The Los Angeles City Council’s Housing, Community, and Economic Development Committee held a hearing on the economic impact of the Writers Guild of America strike on the local and regional economy, but the AMPTP declined to attend. "We asked them to testify, and they said they would consider it. But then last night they said no," an LA City Council source told me. "We were very disappointed." Instead, on the AMPTP's behalf, the Motion Picture Association of America inserted a statement into the record.
I asked why the negotiators for the studios and networks didn't show (a fact which Variety buried in the 3rd paragraph of its account of the hearing). "MPAA got involved because they rep us before the City Council, and because it was their area of expertise - economic impact," an insider told me. "The MPAA represents the companies before all levels of government throughout the world. MPAA also provides economic data and information on the motion picture and television business to the public, on behalf of our members. But you are right that no individual from MPAA or AMPTP took part in the actual hearing."
The WGA, which showed up in force for the 7:30 AM hearing despite pouring rain, issued a statement that the AMPTP's "refusal shows a callous disregard for the people of Los Angeles. First these companies walked away from the bargaining table, and today they chose to ignore the economic hardship their actions have caused. The WGA would like to solve this problem and get everyone back to work, but that can't be done until the other side comes back to the table."
The Los Angeles City Council approved a resolution today urging the two sides to return to the bargaining table.
On the subject of the strike's financial impact, the government panel was told by one economist that the LA County economy could take a $380 million hit if the writers' strike continues as long as the 1988 labor action, which last 22 weeks. But that figure is 1/10 of 1% of the LA economy, so the overall impact was said to be "very modest". But that was strongly disputed by other number crunchers who told the committee that the strike was already having a major impact on the city, including a significant drop in sales tax revenues. One WGA strike captain who attended the hearing emailed me: "The $300 million impact was presented by an economist shill for the moguls whose basic premise was that as people left television they would go to other jobs that would help LA’s economy. This was quickly rebuked by the objective Film LA and another representative of the city’s accounting office who both asserted that a prolonged strike could cripple LA’s already teetering economy. John Bowman estimated that a prolonged strike could ultimately cost upwards of 2 billion unrecoverable dollars."
John Bowman, chairman of the WGA's negotiating committee, testified with hundreds of Guild members in attendance. (Photos above by Jim Stevenson.) He said the strike is about "fighting to maintain the livelihoods of Los Angeles' middle-class writers working in the entertainment industry. The typical WGA member makes about $62,000 a year. It's a strike we believe we were forced into and one that is now being prolonged by the AMPTP."
Testifying with her baby in her arms (photo left by Jim Stevenson), Betsy Thomas, writer and producer of the TBS show My Boys, said WGA writers are not living extravagant lifestyles and deserve to benefit from new technologies that are making money for the studios. "My writers drive Hondas and Toyotas, and we're middle class. It makes me sick that my crew will be out of work and that these writers will be out of work. I feel such a responsibility for the people who work for me, and I just hope that the studios will feel the same."
The MPAA submitted a statement to the committee that said "the economic consequences of the strike cannot be measured solely by wages. In addition to lost wages are the costs from the lack of sales of goods and services that go into production, which is an estimated additional $300 million. It also means that scores of other businesses from prop houses to caterers that serve production daily in Los Angeles have also had to lay off
numerous employees." (Below, press conference with Eric Garcetti. Photo by Jim Stevenson.)
Go figure the guys that are causing all of this don’t even show. Just shows that they could care less what happens to the economy.
Comment by Anonymous — December 19, 2007 @ 3:57 pm
Wonder how Bart, McNary and Variety will ‘objectively’ cover this?
Comment by WGA Ed — December 19, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
WTF??????? Incredulous! Disgraceful!
Just when I thought the AMPTP couldn’t sink any lower…
So, what’s next?
Comment by am — December 19, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
The AMPTP were too busy launching their new Fabiani/Lehane banner ad on Variety about how much the strike is costing LA to attend a meeting about how much the strike is costing LA. Yeah, those guys really give a crap how their greed and intransigence is effecting this city.
Comment by Picket Boy — December 19, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
The WGA is on strike, right? They are the reason I lost my BTL job, right?
Comment by just checking? — December 19, 2007 @ 4:20 pm
Nikki… please post the full economic info brought up during hearing today. Two other number crunchers told the committee that the strike was already having a major impact on the city, and were far more concerned about the strike than the dude from UCLA (the guy who suggested that the strike would have a modest impact here in La La Land).
From Variety: Rexford Olliff, finance specialist for L.A.’s City Administrative Office, seconded Kyser’s concerns about a slowdown in local tax revenues. Olliff said the city of Los Angeles had already seen a significant drop in sales tax revenue going into the strike. The showbiz shutdown coupled with the mortgage meltdown issues will surely “push us over” into fiscal troubles next year, Olliff told the committee.
