(10:30 PM: I CAN'T KEEP MY EYES OPEN. SO SORRY. I'LL POST DETAILS ABOUT WEDNESDAY'S STRIKE NEWS AND MORE UPDATES ON THURSDAY AM.)
I'm collecting details from today's meeting of about 100 showrunners. It resulted in a heated and very vocal debate. I'll have more details for you momentarily.
Also, Variety just put online a story "Deal Or No Deal" that's written so ridiculously just from AMPTP's point of view that the trade should really change its name to No Variety and thus reflect that it's nothing more now than the producer's daily newsletter. Today, the New York Observer explores these accusations by myself and others and speculates why.
So film director Joe Carnahan posted a jejune rant on his blog about the strike. Coming from the guy who holds the world record for stars pulling out of his movies weeks before production (Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon), he nevertheless attacks the actors who are offering support to the picket lines and claims to want to see violence: "Kids: Only in L.A. would people use a strike as an opportunity to put themselves in front of cameras for the pure PR of it all. There's not a greater whorehouse on the planet than Hollywood. I love watching these various stars of varying stripes traipse out and 'show their support' by delivering baked goods and urging their creative brethren to 'fight the good fight' and 'soldier on.' We need some good old fashioned chain and bat wielding strike breakers. Not because I'm anti-union in any way, I just want to see a little melee on the picket lines to keep it interesting. Sh*t, if we're gonna fight this hard and shut the town down, we should all be tasting a little blood at some point. Thoughts?"
Yeah, my thoughts are that he's an incredible asshole.
AMPTP informs me that, despite the anecdotes I've been posting on Day 1, Day 2 and now Day 3 of the WGA strike, "as of yesterday, there were NO SIGNS of Teamsters not crossing the picket lines, especially since a few studios made arrangements to have deliveries made to an off-site location so the Teamsters wouldn't have to physically cross."
For the above photo, my pal's camera just caught Patricia Heaton, now of Fox's Back To You but formerly of CBS' Everyone Loves Raymond, picketing the Pico Blvd studio.
Today, it's ICM's turn to deliver 1 PM pizzas to the picketers outside Fox.
Right now, in unison, everyone summon the ghost of Lew Wasserman, who used to defuse Hollywood labor strife before it detonated into strikes. (OK, so maybe the organized crime connections helped, but what's a little knee-capping among pals?) On the other hand, Wasserman once gave valuable advice to Bernie Brillstein when the manager had accepted a job to be a movie mogul and was negotiating the contract: "Just keep saying, 'More.'"
Single Writer Picketing seeks Single Writer Picketing: I'm told it took one very funny and ridiculously tall writer to come up with the idea, and one sympathetic married writer to name the place. So... "Single Strikers Picketing". Date: Thursday, 1:00pm - 5:00pm. Place: Intersection of Galaxy and Avenue of the Stars. (Unfortunately, by the time this strike gets settled, writers could meet, marry and have a baby with weeks to spare.)
UPDATE: Reports from Disney gate tell me the showrunners are out in full force. One estimate that "there must be over 120 people overflowing the sidewalks". And here I'd always been told there was a shortage of showrunners in the TV industry...
WGA press bulletin that Grey's Anatomy stars Katherine Heigl and Sandra Oh and T.R. Knight will walk the picket line at Prospect Studios in Los Angeles today. As I mentioned yesterday, the next weeks and months are going to be heaven on earth for tourists from around the world hoping to catch glimpses of TV and movie celebrities in their new natural habitats: the picket lines. This could also pump up the local economy, folks. If anyone in Los Angeles city government had a brain, they'd market the hell out of this.
In fact, all 15 strike locations could be the next big thing in terms of tourist attractions -- bigger than Disneyland, bigger than Universal Studios Tours. Maybe the WGA should go out and hire the open-air buses and compete with the theme parks.
I'm tipped that Felicity Huffman and husband Bill Macy coming to the Universal main entrance to picket Black Tower today. And I've already reported that 75 showrunners are supposed to be showing up at the Disney gate en masse.
I just heard the WGAW is putting together an Internet ad campaign featuring high profile actors expressing support "for the Hollywood talent community's creative rights". Note to agents and flacks: this could get very competitive...
