David Simon Talks Strike

American screenwriter David Simon started his career as a journalist, and eventually wrote a novel that became the basis of the series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1999) (executive producer Tom Fontana). He wrote the book The Corner, which became a six-part series, and he is the creator, executive producer, and head writer of the hit American television series The Wire.

He will be in the Irish Film Institute tomorrow, Wednesday 23rd, from 5pm to 6pm to bring members of the IPSG up to speed on the current status of the screenwriters' strike in the USA.

Will the Oscars go ahead? Is the new deal agreed by the Directors Guild a template for a writers' deal? Will the pilots' season go ahead? Are the writers still united? Are the companies completely mad?

Behind all the noise the fact remains that this strike will decide the way in which writers are paid for the use of their material on the internet, and by extension will have a dramatic effect on the development of a market for all writers.

This meeting for Guild members is designed to give Irish writers an inside look at the issues from the American writers' perspective, and to allow members the opportunity to ask questions about the strike.