Q: Who paid the dude from UCLA? Trust me, the city guys were very worried.
PS - I work for Betsy Thomas and drive an ‘86 Volvo 240 wagon. Got a “Dude Abides” sticker on the back.
Comment by Brando — December 19, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
“The government panel was told that the LA County economy could take a $380 million hit if the writers’ strike continues as long as the 1988 labor action, which last 22 weeks. But that figure is 1/10 of 1% of the Los Angeles economy, so economists said the overall impact is “very modest”.”
Well the economists who came up with this study are at least getting paid.
Perhaps we should all cite this accounting figure when the bank calls for our mortgages at the end of the month.
Comment by sidelinedactor — December 19, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
“My writers drive Hondas and Toyotas”? Writers don’t make a lot of money? Why then is Melrose Avenue, in front of Paramount Studios, full of BMWs, Mercedes’ and Lexus’ when there are people picketers?
Comment by Anonymous — December 19, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
……..so much for the AMPTP having top regard for us BTL folks, eh?
Happy now, Tom Short? Yeah, your cohorts/collaborators are really showing how much they care for IATSE folks by pleading their case to the City Council.
Comment by Anon — December 19, 2007 @ 4:48 pm
The MPAA is right. It’s not just wages, it’s wages and so much more. So either tell the AMPTP to DRAG THEIR ASSES TO THE TABLE or wait around for someone else to force a position for them, good faith or no.
Comment by Caitlin — December 19, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
So now they’ve even stopped pretending to the victimized good guys.
They’re so ensconced in their evil they couldn’t be bothered to send a rep to say, “This economic crisis is the work of the WGA & their communist ass cancer.”
Not surprising.
Comment by e — December 19, 2007 @ 4:55 pm
If there are fancy cars in the lots during picketing, it’s because the average writer can’t even make it to the picketing — they’re too busy at the day job they had to get.
Comment by Debrevis De La Fontes — December 19, 2007 @ 5:08 pm
How could the AMPTP actually show up? Somebody would have to defend their position in front of an audience that could argue facts and cite correct figures. But how nice of that cute Nick Counter to let his babelicious little brother Aaron of the MPAA do a substitute propaganda gig!
Comment by Another Hyphenate — December 19, 2007 @ 5:09 pm
Nikki, the $300 million impact was presented by an economist shill for the moguls whose basic premise was that as people left television they would go to other jobs that would help LA’s economy. This was quickly rebuked by the objective Film LA and another representative of the city’s accounting office who both asserted that a prolonged strike could cripple LA’s already teetering economy. John Bowman estimated that a prolonged strike could ultimately cost upwards of 2 BILLION unrecoverabledollars. Additionally, while hundreds of writers got to a rain soaked city hall at 7:30 am, the AMPTP simply chose not to show. They are exhibiting unparalleled hubris. As a fellow writer pointed out, they remain “faceless evil”. This only reinforces the strength of the Union. Thanks for a happy holidays moguls.
Comment by Strike Cap'n — December 19, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
Just checking…this is a serious question.
At what point can writers strike where you are okay with it? How serious do the issues have to be? How grave the stakes before the exercise their rights?
I know you will probably respond by saying how much money writers make…but what is your assessment of if they make too much or not?
Simply if they make more than you? Or if they make more than you think they should?
Fact is, this is about how fair the wage is compared to the revenue their intellectual property generates to their industry.
And I think if you look at the numbers, you’ll see that the writers are underpaid, and that their demands are pretty reasonable.
Just remember, if the writers are not paid fairly (or actors, or directors, or YOU), it’s not like all that money goes to charity. It goes into the pockets the huge conglomerates. It goes to their huge salaries. Their perks. Their idiotic business decisions.
The writers had to strike because they were being asked to sacrifice their fair share of the revenue generated from their work and give it to their employers.
The employers chose to allow the strike by refusing to negotiate fairly. They chose to allow the strike because $30 million for Les Moonves is perfectly right, but 8 cents per DVD for a writer is unreasonable.
Sometimes you have to take a stand. And yes, it will effect more than just the writers. And it’s a terrible consequence that no writer wants to happen.
I suggest you resurvey the landscape, and take into account who really represents your better interests here. You think the AMPTP gives a crap about you?
If they did, they would be negotiating.
Comment by Jimmy — December 19, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
@Anonymous 4:26
Who cares what writers drive, writers make far less than actors, directors, producers, and execs, yet these other groups aren’t criticized for their higher income. Writers are entitled to make a decent living [it is a skill that very few can do well]
As far as we’re concerned, writers are more essential than anyone.
