People...eat the turkey and shut up.

So we are now 5 days away from the end of the current SAG agreement...with no new agreement in sight. 5 days away from another potential strike that will bring the entertainment business to its knees. 5 days away from potentially halting the new TV season and driving this TV junkie to watch the inane reality TV that the networks will inevitibably put up in How I Met Your Mother's time slot.

Personally, I feel a bit fed up with both sides of the negotiating table in this one. On one hand, the producers wouldn't be making as much money without the likes of a Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and George Clooney (all of whom who have been VERY vocal in not wanting a strike and supporting AFTRA's pending agreement, which has become a nasty bone of contention with SAG). But on the other, Hanks, Meryl and Cloons are not going to be the ones overly affected by this. If there is a strike, Clooney will probably just go to his Italian Villa and soak up the sun and wine. It's the rank and file members, who SAG is claiming they are trying to protect, who are ultimately going to lose. Cause really, let's face it...the Producers are gonna win this. If you can call losing millions of dollars in work stoppage winning.

And it's just not the actors who will suffer. It's everyone from the directors to the craft services people to the cleaning crews who come in at the end of the day. No one wants another strike. So why can't both sides bend a little instead of being so obstinate?

I work for a union. I understand the need for trying to get more money for DVD residuals and new media streaming. We discuss it all the time in regards to taping Broadway shows, and how does an artist get paid from DVD sales or having their show aired on MTV. It's a whole new world out there as far as media accessiblity goes. But how can you control it? I have no idea.

I just find it hard to beileve that SAG thinks they can get a better deal than the DGA, WGA, and AFTRA. I know they are the biggest union, but did they not see how long the writer's strike went on? From what I read, it seemed the DGA and WGA both got pretty decent deals...not everything they wanted, but a decent deal. So why can't SAG model their new agreement after those?

Clearly, I don't have any answers. These are just musings. Because ultimately, I am a fan. I don't want my TV season affected. I don't want my summer of 2010 to have no good movies. I just want everyone to come to a fair deal that gives both sides pieces of what they want. That is why it is called negotiating.

Last week, I read on my favorite website ew.com a quote from Terry Crews, a cast member in Get Smart and the TV show "Everybody Hates Chris". Crews seems to me like more of a Rank and File member of SAG. Yes, he is working, but he is not making the big bucks. It's actors like him who are going to feel this the most. And his thoughts are as follows:

"Other actors like Get Smart costar Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) can't help but show their impatience with the protracted negotiations. 'I gotta get my jobs. I gotta look out for Terry Crews and family. I got bills to pay. It is ridiculous that anyone would think that we should go through all that s--- again in the same year. This is a good living if you can make it work; this is not drilling holes in sheet metal for a living. So, people, let's all realize how lucky we are and work s--- out. It is like watching your family in a fight. What are you going to do? They keep fighting over something stupid. Or, worse, nothing, and, meanwhile, no one gets to eat the Thanksgiving turkey until they're done. The turkey is getting cold. People eat the turkey and shut up.'"

Best Analogy ever. Eat your turkey and shut up.

(This non-entertainment crime related entry is just for Kelly)