Dispatches From The WGA Picket Lines, Day 16: Scribes Served Up Tunes, Tacos & Mandalorians In LA, CEO Pay Decried Outside WBD NYC Upfront

With just the CW left tomorrow, the near-talent-free upfronts are winding down, and shows are still being shuttered in New York City, while on the picket lines in LA there was Mariachism, tacos, tunes and some Mandalorians to galvanize the troops.

On the 16^th day of the Writers Guild strike, picket signs were up near Madison Square Garden this morning as Warner Bros Discovery kicked off its muted pitch to advertisers a week before the company’ streamer officially becomes Max. As HBO chief Casey Bloys offered support on-stage at the MSG Theatre for a “fair resolution” for the WGA, outside picketers were moved almost out of view of entering attendees due to nearly construction.

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Slated to be between 32nd and 31st streets on 8th avenue, the picket line this morning was moved to 31st and 7th in front of building Penn 11.

Chanting “Warner Bros/You’re not good/Pay the writers what you should” and more, there were almost two dozen striking writers and supporter on-site Wednesday. New York proved itself to be a strong union town as passersby whistled, yelled, and pumped their fist in solidarity. Cars, trucks, and motorcycles also honked in recognition as a trio of NYPD officers and a small police van stood by.

“It’s not just about putting money in our pockets,” WGA strike captain Josh Gondelman told Deadline on the street today. “It’s about making sure writing doesn’t become a gig economy job and making sure that writers are protected and, can have careers and have families and pay their rent or their mortgages, now and in the future,” the Last Week Tonight writer added.

“I think this corporate consolidation and increasing funneling of wealth upward is especially egregious,” Gondelman noted. “I think we see that they’re spending so much money producing shows, producing films. We see that they’re spending so much money on executive compensation, CEO compensation, and all we’re asking for is 2% of their operating profits to pay writers for the work that we do. That forms really the backbone of what happens in this industry.”

Another person on the line drew a distinct line between steady and substainable income and representation.

“I’m Indian and I have been working in television for about three and a half years now,” said Guneet K. Singh. “I can honestly say the money that we make, especially when we’re first breaking in, especially when you’re at the assistant level, is not enough to sustain your life. And the thing that is very frustrating about this is that because there is a lack of wages, it discourages people of color from wanting to stay in the industry.”

With Showtime’s Billions seeing production halted yet again in Manhattan today due to WGA East’s Rapid Response Teams, the strike radius saw picketers out in the Windy City too. Among those out on a warm-ish Chicago day was resident Gillian Flynn, Girl Gone and Sharp Objects author/screenwriter, and showrunner of Amazon’s now shuttered Utopia:

Over on the West Coast, this third week of what many expect to be a long strike saw nourishment for the soul and body for picketers at NBCUniversal and Paramount.

If it was the sweet melodies of Mariachi courtesy of LaLista over on Lankershim Blvd on Wednesday, down on Melrose, 1990s LA alt-rock was but one of the offerings.

Joining the chorus of bands and singers serenading strikers over the past two weeks, Weezer gave WGA members picking at Paramount a two-song show. Playing acoustic guitars in front of the studio gates, frontman Rivers Cuomo and bandmates performed the likes 1994’s “Buddy Holly” and their 2005 hit “Beverly Hills.”

Also down at Paramount today, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves screenwriters (along with Michael Gilio) and directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley supported fellow scribes by bring out food for the picketers.

Lambasting an industry that Daley says “is in much need of change,” the duo delivered tacos for the strike team at what has become one of the most well attended studio protests since the strike began on May 2.

Meanwhile over at Disney HQ in Burbank, The Woman King helmer Gina Prince-Bythewood and some Star Wars bounty hunters were out in force …pun intended.

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