Regardless, if you’re trying to incite public resentment against the “haves,” your effort is laughable.
The true gluttony is with the AMPTP CEO’S. The numbers speak for themselves.
The public knows and is FED UP with corporate gluttony and the grotesque salaries and perks paid to ceo’s - especially the golden parachutes they are paid when they fail.
Moonves’s recent salary is the most recent example of greed and excess over which workers should riot:
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/les-moonves-new-cbs-contract-pays-him-200-above-other-ceos/
Comment by informed public — December 19, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
Nick should change his name to Nero. Nero Counter. Has a nice ring to it.
Comment by Marc Guggenheim — December 19, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
There isn’t even parking allowed on Melrose in front of the Paramount Gate so what are you talking about? If you see any Mercedes and/or other expensive cars, they are pulling INTO the gates and those drivers would be Corporate…NOT writers!
Comment by actorinsupport — December 19, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
Nick Counter is destroying the Economic viability of this City to avoid sharing New Media income with the Talent creating and providing it… and he doesn’t seem to care. How’s that for unbridled Greed.
Nick Counter is the Scrooge of Los Angeles.
That is an established fact.
Comment by PJ - Writer — December 19, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
Jimmy, you rock. Well said.
Typed. Whatever.
Comment by Ted Striker — December 19, 2007 @ 6:16 pm
This strike is never going to end, is it?
One quick question, because I don’t work in the industry…I just enjoy watching television. Will the strike cause all the scripted shows to be cancelled? Especially if this strike does go on through June as predicted. There is one particular show that I will wait forever to see, assuming the network doesn’t go under, but other than that….I can see where after several months interests could go elsewhere. I don’t watch reality TV, can’t stand American Idol…and so I’m considering cancelling my satellite subscription once my favorite show is out of original episodes. I mean why pay for a service if it’s going to be a year before any decent programming comes back on, right?
Comment by KB — December 19, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
Most of the writers on the Paramount lines have to park at least two blocks south of the studio in residential neighborhoods. It’s one of the issues with a picketing assignment there: bad parking. Those fancy cars probably belong to the folks inside, not the ones on the sidewalk.
And I’ll confess. I drive a Porsche. It looks great. It’s also twenty years old and worth twelve thousand dollars.
Comment by Lorelei — December 19, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
This is for the Anonymous (hmmmmmm) dickhead who’s so obsessed with the expensive cars parked on Melrose while we picket at Paramount. First of all (and I know this from experience), no one parks on Paramount — the meters are good for an hour. So, um, wrong. And while a few of us may drive cars above the Yugo class, (okay — I confess — I drive an AUDI — a 2001 which makes it six going on seven years — I know — bougi, bougi, bougi!) the majority of us do not. Some of us bicycle to the studio. Others drive very modest vehicles. Vehicles so modest you’ve probably never even heard of them…
Comment by ALK — December 19, 2007 @ 7:20 pm
Just a regular by stander, but I’d urge the writers to remind supporters that $62,000 doesn’t go as far in LA as it would in Des Moines.
Comment by MNPundit — December 19, 2007 @ 8:36 pm
I suggest you revist Melrose Avenue between Gower and Van Ness. There is street parking and metered parking that, since the strike, has been filled with expensive cars.
Comment by Anonymous — December 19, 2007 @ 8:38 pm
Everyone needs to calm down, take a deep breath, the strike will end, someday. Maybe in a month, maybe two, the studios/networks have this all planned out. Everyone knew this was comimg six months ago, it should be no suprise that the writers would go on strike.
Comment by lsb — December 19, 2007 @ 8:43 pm
Just checking, how is third paragraph “buried”? And how many reporters, beyond Variety and Nikki, attended Wednesday’s hearing? I bet not many. I thought Variety’s piece was fair… but what do I know.
Comment by Justin Foster — December 19, 2007 @ 8:49 pm
I do like that photo there though - it really does look like a church in there, doesn’t it?
Comment by HM — December 19, 2007 @ 8:52 pm
I used to drive a Ford Taurus, which I sold during week three of the strike to pay expenses after turning away non-union writing work offered to me. I’m a non-union writer, in full support of the guild, and have stopped all writing because one day I WILL be in the WGA. We’re all feeling a huge financial pinch — especially the technicians and crew who make each film and TV show possible. Our sacrifices now will be worth it one day, no matter which guild gets the deal.
Comment by A Comment — December 19, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
just checking said… The WGA is on strike, right? They are the reason I lost my BTL job, right?
No. The reason you lost your BTL job is because the AMPTP refuses to negotiate, not just fairly, AT. ALL. The AMPTP walked away from the negotiating table, TWICE. Clear?
