Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike

  • 20142014
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
31
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
314,032
358,415
Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike (2014)
Trailer for Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike
Play trailer2:27
1 Video
2 Photos
DocumentaryHistoryNews
The story of the Writers Guild of America strike of 2007-08 that pitted Hollywood's writers against the major studios.The story of the Writers Guild of America strike of 2007-08 that pitted Hollywood's writers against the major studios.The story of the Writers Guild of America strike of 2007-08 that pitted Hollywood's writers against the major studios.
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
31
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
314,032
358,415
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Brian S. Kalata
    • Writer
      • Brian S. Kalata
    • Stars
      • Miranda Banks
      • Christopher Barrett
      • Justine Bateman
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Brian S. Kalata
    • Writer
      • Brian S. Kalata
    • Stars
      • Miranda Banks
      • Christopher Barrett
      • Justine Bateman
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 7User reviews

    Videos1

    Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike
    Trailer 2:27
    Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike

    Photos

    Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike (2014)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Miranda Banks
    • Self
    Christopher Barrett
    • Self
    Justine Bateman
    Justine Bateman
    • Self
    Kai Bowe
    • Self
    John Bowman
    • Self
    Harlan Ellison
    Harlan Ellison
    • Self
    Jonathan Fernandez
    Jonathan Fernandez
    • Self
    Jonathan L. Handel
    • Self
    Peter Hankoff
    • Self
    Peter Hyoguchi
    • Self
    Christopher Knopf
    Christopher Knopf
    • Self
    Ken LaZebnik
    • Self
    Cynthia Littleton
    • Self
    Keith McNutt
    • Self
    Howard A. Rodman
    Howard A. Rodman
    • Self
    Alan Rosenberg
    Alan Rosenberg
    • Self
    Jason Ross
    Jason Ross
    • Self
    Patric Verrone
    Patric Verrone
    • Self
    • Director
      • Brian S. Kalata
    • Writer
      • Brian S. Kalata
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Official Selection 2015 Sacramento International Film Festival, the 2015 Milledgeville International Film Festival, and the 2015 Hoboken International Film Festival.
    • Soundtracks
      Solidarity Forever
      (2014 Pencils Down Arrangement)

      Word by Ralph Chaplin

      Music by Julia Ward Howe

      Arranged by Michael Heaton

      Performed by Michael Heaton, Doug Wielert, Stan Dembowski, Michael Amadei

    User reviews7

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    a slight shift
    Greetings again from the darkness. This documentary from director Brian S. Kalata (a successful Location Manager) details the 100 day strike of the Writers Guild of America, and more interestingly, provides a peek behind the curtain of the business side of the entertainment industry. It's an industry that continually cries financial wolf, while green-lighting the construction of new theatres and producing ever-bigger budget projects. Though this documentary won't clear up any of the voodoo economics (to borrow a phrase), it does shed some light on who the power players are and who are the ones typically drawing the short straw.

    On November 9, 2007, 4000 picketers joined the rally outside the Fox Studios as the WGA strike began. Numerous interviews with industry insiders provide us a basic education on what makes the entertainment world unique when it comes to labor disputes. Here, the leading studios … competitors, mind you … bond together to go up against each of the separate unions (DGA, SAG, WGA, Teamsters, etc) at contract time. Historically, this has resulted in contracts that heavily favor and maintain the largest piece of the pie for the power studios – now run by major media conglomerates, rather than the hands-on studio heads of early Hollywood (Mayer, Warner, et al).

    What made this particular strike more interesting was the strong support the WGA received from its members – both past and present, the acting community (SAG), and the viewing public, thanks to an online media blitz telling the story. At the heart of the negotiations was this (at the time) new and rapidly expanding digital media. The studios claimed they didn't have a business model yet for streaming, iTunes, Netflix, etc, so this was all to be categorized as "home video", which short-changed the writers from previous contracts.

    Those being interviewed include Alan Rosenberg, Harlan Ellison, Howard Rodman and Patric Verrone … all key players in the strike and the vision for the WGA. Each is very forthright in the past shortcomings of contract negotiations, as well as how they felt this strike offered the first real opportunity for fairness.

    Labor issues are commonplace in most industries, but the fascination here is derived from the creative artists going up against powerful corporate forces. Even with a show of solidarity between the various entertainment unions, the cause is severely impacted when the DGA cuts their own deal. The film acts as a primer on both entertainment economics and labor relations … two topics we rarely have much access to, though we only get the labor (writers) side of the story.

    The film trudges through the different stages of the 100 days, and makes it clear that the WGA felt back-stabbed by the DGA at a time when the industry was in danger of having its most important event canceled … Oscar night. In the end, the writers got their "toe in the door" for digital media, but Julia-Louis Dreyfus said it best … "Without the writers, we are speechless."
    helpful•1
    1
    • ferguson-6
    • Nov 3, 2016

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 2014 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • official site
      • Official Site
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Lucky Coffee Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $108,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike (2014)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike (2014) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Back to top
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.