Later today, I'll unveil the winner of the "Endeavor agent talking to client on the picket line" caption contest. So many funny entries that I literally fell off my chair laughing.
MORE
Keep up the great work, Nikki!
And please tell everyone you know, a residual is not a royalty, it is not a commission. It is residual (”left over”) payment for work already completed. Payment that has been deferred until money is made, and then it is due. If money is made streaming a TV show or movie, a residual payment is now due. It’s simple– if the studios make a profit those that created the work generating the profit make a tiny piece too.
Comment by George Glass — November 7, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
FYI- I work for a (hyphenate) director-producer and I was just told if the strike lasts until nov 30th I am out of a job. However, Disney is offering a small severance, so that is good. But shoot, I thought I had more time left…..
Comment by DISNEYwqorker — November 7, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
How are they picking which shows filming in the community they’re picketing? Is it just a matter of what’s convenient for the writers as far as access? People talked a lot about Desperate Housewives being interrupted, but Numbers has been peacefully filming (or at least parking the trucks and crew people there) at Holman United Methodist Church and in the general area around it all day. It’s on Adams Blvd., the 3300 block. Stuff films at that site and along that section of the street all the time.
Comment by South of the 10 — November 7, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
I am a little curious about one thing - and I have no grudge with people getting whatever money they can from the studios - so here goes - but haven’t the writers/showrunners/actors already been paid for the scripts being shot now? Won’t they recieve more money once they air? Won’t all the reruns put even more money into those pockets? MIND YOU I BELIEVE IT IS DESERVED BY THE WRITERS NO FLAMING PLEASE.
That said, isn’t it a little much to ask of the crew hourly wage workers to stop working for you? REMEMBER THESE ARE SCRIPTS GUILD MEMBERS WROTE - NO SCAB SCRIPTS. Every person on my crew of 5 will lose their house/apartment/car if this is protracted. That’s just the 5 guys I work with. I imagine it would extrapolate rather nicely(?) to the rest of the industry. So shouldn’t you give them a break and let them finish out their 2 weeks or so in dignity?
It’s easy to tell a workers truck from the $150000 Mercedes rolling into the lot.
These are the people who work in the commissary making $10 an hour? The laborers who keep the toilets clean in the writers areas? Have you ever given them a second thought prior to today, when they needed to cross the line to get to their jobs to feed their families?
Get what you can, but think of the people who “just” work for a living, and give them a break.
I’m also curious to see how many “new” scripts will appear the day after this is over, and how many lawsuits will pop up from stories told/stolen on the picket line;-)
Comment by curious — November 7, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
Hey Nikki, I love your blog. I just wish you wouldn’t edit the posts with “MORE” the way that you do. It’s annoying to have to re-read your posts every time you update, trying to figure out what’s new. I think it would be so much better if you just created a new post to report whatever’s new.
Just one person’s opinion. Thanks for the great coverage!
Comment by Hates Refreshing — November 7, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
Thanks for all the info. Re: Heaton’s hand made sign - i think we’ll see that more and more - a guy had a good one at Sony “Honk If You Appreciate Well-Crafted Act Breaks.” But aside from the expected “cooling off” period - these two sides better schedule another sitdown soon. Everyone I know feels their spirits sink to the gutter when they hear that no new negotiations are scheduled. We can’t get a fair deal without sitting down to discuss a fair deal, so sit down - it won’t be fun but you are a NEGOTIATING committee, so negotiate. I really think it’ll help everyone on the picket lines to know that some kind of meeting is on the books.
Comment by skoonix — November 7, 2007 @ 4:10 pm
From the home office in Los Angeles, California…
TOP 10 REASONS TO STRIKE
10. A chance to wave a friendly hello to arriving
studio execs, even if I only use one finger
9. Get to eat cookies, pizza and Krispy Kreme then
walk it off
8. I look good in red
7. Ahhhh, sunlight
6. Divorce is impossible but a good custody fight gets
my blood pumping
5. America needs more Darnell
4. Hoping that my jokes on line will save my
development deal
3. My therapist says that chanting can be therapeutic
2. Residual anger
AND THE #1 REASON TO STRIKE:
1. Want to give Julie Chen a leg up in the world
Comment by Walk The Line — November 7, 2007 @ 4:10 pm
If this strike lasts until June, the Guild will fracture. Perhaps irreparably.