Good.
Comment by e — December 19, 2007 @ 9:40 pm
At least the writer’s are wearing their red & black unity shirts. Makes it easier to spot from long distance.
Comment by samobrien — December 19, 2007 @ 9:46 pm
Justin — third paragraph is ‘buried’ because the fact that the AMPTP didn’t bother to show up should have been the headline. Don’t you think if the WGA had blown off the city council it would have been?
Comment by WGA Ed — December 19, 2007 @ 9:56 pm
The Companies care just as much about Los Angeles as bush does about New Orleans.
Can we please get a few one day sympathy strikes from our sister unions!
Comment by Seenitallbefore — December 19, 2007 @ 9:57 pm
Where are our City leaders in this situation? What, if anything is our Mayor doing to move along or stimulate the continuation of talks? What is Arnold doing? In any case, I find the UCLA guy’s comments ridiculous, at best. He is completely out of touch with reality. What did he base his conclusions on, biased guesswork? Wow, what an idiot!!
Comment by pixelmixer — December 19, 2007 @ 10:21 pm
The Mayor - doing nothing.
The Governor - doing nothing.
City Council - doing nothing.
CEOs - doing nothing.
Sad
Comment by NO LEADERS ANYWHERE — December 19, 2007 @ 11:49 pm
Comment by informed public — December 19, 2007
“As far as we’re concerned, writers are more essential than anyone.”
This statement really says it all. It is the underlying attitude of the WGA and most of it’s members. It is why you cannot have negotiations. It is the reason the WGA thinks it is ok to sacrafice BTL for their cause. I create cg animation for your scripted television and I would really like to see your “drama” without my creation included. I don’t feel entitled to anything more than my self negotiated salary. You people get over yourself.
Comment by k3d — December 20, 2007 @ 12:25 am
Nikki,
is it wrong to feel,well, fatigue from all this animosity between the AMPTP and the WGA? I support the fact writers need a better deal.
Shouldn’t the viewers get to have an opinion?
Comment by Case — December 20, 2007 @ 12:42 am
$62,000 a year? the Avg WGA member? Last time I checked on the numbers the AVG writer made $202,000 wtf? I think that the numbers should be posted in the LA times to prove the legit numbers. I dont believe the avg writer makes less than the avg. Grip. If so that is only because there are more out of work writers ( their own fault ) than trashman
Comment by Iatse member — December 20, 2007 @ 2:16 am
“I used to drive a Ford Taurus, which I sold during week three of the strike to pay expenses after turning away non-union writing work offered to me. I’m a non-union writer, in full support of the guild…”
Comment by A Comment — December 19, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
You’re a fool. I’m a member of WGA and I am working feverishly on a spec script. This strike is a major opportunity for writers in the middle-to-lower rungs to get a leg-up on the established caste in the WGA membership — who, by the way, are quietly working on their own projects. The 1988 strike killed hundreds of careers yet birthed just as many new ones. I know which category I want to be in…
Comment by thecynic — December 20, 2007 @ 3:47 am
“I suggest you revist Melrose Avenue between Gower and Van Ness. There is street parking and metered parking that, since the strike, has been filled with expensive cars.”
Hey, “Anonymous”, we’re all parking on Clinton, Windsor, Norton and every other street WITH FREE, UNLIMITED PARKING south of Paramount. Becasue we have to be there for 3-4 hours a day. (Memo to the outside world - park at a meter in L.A. at your own peril. You will end up paying an idiot tax.)
Feel free to do an inventory of our cars once we return in January. We’re easy to spot: Most of us are still dressing like we did in college.
And those “expensive cars” on Melrose? Complain to the owners of Lucy’s and that weird button shop at Windsor - tell ‘em that their wealthy clients are ruining the neighborhood.
My god…
Comment by Brando — December 20, 2007 @ 4:26 am
The AMPTP doesn’t show up at the negotiating table, the AMPTP doesn’t show up at City Council… are we sure that the AMPTP even exists?
Patrick Meighan
Culver City, CA
Comment by Patrick Meighan — December 20, 2007 @ 5:09 am
“e”:
You lost your paycheck because of the companies in the AMPTP - period. Read up on this, and you’ll be enlightened. In a nutshell, the WGA needed to work out the internet payments, since the internet suddenly became a major broadcasting tool. We did not choose the timing of it. It’s just the situation. The studios are not negotiating. We have items we’re willing to remove if they just negotiate in good faith, which they have not yet done. Sorry if you don’t understand this. And I’m really, sincerely sorry you’re out of work. Do you want Peter Chernin’s number to complain about it?
