Boo! Now give me those internet residuals, dammit!

October 22, 2007 12:26 PM

I'm thinking of being the 2007 Writer's Strike for Halloween (because, you know, November 1st will be pretty scary for us WGA members living paycheck to paycheck.) Now-- how to make this snarky, intangible and in-joke-ridden costume idea a reality?

I live in LA and the majority of my friends are screenwriters, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem with people 'getting it.' I just want it to be an awesome costume, with lots of funny little references. (A dartboard with Patrick Verrone's face? A handful of bounced checks to hand out?)

If this is too much of a stretch, I'll go be a sexy {insert any occupation or mythological creature} like 99% of the female population. But I'd prefer to be the 2007 Writer's Strike. (Sexy writer's strike?)

(I'm female, if that helps. And I'm actually pro-strike, not that it matters.)

posted by np312 to sports, hobbies, & recreation (19 comments total)

Hmmmmmmm. A gigantic piece of paper that's completely blank save for a page number and the words FADE IN:?
posted by kittens for breakfast at 12:31 PM on October 22, 2007

you want to go as an idea as opposed to a person? I think that might be tough to pull off.

what you could do though is go as a blind movie mogul.

get a suit that's way too large, a white cane, the yellow ribbon with the three dots, dark sunglasses, pad the suit so you look like david byrne and stick a cbs logo on the lapell.
posted by krautland at 12:37 PM on October 22, 2007

and don't worry about the sexy part. they already know you are. if you are.
posted by krautland at 12:38 PM on October 22, 2007

Maybe go as a strike buster? Have a zoot-suitish sort of thing put together, black mask, and a baseball bat saying STUDIO STRIKEBUSTING FORCE or the like?
posted by beaucoupkevin at 12:40 PM on October 22, 2007

Why not just carry an extremely overwritten picket sign explaing the terms of the strike?
posted by Bookhouse at 12:44 PM on October 22, 2007

On studio stationary, labeled TOP SECRET:

Shows that don't need union writers:
* Reality
* Sports
* Stuff stolen from the internet
* Documentary (No narration = artsy)
* News (boring! maybe sexy news instead?)
posted by smackfu at 12:52 PM on October 22, 2007

Could you dress up all writerly, with typewritten sheets poking out here and there, a vest and monocle maybe, and also carry a baseball bat with which you'll try to hit objects but keep on missing?
posted by suedehead at 12:53 PM on October 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

Go as Mark Burnett. That would pretty much capture, it, wouldn't it?
posted by The World Famous at 12:56 PM on October 22, 2007

Bowling ball, + Bowling shirt with team name "Writers" on the back.
And wear a ribbon for a perfect score.

It'll take them a second.
posted by filmgeek at 1:08 PM on October 22, 2007 [2 favorites]

You could go as a schedule grid (TiVo Now Playing list or TV Guide page, etc) filled with horrible reality show ideas.
e.g.:

8:00 9:00 10:00
ABCAmerica's Fattest People Lost in the supermarket Dancing with the Dancing with the Stars Dancers
CBS Rock Star: Grand Funk Railroad Survivor: New Zealand Survivor: Alabama
Fox World's Wildest Explosions 100 Monkeys, 100 Typewriters
NBC Deal or No DealMILF Island

posted by andrewraff at 1:16 PM on October 22, 2007

(well, the grid table looked nice in the Live Preview, but AskMe filtered out the HTML table tags.)
posted by andrewraff at 1:21 PM on October 22, 2007

If you want to go the "extremely literal costume that people look at, puzzled, ask you what you are, and then you tell them, resulting in appreciative groan" route, you could get a body-sized photograph of a writer (sandwich board-style), and then do a deletion proofreading loop (sample) through the photo.

Writer ... strike.
posted by WCityMike at 1:23 PM on October 22, 2007

Go as Howie Mandel. He'll be on NBC 12 hours a week if they strike.

Or a Deal or No Deal girl! That's sexy! Suitcase and all. Open the suitcase: A Variety front page with some Variety-esque headline (WRITERS: "MORE PAY," STUDIOS: "NO WAY") . You've probably read it more than me so there's gotta be something more clever.

Maybe be a DOND girl with a button saying "Ask me why I'm on TV 12 hours a week starting tomorrow."

My apologies for simplifying the WGA strike, but I'm sure that's how the media would portray it anyway.
posted by ALongDecember at 1:39 PM on October 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

L.A. is like a parallel universe. This is the only city where people at a party would actually appreciate your costume and obscure reference to a union boss. I like the idea of dressing like a reality TV star who doesn't need a script and wouldn't be able to read one anyway (Chyna anyone?).
posted by HotPatatta at 10:12 PM on October 22, 2007

Me, I'm thinking "actor with no lines". (Use a celebrity actor mask.) Or "TV screen with static", Teletubby style.
posted by dhartung at 10:21 PM on October 22, 2007

A biological scab!
posted by brujita at 10:51 PM on October 22, 2007

I was gonna suggest utilizing a picket sign, but someone beat me to it. Still, theres so many ways you could go with this... dress up like a hobo, asking for handouts, all the while maintaining your demand for residuals. Or, in lieu of the hobo outfit, wear a Trader Joes or Starbucks uniform while diligently picketing.

OR

Ue a sandwich board to make yourself look like an issue of TV Guide - maybe the Emmys issue, showing a crappy reality or game show winning it all.

OR

Go as an out of work brass brad salesman, or a layed off brass brad.
posted by Unsomnambulist at 2:36 AM on October 23, 2007

I saw a photo of a picketing writer from the last time there was a TV strike.

It was simple and perfect and has stuck in my memory.

Just carry a blank picket sign.
posted by Sallyfur at 8:39 AM on October 23, 2007 [2 favorites]

This guy did a pretty good job, just to follow up.
posted by incessant at 12:34 PM on November 3, 2007