Week two begins...early

We were out there picketing 20th Century Fox this morning at 6. By “we” I mean the Writers Guild. I showed up a little later. But it was during the heat of the day so hey, I suffered!

With Monday being a school holiday, it was “Bring Your Kids Day”. If you didn’t have a kid, that’s okay because the major agencies were out there distributing them along with bagels and Subway sandwiches.

Very few reporters were on hand. Those that were interviewed the kids.

Tuesday I believe is “Bring an Actor Day”. I have a call into Beyonce. Hey, don’t laugh. I know her. We almost got hepatitis together at the SI swimsuit party.

Meanwhile, I will personally give $100 to the writer who shows up with Ellen DeGeneres.

Will there be prizes for the writer who brings with the biggest actor, the prettiest actor, the actor with the most award nominations, the actor with the most rehab stints? Extra points if your celebrity is not wearing underwear.

No rah-rah guys were on hand to lead chants. Probably a wise move. You don’t want airhorns around with that many small children.

I got a call from an LA TIMES reporter from the Style Section asking about “Picket Line Etiquette”. First of all, this must the first time a Style Section person ever called a TV writer. She asked what I thought of young wannabes marching along in the hopes of networking and meeting established writers. Did I think that was bad form? I said, no, I would actually give the young hopefuls points for resourcefulness. But if one of them offered me a spec, became too pushy, or had notes of my SIMPSONS parody I would just point to someone at random and say, “Hey, there’s the showrunner of LOST” and wave goodbye as he took off after that unsuspecting victim.

Observed at the Sony picket line: Two young writers kept checking their Blackberrys to see if the strike had been settled. While they’re at it, check to see if the Iraq War had been called off.

Overheard by me: A writer calling his agent while on line being told the agent would have to call him back. He was busy. Writer: “Busy? With WHAT?”

There was a guy on a skateboard who held a little dog on a platter. After trudging around Fox for a couple of hours I envied that dog.

But I’ll be out there again tomorrow. Hopefully with Beyonce but more likely with Elvis the alligator from MIAMI VICE.