The Writers Guild of America-East has written an open letter to the Occupy Wall Street movement and New York Police Department criticizing protesters who dismantled a "Law and Order: SVU" set designed to replicate the occupation, and police who then halted shooting on the show.
Yes, that's the WGAE complaining about OWS and the NYPD over "L&O: SVU." Not since the WPA have so many enjoyed so much alphabet soup.
The eastern branch of the union, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, says it has "strongly and actively supported the Occupy Wall Street movement from its inception," and that it was frustrated that protesters dismantled a set last week, given that the show is written by union writers and that union crews work on it.
"The demonstrators' actions were as misguided and inappropriate as the City of New York's response -- revoking 'Law & Order''s permit for the shoot and directing the dismantling of its set," the union wrote. "Presumably the protesters and police did not set out to achieve a common end but together they prevented the scene from being filmed and the story from being told."
The NBC legal drama -- the last one standing from the once-thriving "Law & Order" franchise -- was scheduled to film on the "Mockupy" Wall Street set early Friday. It was created in downtown Manhattan, near the State Supreme Court building where "L&O" shows have frequently filmed.
Protestors danced, waved flags, poked through the library and kitchen elements of the set and even crawled inside tents, despite objections from people guarding the "L&O" production. One protester carried a sign that said, "We are a movement, not a TV plot."
(Don't most movements end up being both?)
Added the WGAE: "We continue to support Occupy Wall Street's aims and in the tradition of a city with a long history of upholding the right of free, peaceful speech for all, urge both the members of OWS and the police to treat last week's occurrence as an isolated incident, vowing that it not be repeated."
