Inside the writers’ ‘guerrilla tactics’ to shut down live productions

“On a frigid early morning in Chicago last week, screenwriter Michael Gilio bundled into a car in the city’s West Side with other writers and made his way to Cinespace studios, located in an industrial zone.”

More from the L.A. Times on how WGA members are shutting down TV and film production.

Gilio, a strike captain for the Writers Guild of America, heard that Showtime’s coming-of-age drama “The Chi” was planning to resume filming its sixth season at 4 a.m.

So he and his colleagues sprang into action. They fired off emails to other guild members in the area, hoping some might turn out in the early hours. They needed two picketers at each of the three studio gates to form official picket lines. By 3 a.m., more than 15 writers showed up, including “The Matrix” co-writer and co-director Lilly Wachowski.

Teamsters driving trucks loaded with production equipment turned their vehicles around and shouted support for the picketing writers. “The Chi” crew members who showed up also refused to cross picket lines. And by 8:45 a.m., the writers got word that “The Chi” had been shut down.

“We did not anticipate doing boots-on-the-ground direct action, and it’s been really galvanizing for those who participated,” said Gilio, 50, a screenwriter for the recent movie “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.” “Our members out here are much younger and energized, and more politically active than back in the old days. There’s a lot more fight going on.”

Other projects which have been shut down by Guild action: Billions, The Penguin, Severance, Daredevil: Born Again, Loot, Good Trouble, Good Fortune.

Chicago. New York. And, of course: Los Angeles On-Location Filming Continues To Plummet Amid WGA Strike.

This is how the Guild can exert pressure on the studios and networks.

For the rest of the L.A. Times article on the recent developments in Chicago, go here.

For the latest updates on the strike and news resources, go here.