TV/Movies: Writers' Strike

[SamuraiOdin]

I'm curious to know what your thoughts on the strike are, now that it's actually started. Are you patiently awaiting a season filled mostly with reality shows? Seething with rage due to the fact that many of the current shows (Smallville, Heroes, ect.) will have to cut their season short due to a lack of scripts? Do you agree/disagree with the writers? If you agree with their arguments, are they going about it the right way? If you disagree, why?

Figured this would be a good conversation starter, especially since it will effect a huge amount of TV shows if the strike continues for a long time like the last strike did. Interesting to note, though, that it shouldn't effect movies as much, since most studios have scripts already stockpiled, at least as far as I understand it.

[Ryllharu]

I'm going to say flat out that I am fairly anti-union. They were vitally necessary in America back in the mid-late 19th century and up through the 1940s, but they don't serve much purpose now other than to greedily try for more money. Often undeserved money. A lot of the money goes right into the pockets of the organizers. Unions promote laziness stemming from a feeling of security. If you're in the union, you can't be fired, right? That simply encourages incompetence. I've worked for a few businesses that did not allow unionization, and they treat their employees very nicely in an effort to offset that. You give your best efforts, they'll give back. Recently, a lot of manufacturing unions will reject a rather generous offer from a company, in the belief that they will get something better. Thankfully, companies aren't starting to see it that way. They give the best offer up front, and it will never come to the table again.

As for the Writers strike, correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard they were after money for rebroadcasted episodes on the internet (such as nbc.com's) and for original "webisodes." How is this any different from being paid each time someone watches something they recorded on their VCRs? They don't deserve to be paid for it when you can easily equate it for that. As for the webisode issue, most are under a minute, and aren't necessarily better than fan-fiction quality. As original content, I agree they deserve something for it, but we really have to draw the line somewhere.

[Death BOO Z]

well, I'm not so much informed about the strike itself, but I can understand thier demands.
the network is going to profit from those webisodes and reruns, so they're entitled for royalties. if you watch it on your own VCR, then there's noobody for them to charge (Note:TV and movie studios tried to charge royalties from private shows recording, but they failed).

Script quality isn't the matter, half of the movies in the theather are no better written than fan-fiction, and I don't see anyone saying the staff shouldn't be paid.

as for union themselves:
a though question, in an ideal world, they'd have no use, like every other govermental form of intervation, but in the real world, they're a neccsery evil.

[XanBcoo]

I'm convinced this is the real reason why Stephen Colbert is not in the Presidential race anymore.

[Foomanchew24]

I just hope its over quick, if not there is plaenty of anime and basketball for me to watch and not give a shit. My wife on the other hand will become very cranky.

[Genma]

Couldn't care less. The only show I'd miss if it was effected by the strike would be Dexter... so yeah, screw writers and their demand for royalties. They should be happy with the triple digit (or possibly more) salaries that they're already getting.

[Abdula]

Triple Digit

I hope your joking. I don't really care about the strike as I really don't watch that much tv anyway but I think they should just give them what they want and be done with it, its not like they can't afford it the amount of money they make off of them is ridiculous so they might as well share the wealth, what they can't afford is for the strike to drag on because thats when they are gonna suffer and i doubt they is a large number of scabs they can higher to replace them and even so the quality would suffer.

I don't think strikes really accomplish anything except increasing tension, but some of the actors are refusing to cross picket lines and are actually siding with the writers so they better resolve this thing soon because its just gonna get worse and they are seriously losing face.

[LobsterMagnet]

The real issue here is the future stake in new media which is why the powers that be aren't so eager to concede to the writers demands. What the writers want are residuals that come from new media such as blogs, streaming videos, and downloads but so far there really isn't any concrete precedent of financial gain from any of those avenues.

Everyone agrees that those things are the future it's just that no one really knows how make money off of them yet. There's no one whose made a fortune upon posting a movie on Itunes for the masses do download but the potential is there which is what many of the power players and the producers are so afraid of. They're afraid of all the future revenue's they could be conceding based on something they don't really understand.

