Animation Vs. Live Action

The campaigns for the top spot at the WGA gear up:

... Christopher Keyser, a board member and co-creator of the TV show "Party of Five," squared off against the better known Patric M. Verrone, the former guild president who led the union through the 2007-2008 strike ... Verrone said the guild's position in Hollywood and the American labor movement had "atrophied." ...

Keyser positioned himself as a more pragmatic choice and criticized Verrone's past organizing efforts, including an ill-fated effort to organize workers in reality TV. ... [H]e has lined up some high-level support, among them writer-directors J.J. Abrams and outgoing guild president John Wells, and a majority of members of the 2007-2008 negotiating committee. ...

I've broken bread with Mr. Verrone, and he's a soft-spoken, articulate guy who's written a lot of animation under Writers Guild contracts. He's also -- at the same time -- a steely union man who plays hard ball in a decidedly corporatist age.

My opinion based on observation? What's happening in the current Writers Guild of America (west) is the centrist (Keyser) has taken on the hard charger (Verrone).

Patric plays rough guild politics, both internally and externally, and he's ruffled feathers and broken more than a few (metaphorical) noses over the years. Mr. Verrone knee-capped out-going President John Wells pretty good during the previous election campaign, calling him a writer who was allied with the Big Producers. Everybody ultimately formulated a truce and made peace, but it wouldn't surprise me if the politics from that election cycle is one of the reasons Mr. Wells is now in Christopher Keyser's corner.

Be interesting to see who comes out the victor after the balloting on September 15th.