CSI actress
Marg Helgenberger was present at the picket lines last week, and although she has yet to rack up any writing credits, the cause is near and dear to her heart, especially since she has close relationships with numerous writers and is aware of their significance to the industry.
"I have so many friends that are writers and they do what I can't do, and I think that's why actors have come out in droves on the picket line" Helgenberger, who plays Catherine Willows on
CSI, told
Entertainment Tonight. "We rely on them to speak, we rely on them to give us the words that make people think and make people feel, and we're just sort of the instrument that brings that to life."
“The words” that Helgenberger speaks of are now in dire shortage because of the strike. If the strike is prolonged,
CSI, like many other television shows, may not be able to air a full 24-episode season.
Nevertheless, Marg Helgenberger sees the value of the strike, adding that it's actually a positive thing for organized labor.
"We're living in a climate of extraordinarily large corporations," she said. "The AMPTP happens to be all of these vertically-integrated companies that own all of entertainment, all of news, and they essentially can tell whatever publication they own, which are all of them, [what to write]."
That said, Marg Helgenberger advised the public to be wary of what they read, and urged them to “get the facts” first before forming an opinion.
"There's many many websites at which you can get a lot of information… [such as] UnitedHollywood.com, which is a WGA website… Deadline Hollywood Daily is a really good one,” she said, adding that people can also "call up the unions and ask what the issues are. They'll send them to you if anybody is curious."
As of this time, only one new episode of
CSI is left. The episode is slated to air in January.
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: ET, CSI Files, TV Guide
(Image Courtesy of ET)