WGAW President Patric M. Verrone and WGAE President Michael Winship today issued the following message regarding the AMPTP-WGA negotiations which appear to be breaking down. (For background, see my previous, Talks Day #7: AMPTP "Stalling Tactics"; Are The Moguls About To Quit The Talks?) The AMPTP immediately followed with a statement of its own (see below). Who's telling the truth? I think from these dueling statements the answer is clear:
Dear Fellow Members,
Before we head into negotiations this morning, we want to give you an update on where we stand. On Tuesday, after the companies had requested a four-day break so they could work on their proposals, we returned to the bargaining table. We presented a counter proposal to their streaming proposal of November 29. They presented no new proposals. On Wednesday, the AMPTP again had no new proposals, but they did have detailed questions about our streaming counter proposal and other aspects of our overall proposals – and from the give and take of those discussions, we felt that they might finally be ready to engage in serious bargaining. They told us they would have new proposals for us Thursday. On Thursday, we met at 10am, and they told us their new proposals would be ready shortly. At 5 PM, they told us their proposals still weren’t ready, that they would be working on them late into the night, and that we should come back this morning at 10am. The fact that we saw everyone from the AMPTP leave the building by 6:45pm is not a promising sign, but we will be at the table at 10 AM this morning, ready to receive their new proposal.We’d like to address some of the disturbing rumors and back channel communications we’ve been hearing. For one, we’ve heard that one or more of the companies are prepared to throw away the spring and fall TV season, plus features, and prolong the strike. Aside from the devastating effect this would have on the unions, workers, and their families in this industry, it would certainly explain the AMPTP’s refusal to put any new proposals, even a bad one, on the table. Also, highly placed executives have been telling some of our writers that the companies are preparing to abruptly cut off negotiations. They say the companies plan to accuse the WGA of stalling and being unwilling to negotiate, and that the companies will use that as an excuse to walk out.
The Writers Guilds of America, West and East are going on record now that any such claims are absolutely untrue. We have been at the negotiating table every day, willing to bargain. Furthermore, we hereby challenge the AMPTP to negotiate in good faith, day and night, through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays – whatever is necessary – to get this done and get the town back to work. The Writers Guilds will remain at the table every day, for as long as it takes, to make a fair deal.
Thank you for your patience, support, and solidarity through these difficult times. Please come to the Freemantle rally today. We remain all in this together.
Patric M. Verrone
Writers Guild of America, West
&
Michael Winship
President
Writers Guild of America, East
And here is the AMPTP statement answering it:
The WGA's organizers sent a letter to WGA members today that contains a series of factual mistakes.
WGA Organizer Statement
"[T]he companies had requested a four-day break so they could work on their proposals."
The Facts
On Nov. 29, the WGA's organizers requested the four-day break after the producers presented their proposed New Economic Partnership.
WGA Organizer Statement
The producers "told us they would have new proposals."
The Facts
The producers did present a new proposal, the New Economic Partnership, which would increase the average working writer's salary to more than $230,000 a year. The WGA's organizers have yet to respond directly to that proposal, preferring instead to focus on jurisdictional issues in the areas of reality and animation television.
WGA Organizer Statement
"We have been at the negotiating table every day, willing to bargain."
The Facts
The WGA's organizers actually spend relatively little time at the negotiating table. The WGA's organizers sought a four-day break, and when they returned sessions that were supposed to begin at 10:00 am often did not start until after lunchtime. When they are at the negotiating site, WGA organizers typically spend as much time speaking among themselves as they do at the negotiating table.
WGA Organizer Statement
"We will remain at the table every day, for as long as it takes, to make a fair deal."
The Facts
The WGA's organizers refused repeated requests by the producers to begin negotiations much earlier, in the spring of 2007. Had negotiations begun when the producers wanted them to start, perhaps the industry would not now be in the midst of this strike.
Amateurs.
Comment by ChuckT — December 7, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Patrick
You wanted this strike.
Nothing was going to stop you from getting it.
33 days? Call me after day 150.
People haven’t even started to get as hurt as they will get.
And when it is all done Patrick you’ll accept any deal they offer.
That’s how you roll.
