by free_for_now (No Dick Dale in the R&R HOF? - for shame!)
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