The sad truth is this: as writers, we don’t have much power. Sure, we can shut down some shows but is that really going to force these massive, diversified conglomerates to buckle? Don’t forget, we’re negotiating against the likes of Rupert Murdoch.
What’s particularly distressing is that as this strike continues, many of our fellow writers’ expectations will increase proportionately. In other words, if we wait until June, then the deal we get better be pretty fuckin’ great.
Unfortunately, that’s not the way these things work. The reality is that we’re gonna most likely get the same shitty deal in June that we would’ve gotten this week.
We work in a business. While we may be artists, we work for businessmen and, for them, we are a commodity that’s bought and sold. I don’t begrudge them this either. In fact, I cringe every time I read some post about the greed and ruthlessness of the producers. Sadly, they’re doing their jobs. This is what they do. They are making what they consider to be sound business decisions.
Are we?
Was this strike a good business decision or was it an emotional reaction to what we perceived to be a lack of respect?
I know that for me and my family, striking was an awful business decision. I would rather have continued to work as the contract was negotiated.
I applaud Shawn Ryan for “giving up” working on The Unit, The Oaks and on the final ep of The Shield. You know what, though? Those are just fuckin’ television shows. I’m giving up my mortgage and things that my family needs to survive.
Comment by The Middle Class — November 7, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
Walked the picket line today at Chelsea Piers with the WGAE. TONS of late night comedy writers out in full force. Sam Waterson and Richard Belzer (the former in a bright orange Public Theatre pullover, the latter bearing sub sandwiches) came out and walked the line for an hour or so.
I’m told the lines tomorrow at Columbus Circle will be full of actors and well-attended by the press. Stay tuned.
Comment by Your Kid at NYU — November 7, 2007 @ 4:14 pm
Glass
I have heard from 22 sites on the web including United Hollywood and Mark Evanier that a residual is the same as a royalty when you sell a book. So you are either mistaken or lying.
Comment by Bouncng Castle — November 7, 2007 @ 4:46 pm
Sorry to burst AMPTP’s bubble, but I’ve personally witnessed a number of Teamsters refuse to cross the picket lines at Sony. The majority of them park their trucks outside the gates, waiting for the guards to step past us and retrieve the goods. If that doesn’t happen, the Teamsters simply drive off. And I have heard from fellow writers at different studios that the same thing is going on elsewhere.
Comment by Amy — November 7, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
As long as the IA and the WGA rank and file believe they are pitted against each other, a la Curious’s post, the story will not be understood. Meaning: Unions are formed to protect labor from capital (and sometimes management, but mostly capital in the form of ownership). What makes the WGA (and DGA and SAG) difficult unions to support is that frequently, some of the members enjoy ownership as well (in the form of points).
Most of the people walking the line, it seems to me, have more in common with the guy driving “the workers truck” and not the exec driving the Mercedes. And if it weren’t for the publicity that a few very successful writers bring to the line, it’s likely most of the MSM will move on from this story faster than you can write Lindsay Lohan.
What’s among the saddest sidebars to this whole story is how little anyone posting here knows of the history of the WGA, of the labor movement, or of why they are needed in the entertainment field. If more of us knew that, comments like Curious’s would disappear, not because he or she would be shut down from speaking his or her mind, but because the writer would know one very important point:
Pitting the WGA against the IA against the DGA et al. is exactly what Capital wants - there is no strength without collective bargaining; We all benefit from that which unions have fought for over the past 100 years.
Comment by NYC Line Producer — November 7, 2007 @ 5:06 pm
One thing you say in your report, Nikki, raises a question:
…I broke the story pre-strike that the Big Media and Hollywood CEOs viewed this TV season as a total loss and welcomed the walkout as an automatic “do-over” that would allow them to regroup and then refashion their business models.
Are the networks really willing to let go of all the advertising revenue they’d lose from running a full season of reruns?
