SPEECHLESS: The Silence from Silenced Voices Can Be Both Deafening and Damning

As the Writers' Guild strike drags on with no discernable light at the end of the tunnel, we are now bracing ourselves for a cornucopia of reality and game shows to replace what was left of the Fall TV season. When you think about it, the AMPTP is acting like a bunch of douchebags and jerks all because the writers are asking to be fairly compensated for works that turn up on the Internet. What is particularly disconcerting about AMPTP's posturing is their obvious disconnect to the realities faced by those lacking real power. What AMPTP really fears is that the Directors' Guild and the Screen Actors' Guild would be emboldened enought to instigate strikes that would really have them crapping their pants.

And to further dramatize their positions, and to illuminate the interdependency between writers and actors, the WGA has put together a series of videos under the collective umbrella title of "Speechless" on their new web site, Speechless Without Writers. The project was conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff, and made its exclusive debut on Nikki Fikke's Deadline Hollywood Daily web site with 11 videos.

When you think of AMPTP, think of them as a posse of schoolyard bullies shaking down their classmates of their milk money. Now when you think of the likes of Les Moovies behaving in such a manner, doesn't it make you wonder why they aren't garnering much sympathy from the public?

In response to the junk diet of reality shows being fostered on me, I'll be spending much more of my evenings working out at the gym. At least I can shed the excess pounds I've gained over the holidays.