Comment by Bouncing Castle — December 7, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Well said…
Let’s stick it out. Hell or highwater, every day between now and Christmas. We elected this slate on the understanding that they’d be willing to “go to the mat.” I applaud their willingness to do so. Even if the AMPTP walks out and spends their holidays down in Palm Springs, drinking baby’s blood or whatever it is they do, I and a lot of writers would be glad to see our guild negotiators heading to the table every day and waiting there with their bag lunches and laptops.
How can this go on this long? The AMPTP should understand that what they’re offering essentially means the end of our lives as writers as we know them. We don’t really have the option of giving in.
It begins here. I think it’s up to the corporations to decide where it ends. If so many of my friends weren’t suffering, this would be fascinating. But it’s not, it’s just sad. How far back in time do they want to push us? Past health care? Past a living wage? The limitless depths of greed continue to amaze me. And IA brothers, before you comment, remember, if we lose this, you’re healthcare will most likely get cut in half, as your own residuals will disappear. So you can call us spoiled millionaires…but only if you’re single and really, really healthy.
PS, everyone should visit the United Hollywood link to Bill Moyers show so they can send letters about media consolidation!
thanks!
Comment by Strikingwriter — December 7, 2007 @ 11:10 am
Well, it’s not exactly “progress is being made!”, but I’ll take it. Keep at it, WGA.
Comment by Caitlin — December 7, 2007 @ 11:11 am
I personally believe that all the rumors and side speculation is only hurting talks. Each side is trying to make themselves look bigger and better than the other in the publics eyes. I sincerely wish that both sides would just shut up completely and lock themselves in a room till this situation is rectified. This b.s. back and forth has gone on far too long now. My best wishes to all the crew members who will not be able to provide their families with the christmas they deserve because of this situation.
Comment by Anton Chigurgh — December 7, 2007 @ 11:13 am
The gauntlet has been thrown down. Will the AMPTP accept the challenge or get bogged down in back and forth mudslinging bullshit that makes these negotiations feel more and more like kids bitching on the playground, when there are real issues to be resolved.
Comment by MT — December 7, 2007 @ 11:27 am
This doesn’t sound too good. My prayers go out to those currently out of work, or soon to be out of work.
Comment by E.L. — December 7, 2007 @ 11:27 am
Good Lord. Why doesn’t the WGA pull all the picket lines off the studios (that are basically shut down now,) and put 4000 picketers in front and all around the AMPTP building in Encino? And put in a 24/7 line around it?
Comment by Julius Fort — December 7, 2007 @ 11:27 am
Any one else bored with the AMPTP already?
And these guys are supposed to be some sort of Big Media industry kings? The longer this drags out, the more clueless and out of touch the AMPTP appears.
AMPTP: there’s this great thing called google.com
It’s a search engine. Any one with internet access can use google including below the line crew as well as the general public. Simply type in words and you’ll get lists of web sites that have information related to the search query. Try typing “new media”+advertising+revenue and see what you find because no one is buying your bullsh*t.
Negotiate already so we can all go back to work.
Comment by s — December 7, 2007 @ 11:29 am
This is a smart move. One of the first times the WGA is actually out in front of things, PR-wise. Well done, gents.
Comment by MJ — December 7, 2007 @ 11:32 am
Fuck the AMPTP. We’ll stay out as long as it takes to get a fair deal. This is for our future, and for the very survival of a writers guild at all. So let the AMPTP spin, and pose, and stall. Their tactics are irrelevant. They have miscalculated; we will wait them out.
Comment by Anonymous WGA member — December 7, 2007 @ 11:53 am
Totally reads like a “We’re doing the best we can but we can’t understand what the hell the AMPTP’s agenda is” kind of letter…
Comment by So Sad — December 7, 2007 @ 11:53 am
Maybe this is a good time for the show runners to pack it up and go back home and not give them more finished product.
Comment by realworldperson — December 7, 2007 @ 11:55 am
I think the WGA was very smart to do this. The AMPTP simply can’t walk away from the table now without looking bad to the press (yes, even Variety) and further uniting the writers.
If they walk away now, I’d think even the DGA would have to take notice of such tactics and align with the writers and hopefully flat-out refuse to start negotiations.
If this forces the AMPTP to abort their “walk out” plan and stay at the bargaining table, it would stop them from trying to negotiate with the DGA at the same time.
