2ND UPDATE: Hollywood Turns To 'ER' Producer/Writer To Stop Long Strike
UPDATE: Federal Mediator Intervenes
The Writers Guild Of America's 12,000 membership will begin picketing at the major movie studios and television networks later in the day Monday. They were told that all writing covered under WGA agreements must cease when the strike starts. No last-minute talks to avert the crippling walkout are yet scheduled for this weekend after three months of negotiations collapsed Wednesday night. The Writers Guild Of America said it was open to the offer of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to help settle the stand-off with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. Some of Hollywood's Big Media moguls may be trying to meet this weekend about the WGA strike set to start Monday. But insiders tell me that the studio and network bigwigs have declined Villaraigosa's offer to mediate this weekend despite the WGA's desire for him to intervene. The moguls also rejected an offer to sit down with the guild's leadership this weekend. "The CEOs are unwilling to even join the discussion at the bargaining table at all this weekend or ever," one WGA source maintains. "The only meeting they are willing to attend is one amongst themselves." (See my previous, Hollywood Moguls Sound Strike Happy, See New TV Season As Dead Already.) UPDATE: I've just learned that the federal mediator has called the parties together for a meeting on Sunday at 10 am.
Instead, I'm told the moguls will continue to rely on their hired guns, namely AMPTP president Nick Counter, to maintain their hardline bargaining position, just as the WGA is sticking with its militant negotiators. Though the AMPTP said yesterday it was willing to negotiate all weekend, there looks to be no real possibility of a miraculous last-minute 
settlement happening now even though both sides are giving lip service to one. Agreed WGAE President Michael Winship: "This is not a decision we take lightly. In fact, we make it with great sadness. There is still time and a deal to be made before this strike begins. We urge the studios and networks to come back and bargain fairly.” But AMPTP's Nick Counter issued this statement after today's strike call. "We are very disappointed with their press conference and the action they took," Counter said. "Their press conference was full of falsehoods, misstatements and inaccuracies."
WGA West and East at 1:30 p.m. today announced the unanimous decision of the WGAW Board of Directors and the WGAE Council on the WGA Negotiating Committee’s recommendation to call a strike against film studios and television networks. 
Making today's statement was WGAW Prez Patric Verrone and WGAE Prez Michael Winship. The collective bargaining agreement between the WGA and AMPTP expired at midnight on October 31st. Everyone I've talked to on both sides believes this is going to be a long, bitter and painful labor action. The producers want to redraw the business plan for movies and television. The writers want to draw a line in the sand after failing to make lucrative agreements for each new technology. The main issues dividing the two camps is New Media and Internet residuals. The last WGA strike, in 1988, lasted 22 weeks and cost the Industry half a billion dollars.
There will be a WGA contract captains orientation Saturday to help them transition into strike captains and picket captains. They have planned to be on call all weekend. The writers, many of whom yesterday cleared out their desks at the studios and networks, have 4 days from the commencement of the strike to submit their screenplays and teleplays to the WGA's controversial "Script Validation Program". (See my previous, Rename It The 'Fear Validation Program') The guild's email to members said, "We'll be sending you information about our picket lines. Come out and show your solidarity. Your Contract Captain will be in touch with you. Be prepared to serve."
How many picket lines and how strong a turnout the WGA can organize will be key to this strike because of the Screen Actors Guild and the teamsters. Even though the actors' contract with AMPTP doesn't expire until June 2008. SAG president Alan Rosenberg told the WGA members last night that the actors guild cannot strike now but supports the WGA "100%" and will walk the picket lines with the writers. Meanwhile, Leo Reed's "Hollywood" Teamsters -- aka the Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Local 399 which reps over 4,800 studio drivers, casting directors and location managers -- urged members to honor the WGA's picket lines. At last night WGA confab, a Teamsters statement was posted on the doors. It specifically stated the Teamsters support for the WGA and noted individual members have the right, through the "conscience clause" in the Teamsters contract, not to cross WGA picket lines.
Previous:
There goes my favorite tv shows on Comedy Central…
No more Daily Show and Colbert Report until the strike is over.
Comment by Joey Mills — November 2, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
This is sad news for all involved. I feel bad for all the workers in the industry who will be affected by the strike. I hope that the involvment of the Teamsters and other unions will help make this a short strike, but I’m not particularly optimistic. Good luck, WGA.
Comment by Josh Boelter — November 2, 2007 @ 1:09 pm
Writers demands for 2.5 cents on every hundred dollars the studios/ networks make on their content seem very fair to me. This is about new media and the studios are making it about smashing unions.
Comment by burl — November 2, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
and so it begins…
good luck everyone.
Comment by Dru — November 2, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
Treat your employees well and this won’t happen.
Comment by Matt — November 2, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
Here we go. I wonder what Counter said about the Mayor’s offer.
Comment by harley — November 2, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
Really sad. Let’s hope the producers come to their senses and this is over quickly. Judging from the meeting last night, I don’t think writers will be giving in too easy. If they think this is going to be a repeat of ‘88, they are in for a surprise. What is Counter thinking? With the Teamsters standing strong, this couldn’t have gone more wrong for him…
Just sucks I am going to miss Grey’s Anatomy!
Comment by Jennifer — November 2, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
If all the unions in Hollywood would honor the strike, it would be over in a week. The problem is that the DGA and SAG and IATSEE and almost all the other unions have a no-strike clause in their contracts (except for the Teamsters.) That means these people are subject to being fired if they honor the strike.
But if they all honored the strike in one unified stance, the entire production machine would come to grinding halt. At that point, it’d be preferable financially to settle rather than build up an entire new industry.
I know this is an impossibility, but I still wanted to put it out there. Hell, I won’t be creating any new stories for while, so I figured I’d create this one. Complete with a happy ending.
Comment by The Interpreter — November 2, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
Burl -
It’s 2.5%– that’s $2.50 of every $100, 2.5 cents every dollar … Higher but still very reasonable.
Comment by rm — November 2, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
And the truth is the WGA would be happy with probably just half of that.
Comment by Mike — November 2, 2007 @ 1:51 pm
The strike heard round the world…
We’re all in this together against the media conglomeration domination…
It’s on and so it begins…
Comment by Future WGA member — November 2, 2007 @ 1:52 pm
Last night at the CC was a trip. Kinda like the big opening scene in the “Warriors,” ‘cept with a bunch of nerdy TV staffs.
“Look! The guys from ‘Two and a Half Men’ are here! And ‘Samantha Who’. Crazy, man!”
Can you dig it?