Honestly I'm really happy about the strike and excited, it doesn't bug me, in fact the writers strike offers some potentially huge opportunities. Basically in both NY and LA some of the most powerful influential people are standing outside with picketing signs. Just imagine standing next to someone like Seth Mcfarlane or Josh Weadon, or even Neil Gaiman, list goes on and on for influential writers who are supporting the strike and have come out of their recluse holes to walk exposed amongst the masses. Strike provides untold networking opportunities for those who are willing to seek them out.

It's also providing a huge opportunity to those who want to break into the industry as well. Especially for someone like me whose not WGA affiliated soon to be fresh out of college and would like to do something other then waiting tables for a living.

Honestly I don't watch too much network television so I'm not missing out on any of my favorite shows and as soon as I get home from school for the winter break I'll be outside on the city streets of New York looking for opportunities that would not be there otherwise. If anyone else here at gotwoot is looking to break into the industry and move away from the position of consumer to that of a producer then now's the best time.

[iMUSTbeTHEdevil]

I'm going to say flat out that I am fairly anti-union. They were vitally necessary in America back in the mid-late 19th century and up through the 1940s, but they don't serve much purpose now other than to greedily try for more money. Often undeserved money. A lot of the money goes right into the pockets of the organizers. Unions promote laziness stemming from a feeling of security. If you're in the union, you can't be fired, right? That simply encourages incompetence. I've worked for a few businesses that did not allow unionization, and they treat their employees very nicely in an effort to offset that. You give your best efforts, they'll give back. Recently, a lot of manufacturing unions will reject a rather generous offer from a company, in the belief that they will get something better. Thankfully, companies aren't starting to see it that way. They give the best offer up front, and it will never come to the table again.

As for the Writers strike, correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard they were after money for rebroadcasted episodes on the internet (such as nbc.com's) and for original "webisodes." How is this any different from being paid each time someone watches something they recorded on their VCRs? They don't deserve to be paid for it when you can easily equate it for that. As for the webisode issue, most are under a minute, and aren't necessarily better than fan-fiction quality. As original content, I agree they deserve something for it, but we really have to draw the line somewhere.

Couldnt have said it better myself.

[itadakimasu]

hell... 99.9 % of tv programming i watch is on my computer since i'm never home, and it seems like almost everybody now has tivo and dvr.

But with network stations being effected, wtf does it matter if i download instead of watching on tv... free either way.

[Munsu]

Looks like the strike is ending soon, hopefully in time for some of the shows to rework some of the episodes to how they were intended to be originally (Heroes), unless the new one is better.

http://community.tvguide.com/blog/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Wga-S%20trike-Watch/800059822
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/dare-we-hope-a-deal-has-been-struck/

[TwisT]

It's about time. It has torture to go every week without some of your favorite shows.Just take Prison Break, Smallville, Supernatural, My name is Earl, Scrubs and Reaper as exampels. One week there is an episode, the next there isn't. I need my weekly fix. Well lets just hope it comes true so it can get back to normal.

[Abdula]

It would be nice to have Smallville and Supernatural back because those are the only shows on television I watch with any consistency, in fact if you include Pushing Daisies and the occasional CSI, Law and Order, Mythbusters, Dirty jobs, Survivor Man, Man vs Wild or Raw that would be all the tv shows I watch.

[masamuneehs]

i do not believe this strike had any effect on me whatsoever...

/me is glad he can't stand the majority of American television...

but, for the record, I do think it's a crock of shit that they had to resort to a strike to get a share of the new media resale of shit that they made. That'd be like if you wrote a book, and then your publisher made millions off of selling it in e-book form, and you got nothing.

They struck in the late 80s to get revenue from 'home media' and I don't see how new media, which is essentially a second, stronger coming of that market, would be any different. I can't imagine even the most selfish 'I wantz mah Heroezzz!" idiot could say that this strike is something you get mad at the writers for doing. You deserve to get something for what you created, even if it's going to be less because you need to pay other people to repack it into new media, and because people sometimes don't even need to pay for getting it that way.