Already the advertisers on Letterman, Leno, and other Talk Shows shows must be calling up asking for rebates. They paid those rates for first-run shows. I’m only guessing, but I’m willing to bet they won’t pay top dollar for reruns. This can’t be good for their bottom line. Will they lose more money than if they just paid the higher DVD residuals?
Comment by A cable animation writer not covered by the WGA. — November 7, 2007 @ 5:17 pm
Thank you Curious. I work at Universal Studios catering department. Many of us part time waiters are S.A.G. members. None of us want to cross the picket line. We support our brothers and sisters in their struggle. But we are not series regulars or bankable stars. More than a few of us are, though talented, not easily castable. For example many of the waiters that work with me are Asian American actors. The reason they must work in catering is because those writers aren’t writing enough Asian characters. We must support ourselves and our families serving food, pouring wine and passing trays of canapes for the stars, producers and studio heads. And then we only work when events are booked and scheduled. And there’s no residual payment for serving Salmon Filet. So, give us a break, let us our right to work.
Here’s a thought. Actors should deliver donuts and sandwiches to the picket lines. Then they get to network with the creaters. The storytellers. A great opportunity to talk to them about diversity.
Comment by Actor/Waiter — November 7, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
The strike will end when the studios and networks get rid of all the overpriced production deals and excess development executives that probably shouldn’t have been given deals in the first place. It’s like every five or ten years when you clean out your garage or basement and wonder why you bought half that crap in the first place.
Michael D
Comment by Michael D — November 7, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
Just because the AMPTP says the Teamsters made all of their deliveries doesn’t mean it’s true. I’m sure they’d be denying that actors were joining the writers if there wasn’t photographic evidence to prove it. It’s in the AMPTP’s interest to lie, just as it’s in the studios interests to pretend they’re happy to be rid of this entire season of TV. Give me a break! They’re going to lose ten of millions in ad dollars! These giant corporations are rich, sure. But they’re like sharks. They have to keep moving and constantly produce content or they will sink. This is all part of a larger attempt to pysch-out the writers. Remember all the stockpiling talk that was going around all summer? The studios made it sound like they’d be shooting TV shows until the cows came home, instead many shows are shutting down immediately, and not just late night talk shows. There was no stockpiling. They were bluffing and now that the bluff has been called, the lie has been exposed. My advice to the writers: do not believe anything these guys say. Every word of it is spin aimed at demoralizing you.
Comment by Don't Believe the Hype — November 7, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
Teamsters are not crossing. Not all of them, but it is happening. Also, regardless, shows are shutting down much quicker than was anticipated as documented in all the trades.
Comment by Mike — November 7, 2007 @ 8:01 pm
Well put. It should be transparently obvious that everything that comes out from the AMPTP is sheer bluster, plus not a few outright lies. The shareholders of all these corporations will not be happy if they destroy a large chunk of their business. They like to pretend they have the upper hand in this, but nothing could be further from the truth. They may be technically able to absorb such losses, but such a thing is unconscionable in the business world.
Comment by NYer — November 7, 2007 @ 8:32 pm
Actor/waiter,
I think you’d be surprised at who the writers “cast” in their scripts. I’m not saying *all* writers are sensitive to diversity issues, but as a whole, we’re interested in telling all sorts of stories about a variety of people.
However what’s written and what gets shot are two totally different things. This is mostly due to producers and “creative” executives at studios who insist on rewriting or recasting a script to market it to their desired demographic.
The writers I know are on your side.
Comment by Minority writer — November 7, 2007 @ 8:44 pm
I was at CBS on Beverly Blvd. yesterday morning when a beautiful teamster pulled his big yellow truck up to the curb, got out and REFUSED to cross the line. We cheered him royally. I was there. I know it happened. No matter what the AMPTP says.
Comment by Connecticut Yankee — November 7, 2007 @ 8:49 pm
I hope that all of you will take a minute and send an e-mail to the producers imploring them to continue negotiating so that the writers strike will end soon. The producers have STOPPED negotiating and today industry analysts predicted that the strike will continue till June 2008!