My friends and I - we were supposed to start back up again on Monday - tried to play “Guess the Staff”. Proved to be a very tough game. Like playing “Guess the Band” back when the Strip was 100% cheese metal.
Comment by BJD — November 2, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
If the writers don’t get what they want now they will NEVER get it. Each year that goes forward the entertainment conglomerates get larger and stronger and so diversified they will be immune to real economic hurt from simply movies and television. This is most likely the last moment the creative unions will ever have to get even a morsel. If they fail now they might as well disbandon
Comment by rb — November 2, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
If you want to understand why the WGA is striking, look at the example of one of the top comedies, The Office. You’ll notice the nbc website, nbc.com, lets you watch all the episodes, in entirety, for free, and then shows commercials with them. No one needs to watch the reruns on TV anymore, or buy the DVDs. You may ask, what is the networks’ current proposal, after 4 months of negotiating, on what the writer should get in residuals for this? Answer: Zero.
That’s why there’s a strike.
Comment by Joe — November 2, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
For all you non-WGA folks reading this site and wondering why writers and their union (WGA), and come June, actors and their union (SAG), are willing to strike over, here’s the big answer…
Acting and writing is no a steady job for most. In fact, most of the writers and actors who are lucky enough to make a living off their craft, live middle class lives. If you do those professions, much of the income you expect to live on comes from residuals… money that is paid when your film or tv episode is screened some where in the world.
But here’s the problem. The way the world watches movies and tv is changing. A year ago, you may have watched Grey’s Anatomy on TV, but this year you watch it on DVD. In two years, you may only watch it by downloading from the internet — basically what happened to music with iTunes.
The way the studios want the contracts, writers and actors will only earn residuals if Grey’s is aired on broadcast TV. If you buy the DVD of that episode, the writers makes 4 cents. If in two years, you download the episode, the writer and actor gets nothing. zippo. nada.
Hence, the WGA estimates that as technology changes, writers’ residual income will drop 80%. Imagine if your employer was asking you to take such a pay cut. 80%!!!!!!! (also imagine if your employer at the same time was demanding again to cut back on health and retirement payments — but that’s whole ‘nother dispute happening simultaneously)
That’s why writers are striking. And that’s why the actor’s union is backing the writers 100%, — come June, actors will get screwed the same way if the situation doesn’t change.
It sucks that other professionals in the entertainment industry will suffer because of this. Even many studio execs will even suffer. (Some studios are telling their execs that if the strike lasts more than 8 weeks, the execs pay will be suspended.) But as everybody gripes that they’re not earning money because the writers are striking, keep in mind, writers aren’t making money either. We’re all suffering together.
Let’s just hope the “Counter Strike” is settled quickly and we can all get back to doing what we love.
Comment by Writer/Director — November 2, 2007 @ 1:58 pm
WGA members currently receive 0.3% of the distributors’ gross for the first one million dollars and 0.36% after that. This amounts to less than 5 cents per unit for a typical video or dvd.
Please report the FACTS!
Comment by d — November 2, 2007 @ 2:04 pm
I’m copying your post and emailing it to the uninformed. Well-said, “Writer/Director.”
Comment by slk writer — November 2, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
Very eloquently put, writer/director. There are very real and long lasting issues for everyone in the entertainment community involved here. It’s just too bad that most of the comments you see posted even here, a very smart and reasonable site, talk about how the writers aren’t being respected and they’re going to make the studios pay. It just makes them look bad in the eyes of the general public that would love to have their career…spoiled teenagers shaking their fists at their parents.
Comment by Random Editor — November 2, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
I just contacted the Mayor’s office:
http://www.lacity.org/mayor/mayci.htm
and the governor’s office:
http://gov.ca.gov/interact#contact
With my concerns about mediating this situation and bringing it to a swift conclusion. I was told it’s better to call during business hours than to write.
Comment by Average Joe — November 2, 2007 @ 2:18 pm
And is that percentage split between everybody if there’s more than one writer, the way the SAG percentage is split between all the actors and day players, etc.?
Comment by Kris — November 2, 2007 @ 2:20 pm
People who are angry at the WGA for going on strike, commenting that you will not make any money if we go on strike, should think a moment on the very fact that the few hollywood unions (SAG, DGA, WGA, IATSE, TEAMSTERS, etc) have fought with the producers at every major point in entertainment history for a little piece of the pie AND IF YOU MAKE ANY MONEY ON A CREW, IT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE FIGHTING OF UNIONS AND THEIR MEMBERS WHO HAVE COME BEFORE YOU.
Maybe you’re not DGA or WGA, but you benefit every time the producer is forced to give a slice of his profit to an employee. It’s trickle down in this town. If we, the WGA get more, DGA gets more, SAG gets more, crews get more… Why do you think they fight so much. This is big picture stuff.
No Corporatocracy gives money out of the kindness of their hearts, it must be pried from their bank accounts with bargaining and steadfast oppostion to being paid a pittance.
Comment by metinker — November 2, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
Wow. from .25% to 2.5% to 3% to 3.6%, and the strike was announced only 29 minutes ago. No wonder the producers are balking at the writers demands. Odd that no one is pointing out that no studios have figured out how to PROFITABLY distribute tv shows online, yet talent is already asking for more. There is more than one side to this story.
Comment by Gary — November 2, 2007 @ 2:34 pm
If anyone from the AMPTP is reading, could you please specify the “falsehoods, misstatements and inaccuracies” that Mr. Counter attributes to the press conference? Maybe bullet-pointed for clarity and quick public understanding? Thank you.
Comment by CM — November 2, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
Writer/Director said “because the writers are striking…writers aren’t making money either.”
Don’t writers still get their residual payments during the strike? Most other Hollywood workers impacted by the strike don’t get residuals to keep them afloat.
I’m not disagreeing with the strike, just trying to learn more about the situation.
Comment by justlearning — November 2, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
Kris: Yes, it is split if there is more than one credit writer.
Gary: um. you missed a decimal point. It’s not 3% and 3.6% but .3% and .36%.
Comment by Mike S — November 2, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
“Odd that no one is pointing out that no studios have figured out how to PROFITABLY distribute tv shows online, yet talent is already asking for more.”
No, we’re asking for SOME.
Big difference.
“Maybe you’re not DGA or WGA, but you benefit every time the producer is forced to give a slice of his profit to an employee.”
Absolutely. Do you think the studios are going to be hiring IATSE for their web-only non-union productions? It’s all about jurisdiction. If the internet is established as union-free, then the entire business will be.
Comment by Norm A. Rae — November 2, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
Gary, if there is no profit, then producers don’t pay out. 2.5% of zero is zero. Additionally, producers are touting with great fanfare to investors how profitable new media will be - can’t have it both ways.
