Oh Homey, if you were trying to get into the Fox lot Monday you were in for an “Ay, Caramba” kind of a surprise. The WGA, who has gotten creative with its themes for picketing (today is Die Hard Day at Fox) took on an entire Springfield theme as they descended upon the Fox lot for Simpsons Day.
Plenty of writers and supporters of the series that has aired for over 34 seasons joined the lines, and Fox lot captain Tyler Rugerri said that Friday’s picket was easily the largest at Fox since the strike began.
Simpsons writers and producers from across the decades reassembled along with series Creator & Co-Developer Matt Groening, Co-Developer James L. Brooks, and actor Dan Castellaneta, who voices the show’s patriarch, Homer Simpson. The crush of strike signs featured well-known characters from the show taking jabs at the AMPTP, picketers noted that the underlying message of solidarity driving the gathering was an important one.
“There’s no question that, at The Simpsons, we have all been very lucky,” said Al Jean, the veteran Simpsons showrunner who has produced more than 700 episodes of the series and co-wrote the screenplay to 2007’s The Simpsons Movie, “but what’s going on with the average writer has got to be fixed. Writers are being made to suffer for no reason.”
REELated:
Conan O’Brien Joins
Among the writers walking the line at the Motor Gate was long-time late-night host Conan O’Brien, whose credits include writing four episodes of The Simpsons. A longtime WGAW member, O’Brien said he considered himself fortunate to have broken into the business as a comedy writer at a time when there were fewer networks and less content, but also an easier pathway to advancement within the industry.
“Luck has been a huge part of my career, and I was extremely lucky to get started in 1985. I think it’s much harder today for younger writers,” said O’Brien. “It’s very difficult for them to even get their foot in the door and make a living. So this is about trying to negotiate a way to make the odds better for writers starting out. I’m optimistic we can figure that out.”
O’Brien praised the Guild for taking care of him and his show’s writers over the years. His favorite creative environment remains the writers’ room.
“It’s what I miss the most when I’m not working,” O’Brien noted.
The labor dispute, which has gained support not only from other unions but the general public as well, has now entered its second month. Writers walked out on May 2 after talks between the WGA Negotiating Committee and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down.
