Hollywood Picket Lines Remain Mellow

Michael Martinez - Chicago Tribune

Hollywood Picket Lines Have the Feel of a Family Outing

BURBANK, Calif. - On a Hollywood picket line, one leaves the gun at home. That's what Grace Worful learned last week as a tourist from coal-mining country.

"My son said, `I know you're not packing (a gun) out there, so you better stay away from the picket line,'" Worful said in the lilt of her native Louisville as she visited NBC Studios. "You know, back home, you get stoned, cursed and vegetables get thrown at you if you cross a coal miners' picket line. Here, they're very nice."

Worful attended Jay Leno's show, which returned last week in defiance of the two-month-old Writers Guild of America strike. Outside the studio, the picket line had the gentility of a family outing. Strikers brought their kids in strollers, and shared the easy ambiance of palm-tree-lined sidewalks with mountainous backdrops. Even audience members who crossed the line were allowed to grab a poster and join the protest for a while. And then leave in time to catch the show.

But one show may not go on next Sunday - at least not with actors participating - when the annual Golden Globes awards are given out. Facing a boycott from the actors union, an NBC spokeswoman said Friday that the network still planned to broadcast the event, but variety.com reported Sunday that NBC appeared to be backing away.

While there has been little movement in the dispute over writers sharing Internet revenues, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that United Artists, the independent production unit of MGM partly controlled by actor Tom Cruise, was close to becoming the first movie company to reach an interim agreement with the writers guild. UA is not considered a major player, but the guild has been attempting to sign up such independents to put pressure on major studios.

Though Hollywood's strike may be mellow compared to those elsewhere, the financial pinch is touching everyone connected to show business, from agents to waiters.

"It reveals how shallow the town is - restaurants are down, floral orders are down, and the dermatologist is now taking insurance" because business is down, said one agent, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak for his agency.

The agent said his prominent firm is now "frugal" with the power lunches and added: "But there is a darker side to it: There are people who can't pay their kids' tuition, and there are agencies that are firing people. Where are they going to find a job?"

On the strike line, a typical G-rated moment unfolded at a back entrance to NBC Studios, just across the street from Johnny Carson Park.

On the apron of a driveway to Leno's stage and others, a dozen picketers were denouncing how the late-night king and studio were returning to the air without first securing a special agreement with the union in the same manner that David Letterman had done.

But Everett Serge, who will turn 4 later this month, just couldn't understand why he and dad were walking around in circles. Writer John Serge, 42, tried explain to his son what a job action was.

"It's a statement that what we're doing is something important," dad told son.

They were then joined by Mom, Kim Ferry-Serge, 39, pushing 19-month-old Connor in a stroller. She's also out of work as department head for hair styling for the television comedy "The Office."

The gentle explanation didn't take with little Everett, who ran behind his dad's leg when a reporter asked him for his thoughts.

Leno's decision to return to the air - he said he could no longer allow 19 striking writers to keep 160 crew members out of work - provoked the most controversy on the line.

Some writers felt Leno sold out. But their guild defended Leno, saying it was the studio that forced him back to work, leaders said.

"Jay Leno is Satan!" writer and comedian Chris Jackson, 47, stated, only half joking.

Jackson, who said he used to write for Leno in his early standups, added seriously: "I think the strike is already broken - the line is broken."

But chief guild negotiator John Bowman, surrounded by poster-toting members resting after their three-hour shift, described Leno as a union supporter who brought donuts and coffee to picket lines. But Bowman added, without union writers, Leno's show will be substandard.

"These talk shows are going to be like `Regis and Kathy Lee,'" Bowman said. "I don't think this is going to break the strike.

"People will tire of these shows - except for Letterman," he continued.

Some audience members wanted it both ways, including 18-year-old Frank Ilem of Glendale, Calif.

Ilem walked past the picketers and the NBC peacock sign and lined up with more than 100 aspiring audience members. While acquaintances held his place in line, he grabbed a stick-mounted poster and joined the revolving oval of about 100 picketers, who were chanting "On strike! Shut them down! Hollywood's a union town!"

"It feels empowering," said Ilem, a biology student at the University of California at Riverside. "I think we're actually making a change."

But he did seem a tad confused. A Democrat, he couldn't even remember if he's registered to vote, and he didn't know what to say about how he and other audience members were breaking the strike line.

"I feel they aren't necessarily against the strike. They support the writers union. I don't know. That's a hard question, man," Ilem said, following the pack of writers.

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