Comment by Alex — November 2, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
Gary,
If the studios are spending MORE to put reruns of shows online than the numerous ADS that run before/after/during/along side the shows online bring in, well then they need a lesson in Internet 101. And they should probably tell that to their shareholders rather than the profitability projections they are so proud of showing when it comes time to make the board of directors happy.
Don’t tell us there’s no profitability model and then turn around and brag to the board how much money this new revenue stream (digital distribution) will bring in. That’s exactly what’s happening.
Both sides of the story, eh? I learned at the meeting last night that they can run your movie IN ITS ENTIRITY online without paying anyone involved a plug cent. Why? because according to “then” it’s promotional. Showing the entire film is promotional.
Talk about trailers that give away the entire movie.
Comment by Schmuck w/o Underwood — November 2, 2007 @ 3:12 pm
Alex, actually the WGA demand is 2.5% of total revenue, not profits, so although I agree with you in spirit, your statement is incorrect.
Comment by Mike S — November 2, 2007 @ 3:15 pm
Gary,
Ever hear how many hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year on internet advertising. And how that number is ballooning?
Think of it this way… when you go to iTunes and pay $$ to download an episode of HEROES, you think the HEROES’ studio hasn’t figured out how to make money off that $$$? Or when you watch an episode on abc.com, you think ABC hasn’t figure out how to make money off the $$ the advertiser paid ABC to insert commercials?
Comment by Me — November 2, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
One of the biggest, if not the biggest issue, is jurisdiction.
That’s why all unions should support the strike.
If the Internet goes non-WGAw, than you can be damn sure it’s going to be kept non-union. It just happens that we’re the first ones up during this historic battle. So we get to be called the bad guys.
The Teamsters get it. SAG gets it. Apparently, the DGA doesn’t or is acting like they don’t. I understand that the specific DGA’s interests don’t totally align with the WGA and SAG, but on this new jurisdictional frontier it does. Everything will delivered through the Internet.
This isn’t about shipping union jobs abroad. We lost that battle. This is about taking one of the last great American products, one of the last great American exports, and making sure there is no collective bargaining agreement for the cogs in the machine that makes that product. And, believe me, as one cog in the machine, most writers get paid as cogs. For the bulk of us, this is a middle class battle. The middle-class that is quickly disappearing.
Comment by The Interpreter — November 2, 2007 @ 3:41 pm
I don’t think the Producers know how to make money yet on the “new media” and the writers are bringing a dated “Norma Rae” mentality to the table.
But I am curious about how the WGA can justify its 20 million dollar residual fund of monies they hold in that back-alley 1990 deal with the studios on behalf of writers they don’t seem to be in any hurry to track down. (in that LA WEEKLY article from earlier this year) Seems like the WGA uses contract time to make itself look good while it sells out the little guy the rest of the time to the studios.
In other words, all this strike posturing is damaging if it is due to the WGA trying to cover up its real sins of not doing its job between contract negotiations. And I’ll bet the poorest WGA members are not too anxious for a strike.
All the mental power in the WGA should be used to come up with a fair manner of downloading movies on the Internet instead of bickering with the producers. Class warfare in the film biz is a tired farce.
Comment by Coopered — November 2, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
For those of us new to the guild and professional writing, last night’s meeting felt like a watershed moment that would either prove our willingness to fight or show the fractures that exist among the rank-and-file.
It was extremely gratifying to see the overwhelming support for an action none of us want to take. Hopefully the leadership has learned the lessons of the late 80s and will not be bullied into taking a deal that is not favorable.
The cries of poverty from the mega-corporations that are our corporate overloads are offensive and patently false. As a new media writer and occasional online marketing consultant for the studios I know first hand that they ARE making money from the creative efforts of guild members. We deserve to share in that success.
Since I never actually thought someone would pay me to write for a living I am extremely motivated to stand up for the rights of my fellow scribes now and for generations to come.
My thoughts go out to anyone who will suffer financial hardship as a result of this action.
Finally, a big thank you to Nikki Finke for creating a forum for intelligent discourse on a subject that will effect a lot of people. We may not all agree but we’re all in it together.
See you on the picket line.
Comment by Medialicious — November 2, 2007 @ 3:56 pm
The WGA is sadly mistaken if it confuses the Teamsters’ “support” with Teamsters not crossing their picket line. We wish you well and you have our support, but don’t be foolish and step in front of a truck. The Teamsters are going to work Monday, strike or not.
The Teamsters asked the WGA to sign a deal promising to walk out in the event of a future Teamster action . The Guild laughed. Couple that with the fact that 10,000 WGA members willfully crossed the Teamsters last picket line and you get what you’ll see Monday morning: Teamsters going to work.
It is absurd to think we wouldn’t cross this line. You guys are getting bad info.
Comment by pumpkin — November 2, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
Can somebody please confirm that the new seasons of LOST and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA have been written. thank you and good luck!
Comment by Flat Coke — November 2, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
The real result of all this is that the number of writers hired for a show will be reduced, fewer pilots will get made and some portion of the writer/producer’s fees will be reallocated from the producer side to the writer side. That way those monies can then be considered overscale payments and can be applied against residuals. So yes, the WGA may win the additional nickel or so per DVD and download - which will translate into a few thousand dollars more in residuals per year of work - but the big picture will prove to be fewer writers hired. And the real truth behind all of this is that the studios are bullies, sure, but the writers are very well paid for doing what we all know to be jobs that thousands of others would love to have. We’re all replaceable and the fact that we get to write for a living is not a right but a priveledge. So while we’re all flush with excitement of standing united, we should remember that what we have now is pretty good too. If this goes for a long time than the net result will be a big fat negative for 90% of the writers. The top 10% will just get richer.
Comment by Willie — November 2, 2007 @ 4:32 pm
Just a question, but if the writers feel entitled to a share of the profits from internet distribution, are they also liable for the costs involved? Servers, IT staff, maintenance costs, etc are not free and in fact can be quite expensive. What is the general feeling of the writers’ responsibilities towards those costs?
Dave
Comment by Dave — November 2, 2007 @ 5:02 pm
I was wondering when somebody would bring up the foreign levies fund.
I asked about the foreign-levies payment plan once.
I was told to wait and see if something comes my way. Never did get a straight answer.
Even non union writers got their money sucked up by a union they don’t belong to!
Anything we gain on this strike will disappear into same blackness.
And there is a hell of a lot more than $20 million.
WGA is the pimp and we’re their whores but if you want to work, you gotta work their corner.