Comment by Writer — December 20, 2007 @ 5:59 am
If this is the kind of hysteria the WGA brings to the negotiation table, it’s going to be a long strike. “OMG! Disney is saying bad things about us–to their own employeees! How dare the AMPTP not show up to a dog and pony show city council meeting! They must hate Los Angeles! They are the evilest people in the whole wide world!”
Give me a break. This is business and not some kind of high school pep rally. The WGA can hold rallies all day long and spin their side to their members, but god forbid Disney tell their side to their employees. Everyone knows the City Council can pass resolutions up the ying yang, and it will mean nothing. They can’t force the parties to make a deal. Maybe the AMPTP should’ve sent their own rep (for publicity sake) but they sent the MPAA on their behalf. Big deal. It’s not a crime. The world is not going to come to an end.
Comment by IntheIndustry — December 20, 2007 @ 7:04 am
OKay, yes the AMPTP are greedy selfish jerks. Having said that, the WGA putting in demands they no will never have a chance in hell of being accepted isn’t helping either. I’m sorry but if this drags out till June, public support will NOT be on the writer’s side, sad but true.
Comment by Kdogg — December 20, 2007 @ 7:20 am
Look at all those red shirts…I LOVE seeing that. Way to support the cause WGA-W! I’m sure the AMPTP didn’t bother showing because they don’t have a leg left to stand on — and they know it! Chicken sh*ts…
On a personal note, yey for Betsy Thomas testifying! My Boys is my summer TV-crack (and I desperately need to know who PJ runs into on the plane to Italy; though, now, it seems I may have to wait an entire year to find out. Damn you, AMPTP!).
Comment by Truthinista — December 20, 2007 @ 7:24 am
So it’s an election year in ten days and the entire LA infrastructure is at stake because a few moguls think money-pinching a few cents by screwing a union is worth it?
So where exactly is the political pressure to get the AMPTP back to the table?
Comment by Anonymous — December 20, 2007 @ 7:56 am
Wouldn’t it be funny if the result of this hearing was ultimately that the L.A. city and county government gave the AMPTP companies BIGGER tax breaks and other incentives to keep their production in L.A.? I mean, given the dependence of the L.A. economy on the industry, that would only make sense.
Yep, that’d be a regular laugh riot.
Comment by Stuart Creque — December 20, 2007 @ 7:57 am
“Give me a break. This is business and not some kind of high school pep rally. The WGA can hold rallies all day long and spin their side to their members, but god forbid Disney tell their side to their employees. Everyone knows the City Council can pass resolutions up the ying yang, and it will mean nothing. They can’t force the parties to make a deal. Maybe the AMPTP should’ve sent their own rep (for publicity sake) but they sent the MPAA on their behalf. Big deal. It’s not a crime. The world is not going to come to an end.”
Nick, I thought you were on vacation.
Comment by chardkerm — December 20, 2007 @ 8:07 am
to k3d at 3:25:
WE ARE NOT WRITERS
OUR NAME SAYS IT - “INFORMED PUBLIC” - WE ARE JUST OBSERVERS
IF YOU HAD ANY READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS, PERHAPS YOU’D BE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE THAN YOU ARE IN YOUR “CAREER”, OR “SHILLING” AS THEY SAY
Comment by informed public — December 20, 2007 @ 8:08 am
On the whole writer’s cars arguements: Yes, writers at the top make more than enough money. The writers whose scripts win Oscars (Paul Haggis), or whose films have been topping the box office (Jud Apatow), or who are showrunners on hit shows on major networks (say Tim Kring, Marc Cherry, or Carleton Cuse), are in no way working class stiffs. However, most writers are not any of these people. If you are a guy who sold a script or two, or who was a staff writer on on a single season of a show, you are in the $62,000 per year category. A friend of mine sold one script, quit his job, and now lives a very frugal lifestyle while writing and hoping someone will buy another script of his. And as for a cars, who’s to say a writer didn’t buy a BMW with the cash from one script sale, and they haven’t sold anything since? Or they could be an idiot who lives well beyond their means. Fact is, you don’t know who the car belongs to, the circumstances of the purchase, or if they are able to continue making those kinds of purchases. So to sum it all up, stop talking out of your a$$.
Comment by LJ — December 20, 2007 @ 8:09 am
The executive parking lot is filled with Bentleys, limousines, etc belonging to AMPTP.
AMPTP flies on private jets, wears $500 shoes, dines on filet mignon - while the rest of you can’t pay your electric bill.
While WGA freezes on the picket line, AMPTP stormed away from the negotiation table to nice vacations, sipping margaritas on yachts.
C’mon, folks, they manufactured outrage on a Friday night during holiday season so they could get to their private jets on time.
