Boardman native walks L.A. writers’ picket line

One of Jack LoGiudice’s plays will get its Valley premiere next month.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

LOS ANGELES — The Hollywood writers strike has put Boardman native Jack LoGiudice on the picket line for six weeks and counting.

“You hope something happens, but you have to stick it out,” said the Youngstown Playhouse alumnus and graduate of Bowling Green State University. “It could go on for months, but we have to protect our future, like guild members in the past protected us.”

Talks broke off Dec. 7 after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, insisted it would not bargain further unless the Writers Guild of America dropped proposals that included the authority to unionize writers on reality shows and animation projects. The guild refused the ultimatum.

Both sides in the strike, which began Nov. 5, have said the central issue is payment for TV shows and movies streamed or downloaded over the Internet.

LoGiudice, who graduated from Boardman High School in the early ’70s, has been a guild member since the mid-’80s. His credits include several Showtime series, including “7th Heaven,” “Resurrection Boulevard” and “Dead Zone.” He is currently co-writing a pilot for an HBO series called “Bluefish.”

LoGiudice spoke to The Vindicator last week from his Los Angeles home while he prepared to hit the picket line at one of the studios. He said he believes in the guild’s cause.

“Five years from now, young people — people under 30 — won’t be sitting in front of a television,” he said.

“They’ll be watching on a computer. And every time a show is downloaded, the studios charge money. Right now, we get zero percent of that money. We need to get a percentage, something fair. Right now, we get zero percent. Zero percent means zero dollars.”

LoGiudice realizes some perceive the writers to be a well-compensated group that isn’t deserving of sympathy. To those, he points out the uncertain nature of the entertainment business.

“You can’t forget about all the writers who aren’t working,” he said.

“At any one time, 48 percent of all guild members are not working. They need those residuals to pay the mortgage. And when you do get a writing job, you want to make sure that you get paid for as long as that show is making money. The studios make money off every showing and every download.”

When the writers last went on strike in 1988, LoGiudice had been a guild member for just a year or two. “That strike went on for almost six months and it cost me dearly,” he said. “But it was worth it.”

Although he lives in Los Angeles, LoGiudice is a member of the East Coast branch of the guild. Before the strike, he spent a lot of time in New York, where his HBO pilot “Bluefish” is set. He also had a screenplay that was making the rounds. “That’s all stopped,” he said.

LoGiudice and his wife are not having difficulty weathering the strike, but he feels sorry for others who aren’t quite so established.

“For a writer who just got out of school, has loans to pay, maybe a baby on the way, it’s tough,” he said.

The strike has also thrown others out of work, he noted, including camera operators and wardrobe and makeup specialists.

LoGiudice is married to Jacqueline Hahn, an actress who has a recurring role as Judge Kathryn Cavanaugh on the NBC series “Shark.” She has also appeared on “ER.”

The strike has brought on an unexpected benefit for LoGiudice. After he puts in his picket duty and volunteer work for the guild, he has had time to return to his first love: writing plays.

“It’s how I got into the business, and it’s nice to be forced back into it,” he said.

Coincidentally, one of LoGiudice’s early plays, “In the Moonlight Eddie,” will have its Mahoning Valley premiere in January at the Oakland Center for the Arts.

LoGiudice hopes to be able to make it to Youngstown to see the Oakland’s staging of “Moonlight.” He will definitely be in the area over the holidays to visit his family in Boardman.

LoGiudice spoke with the Oakland’s Chris Fidram, who is directing “Moonlight,” and said he was impressed with his understanding of the play. “[Fidram] really seems like he ‘gets’ the heart of the play,” said LoGiudice.

Written in 1994, “Moonlight” was first performed by National Public Radio in 1996. It premiered onstage at the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse shortly thereafter.

LoGiudice called “Moonlight” an homage to a certain time in theater history. It’s about a struggling playwright who finally has a hit — except he didn’t write it. He stole the play, which, it turns out, was written by his son, who wanted him to have it.

“Moonlight” is still performed on a fairly regular basis at small theaters around the country, LoGiudice noted.

The prospect of seeing one of his own plays performed always leaves LoGiudice apprehensive.

“I’m always a little afraid to see one of my plays,” said the playwright. “You know, they are always a little autobiographical, and it can be like a wound when they are changed. But sometimes the interpretation is unique and it’s something I had never thought of. You really have to just take a step back, because it’s their production.”