Comment by WGAsucker — November 2, 2007 @ 5:27 pm
Dave,
Your comment about writers sharing in the costs of internet distribution might make more sense if we were 50%-50% partners in the venture. You could then take our share of the costs from our 50% of revenues. But what’s currently being offered is for producers to take 100% of the revenue from intellectual property *writers* created. That’s just patently unfair, and anyone who hears that that’s the producer’s proposal agrees with the WGA.
Joe
Comment by Joe — November 2, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
If the writers want a percentage of the profits, will they also share in the losses if a show loses money?
If they want the studios to take all the risk, and cover all the losses, it doesn’t seem very fair that the writers should get a cut of the profits without also risking a share in any losses. But I suppose that would be too realistic for Hollywood…
Comment by David — November 2, 2007 @ 6:05 pm
I wish someone who is knowledgable on the subject would comment on the “triple-play” technology that is being deployed world-wide.
Triple play meaning broadband intenet access, telephony and cable t.v. all in one package.
If all the future content will be coming through one pipe into everyone’s home…then isn’t this new paradigm, at least, part of what this strike is all about…and why is nobody talking about this?
Comment by Bryan — November 2, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
David
Hollywood is a meritocracy. It doesn’t get any more realistic than that.
Comment by Schmuck w/o Underwood — November 2, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
And yet, Casting Directors are moving to locations where they are less likely to have to cross a picket line so they can quietly continue working. So much for solidarity on their part. Face it, it’s all about money and screw everyone else.
Comment by John D — November 2, 2007 @ 8:55 pm
“The Teamsters asked the WGA to sign a deal promising to walk out in the event of a future Teamster action . The Guild laughed.”
We’re not *allowed* to sign such a deal. What we are allowed to do is bargain for the right to respect other guilds’ picket lines, which is still on the table. In recent negotiations, we’ve taken MANY items off the table, but not THAT.
Teamster solidarity come Monday will do a lot to stiffen our resolve to keep this point on the table, and I am confident that it will happen.
“If they want the studios to take all the risk, and cover all the losses, it doesn’t seem very fair that the writers should get a cut of the profits without also risking a share in any losses. But I suppose that would be too realistic for Hollywood…”
Great, and then do we also get stock options, seats on the board of directors, voting stock, and the right to green light our own projects? Sometimes it helps to think a couple of steps ahead before making facile and nakedly anti-writer points like this. We did go to college and we are listening.
Comment by Norm A. Rae — November 2, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
“If all the future content will be coming through one pipe into everyone’s home…then isn’t this new paradigm, at least, part of what this strike is all about…and why is nobody talking about this?”
The episode of Heroes coming into my home on the cable line to my television entitles the writer to residual payments. The episode of Heroes coming into my home on the cable line to my cable modem and onto my PC via ITunes, or streaming via “Hulu” (what, NBC, did your marketing budget limit you to late 90s dot com name rejects?) entitles the writer to no payments whatsover.
Five years from now, the eighth season of The Office, broadcast exclusively via digital delivery to your Tivo setbox for a $40 subscription, will entitle writers to no payments whatsoever, no credits protection, no residual payment for rebroadcast, nothing. And from there, we’re three steps from no health care, no pension, and the return of the ignominious ‘Additional Dialogue by’ credit. (For further education in the career rape of writers and our motivation in starting the writers guild, buy a copy of WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN? from Amazon.com.)
That, among many other things, is what the Guild is striking for. When they make money off our work, we make money off our work. It’s as logical to deny us residual payment for our work broadcast over the internet as it would be to deny us for broadcast to flat panel televisions instead of CRTs.
Comment by Norm A. Rae — November 2, 2007 @ 9:14 pm
Talent always gets screwed by the cheap bastards, strike them down! Go Go Go!
Comment by Aj — November 2, 2007 @ 9:24 pm
justlearning asked:
“Don’t writers still get their residual payments during the strike? (Most other Hollywood workers impacted by the strike don’t get residuals to keep them afloat.)”
The answer is, who knows? Even when a contract is in place, the Hollywood conglomerates are notorious for dragging their feet on making residual payments. During the strike, the companies may very well stop paying residuals entirely, and dare the WGA to sue. That court case will drag on for months and months. All the writers I know are simply assuming they will get zero income for the entire duration of the strike.
Comment by Friendly Writer — November 2, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
As an outside observer to this amusing Hollywood tale, I find it hilarious about how serious people are about this strike. I know it’s important for the small number of folks in this country who make a living peddling the sappy, manipulative drivel that Hollywood spews forth, but really, we’re not talking about a bunch of lazy, overpaid, union, underachievers shutting down our ports or transportation systems because they want more handouts. We’re talking about television shows and movies. “Oh no! What am I gonna do without Lost. I may actually have to get a life.”
Comment by bvdasfd — November 2, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
For David, Dave, whoever — writers are not asking for a piece of “the profits” from anything — not TV and film, not internet. We are asking for a per use fee. That’s a royalty payment, not an ownership stake. Because the studios take financial risk, they do, in fact, have the rights to our copyright. But we also won a right to a royalty — residual — quite a while back. This is the issue: that payment for use of our material should extend to all forms of media. The producers wanted us to take profit–based residuals, and that was, in fact, idiotic — anybody ever hear of a studio making a profit? I understand that The Simpsons still hasn’t made Fox a penny!
Comment by Marjorie David — November 2, 2007 @ 10:34 pm
___
“I don’t think the Producers know how to make money yet on the “new media” and the writers are bringing a dated “Norma Rae” mentality to the table.”
You’re right, the Big Studios (producers) don’t know how to make money on the “new media” market because it all depends on this moment in time. And time alone, will tell us how the internet domain is chartered. Until then, it is “unstable”, no lie there.
But I disagree, the studios have based this union negotiation on a very “Norma Rae” mentality, indeed.
___
” And, believe me, as one cog in the machine, most writers get paid as cogs. For the bulk of us, this is a middle class battle. The middle-class that is quickly disappearing.”
___
If writers are “cogs”, then writers, be apart of the internet system that in 50 years you can say you helped create. It doesn’t work if you don’t show up, you dig? Otherwise, a piece in the gear will be broken. The system falls apart. Writer be a cog on the gear, and turn The strike, but let this down time be a reflective resolve of the effectiveness of communication.
Knowledge makes it easier to be eloquent when fighting for what you want.
___
“All the mental power
in the WGAshould be used to come up with a fair manner of downloading movies on the Internet instead of bickeringwith the producers.Classwarfare in the film biz is a tired farce.___
So, that gets me to my point….. The Internet.
Is that 2.5% for me, and .25% for you?