Leaving all of you out of work, clobbered by bills
Why aren’t workers rioting against AMPTP - historically, this kind of divide between haves and have nots would be the igniter of revolution.
Remember how your government abandoned you at election time. Schwarzenegger is in AMPTP’s pocket - how hypocritical as SAG helped build his empire. Villaraigosa - an ineffectual slimy joke who should hang up his hat now, and who has betrayed his people. And on and on.
Comment by former tv viewers — December 20, 2007 @ 8:28 am
intheindustry 7:04 am
if you’re going to shill, you need to brush up on your raving lunatic writing skills, sounds like you “drank the Kool-Aid,” Mr. Bart.
Comment by amptp kills the econmy — December 20, 2007 @ 8:34 am
The WGA doesn’t have unreasonable demands. It was the AMPTP that has been making demands that the WGA pull everything off the table so they can agree to a crappy deal that would have made the crappy 2004 deal look 400,000 times better in retrospect.
Comment by Jessy S. — December 20, 2007 @ 8:42 am
“Give me a break. This is business and not some kind of high school pep rally. The WGA can hold rallies all day long and spin their side to their members, but god forbid Disney tell their side to their employees. Everyone knows the City Council can pass resolutions up the ying yang, and it will mean nothing. They can’t force the parties to make a deal. Maybe the AMPTP should’ve sent their own rep (for publicity sake) but they sent the MPAA on their behalf. Big deal. It’s not a crime. The world is not going to come to an end.”
—-
Awwww, you can always tell who couldn’t get the scripts sold by the comments they make on this blog.
Comment by nitpicky — December 20, 2007 @ 10:08 am
The AMPTP didn’t show because their matching T shirts haven’t arrived yet.
Comment by Masterman — December 20, 2007 @ 10:14 am
“I used to drive a Ford Taurus, which I sold during week three of the strike to pay expenses after turning away non-union writing work offered to me. I’m a non-union writer, in full support of the guild…”
Comment by A Comment — December 19, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
You’re a fool. I’m a member of WGA and I am working feverishly on a spec script. This strike is a major opportunity for writers in the middle-to-lower rungs to get a leg-up on the established caste in the WGA membership — who, by the way, are quietly working on their own projects. The 1988 strike killed hundreds of careers yet birthed just as many new ones. I know which category I want to be in…
Comment by thecynic — December 20, 2007 @ 3:47 am
The “You’re a fool” part was an overly strong way to make your point. I found a more writer friendly way of putting it on this blog uhhuhokay.com
I’m glad more people commented on the other economic view points given at city hall. When that “god knows how he came by his conclusions” UCLA guy was talking, you could see in the eyes of all the council members that they weren’t buying it completely.
The gentleman who showed up with the bar chart showing the rate of lost revenue (via taxes) being lost in LA and how long it would probably take for the city to recover…really put a chill in my spine.
Comment by mr protaganist — December 20, 2007 @ 10:14 am
Entertainment lawyer Kevin Morris’s WGA and SAG clients will be thrilled after reading his op-ed of wishful thoughts in today’s L.A. Times.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-altschuler20dec20,0,6519302.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
Comment by chardkerm — December 20, 2007 @ 10:19 am
Why is Congressman Nathan Petrelli at this meeting?
Comment by Kelly Hughes — December 20, 2007 @ 10:25 am
Iatse member,
Yes, the average salary for a working writer is $62,000. I don’t know why you have to take a shot at trashmen when you are clearly upset with writers. Don’t trashmen have it hard enough.
When writers are not working, it is not (their own fault). Our business is subjective. We are at the mercy of complete idiots called studio executives. This summer I worked on the best pilot I’ve ever been a part of. The studio audience went crazy for it. The suits in back said it was the best pilot taping they had ever seen. Everyone who sees the show loves it. Except two tools at the top of the studio, who turned it down. It will never see the light of day. That’s our world.
This is the first time many BTL workers have experienced the writer lifestyle. Out of work for long periods of time, totally out of your control. Not so great is it? Kind of makes you want to fight for a little piece of something, huh?
When idiots make stupid decision that cause writers to be out of work for long periods of time, then they should pay for that right to be stupid.
Comment by DA in LA — December 20, 2007 @ 10:53 am
The average writer makes 62,000 a year (the average of all writers in the Guild.) The average WORKING writer makes 200 grand (the average of those who were paid for their work last year, highly skewed by the ten superstar writers who make millions.)
A lot of the Guild isn’t being paid for their writing most of the time. They spend months/years working on projects they hope to sell to the studios. While not being paid for their writing, the Guild members live off their residuals. The same residuals the studios are now saying they shouldn’t recieve, even though the projects the writers create during these hard times can go on to make millions for the same studios who don’t want to pay residuals.