[Abdula]

Well said. I think most people agreed that the writers deserved to get their fair share they were just angry that they had to miss out on some of their favorite shows because of the strike.

[Munsu]

Well a couple of months back some reporter fooled us into believing that the strike would end soon. This time around, I hope we at the least start making substantive progress.

The Directors Guild of America, who are negotiating MONTHS before their deal expires, agreed with AMPTP on a new deal. Here are the details:
http://www.mania.com/57187.html

At the same time, this would mean that the WGA will study this contract and probably hunt for something similar or at the least make more compromises than they originally inteded. So, I hope that the deal with the DGA triggers the WGA and AMPTP finally comming to some sort of accord. Here's the story:
http://www.mania.com/57191.html

[Animeniax]

I heard SAG plans to strike in a few months next, when their current contract expires.

[Munsu]

I think the WGA is the biggest hurdle, I'm pretty sure that once these deals are done they'll come to terms with the SAG in a timely fashion... all have seen the consequences from the WGA's strike, I think they'll try to avoid it at all costs at this point. SAG will have two recent preceeding deals in place, so there will already be a basic frame on what the deals should consist; I highly doubt things will escalate as much as it did with the WGA especially when you consider that quite a few of A-listers that are part of the SAG were trying to intervene in the WGA negotiations in order to make the negotiations go faster.

[Munsu]

Quick update on the situation:


A joint press release has been given to the media by the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers indicating that they will resume discussions in hopes of resolving this strike. The statement says that there will be a media blackout on it until they're finished.

On Wednesday, January 23, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will begin informal discussions to determine if there is a basis for both parties to return to formal negotiations. Both the AMPTP and the WGA have agreed to make no public comments about the informal discussions until those discussions have concluded.

I really hope they have enough to get back into the formal discussions and this shit ends within the next month. Not that it'll really make that big of a difference at this point as must shows will just shoot episodes for next fall... I doubt that they'll do episodes for Spring. With that said, it's not to late for shows that are currently airing, those can probably extend their season by a couple of episodes I'd say.

Here's more:
http://www.tv.com/story/10724.html

[Animeniax]

I'm happy there's a writers strike. I'm overseas so I can't watch most of these shows, plus my company started monitoring internet usage, so I can't download episodes anymore. So instead of being behind an entire season of Heroes and Chuck, I'm only a couple episodes behind, all thanks to the strike.

[TwisT]

But you are behind an entire season since they cut them short and their wont be any more episodes instead. It's not like they pause it and make more later. They actually end the entire season and thanks to that many show will get a rushed ending that ends up being mediocre at best.

[Animeniax]

I'll take that trade off. As long as the world slows down with me, I'm ok with that.

[Munsu]

Here's another update for those interested:


The entire memo to WGA members, courtesy of Deadline Hollywood (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/), is below:

"We have responded favorably to the invitation from the AMPTP to enter into informal talks that will help establish a reasonable basis for returning to negotiations. During this period we have agreed to a complete news blackout. We are grateful for this opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion with industry leaders that we hope will lead to a contract. We ask that all members exercise restraint in their public statements during this critical period.

In order to make absolutely clear our commitment to bringing a speedy conclusion to negotiations we have decided to withdraw our proposals on reality and animation. Our organizing efforts to achieve Guild representation in these genres for writers will continue. You will hear more about this in the next two weeks.

On another issue, the Writers Guild, West Board of Directors has voted not to picket the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) face many of the same issues concerning compensation in new media that we do. In the interest of advancing our goal of achieving a fair contract, the WGAW Board felt that this gesture should be made on behalf our brothers and sisters in AFM and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)."
More on that here:
http://www.tv.com/story/10738.html

[Animeniax]

Wow, how many actor/performer guilds and associations are there? Someone is making a lot of money in membership fees and kickbacks from all these groups. If they all strike in succession, they could bring down American entertainment media. People would have to go back to playing sports and outdoor activities to get entertainment.