Please send the AMPTP - Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers an e-mail by going to their web site:
http://www.amptp.org/contactus.html
Please ask all of your friends to send an e-mail and then ask their friends to send e-mails as well.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Producers, please return to the bargaining table. Many people who are not writers are being affected by this strike. Many live paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford for this strike to go on. The perception with most people is that the producers are just being greedy. After all, most of you do not live paycheck to paycheck. Your mansions will not go into foreclosure and your mercedes won’t get repossessed, if you miss a television season. The sad reality is that if this strike lingers everyone will loose. In a few weeks a lot of people will stop watching television all together because there will be no satisfaction in watching tired old reruns, not when you can find new and exciting entertainment via the internet. The advertisers will follow and go where the people are going. Then television will go the way of the dinosaur…
Comment by Jen — November 7, 2007 @ 9:02 pm
Bravo, “Don’t Believe The Hype”! It is a breath of fresh air to hear someone with an opinion other than “This is gonna be a long hard one. Buckle down.” As a TV writer, I am scared like everyone else but I feel like our creative, neurotic minds are fueling a mass hysteria. I am trying to not let the mind games get to me but it’s not easy . Thanks for a fresh perspective.
Comment by merryj — November 7, 2007 @ 9:15 pm
An irrational thought from Rational Man. Carnahan’s rant on his blog? A) He does sound like an asshole. B) I kinda agree with him.
We need to shut down production. We need to strengthen the union. We need to out and humiliate hyphenate scabs.
Comment by RM — November 7, 2007 @ 10:32 pm
Don’t fool yourself. If this strike goes to June, yes, there will be some unhappy writers. But Peter Chernin himself (the $46 million a year wonder) said the studio would be in trouble if a strike went that long. yes, the studios can clean out their trash, but if this strikes goes into next year’s TV season and no new shows are in the can for fall, TV as we know it will be over. The networks will suffer irreparable harm. I personally believe that is when the writers will have the most bargaining position. If writers can tough it out until then, I say take the DVD formula up to 50 cents apiece and keep raising it until the stock holders of the opposition is forced to stop the hemmorage.
Comment by Rupert Murderock — November 7, 2007 @ 10:40 pm
A quote from Michael Eisner. Posted on the AMPTP’s website.
“For a writer to give up today’s money for a nonexistent piece of the future — they should do it in three years, shouldn’t be doing it now — they are misguided they should not have gone on the strike. I’ve seen stupid strikes, I’ve seen less stupid strikes, and this strike is just a stupid strike.”
This from the jerk-o*f that ran ABC into the ground.
Did we retire you, a**hole? Just relax in the pasture and chew you cud.
Comment by slk writer — November 8, 2007 @ 2:09 am
Excellent point, Murderock! These corporations are huge and powerful no doubt, but they cannot weather stormy times. Unlike say the auto industry, these guys aren’t sitting on billions in cash reserves. A single flop like POSEIDON rattles all of Time-Warner and puts the stock in a nose dive.
With all of the other problems going on in the economy right now, Wall Street isn’t going to like where this leads. The fiscal year ends Jan 31. Once the earnings reports for the 4th quarter get turned in, this thing is over. More likely, the AMPTP will start seriously negotiating long before then, as they know once the bad news hits Wall Street, the writers will be empowered to hold out for more. Therefore, it’s in the AMPTP’s best interest to end the strike before those earnings reports are released.
Last, let’s not forget the feature film angle. Due to the longer time necessary to make a feature, the studios have movies through next Christmas, it’s true. In theory, they won’t feel the pain of the strike like the TV side will. But they cannot let this strike go into summer, or let the actors join in. Next summer is their window to make their tentpoles for summer 09. BILLIONS of dollars are riding on those films. No matter how much they huff and puff (and bluff) these guys will NEVER miss their window to make those movies, including the last Harry Potter film.
So yes, the strike may last awhile, well into next year. But it will never go into June, and the actors will never go on strike. If the writers can hold out long enough, these companies will fold and give the writers EVERYTHING they’re asking for. And, perhaps most importantly, the AMPTP will never again take the WGA’s threat to strike so lightly. The AMPTP will finally recognize that writers do have some power, and as a result, they will be forced to actually negotiate in good faith, something they have not done in years.
