Television and film writers across America are now on strike as talks between their union, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to produce any desired changes. One such writer out on strike with his colleagues is Rob Lowe‘s son, John Owen, and his father is more than happy to walk beside and support him.
Owen wrote on his father’s show 9-1-1: Lone Star and is a co-creator with his father on the Netflix show Unstable, and has taken up his placard and marched along with other writers to demand fair compensation for their work. The landscape of onscreen entertainment has changed dramatically in the last decade or so, largely thanks to the rise in streaming and the impact it has had on things like residuals, but despite this, writers argue that their efforts are not being recognized, with many claiming they are struggling to make ends meet.
Owen and his father joined the hundreds out marching for fairer wages on Tuesday in front of Paramount after negotiations fell through between the WGA and AMPTP. TMZ was covering the march and asked Owen how it felt to have his father join him on the strike, to which the writer responded, “I like that he’s supporting us.” He joked, “He’s a good supportive Dad rarely, occasionally… No a lot, a lot.” He then discussed what changes he hopes will come about as a result of their actions.
“Fairness, just fairness. What we asked for, a lot of it went unaddressed. It seems like it is unanimously agreed upon that it’s reasonable too. Times have changed with streaming and it hasn’t been adjusted appropriately, so we are overdue for that.”
He went into the specifics of what it is they are all asking for, adding, “I agree with what the guild is asking for to a T. I think that they’ve done a good job, I think that they’ve worked hard and it’s my job to come out here and support.” He went on to say that he will be out there every day though very much doubts his dad will be there every day alongside him.
Though we won’t see any marked difference immediately in some of our streaming service shows which have obviously already been written well in advance, daytime shows and talk shows will start to see the effects of a loss of writing staff. Shows that depend on topical news, such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon will face issues with no writers on hand.
Lowe isn’t the only celebrity to voice his support for the strike, with many actors, talk show hosts, and celebrated writers also chiming in on the current situation that is seeing Hollywood grind to a halt.