Let’s get it straight, become informed (that means YOU ), not just the writers! If we can use the internet it will inherently help us navigate the “new media” internet quagmire in front of us. Tell your strike friends and foes alike to find a forum (Nikki’s?)/blog/picket line/whatever and share your ideas/opinions/A/S/L?…like I said, whatever. It’s a big web out there you never know what you might find.
Personally,
I haven’t been in town very long, but
“cogs” seem pretty important to me. My opinion, the teamsters get it. In the future (hopefully), we’ll all be grateful for what will be accomplished in 2007/2008-?. Perhaps, a global internet infrastructure for artist…grips…electricians, directors, musicians, gaffers, PA’s, for EVERYONE to get paid, period?
Entertainment folks, we’re already stupid enough to be in this silly industry in the first place. I know it, and you know it.
And
Because writers,
when our friends stare at us with disbelief, then ask, “Why?” We’ll shrug and say….
Gen Y, TV “whatever” - wannabe
Oh and, “In 1988…”
… blah,blah,blah, drop it! In 1988, I was 4…or was it 3? …But what does that have to do with price of DVDs in china.
Comment by Gen Y — November 2, 2007 @ 11:00 pm
“Teamster solidarity come Monday will do a lot to stiffen our resolve… ”
I got some bad news for you, sunshine.
Comment by pumpkin — November 2, 2007 @ 11:10 pm
Marjorie, it is true that FOX may have not made a profit off The Simpsons itself, but that isn’t exactly true because they have gone hog wild over merchandising rights.
Comment by Jessy S. — November 2, 2007 @ 11:43 pm
Well pumpkin, I’ve talked to transpo at my show, so we’ll see what’s what come strike time. But trust me, we didn’t go into this relying on the Teamsters, or SAG even, so, even if they red-rover our picket, the reason we’re there still stands, and it won’t do a thing to make us fold. If the Teamsters want to cross our lines, they are more than welcome to. We will be picketing, and the nation will be watching. However, if they want to honor our picket lines, and help turn what could have been a long strike into a short one, our gratitude at the bargaining table and beyond will be more than palpable.
But, pumpkin, I can’t speak for picket line breakers like you. Only you can speak for you. So, come Monday, raise your voice, whatever it may be.
Comment by Norm A. Rae — November 3, 2007 @ 1:18 am
Nothing like a new season coming to a screaching hult
before I think it really even began for some shows.
C’est la vie.
Comment by Alexis — November 3, 2007 @ 3:10 am
Marj:
“I understand that The Simpsons still hasn’t made Fox a penny!”
I’m not sure how you can “understand” that the longest running animation show in history (17 yrs?) could be kept on air for vanity’s sake.
Good luck with your strike WGA, I just hope it’s not a financial fiasco for you like the one in ‘88 (the monies lost have yet to be recouped by any players) or the one SAG blew in Y2k.
Comment by kidshockookie — November 3, 2007 @ 5:14 am
“…do we also get stock options, seats on the board of directors, voting stock, and the right to green light our own projects?”
Essentially, “writers” as members of the WGA need to define who “owns” their work when they sell their work by use or by project to whomever pays the price asked. Once sold, what ownership, if any, remains with any writer who is a member of the WGA? Greenlighting, seats on any board of directors, all the profits and influence that go along with those abilities are the privilege AND the responsibilities of ownership.
Like many people, I remain confused as to what type or degree of ownership writers consider they legitimately maintain over a project they’ve sold to someone else (or, rather, rights of use they’ve sold). Because, once purchased, once sold, whoever owns the material controls the material and maintains management of that material, except when access or use of the material has been granted by sale to someone else.
It seems to me in overview that the WGA continues to try to maintain a presumption of ownership of written material while also agreeing to the sale of the material and how it’s used. I’m confused how someone who purchases written material can be followed up upon for a lifetime of use by a writer. It’s a cloudy area, whether “new media” or old (though I realize the issue of this strike is “new media”/downloaded filmed material that uses the written works by members of the WGA versus sale of DVDs as “old media”).
Comment by November — November 3, 2007 @ 5:27 am
The WGA is doing it all wrong. They could get everything they want if they would just be patient. SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and DGA (Directors Guild) contracts expire in June of ‘08. If all three guilds went on strike together they would get the best possible deal from the studios. That’s the right way to get what they want.
Unfortunately, the leadership of the WGA is willing to hurt thousands of innocent people just to show how tough they are. This WGA strike is completely irresponsible because the WGA could get the deal they want simply by waiting until next year and striking in concert with SAG and DGA. It would be a short strike because the entire industry would be shut down. In a short strike the fewest possible people would be hurt and the WGA would, at the same time, get the best possible deal for their membership.
Sadly, the WGA leadership doesn’t care how many people can’t pay their rent or feed their kids. All they care about is acting like tough guys and bigshots.
Comment by Tom Davis — November 3, 2007 @ 6:56 am
Can someone explain to me why the studios just can’t hire new writers? Why do they “have to” deal with the unions. You can’t tell me there are thousand upon thousand of hungry writers out there just waiting on an opportunity like this.
Comment by Joe — November 3, 2007 @ 8:23 am
for all of us youngsters in the guild. How do you file for economic hardship with the guild when you have just had three contracts stop halfway through the steps. What are the terms of the strike fun program and who do you contact?
Comment by wriwriter1 — November 3, 2007 @ 8:25 am
Tom: Except that the AMPTP is aware of that, so if we didn’t strike now, they would lock us out well before June. And given that, it is better to go out now, on our own timing, when we still have a fair amount of leverage given the timing of the TV season.
Comment by Mike S — November 3, 2007 @ 8:29 am
November,
The short answer to your question is that when a writer ’sells’ a piece of material, per the contract, they aren’t really *selling* it. They’re granting the right for the buyer to exploit the copyright of that material in the ‘primary market’– generally either theatrical film release or first-run television broadcast. Residuals are a way of compensating for the exploitation of the copyright in secondary markets- DVDs, internet downloads, reruns, etc.
Comment by Mike S — November 3, 2007 @ 8:35 am
Yup Tom, should strike in June. This will be a repeat of ‘88- not sure why people don’t see that. How does the WGA have any leverage now- 9 years later? Don’t get me wrong the WGA is RIGHT but you have to be much smarter than this. Writers need to understand that the studios and networks don’t care. They don’t care what they put on the air or on movie screens. They just play the Unions against each other. Only if all the unions struck together with resolve and the acknowledged possibility of destroying the current business model and the industry would the studios and networks cave or negotiate.
