RIP Kathryn Joosten

I first heard that Kathryn Joosten died of lung cancer on June 2, 2012 in Westlake Village through an email sent by a member of the Industry networking group we called The Table. I had no idea she was a member of it. There are probably over a thousand of us linked by email so we never get to meet everyone and nobody is even obligated to send emails, so it is not surprising that I didn't know.

I just wish I would have been able to get to know her better. She was a wonderful actress and I admired her greatly. I always smiled when she was on Desperate Housewives because she was such a character and played it to perfection. So well that when her character had cancer, it never occurred to me it was mirroring the actor's own life.

However, I remember her most fondly from The West Wing.  That was her first character I fell in love with and I cried when Mrs. Landingham died, much like I did later when her co-star John Spencer, a long time favorite actor of mine, died.

I did get to meet Kathryn... at a table read for Joan of Arcadia when I worked on that series. She came in to play Old Lady God. What most people don't know is that the writers were such fans of her on West Wing (this was long before Desperate Housewives) that instead of calling her Old Lady God in the initial stages of the script, she was called Mrs. Landingham God. This was of course changed before the script went wide, meaning to the crew, actors, studio and network.  But it was great fun to see that character name and have a smile.

I did get to tell her how much I admired her work. And for that I'm grateful.

She was also an inspiration to us older actors just starting out because she didn't start acting until she was in her forties and didn't land a major role until in her fifties. She inspired us with what could be done if you never give up and you follow your dreams no matter how long it takes and when you start the journey.

RIP, Kathryn, the world is a better place for having known you, and a sadder one today.

-------
Photo is copyrighted to altfg.com, but labelled for free re-use.

Bloggers on the Line Day

Another day on the picket line at Warner Brothers. But today was special in that four WGA writers who normally walk the line at various studios decided to congregate at one studio in the Valley and declared this Bloggers Day, inviting the readers of their blogs to join them on the line today at Warner Brothers.

Now I'm a non-WGA writer. I had enough WGA writing credits to get to be an associate member of the Guild at one time, but not enough YET to become a full-fledged WGA member. So consequently, I do not have to do any picketing, but I do it because I see the WGA as right in their demands and as my future. I'm still the person who has the 'day job' to pay the bills (often in support of the writers as script coordinator) while throughout the year (not on the picket line), I try to convince agents, studio execs, showrunners, and yes, even some of these writers, who are inviting non-WGA support people to walk with them, to read my specs so I can become one of them. So consequently I'm holding down an 8-hour day job, walking the picket lines, trying to end this strike by communicating with people on the Internet to help them understand the writers side, etc. etc.

Since I'm already functioning on 5 hours sleep a day doing this, I can't picket every single day. So even though I was not planning on walking the line today, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet JOHN AUGUST, JANE ESPENSON, CRAIG MAZIN, and JOSH FRIEDMAN, who invited us to walk and talk with them, as I don't necessarily get to the studios they are picketing.

I only attempted to talk to two of them, as I only can recognize two of the four and I only have time to read the blogs of two of them. So imagine my dismay that after I waited until they were free from talking with other people and I introduced myself, I got a perfunctory and polite hello from them and watched them walk away from me, without even giving me a chance to come up with something interesting to talk about. Now, I don't expect every writer on the line to talk to me, but I did expect better from those who had specifically invited people to come walk and talk with them.

Now, perhaps you are thinking that we are not there to socialize and that is true. It's grim business we are doing. But consider that we are walking back and forth across the same street for three hours straight instead of what we'd be normally doing: writing, watching TV, shopping, petting the cat or dog, even cleaning house. And the only things to keep one from going nuts with boredom are responding to the honking cars and trucks and talking to each other.

Perhaps I would have had better luck trying to talk to the other two of this group, had I had the opportunity to speak with them, but I had a satisfying tour of duty because of other people I did get to talk to - a couple of screenwriters for whom I only know first names, my writer friend MELODY FOX, and actor STEVEN CULP.

Before the strike, Melody Fox was on staff of the SciFi series Flash Gordon. She's a great writer, a nice person, and fun to be around. I don't get to see her often enough. I thoroughly enjoyed a discussion on spec scripts and I learned a lot from her.

I also spent a lot of time with actor Steven Culp talking as we walked back and forth across the street in front of Warner Brothers gate 2/3. This is a solid actor whose work I've admired ever since I first saw him play Bobby Kennedy in the movie, Thirteen Days. He creates wonderful characters, who are very real and moving. He was my favorite character in JAG, yes even over the two main stars. I liked him in Desperate Housewives, where he played Bree's husband, Rex. But I had just seen him do a tour-de-force guest role on Stargate: Atlantis, where I felt he was able to show more of the breadth of what he can do than in any other role I've seen. He was nuanced and moving as a man so desperate to save his child that he crosses the line into doing things that he knows are illegal and reprehensible and who is later devastated by what he has done and has to atone for. I really felt for his character and that was a hard thing to do considering what the character had done. Steven Culp had done a great job in finding the sympathy in this character.