[itadakimasu]

i saw a perfect example today of the effects of the writers strike. I love the late night w\ conan obrien show... well, mostly the fist segment w\ monologue a couple skits and what not before the first commercial break which is when i would usually turn it off.

I found that its hard to find online and since i goto bed before it airs i'm just out of luck, but i found the episode from the 18th and so i dl'd it and watched it earlier during my lunch break... it sucked.

no writers? no funny monologue... no funny skits... i was only slightly amused w\ his visit to the props room where he broke alot of stuff including a toaster which he destroyed w\ a staff, sword and finally a sort of ax.

I'm not sure if they even finished with the season of prison break (hoping they did) and I'm ready to watch the next season of 24 already before it is 2009.

[Munsu]

More news... things are still moving positively:


Marvel Studios is the latest production company to sign an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America. They join The Weinstein Company, United Artists, Lionsgate (see below), Worldwide Pants, Spyglass Entertainment, MRC, Jackson Bites, Mandate Films, and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment as companies moving forward while the rest of large studios wait on the sidelines.

The deal reinforces their independence after recently launching their own branch to develop, produce and fully finance future Marvel properties. The new contract means that writers can immediately return to work on some of their big projects as their chairman was quick to point out in the statement.

"We're very excited about our summer releases, 'Iron Man' and 'The Incredible Hulk,' and look forward to resuming work with writers on our future projects including 'Captain America,' 'Thor,' 'Ant-Man,' and 'The Avengers,'" said Marvel Studios Chairman David Maisel.

WGA also issued a statement...

"Marvel Studios' signing of an interim agreement with the Writers Guild is more good news for our membership," said WGAE President Michael Winship and WGAW President Patric M. Verrone. "Marvel is committed to fairly compensating their writers and now they can move forward with their planned production schedule."

Lionsgate also made an interim deal with the guild late last night, giving them the clear to go ahead with future project development. Again, the WGA issued another statement after the contract was signed.

"We are pleased Lionsgate has joined the growing number of companies that have signed interim agreements with the Writers Guild," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, in a joint statement. "Lionsgate is considered a leader in the industry, and its signing an interim agreement again confirms that it is possible for both writers to be compensated fairly and respectfully for their work and for companies to operate profitably."

Quite a few movies mentioned in the article that I'd be interested in how they handle it, Thor and Captain America especially.

[Animeniax]

Unfortunately in this day and age too many groups are willing to compromise their values and positions for the sake of convenience and goodwill. This writers' strike should continue until the writers get what they want and deserve. They shouldn't be making deals here and there with different companies. Hollywood as a whole should be made to recognize the power of the WGA and what they bring to the entertainment industry. Without writers, even the biggest name stars are useless faces with nothing to say. These big production companies make billions, and they won't even give the writers what they earn. I think it's a sham and a shame. The strike should last until the end of 2008, which coincidentally is when I return to the US.

[Munsu]

Unfortunately in this day and age too many groups are willing to compromise their values and positions for the sake of convenience and goodwill. This writers' strike should continue until the writers get what they want and deserve. They shouldn't be making deals here and there with different companies. Hollywood as a whole should be made to recognize the power of the WGA and what they bring to the entertainment industry. Without writers, even the biggest name stars are useless faces with nothing to say. These big production companies make billions, and they won't even give the writers what they earn. I think it's a sham and a shame. The strike should last until the end of 2008, which coincidentally is when I return to the US.
Right when I read the first few sentences of your post I knew you had a hidden agenda, and at the end of the post it revealed itself.

[Animeniax]

It will also give them time to come up with some new and original material. Look at season 2 of Heroes... terrible writing. Look at Simpsons seasons 11-20. Give them some time off and we all benefit.

[Assassin]

Heres some hopeful news

http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=282425

[Munsu]

Well it does look like this is on the final stages... things should get finalized as early as Saturday or at some point during the next two weeks, probably next week. Here are a couple of articles of interest:

http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSN0460617520080205
http://www.tv.com/story/10811.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=news&tag=headlines;title;0
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/wga-announces-member-meetings-for-saturday/
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Wga-Strike-Watch/Wga-Review-Strike/800032526