Comment by Flyby — November 3, 2007 @ 8:37 am
Dear Tom Davis,
What the DGA wants as a deal is different than what the WGA or SAG does. Most of the DGA is below the line. All of SAG and the WGA are above the line. So for most of the DGA, residuals are not a make-it-or-break-it issue. Residuals are where both SAG and the WGA draw the line.
Therefore, remove the DGA from your strike list. The question remains, should the WGA and SAG strike together in June as you propose. The two unions strategized together for months and decided otherwise.
Everybody assumed the WGA will not strike until SAG does. The studios assumed the same. Hence, the studios planed to double the number of films in production during the spring, thus have double the length of time to release films when the SAG/WGA strike happened. These films are being written now. So a writers strike on Monday has the most impact on the studios feature scripts for the coming year. If the WGA waited until June, when SAG can strike, the scripts would have been written already…. and the films shot. Not good for either union.
Now, lets look at TV shows. Episodes are being written currently for what’s airing, for next year’s pilots, and for midseason replacements. A writers strike on Monday stops all dramatic tv production. By June, all the episodes are written, thus tv writing is in natural hiatus. No point in striking when your not writing anyway.
Striking now — when the AMPTP didn’t expect it — gives writers the most leverage to impact the studios feature and tv business. The most leverage, hopefully, translates to the shortest strike, thus the least pain for thousands who’ll be effected… including writers.
If SAG and the WGA waited until June — as you proposed — the studios would have banked enough feature films and tv shows to prolong the strike. The strike you fear would have lasted a lot longer.
So please, in the future, don’t accuse people of not caring, of irresponsibility, of no doing what is right, of acting like tough guys and bigshots. Learn the dynamics of an issue is before you pontificate.
Comment by Writer/Director — November 3, 2007 @ 8:57 am
Here’s the thing. I support the WGA and what they want in terms of getting more pennies on the dollar for new distribution model.
But
1. stop calling yourselves middle-class. You have no idea what you’re talking about. The majority of TV writers and screenwriters may not live in the Golden Triangle (BH,BA,Holmby) but they are certainly not what the rest of the country defines as “middle class.”
2. What has the WGA, or for that matter - WGA writers - done for me? I’ve been in the biz years and have tried to sell my work, I’ve gotten good coverage taken meetings, etc. and the WGA is harder to get into than a Nun’s habit. (to be crass). It’s really hard for those of us struggling to have any sympathy at all with this strike. The guild does NOTHING to help the struggling writer. Absolutely ZERO. They canceled a few of the measly programs they had.
3. If you guys go on strike and we’re offered deals, we’re going to take them. I’ve got THOUSANDS in student loans to pay back. I’m not saying I would, but I know there are people who would. But my question is, what do we get out of being loyal? Zilch. No deal and still no guild membership.
So while I sympathize with your plight, I don’t empathize with it. I’ve never, ever gotten any empathy but a sort of “ha ha we’re in you’re not” mentality from WGAers.
Comment by Struggling Writer — November 3, 2007 @ 8:59 am
“The short answer to your question is that when a writer ’sells’ a piece of material, per the contract, they aren’t really *selling* it. They’re granting the right for the buyer to exploit the copyright of that material in the ‘primary market’– generally either theatrical film release or first-run television broadcast. Residuals are a way of compensating for the exploitation of the copyright in secondary markets- DVDs, internet downloads, reruns, etc.” - Comment by Mike S
Thanks for that information. What you are describing, then, is a version of “publishing” or publication of a screenplay by whoever “publishes” that written work. At least, as I can paraphrase it, to equate with the familiarity most consumers will or may have as to what it is that “Hollywood” or screenwriters (members of WGA) do.
As to the WGA, unionizing writers for film & entertainment, I can understand why a professional organization such as this should have to exist — especially what with the fact that writers in film & TV are not hired employees, but most often hired talent, for-project, specialized independent contractors. In that context, given the huge variety and person-to-person variation of capacity and ability and reliability and all that, it makes very good sense that that that necessary talent (writers for film and television) would need to present a qualification such as the WGA would require to even join.
HOWEVER, it still calls to question in our current times as to why the writers aren’t a guild instead of a union, EXCEPT for the high probability of writers being used and abused and taken advantage of.
I’m not keen on the concept of unions — someone earlier was mentioning what they considered to be a bonus of unions, that people would be working their “40 hour weeks” and not devoting whatever was necessary to their work to get the job done (even if that means hours that one isn’t paid for, more hours than an 8-hour day/night). That really surprises me that that’d be a quality that people would find desirable because it puts the breaks on the incentive to excel. In fact, I’d think there’s not a screenwriter around who would even consider stopping work on a script/project if the clock ticked past 8 hours in a day.
Good luck to the writers. The product from the film and TV industry has been continually terrible for several years and perhaps what’s needed is a reboot of the work that is produced. I see now it’s not necessarily the fault of the writers, however, so, whoever can match or meet the work product of David Chase has my support. Good luck to you all, but whoever it was who had the foolishness to even consider getting Villaraigosa involved on behalf of the writers should be lambasted.
Comment by November — November 3, 2007 @ 9:27 am
When Marjorie David wrote “I understand that The Simpsons still hasn’t made Fox a penny!”, she was being sarcastic. Here’s a true story: I happen to know a couple of writers who were in at the very start of “The Simpsons,” back when Fox was a fledgling network and no one thought an animated prime time series would ever work. As part of their contract, these writers were guaranteed 1% of the net profit of the show. Now, there’s probably never been a more successful TV show than “The Simpsons.” It’s been on the air for 18 years, it’s watched around the globe, it’s merchandised like crazy, and it’s conservatively estimated to have earned several billion dollars for Fox. Yet every year, my two writer friends receive a statement from Fox reporting that the show is 40 million dollars in the red, and therefore they are entitled to zero dollars.
That’s how these companies work. All their creativity goes into their accounting. So every few years, one or another of the Hollywood unions has to stand up and push back. This year, it’s the WGA’s turn.
Comment by Friendly Writer — November 3, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Guys, when I said “the Simpsons hasn’t made Fox a penny” — I was being IRONIC. The point is that studio accounting is a work of art in itself — never showing movie or Tv profits, even in the most obvious situation — such as a popular show that runs for twenty years. That’s why we do not want profit-based residuals.
Comment by marjorie david — November 3, 2007 @ 9:38 am
bvdasfd (10:26 pm) — um, if this strike is so not a big deal, and nobody cares about the entertainment industry outside of itself why are you even reading this blog?
Comment by marjorie david — November 3, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Wow. I am impressed for several reasons:
1. You guys are willing to potentially lose immediate income to make a stand. That takes testicular (and ovarian?) fortitude.