Kind of brilliant.
Comment by Jimmy — December 7, 2007 @ 11:55 am
Notice how they dismissed the rumors of studio malfeasance by insisting “we have been at the negotiating table everyday, willing to bargain.” By “we,” I’m assuming they’re referring to the WGA. That doesn’t mean the AMPTP has the same objective. Methinks Messrs. Verrone and Winship are being played like a Stradivarius.
As someone wisely posted a few weeks ago, they’re organizing this strike the way they’d write a strike for a movie. Lots of rhyming chants, dogs with signs, and idealism right out of MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. Nice, but the AMPTP doesn’t work off the same script (it probably uses Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’). More than anything, the moguls want to break this strike just to assuage their own egos.
It’s time to follow what more musicians are starting to do: record their own music, distribute it themselves, keep all the profits and say f*** you to the record companies (who are just as bad as the studios). The technology and outlet is there. All it takes is incentive.
Comment by tom — December 7, 2007 @ 11:55 am
The AMPTP just issued a disclaimer on their web site, disputing much of the WGA email.
Here’s a thought: How about, instead of a third-party negotiator, they get a marriage counselor? This way, maybe they’d both stop acting like children and return to the tables.
“The whole of everything is never told.” — Henry James
Who knows what’s really going on amid all this theater? Whatever the case, it’s certainly not rationality on the part of both sides. I for one am disgusted. And I’m tired of even reading this blog — the drama of it all. Someone, please, wake me when the credits roll . . .
Comment by Washing my hands — December 7, 2007 @ 11:59 am
That’s the beauty of the internet — the AMPTP can’t lie. The truth comes out, instantly, for all the world to see.
No high-end, dirty tactics PR firm can stop the truth — the WRITERS are RIGHT. Their offer is FAIR. Everyone knows it. I’ll sell everything I own and move in with the in-laws before giving in.
GO WGA!
Comment by jerry — December 7, 2007 @ 12:07 pm
Could you be any more pathetic, AMPTP? Well, despite their lies, keep talking. And if negotiations fall apart, take action in some other way. This proves they have nothing to stand on, and when they leave themselves out in the cold, take the advantage and run with it. One way or another, this strike doesn’t have to last as long as they’d like to drag it out to be. If it takes action, go for it. The AMPTP is blowing it’s image by the moment, and if we push, they’ll crumble under the wheight of their own lies.
Comment by Caitlin — December 7, 2007 @ 12:15 pm
“The WGA’s organizers refused repeated requests by the producers to begin negotiations much earlier, in the spring of 2007. Had negotiations begun when the producers wanted them to start, perhaps the industry would not now be in the midst of this strike.”
Riiiiight. I guess that’s why, after the first negotiating session in July 2007, the AMPTP didn’t bother returning to the table until late September.
Comment by JoeGillis — December 7, 2007 @ 12:16 pm
This is where the clout of the tenpercenters, the Big Guns could really come to play. Bring them to the table. Close the damn doors and get it done without these childish conflicting “facts” being casually tossed out the door into the wind.
Would the Big Guns add to the confusion? Too many players and more verbal parsing?
Or could they provide firm hands pushing both sides to a realistic goal-driven agreement?
Let’s play an improved version of “24″ but in real time and see what happens. Adults could get it done.
pb
Comment by pb — December 7, 2007 @ 12:25 pm
Wow.
The WGA reveals rumors that the AMPTP is planning to accuse them of stalling…and voila…the AMPTP comes out with a statement accusing them of stalling!
Shameless.
Comment by In The Know — December 7, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
How would a Spring started have changed anything? The AMPTP would have what, pulled the residual ’study’ proposal off the table earlier than the Thurs. before the strike? Submitted the New! Economic! Partnership! (tm allrightsreserved, voidwhereprohibited) when? Halloween? Labor Day?
It’s one thing to be tough, intransigent negotiators who think they can outlast the writers, but it’s another to just say stupid stuff for the heck of it.
Oh well. Not like it’s a big change.
So, here’s what all us writer’s and FOW (friends of writers) must do - hit this in Washington. Call Boxer, Feinstein etc. and get some media consolidation hearings going. That’s about the only thing that will end this with any haste.
