The L.A. Times has edited its online (headline) article about the strike settlement and removed that odd line about an agreement that was released last Friday.
The creator of the comic strip Gordo, Gus Arriola, has died at the age of 90 due to Parkinson's disease. His strip, which ran from 1941 through 1985 was one of the first cartoons in this country to embrace Hispanic culture and characters, and it was quite popular, especially in papers throughout the southwestern United States.
Arriola was born in Arizona and grew up in Los Angeles where, fresh out of high school, he began working in the animation studios, starting with a job on the Krazy Kat cartoons being made by Columbia. As mentioned, Gordo began in '41 and many assumed it was the work of a Spanish or Mexican immigrant. In fact, Arriola didn't even set foot in Mexico until 1961.
It was a well-drawn strip full of good nature and good humor, and it was particularly admired by other cartoonists for its endless inventiveness. Arriola himself was much-loved by his peers and the world of cartooning is a little better for having known him, a little sadder for having lost him. Here's a link to the AP obit.
The Los Angeles Times says there's a deal, sort of. But it's an odd news story that quotes no one directly, is vague on just what's been decided and includes this odd sentence...
The writers' agreement, released late Friday, is modeled after a contract reached last month by the directors.
Huh? And double huh? There was no agreement released late Friday. What's this reporter talking about?
Obviously, something has been agreed upon but since there have been no formal talks and the deal hasn't even been presented yet to the Guild's Board of Directors, celebration may be one notch premature.
Over at The New York Times, reporter Michael Cieply is saying that the informal talks in the Writers Strike have eliminated all or most of the major obstacles to a deal. This is a hopeful sign, of course. There's a news blackout in place but it's hard to believe Cieply didn't hear this from someone in a position to know...and probably someone on the AMPTP side. He is not known for believing what writers tell him or disbelieving what studio execs say. At the same time, I'm also hearing sounds of optimism from sources close to WGA leaders.
That said, it's a fine, even prudent idea to not get one's hopes too high. It is a not uncommon negotiating technique to get the other side into the mindset that the deal is done, and then to throw in a last second demand. In past WGA-AMPTP contracts, negotiating has even continued after the deal was made and ratified. Weeks, even months after the '81, '85 and '88 strikes were settled and work resumed, reps from the studio side were still arguing over what had been agreed to, insisting that their notes said we'd agreed to X when we were certain we'd consented to Y. And even when we all agree on what we all agreed upon, we can't always agree on the interpretation of some clauses and codicils.
If the reports are true, we'll probably see an announcement early in the week of formal talks resuming, and then those might last a few days. If all goes well, the WGA Negotiating Committee and its Board of Directors will proclaim that they have a pact they can recommend to the membership...and then I'd be very surprised if it wasn't ratified. This is all assuming there isn't a last minute lowball.
Richard Clarke on what's going on with this FISA extension. Bottom line: The Bush Administration is using scare tactics to get its way on an issue for political purposes. Why does this not surprise us?
We mentioned here a few weeks ago the rumors that Young Frankenstein, now playing on Broadway, might not be doing anywhere near the business its backers anticipated. In this article, one of its producers says it's doing okay but admits to some marketing and strategic errors.
Last year on this date, it was our honor to wish a happy 95th birthday to the great comic book artist, Creig Flessel, whose work began appearing in comic books about the time original material began appearing in comic books. The cover at the above left was by him and it ran on Detective Comics #3, which was cover-dated May of 1937. The one on the right is from two years later.
Mr. Flessel is a fine, talented gentleman and an important figure in the history of this particular art form...so it was an even greater pleasure to wish him a happy 96th birthday here today, and I expect to tell him in person at this year's Wondercon in San Francisco. Rumor has it he'll be putting in an appearance. If he isn't there, it's okay. I can just wish him a happy 97th next year.
From the February 28, 1966 episode of the TV pop music series Hullabaloo, George Hamilton and Lainie Kazan introduce the show's dancers dancing to the theme from the concurrent TV hit, Batman.
For those of us steeped in Industrial Grade Trivia, there are three other connections in this clip to the world of comic books. One is that many years later, Mr. Hamilton would be involved briefly in an aborted business enterprise with Stan Lee. Another is that a few years after this show, Ms. Kazan would appear in the pages of Playboy and that layout would inspire Jack Kirby to create a memorable comic book character named Big Barda. And lastly, about the time this show was on the air, a noted comic book artist was involved in a romantic way with one of the ladies you see dancing in this number. More than that, I dare not say.
February 3, 2008