2. As of now, there are 63 other comments besides mine, and I am pretty sure that this is the longest I have EVER seen any kind of dialogue/forum/comments thread without flaming and being hateful. I am not in the industry; I just enjoy your products (Except for Grey’s, and Housewives, I can’t stand those two… No hard feelings though, ok?)
I do have a question though:
“The episode of Heroes coming into my home on the cable line to my television entitles the writer to residual payments.” (Norm A. Rae)
Do the residuals come from stats showing the number of people who watched it (therefore the payment to writers is varied) or is it set by the fact that a network is broadcasting it?
Good luck, and I hope things work out well in your favor. Stick it to The Man.
Comment by Mike C — November 3, 2007 @ 10:13 am
Let’s talk about copyright. It is a Constitutional right, located in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S Constitution. It belongs to the Author. That’s us, the writers. Not the director, not the actor, not the studio. Copyright is just that — the right to make a copy, and distribute it, and make money from it. No sane person would think that writers give the studios our right to make copies of our work, and distribute them on the internet and Ipods, and that in return for this, we get nothing, zip, nada. But that’s what the studios have been proposing for four months. TV and film writers should retain their copyrights just like playwrights and book authors. If you want to know what writers are worth, look at J.K. Rowling.
Comment by Joe — November 3, 2007 @ 10:59 am
Dear bvdasfd,
I completely agree that you should not be interested in this at all. The predominant audience for these postings seem to be writers whose incomes are directly affected. If, for example, you yourself get agitated about not meeting some sales goals for your widgets, I understand. Hilarious, as you say, but I understand. So, being on the outside, you are free to turn off your TV and get your life.
In the meantime, I don’t note any producers trying to explain their positions as the writers are.
Comment by CM — November 3, 2007 @ 11:01 am
well said, Writer/Director .. Tom Davis and a few others are uneducated and way too hostile for not even being part of this industry .. further, people not in this industry have the impression writers have power over the nature and quality of what is produced .. perhaps people think writers have power because they SHOULD have power .. the written word is powerful, no?
we like Norm A. Rae, too
stay strong, WGA
Comment by J.J. — November 3, 2007 @ 11:14 am
Yeah, because of the last SAG strike in 98, I went out of business (I’m in post production). I ruined my credit trying to keep my house, and had to put my career on ice while I took other jobs. It took me 4 years to recover. When the above-the-line people strike, one result of that is that a lot of us below-the-line people lose our jobs. Not that I think the studios are without culpability, but that is the net result. 2008 is going to be a bad year for homeownership among the below-the-liners.
Comment by AUDIOPOST — November 3, 2007 @ 11:33 am
Taking the nation back one word at a time. You are all very brave, keep up the good work.
“Stand Up, Speak Out, STRIKE BACK!”-OTEP
Comment by Natasha — November 3, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
I’m WGA, and what I’m about to write may inflame some people but… I’m tired of people from all walks of production blaming us for what’s about to begin.
Please remember — my Guild is responsible to represent me and WGA members for what is best for OUR MEMBERSHIP. That is why it exists. That is why our forewriters formed it, to PROTECT MEMBER INTEREST.
Our guild’s job is not to support what’s best for all of hollywood — in fact, I would say that’s far closer to what the Producer/Mogels should be doing instead of protecting their personal 64 billion dollar paydays.
Your anger is pointed at the wrong group. We don’t want this strike anymore than you do.
But we can’t roll over again. It is our right and frankly, our duty to each other and to members who come after us to stop accepting contracts that essentially earn us less with each succeeding year, or worse, one that would lock us out of new media delivery (that’s just suicide by contract).
If you are a collateral business owner who is worried about this strike, I’m sorry you will be hurt. Truly. I’m no big ticket writer and I’m going to get crunched in this hugely. All writers are and we do not take this step lightly. But this issue is of paramount importance to us and we feel now is the time. Now is possibly our only chance to participate in the success of new media that is based on our work — and we must take it.
I’m hopeful the community at large can see that we are the David in this against the Goliaths and if we succeed, it’s good for everybody who’s not wintering in Aspen with Les and Sumner.
Comment by metinker — November 3, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
Regarding the Simpsons:
I saw a story on this guy Sam Simon (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/02/60minutes/main2532044.shtml). He hasn’t even worked on the show for over a decade and he makes apparently tens of millions of dollars every year from it. Can you imagine what the people actually working on the show make? Profitable or unprofitable would be a more interesting conversation in the context of what money people are actually taking home - I’m willing to bet that a lot of Simpsons writers, actors, etc. are walking out the front door with a lot of money (more than the GDP of small to mid-size African nations kind of money) and that’s gotta impact the amount of money being handed out the back door.
Comment by Audient — November 3, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
What if the producers just walk away from the table? There’s nothing that says that they have to negotiate with the WGA. I’m sure they’ll go through the motions, but that doesn’t mean that they’re negotiating in earnest. Maybe the producers will just go make reality shows, games shows, etc.: Dancing with the Stars XIV, Breathing with the Stars, Eating with the Stars, Sleeping with the Stars (cable only, of course).
Studios might just wait a year or two until the writers are broke, their houses are repossessed and their kids are going to bed hungry at night. Certainly the studios would suffer short-term losses, but if they kill off the unions the long-term gains would be huge. Maybe that’s been the studios/networks’ plan all along.
Comment by falcon — November 3, 2007 @ 4:15 pm
In typical fashion, the Struggling Writer was ignored.
Comment by Struggling Writer — November 3, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
Struggling Writer: I know breaking in is tough, but that’s not the fault of the WGA. Unlike a lot of other unions or professional organizations (like, say, State Bar Associations, which deliberately control how many new lawyers pass the bar each year to make sure that there aren’t too many lawyers for the amount of jobs available), the WGA doesn’t keep anyone out. Sell a script or get hired by a signatory, and you’re in.
And I’d argue that the WGA is trying to expand its jurisdiction in order to get more writers in. Besides the attempt to get game show and reality jurisdiction, there’s also the lower minimums for low-budget movies, which means more companies have become signatories, which in turns means more writers getting membership.
You’re right that the WGA doesn’t do a whole lot to help struggling writers in terms of educational programs and so forth. But– and I don’t mean this to sound jerky– that’s just not its role in the industry or its mandate. As a member, I want my dues to go primarily to health and pension plans, contract enforcement and so on. So that’s what the WGA does. It’s a labor guild, not a interest group like, say, PEN.
Comment by Mike S — November 3, 2007 @ 7:58 pm
No one buys the DVDs of any reality or game shows.
