Get used to repeats, baby.
Friday, November 2, 2007
I remember showing up to a dinner party in tears in the spring of 2003 because of the musician's strike on Broadway. I had to stand in the lobby of the Broadway theater and explain to people that there would be no performance that evening of Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme on Broadway. I had to tell them that they could either get their money back or get tickets for another performance down the line, but that March evening, the lights would not shine on Broadway. People actually cried. They begged me to make the show happen. They were in NYC for their yearly vacation and they always saw a Broadway show - and besides...the show must go on!
Right.
There were people from Australia. There were people that had finally won the lottery for the $20 tickets after waiting in line for three months straight. There was a lot of disappointment for the few nights that Broadway went dark during the musician's strike. It broke my heart to see how devastated people were that they weren't going to get to see theater. I had come to take it for granted because I got to see almost every show that existed for free during previews. I had forgotten that for most people, the theater was truly a special treat. That evening, I remembered.
The musician's strike only lasted a few days - Mayor Bloomberg stepped in because the city was losing millions and it was fixed in a matter of hours. That strike effected a lot of people...but it was nothing compared to what Hollywood is about to experience.
So on Monday the writers will walk out. No more SNL, Letterman or Leno effective immediately. Your favorite shows will last for another couple of months with more repeats in between so you'll see a new episode every so often...but come January, things will change.
Here in TV Network land, we've already been told there's no more overtime, no more expense accounts, no more birthdays. (It's the Grinch who stole fun!) When we drive to work on Monday, we've been told to keep our windows up, lest a picketer should throw something through a window or shout things that we'd feel inclined to want to respond to. Meanwhile, some of these picketers could very possibly be my friends.
There are all the crew people who are just victims of this disagreement and are totally out of work because of it. Big deal if I don't get a birthday cake...
Then there's the rest of LA. I thought about getting a second job waiting tables to make up for the lack of overtime that I'll be getting. But everyone that eats out in this town does so on an expense account. If they don't have one, will they still eat out? Definitely not as often...There will be fewer car services taking people places. People will cancel dog walkers, cleaning ladies, waxing, facials. Starbucks and Coffee Bean are going to see some serious hits (although there will probably be more out of work people hanging out because it's too depressing to just sit at home all day. But I bet you there are fewer lattes ordered and more plain ol' coffees...) Liquor sales may increase but bars won't be so packed.
For a few nights, Broadway disappointed several hundred thousand people and the shows lost some money. But this is going to last for more than a few nights. Repeats are the least of our worries.
Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 4:57 PM
Labels: the industry
