The Writers' Rights — HERCULANEUM

Well, last Friday night, Will and I were the guests of Tim from LA Daddy and Karen from LA Mommy. They brought adorable LA Baby (which you should really go over and read how ELLEN DEGENERES came in and filmed Karen while she was IN LABOR!!), but unfortunately left LA Toddler at home with Grandma. We were looking forward to seeing Princess Emma, but we'll just have to look forward to the next time.

So, anyway, we were their guests at a party in Los Angeles, that was hosted by Terry Rossio. In fact, it was at his home (ONE of his homes). Terry is an incredibly talented screenwriter and you may know his work from such movies as Shrek, The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, National Treasure, just to name a few.

The party was for the Writers Strike and there were even folks carrying around picket signs. I actually have some pics on my phone (Noelle Michiels and Rhett Reese), but I'm such a loser, that I haven't learned how to transfer them onto my computer to post them here. Maybe I'll remedy that before the day is over.

Terry is a really nice guy and Will and I felt immediately at ease. Terry wrote in his email about the pending party, that if you'd like to come and "strike a tent", or "bring a bowling ball or turkey to bowl a strike" then please do so. So, we brought a turkey. He probably thought that we were the biggest dorks, but I was just following orders.

He also said that if anyone would care to bring a bottle of wine, a dessert, or "a string of Christmas lights if you're really ambitious". So, we brought some wine AND Christmas lights as well (I know, we surpassed his expectations...It's really about going that extra mile, isn't it?). Apparently, so did a few other folks, so they strung them all together out on his back veranda by the cantina that was feeding us booze all night long and they were BEEAUURRRTIFUUL. At least, that's what I remember before I blacked out.

Speaking of blacking out, the fog was so thick driving up to his fantastic home that I thought we might roll the car. Which we did. But, just a few times, so it really wasn't all that bad...just a few scrapes.

We were a little embarrassed to be parking next to this Taurus. Until we found out it was Terry's. Then, we were all, "That's cool. We've always wanted a Ford Taurus. We heard that they do zero to 80 in like...10 minutes."

The evening was fun and we laughed A LOT with Tim and Karen. It's been truly nice getting to know them. They're down to earth and easy to be around. And they both are phenomenal French-kissers. Although, Tim bites occasionally. We're trying to fix that.

When we gathered in Terry's entertainment room, we watched a few videos that were put together explaining the strike and what it's all about. You can find out everything you need to know about the GROSS INJUSTICES - exactly why the writers are striking here at: United Hollywood.

And if you're so inclined, there's even a petition that you can sign, demonstrating your support.

The way in which we celebrate directors and actors with such fervor has always been a little disturbing to me. They're demi-gods in our society, and there's something very twisted about that.

I love movies and shows just like anybody else. And I know that the movie is a massive collective, creative process. But, what really

frosts my balls is how the writer, the MIND behind THE ENTIRE FUCKING STORY barely gets any recognition. Even when you do a search on a movie and the whole IMDB page comes up, the directors names are first. Dude...without the writer, you'd have NOTHING.

So, I learned quite a bit at that Hollywood party. And here are just a couple of the videos that we saw, if you'd like to learn more. PLUS, they're entertaining.

Irving Brecher is 94. He's a screenwriter and is responsible for work from everything from the "Marx's Brothers" to "Meet Me In Saint Louis" to...I don't know, other stuff. Do you know something? He doesn't get ANYTHING from that work. Anything up to 1960 isn't copyrighted (They took away any residuals for anything written prior to 1960!). And he gets no help from his agent, because the agent is dead.

Want some numbers to call?

Not The Daily Show, With Some Writer

And that's all she wrote...Or all I've written...for now.