Comment by Smarter Than You — November 3, 2007 @ 8:10 pm
“Well pumpkin, I’ve talked to transpo at my show, so we’ll see what’s what come strike time. But trust me, we didn’t go into this relying on the Teamsters, or SAG even, so, even if they red-rover our picket, the reason we’re there still stands, and it won’t do a thing to make us fold. If the Teamsters want to cross our lines, they are more than welcome to. We will be picketing, and the nation will be watching. However, if they want to honor our picket lines, and help turn what could have been a long strike into a short one, our gratitude at the bargaining table and beyond will be more than palpable.
But, pumpkin, I can’t speak for picket line breakers like you. Only you can speak for you. So, come Monday, raise your voice, whatever it may be.
Comment by Norm A. Rae — November 3, 2007 @ 1:18 am”
Say, Normie, you’re kidding, right?
As of today, I have never crossed a picket line in the 30 years I’ve held a union card.
Can your Guild say that? The fact is, the WGA “red-rovered” the last Teamster picket against the studio. Can you speak for those picket line breakers? Go ahead, Norm, give ‘em a super-big WGA shout-out!
The nation will be watching? What nation? Raider? Red Sox? Zimbabwe? Don’t get too full of yourself, old boy. It won’t play in Peoria.
Anyway, your fraternal brother Craig Mazin is going to cross his own guild’s picket line Monday morning to continue directing the feature “Superhero.” Should those Teamsters walk the picket line while he goes inside the studio and collects a phat-ass movie check? Are you out of your skull?
Good luck, Norm.
Comment by pumpkin — November 3, 2007 @ 8:19 pm
I have been a worker bee paying residuals for major studios for 15 years. Residuals have never been tied to profits…they are paid as a percentage of revenue whether or not a film or TV show is even close to profitability. Take a failed one hour TV series. If an episode is re-run on the network, the writers who share the credit will be paid about 20,000. If the show is sold outside the US, the writers get 35% of about 20,000. An we are talking about a one order and out cancelled dog of a series that will never be close to turning a profit. The studios agreed to a usage and revenue-based residuals system 35 years ago. Corporate governance wisely looks at that and says, “Huh?”. We can share profits but why are we paying out $ for use? We’ve already paid them to write the show. Now, when you have had a deal like that for 35 years, dear writers, I see why you don’t want to give it up. But don’t act like you are working in the coal mines and being forced to buy at the company store. I agree that the congloms are foolish, touting new revenue streams and then telling writers they don’t know where the stream leads. But they see the ultimate folly in adding costs just to get your foot wet in a new market.
Comment by Residual Payer — November 3, 2007 @ 9:12 pm
this guy Sam Simon
Um, he’s not just “this guy” but he’s one of the three guys credited with creating the series.
Comment by Anonymous — November 3, 2007 @ 9:13 pm
Trust me, the studios/networks will not just walk away. There is too much at stake for them to do so. Each passing day will be suicide the longer the strike continues. TV will be impacted first followed by Movies and that will cause major damage to the studios/networks bottom line. Jim Cramer has already recommended selling CBS due to weak earnings.
Given that, the only parent company that can survive a strike will be News Corp and that is due to American Idol. I do know that CBS could air Big Brother, but that isn’t as big a hit as AI. Viacom has already lost three very profitable shows already in The Daily Show, Colbert Report, and South Park. GE is in the crapper and they would want a strike to be resolved before January as would Disney while the Studios can wait a few months.
Residuals are fair because most people see their work performed many times. It is just one of the perks that go with being an actor or writer. The better quality work you do, the better you all get paid. No wonder why the quality of TV and Movies has gone downhill.
Comment by Jessy S. — November 4, 2007 @ 12:43 am
Just one more thing I have got to mention regarding the networks, they can easily move or delay programming until the strike is over in order to keep you writers at bay so you don’t get paid for anything you did prior to the strike. All that means is that we could see reruns as soon as this week.
Comment by Jessy S. — November 4, 2007 @ 1:02 am
“Let’s talk about copyright. It is a Constitutional right, located in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S Constitution. It belongs to the Author. That’s us, the writers. Not the director, not the actor, not the studio. Copyright is just that — the right to make a copy, and distribute it, and make money from it…If you want to know what writers are worth, look at J.K. Rowling.” — Comment by Joe
What’s protected by copyright, owned by a writer, is the screenplay (in this context of the WGA for writers of screenplays for television and films and related media). Once a screenplay is produced in a theatrical work on film, it becomes something else, protected by copyright by whoever produced that filmed work. A writer retains copyright of the screenplay itself, not of the theatrical work that’s made by someone else.
And, J.K. Rowling is a novelist, whose fiction is published in books. Published books are far more easily understood/recognized as something “owned by” whoever wrote it, and can be accessed on their own by an audience after printed reproduction. A screenplay can sit well on a writer’s shelf for their entire lives , owned by the writer, protected by copyright, but once it’s applied to another creative work as in films and television, the reproduction issues are very different than with printed books from original manuscripts.
What I understand the WGA is asking for is an increase in the scope of royalties from works that use copyright-protected written works from screenplays. The issue is royalties, not copyrights, for “new media” (as it has been for “old media”).
Comment by November — November 4, 2007 @ 4:36 am
My fervent hope is that the WGA walkout turns out to be a stroke of genius. A quick resolution to the WGA strike would make a SAG strike less likely next year since many common issues would be addressed. The entire industry would be better off for it. While I have the resources (and low overhead) to survive a lengthy strike, many of my friends do not. I’m very worried about them, especially those with children. Let’s pray this strike ends soon.
Comment by tempest — November 4, 2007 @ 9:31 am
Jessy S: Nope, there’s no reason for the studios to withhold new programming to withhold writers’ payments. Writers have already been paid for their work on it. Initial payment isn’t linked to broadcast or theatrical release.
Comment by Mike S — November 4, 2007 @ 12:17 pm
Tempest: Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about a SAG strike. WGA and SAG officials talk all the time, and WGA won’t make a deal that will imply a deal for SAG via pattern bargaining that SAG wouldn’t accept.
In a lot of ways, this strike is a proxy strike to avoid a bigger and more painful SAG strike later on. (So SAG, and everyone else, really needs to do everything possible to support it.)
Comment by Mike S — November 4, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
The interesting thing here is for the non WGA struggling screenwriter who has just completed a 95 page script for a movie.
Is this a bad time for his/her?
Is this a good time to break in?
Comment by Charles Lander — November 12, 2007 @ 8:45 am
I can’t believe their actually on strike. Who would think Hollywood would go on strike.
Comment by Duglas — February 12, 2008 @ 4:49 pm