Comment by wga writer — December 20, 2007 @ 11:49 am
Here is a clue:
“One WGA strike captain who attended the hearing emailed me: ‘The $300 million impact was presented by an economist shill for the moguls…’”
Really? Because the moguls themselves, through the MPAA, were not sending a message that the strike was less costly than the WGA asserts. Instead, they were amplifying the estimated cost of the strike:
“The MPAA submitted a statement to the committee that said ‘the economic consequences of the strike cannot be measured solely by wages. In addition to lost wages are the costs from the lack of sales of goods and services that go into production, which is an estimated additional $300 million. It also means that scores of other businesses from prop houses to caterers that serve production daily in Los Angeles have also had to lay off numerous employees.’”
Why do you suppose the OTHER side is agreeing with you on this point? Could it be that they want the City Council and the public to see the strike — however righteous a cause it may be — as too costly for the L.A. economy to bear? Might that not cause them to try to force both sides into a settlement… on terms that the WGA may not find to its liking?
Comment by Stuart Creque — December 20, 2007 @ 12:23 pm
Writer. Paramount picketer. Driver of 1997 Saturn. Oops, does that not fit your stereotype? So sorry.
Comment by abby — December 20, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
It’s amazing that an organization that makes money selling stories about good guys and bad guys can’t see how badly they’re screwing up their own narrative.
Sure, they can say that the MPAA represents them before governments, but any tactician not suffering from a grievous head injury would tell them that making an appearance would make them look to the general public.
By refusing to discuss the economic impact of the strike they come across as arrogant, and contemptuous of not just the writers, but the city council, the thousands of Los Angeles citizens employed in showbiz, and the average citizen.
Now that’s probably an accurate portrayal, but it’s still lousy strategy.
Comment by Furious D — December 20, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
Anybody heard of this? If the Studios aren’t careful, they’re going to miss the internet boat… at least the chance to corner the market. They should be willing to pay 3 times what the writers are asking to end this thing ASAP. Stupid Moguls… and they thought Reality TV was going to be the next “big thing”.
Comment by freelance worker bee — December 20, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Okay -after reading about the MILLIONS this one studio head is getting — I now get how WRONG the studios-producers are for prompting the writers to strike - from the bloomberg.com news:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aT093mA41W2A
——–
CBS’s Moonves Avoids Plight of Striking Writers
While striking Hollywood writers are still negotiating a contract, CBS chief Les Moonves has “a honey of a new one” — a base salary of $3.5 million, a target bonus of $10.5 million and several perks. CBS’s performance, however, has been on a decline since Moonves became CEO in 2006.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aT093mA41W2A
Comment by Jonathan D. — December 20, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
Iatse member: Yes, the average member of the WGAw makes about $62k a year. The AMPTP released the $200k number, probably conflating the value of overall deals for a precious few with the working writers who will never see that kind of compensation. Unlike most of the other creative or technical support professions in this industry, TV writers have exactly one real window of employment and it’s always a crap shoot. There is very rarely “just another show”, there’s just THE show and it better work out.
Most writers spend the bulk of their careers unemployed, and when employed can be fired or effectively frozen out at any time. For any reason. A staff writer makes about $30k a year and receives no additional compensation for written material. On the feature side, unless you’re on the A-list (and you don’t count), you can expect to several months work with no compensation whatsoever and then expect to have your deferred compensation never materialize.
Imagine lighting a set on spec. Imagine taking a job understanding that you can have only this job, and that if this job goes away the music has stopped and you will have NOWHERE to sit down. Imagine being paid for half of the work you do, or being asked to light some of the shots “under the table” for free. Imagine no golden time.
That’s the reality for the vast majority of working writers, who create the material that make your job possible. Instead of blasting us, you should be thanking us for accepting treatment and conditions that you never would. And you need to get educated, fast — if the AMPTP gets its way, your health and pension plans are gonna dry up.
If you want this strike to end, ask yourself how you can support it. Look for ways to send a message to the AMPTP and get them back to the table. Ask important questions instead of accepting the misinformation and flat-out lies offered up by the studios.
The writers may not have played this situation perfectly, but at least we’re not actively trying to screw you.
Comment by Simon Jester — December 20, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
Looking at those pictures, it occurred to me why the AMPTP hates us. Writers are ugly. Nobody - especially rich people - likes ugly people. Maybe if we laid off the Sour Cream Pringles (just because the P.A.s restock on the regular doesn’t mean we should feel entitled to ransack the snack closet!), and actually hit the gym on the weekends (instead of just whining about how we should), the AMPTP would treat us like real people.
