We are now part of the Summer of Strike. After failed negotiations with the studios and corporations who run the entertainment industry, bot
"Think of the two major possibilities here: Either the studios owe untold millions to their talents and paying it out will decimate their stock prices, or they owe so little because there really is no money in streaming and the bubble of their entire 21st century business model will burst in spectacular fashion. And make no mistake: this is a bubble. This is the inevitable climax of a stockholder-driven hunger for infinite growth, despite the fact that, by design, such a thing cannot and should not exist. The infection of Wall Street has overwhelmed the entertainment industry beyond repair, leading to cultural vandals like David Zaslav to be appointed with the callous duty of strip-mining decades’ of artistic beauty for pennies of tax write-offs. The past and future are frivolous in comparison to the short-term demands that the line keep going up."
"When Murderbot’s being questioned by the only crew member who suspects something’s off about their robot security guard, Dr. Gurathin (David Dastmalchian), brings up the subject of Comfort Units, robots designed for sexual use. "When Dr. Gurathin’s interrogation forces Murderbot to merely say the word, “sex,” its abject disgust is barely held at bay, denoted only by the slight widening of the eyes, flare of the nostrils, and an Adam’s Apple that bobs just enough to suggest that if Murderbot could vomit, it gladly would.
The supporting cast is great but Skarsgård and Dastmalchian are two weird little guys in a pod together, and if the next eight episodes are nothing but those two making one another uncomfortable, I’d be just fine with that (for anyone wondering about Skarsgård’s IRL fellow weird little guy, Jack McBrayer, no worries, he makes an appearance as a character in Murderbot’s favorite series, The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon)."
Also:
Alex and Jack Are The Dynamic Duo We Need
I don’t know how they met, or what they do when they hang out together. But I can tell you that Jack McBrayer is a literal ray of sunshine. If you ever have the opportunity to be friends with him, let alone BEST friends, you should jump on that chance immediately. Your life will only be improved
Heels is an exceptional show (think Friday Night Lights but with wrestling) with several talented individuals (Mary McCormick, Mike O'Malley
Coupla excellent points by Dustin Rowles over at Pajiba:
Stephen Amell is not the kind of actor the strike is designed to help: Someone struggling to make ends meet between jobs, who wants to maintain health insurance. He’s also not an A-list actor who doesn’t need to worry about money. Stephen Amell is, in fact, the kind of actor who the strike hurts the most and benefits the least. That’s why he doesn’t support the strike; it’s because he doesn’t personally benefit from it, and he doesn’t seem to care about the majority of the actors on his own show who would benefit from the strike.
Meanwhile, you know who has gone a decade without even once being an asshole in public? Robbie Amell.
Anyway, I've seen a fair amount of fan support for Stephen's comments on here the last couple of days that basically amount to:
What happened to free speech?
He's right. Strikes are dumb because it means I might not be able to see movies and shows I like when I want to see them.
*Extreme eyeroll* to all of that. No one is infringing upon his free speech; that's not how the First Amendment works. If you think it's cool for the people who make your favorite entertainment to have their labor exploited, you're not a real fan - you're an asshole. Also, the kind of shit the studios are pulling, some of which the guilds are fighting against, are actually making the fan experience worse. Greed-driven decisions that make for poorly-made entertainment, and movies and shows being pulled from services so fans don't even get to enjoy them.
SAG-AFTRA strong. WGA strong. Support the strikes. Fair pay for all.
