ALISON STEWART, host:
Strike. Are you on strike, Mike?
(Soundbite of laughter)
STEWART: Writers Guild of America, heading into fourth day of their strike.
MIKE PESCA, host:
You know, when I was - this is what I - no one likes to strike, obviously. The labor doesn't. The bosses don't. But I was at least hoping for some good signs.
STEWART: They're writers, right?
(Soundbite of laughter)
PESCA: They're writers. You'd think they could come up with some good stuff on their signs. I saw one that said, No Money, No Funny. I give it an, eh.
STEWART: Yeah, even the soap opera writer Peter Brash told us on the show yesterday, he expected more on the picket line.
Mr. PETER BRASH (Soap Opera Writer): You know, I was very disappointed on Monday.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. BRASH: Every sign said, On Strike. And I thought, you know, really? Can -call rewrite.
PESCA: We asked a New York advertising firm to come up with a few inspired chants or signs for the Hollywood writers. Chants, let's go with chants.
Annie O'Rourke is a copywriter in the New York advertising firm, DiMassimo Goldstein.
Hi, Annie.
Ms. ANNIE O'ROURKE (Copywriter, Dimassimo Goldstein): Hi, good morning.
PESCA: So all right, so it was a quick crash assignment. What did you folks come up with?
Ms. O'ROURKE: It was. Well, let's go for it: The Office is Closed.
PESCA: Okay.
STEWART: Nice.
Ms. O'ROURKE: It's a bit forward. Okay: We'll Write When You Aren't Wrong.
PESCA: Oh.
STEWART: Ah.
Ms. O'ROURKE: Better?
PESCA: Sweet. You went there. How would you spell write?
Ms. O'ROURKE: Of course.
PESCA: The regular one, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ms. O'ROURKE: Oh, of course. We will write, W-R-I-T-E.
No Top 10 When We Put Down the Pen. I want to have any of those.
Live from New York, It's Time to Fight.
PESCA: Oh.
Ms. O'ROURKE: That one…
STEWART: That's a good chant. I like that one.
Ms. O'ROURKE: Yeah. That's a good one. How's This for Your Moment of Zen?
(Soundbite of laughter)
Ms. O'ROURKE: How's This for Your Moment of Zen? I like that one.
Like Hands Picking Our Pockets, so are the Networks of our Lives.
PESCA: That's a big one. It's long.
STEWART: You know, I like about this. You've got the soap operas covered with that one. You've got the…
Ms. O'ROURKE: Yeah.
STEWART: …late-night shows covered.
Ms. O'ROURKE: We got everyone because we've got writers across the board, but I have to say that our favorite sign would have to be blank signs and silence.
PESCA: Meta.
Ms. O'ROURKE: I think that's what a true writer's strike would have to be.
PESCA: Very meta.
Ms. O'ROURKE: Very meta.
STEWART: Annie O'Rourke, copywriter with New York advertising firm, DiMassimo Goldstein.
Thanks for helping us out.
Ms. O'ROURKE: Thanks, guys.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Ms. O'ROURKE: Have a good day. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
