Tale of Two Students

No names here. Two students have approached me in the last 2 weeks with tales of outside activities impinging on classroom time. That is neither here nor there because the class is the class and outside activities do not change this fact.

The reason I am mentioning this is the reasons each had. One was spending time on the WGA picket line meeting animation showrunners. The other has a screenplay that has just been green lighted because of this same strike. Which has the better long term game plan?

Taking a big break at the expense of your future peers is tempting but, ethics aside, is it worth it? People do not forget these lapses.

Tom Sito tells the story of inviting Bill Hurtz to Disney for lunch during Beauty and the Beast and Bill telling him that he would not set foot on the lot because he did not want to run into Frank Thomas who he might have to hit. That was 50 years after the Disney Strike and the feelings did not die in all that time.

I know the money is tempting but are the studios going to give a damn about you once this strike is over? As a teacher of Animation History I know the answer to this. I am not taking sides here, just stating facts.