Stephen King has published over 70 novels, inspired countless movie and TV shows, and has become one of the most trusted (and entertaining) voices on social justice issues. Nevertheless, the prolific author doesn’t need more than a handful of words to make clear exactly where he stands on Hollywood’s current Writers Guild strike.
As a matter of fact, King’s message about the strike isn’t even his own, but that of fellow author and producer, Megan Abbot. On Twitter, Abbot posted a set of two images, one of actress Sally Fields holding up a “Union” sign from the movie Norma Rae, and another of the WGA’s official announcement confirming the Writers Guild Strike. In her post, Abbot concurred with WGA’s decision, saying she’s been a WGA member since 2012 and that “Writers deserve to be compensated fairly for their work. Now is the time.”
As for King — well, he simply shared Abbot’s message with the comment, “What Meg said,” emphasizing his point by including a gap between each word.
As a writer whose work has heavily influenced a vast majority of Hollywood’s most popular blockbusters, King is indeed a member of the Writers Guild, and thus has a personal stake in the current state of affairs.
Back in March, the Writers Guild negotiating committee informed the public that it would begin the first few weeks of bargaining with the studios, and assured its members that they would not hear from them “unless there is something of consequence to report.” Well, something of consequence happened.
In its official statement, the WGA said, “The studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing. We must now exert the maximum leverage possible to get a fair contract by withholding our labor. Members of the Negotiating Committee, Board and Council will be out with you on the picket lines.”
Because King lives in Florida and not California where the strikes are taking place, he is unlikely to add his physical body to the picket lines. However, there is no doubt he will be adding his esteemed voice to the sea of protestors on social media.
As for what we can expect moving forward: Late-night talk shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the Stephen Colbert Show have all immediately halted production, meaning repeat episodes will air as soon as today and could result in seasons ending early. As for movies — well, let’s just hope the 2007-2008 writers strike isn’t any indication of the type of terrible films we can expect to see this time around.
A complete list of shows affected by the strike (so far) can be found here.