I had been so taken with his performance that I had told Joseph Mallozzi, showrunner of Stargate Atlantis, in his blog how much I enjoyed Steven Culp's performance in that episode. How neat and serendipitous that only a few days later, I find myself walking the picket line with the actor himself, so I can tell him in person what a fine job he did. I would be honored if someday it works out that he is acting in a script I've written.

SAG supports WGA in Rally at Universal Studios

Two hours of walking up and down on a concrete sidewalk in front of NBC Universal Studios between three gates and beyond... isn't working in Hollywood glamorous? But we were doing it for a very important cause -- the WGA is on strike for writers to get a contract which includes a percentage of the revenue made by the studios off their creative writing on the Internet and cell phones, and an increased percentage of DVD sales. Today SAG, the Screen Actors Union, joined us in full force.

They have been on the picket lines with the WGA since the beginning, as individuals who care, reportedly even bringing food to their striking writers, but this was to show actors in force supporting writers and hopefully to get good media coverage to spread the word of what's going on.

Normally, I don't post the photos of the actors or the writers on the lines and have only posted the neat signs. I had planned to do that here as well when it occurred to me that that perhaps was a mistake... the actors had come out, not only to lend their support, but their visibility, so if publishing a few photos of your favorite actors gets you to read about our striking brethren, then I think that was what today was about.

I don't think the actors will mind posting them here, but if anyone does object to having their photo here, then please let me know and I'll remove it. We are all in this together and we respect each other.

It did bring out the news media. In fact it was always easy to spot where an actor was, because usually there were three or four cameras clicking away and someone with a microphone or recorder. Even if you were talking with an actor you knew, you would most likely be interrupted by someone wanting him/her to speak a few lines into the recorder for them. Course, I didn't mind -- that was how they could best lend a helping hand: publicity to remind the world what the writers were striking for. As long as they didn't catch bedraggled me on camera, I was okay.

There were so many actors and writers as well as press moving up and down the sidewalk that I'm sure I didn't see many who were there. Of those I saw, the casts of Numb3rs, Desperate Housewives, The Unit, Army Wives, and Chuck were very represented with several, if not all of their main casts. I saw ROB LOWE, dressed in a white shirt and tie, and CALISTA FLOCKHART from Brothers and Sisters. Given the way Rob was dressed, I suspect they were shooting today and had just stopped in when they could.

I had wanted to chat with SHAWN RYAN, at least long enough to thank him for the open letter he wrote to the industry, stating why he wasn't going to do his producing duties -- that he couldn't produce the last episode without having his writing hat on as well. Both at FOX and at NBC Universal, he was always surrounded by people he was talking to whenever I happened to pass by. But I'm sure there will be many more opportunities before this is over.

I did get to chat a moment with MARC CHERRY, the showrunner of Desperate Housewives. I have no idea what Marc is like to work for, but my encounters with him have always been delightful. He's one of the nicest and most humble men I've ever talked to. After meeting him last year, I sent him a handwritten note telling him how much I loved his show. For me, watching a show about the everyday lives of four women is an anomaly. While I believe in equality for women in all ways in my heart and soul and deeds, in terms of watching television, I'm an action adventure, male bonding, male banter, cowboy, cop, science fiction type of girl. So loving Desperate Housewives is truly a mark of how well-written and well-acted that show is. After I had written that note to him, to my surprise, I got a handwritten note back from him thanking me for writing him. So today when I talked to him, I also saw the same humble and very real man. He was telling me how honored he felt to be a strike captain and how he was doing his best to do a good job and live up to the honor. This desire to do a good job for his fellow writers is obviously reflected in how many of his cast members were out here today.

There were also a few dogs on the picket line, but my favorite pet support is the T-shirt here of the kitty holding the strike sign with the caption, 'Kittens support WGA'. I was having a bit of trouble getting the actress' head in as well as the T-shirt because I couldn't back up at the time, and she said she actually preferred to not be in the picture. Hence, I honored her request and so the head cutting off is more or less deliberate, and not meant to be insulting.

One of the actors I was delighted to see was LESLIE SILVA whom you may know from Odyssey 5. We were supposed to work on a project together and unfortunately, it never came to pass.

Another actor I hadn't seen in a while who was a delight to see was JASON RITTER, whom I worked with on Joan of Arcadia. Jason is not only one of the most handsome and talented young men I've met, but he's also one of the nicest and sweetest to be around. Not only is he a terrific actor, but he and his girl friend put together for Christmas a slide show explaining to us why it was Joan of Arcadia, not Luke of Arcadia, Helen of Arcadia -- you get the picture. And these incredible talents did it in one night. Jason tells me he's been working on an independent movie, so that should be great to see.

I urge you to check out the news coverage on the today's picket line to get a more comprehensive picture of who was there, because of all the things I am, a good photographer I'm not. Also check out sites like www.unitedhollywood.com They are one of the sites that will give you a good comprehensive overview of what the writers strike is all about.

I just want to say to all those reading this that it is very important to us that you the public understand what's going on, because I believe in the power of the people and I believe that once you are informed on the issues, you too will be on the side of the writers, and perhaps, doing whatever is in your power to help them.