STAND STRONG WRITERS! THIS IS YOUR MOMENT!
Comment by Don't Believe the Hype — November 8, 2007 @ 11:03 am
Yes, everyone’s forgotten about features because of course TV is the sharp end. But the AMPTP is kind of screwed in features as well, longer term. They say they have a year’s worth of features ready to roll, but I know for a fact it isn’t true. The scripts simply aren’t finished. All scripts are rewritten in the run-up to production… it’s just a fact of life. I’m not just talking A-H. You cast an A-list actor, he has problems with the characterisation, it has to be changed. The studio isn’t totally convinced about the ending. They ain’t gonna roll $100m on it, trust me.
It is one thing to greenlight a $70m movie knowing it can be rewritten in preproduction to fix the problems that arise. It is quite another to greenlight a $70m movie knowing that the problems that are in the script are gonna stay there.
The last movie I worked on would have collapsed without a 2-week rewrite four weeks before principal photography. This is not by any means an uncommon scenario.
Comment by John Brownlow — November 8, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
re: Joe Carnahan’s rant.
it won’t be long before there WILL be melees on the picket lines. youre only an asshole becuz you are excited about it. when it actually happens it will be ugly. people will be losing their medical benefits and homes, and thier gonna take their anger to the line. gonna be sad.
Comment by soprano — November 9, 2007 @ 12:18 am
I’m another casualty…laid off on thursday from a top 10 show….one thing no one seems to understand…the corporations..GE, Sony Corp etc don’t give a flying f….k about the film an tv business…we are a small percentage of their bottom line….chew on this…the percentage of film and tv to Sony’s bottom line…approx. 6%……how about this….the more money the corporations make profit wise the more pilots they order, the more shows they pick up to series, the more features are made THE MORE WORK FOR ALL OF US!!!
Comment by another wga casualty — November 10, 2007 @ 11:16 pm
“Excellent point, Murderock! These corporations are huge and powerful no doubt, but they cannot weather stormy times. Unlike say the auto industry, these guys aren’t sitting on billions in cash reserves. A single flop like POSEIDON rattles all of Time-Warner and puts the stock in a nose dive.”
http://finance.google.com/
please read, become informed, then come back here and comment.
Big media will be able to hold out a lot longer than the writers, to think otherwise is delusional.
Comment by Joe Black — November 11, 2007 @ 8:25 am
Hey keep these posts coming, i hope the strike will end soon,
Comment by jade — November 12, 2007 @ 10:11 am
The studios have not yet realized that they have already lost. Why? Because the historic sustainably strategic advantages of the studios were (a) a distribution network (b) cash (c) relationships with talent.
The internet will inexorably break the control over distribution - anyone can set up an internet TV ’station’ or stream media and cash is not a problem with a good business plan. The one thing that the studios could retain ‘control’ of was relationships with talent. But it is precisely those relationships that they are presently destroying. Without the talent relationships to generate a stream of content the media business is wide open to anyone who can figure out how to monetize content in the internet world. And that need not be the studios. It could be, for example, google or microsoft.
The studios have already lost because if they pay us off now - they lose. If they let us strike for 6 months then give us a deal - they lose. But ironically the very worst scenario for them is that they grind us down over say 4-5 months and stick us with a lousy deal. This is the DVD scenario.
But this time, as the internet technology matures and people figure out how to put together a viable business model the talent will desert the media companies like rats leaving a sinking ship. All they will be left with is sports and huge overhead.
These companies are dinosaurs and they’re making all the wrong moves.
Comment by pete — December 24, 2007 @ 1:42 am
Writers choose this profession , it’s not an easy one is it ? You all wanted to become writers , so make it work . Don’t sit around waiting for these residual checks . Go out and get another job to supplement your income .that’s what I DiD when u went on strike in November
get off your lazy picket line and work u fools. I now loathe u writers ur greedy and wasting time . You wanted to be a writer so go make it work at your own expense . You also choose to strike . I will now go back to work
Comment by Anonymous — February 7, 2008 @ 8:33 am