I’m no winner either, I’m just saying…
Comment by Mike — December 20, 2007 @ 2:28 pm
Comment by k3d — December 20, 2007 @ 12:25 am
“As far as we’re concerned, writers are more essential than anyone.”
This statement really says it all. It is the underlying attitude of the WGA and most of it’s members. It is why you cannot have negotiations. It is the reason the WGA thinks it is ok to sacrafice BTL for their cause. I create cg animation for your scripted television and I would really like to see your “drama” without my creation included. I don’t feel entitled to anything more than my self negotiated salary. You people get over yourself.
Actually, if you’d bothered to read the rest of that post, you might have noticed that this was not an egotistical statement from a WGA member, but rather a member of the general public in protest of corporate greed. The “we” of this sentence encompasses ‘informed public’ and the rest of his/her non-writer, tv-loving brethren - and anyone who felt ill after reading about Les Moonves’ salary.
I’m sure that there are writers who overvalue their contribution to industry and to society; this is no different than in any profession (trust me, I work in academia - we have our fair share of inflated egos). You yourself place value in what you do (see: “I would really like to see your “drama” without my creation included”). And if you think that the CEO’s of the big media companies don’t overvalue their place in this world, you are severely deluded.
Comment by watching_repeats — December 20, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
What kind of cars we drive? Who cares? An unfair deal is unfair whether it’s a BMW or an Escort.
“My writers”?
Something about that makes my skin crawl.
Comment by skud — December 20, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
Go writers! stay out till you get what you want.
Comment by anon — December 20, 2007 @ 8:38 pm
Simon Jester, I appreciate the sentiment, but you write that “A staff writer makes about $30k a year and receives no additional compensation for written material.” That’s just flat-out misleading. A staff writer, e.g. the lowest level of a writing staff makes about $3200/week (give or take a few hundred given contract specifics.) That’s about $120 K for a full season show, $80K for a 13-episode order. And though that lower level does “recieve no additional compensation for written material”, that changes after one’s first year.
Since the other side is spinning like crazy it’s important for us not to distort the facts.
Comment by Mike — December 20, 2007 @ 11:54 pm
Simon Jester, also, while writers do work on spec, the “vast majority” of material that is produced is *not* as you assert, written on spec. So your whole metaphor about what it would be like for BTLers to work on spec is kinda silly. No offense.
Comment by Mike — December 20, 2007 @ 11:55 pm
I do not understand why any of you are getting into a fights about the specific wages of a writer in Hollywood. It doesn’t matter if it $62k a year or $200k a year or $1 million a year!!
This is the fight the AMPTP wants you to get into, because despite their enormous salaires and benefits, they want people to think there’s some sort of cap on the amount writers should earn as it compares to all of society.
But it doesn’t.
It doesn’t matter what the actual numbers are, it matters if that wage is fair compared to the amount of revenue the writer’s work generates for their industry. This is about it’s value in the context of that revenue.
In Major League Baseball, it is contracted by the Players Association that 65 percent of all the revenue generated must be spent on player salaries. So if it’s $3 million dollars, or $6 billion, they are compenstated relative to the revenue.
It doesn’t say they only get paid until it’s an amount that a reasonable person wouldn’t get upset about. It’s about value.
You can scream all day that players get paid too much. But if they do, it’s because people continue to pay the ticket price to go to the stadium, and they continue to watch it on TV. They buy the jerseys, the hot dogs, and pay DirecTV to watch every game.
And there’s not a person alive, who if they wrote a script that ended up being wildly popular, and saw the DVD sales go into $10 million dollars and got a residual check for only $20,000 — wouldn’t go…uhhhh, huh??
It’s not because $20,000 isn’t a lot of money. It’s because their employers decided they were worth $20,000…and they themselves were worth close to $3.5 million. (Wholesale price for a $20 DVD is about $7)
Fair?
Hmmm. Doesn’t look like it to me. Since without the writer or any of the other talent, they wouldn’t even have a product to sell.
So get off the argument about the specific salaries, it’s totally irrelevant.
And for all the people who think writers, actors, directors and all these studio heads are paid too much…then stop going to movies. Stop watching TV. Stop forking over the revenue that causes this huge industry.
Comment by Jimmy — December 21, 2007 @ 6:53 am
“A staff writer, e.g. the lowest level of a writing staff makes about $3200/week (give or take a few hundred given contract specifics.) That’s about $120 K for a full season show, $80K for a 13-episode order. And though that lower level does ‘recieve no additional compensation for written material’, that changes after one’s first year.”
Fair enough.
Wanna guess how many of those shows actually make it through a full season? Even a 13-ep order?
Not many. And you head right back to “Go” when your show gets canned. That… is a fact.
Comment by Brando — December 22, 2007 @ 7:56 am