Comment by Scott Kraft — December 7, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
And what the hell is this…
“We will remain at the table every day, for as long as it takes, to make a fair deal.”
The Facts
The WGA’s organizers refused repeated requests by the producers to begin negotiations much earlier, in the spring of 2007. Had negotiations begun when the producers wanted them to start, perhaps the industry would not now be in the midst of this strike.
Huh?
The WGA is talking in the here and now, whilst the AMPTP brings up issues that occured half a year ago.
It’s pretty obvious who wants to make earnest progress and who is stalling here…
Comment by In The Know — December 7, 2007 @ 12:37 pm
-they’re organizing this strike the way they’d write a strike for a movie. Lots of rhyming chants, dogs with signs, and idealism right out of MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. Nice, but the AMPTP doesn’t work off the same script (it probably uses Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’). More than anything, the moguls want to break this strike just to assuage their own egos.
I think that the WGA should start going after the shareholders of the companies that have the most to lose from the strike. Point them to the rumors of the Studios’ willingness to “write off” the Spring and Fall seasons. Hurting their wallets is much more effective than threatening pointless legal action. After all, that is their tactic visa vis the writers. You guys should be doing everything you can in order to do the same to them.
Comment by freelance worker bee — December 7, 2007 @ 12:37 pm
Writers should look elsewhere…
What do the networks and studios provide except capital and distribution? Anyone whose produced independent film understands this.
The markets are awash with capital.
Between cable and internet, distribution is less of a problem than ever before.
Screw the AMPTP. Let’s invite capital and wash ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and Disney out of the system.
It’s time we got serious. And looked elsewhere for our answers.
This is a chance to rewrite the system.
Comment by Simply Stated — December 7, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
This:
“The WGA’s organizers refused repeated requests by the producers to begin negotiations much earlier, in the spring of 2007.”
Is not a refutation of this:
“We will remain at the table every day, for as long as it takes, to make a fair deal.”
The WGA is prepared to talk now, which is all that matters. And you can’t possibly tell me that the AMPTP wanted to avoid this. They had plenty of time to bring an offer forward, all the way up to the moment the strike began.
And notice that they don’t refute any of the important claims, like that they kept the WGA waiting around all day, told them they’d have an offer that night, and then snuck out the back door. That is lame.
Maybe they should hire their 7th PR firm to correct the mistakes of #s 1-6. Getting all bitchy about specific details of he press statement only highlights that they aren’t actually bringing anything to the table.
Comment by Mike — December 7, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
“The AMPTP is blowing it’s image by the moment, and if we push, they’ll crumble under the wheight of their own lies.”
The problem is that the AMPTP doesn’t give a rat’s ass about their image. Their only concern is to execute the agenda the companies dicate to them. And they are more concerned with profit than with image. Gasp.
Comment by In The Know — December 7, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
Hey, I just learned the details of the new proposal that the AMPTP offered yesterday and it will definitely ease the pain. The New Economic Partnership will now come with lube.
Comment by a writer — December 7, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
Sounds like we’re going to need to make sure there’s plenty of rulers near the negotiating table for the dick measuring contest today.
Comment by hmmmmm — December 7, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
How many media moguls/producers/studio execs are in the room? None. The AMPTP are all LAWYERS, they are not producers of anything.
This is a bunch of extremely high paid “labor lawyers” (meaning ANTI-worker) who have no authority to say yes to anything.
The writers are representing actual working people and fighting for all Hollywood unions who’s future security is at risk.
Comment by wtf? — December 7, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
I don’t care if you are WGA or AMPTP-just get it worked out, and get it worked out now. GET BACK TO WORK SO WE CAN ALL GET BACK TO WORK. My business is about to go under because there are no productions. Do I blame producers? Yes. Do I blame the writers? Yes. GET BACK TO WORK, PLEASE!!!! I don’t want to have to close my business down.
Comment by localbusinessman — December 7, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
Wow. The WGA negotiators are now “organizers.” Showrunners like Neal Baer and Carol Mendelsohn and Marc Cherry are now organizers. Screenwriters like Ed Solomon and Stephen Gaghan and Marc Norman are now organizers.
I guess that’s what paying $200,000 for PR gets you. What did the focus group not like the term “WGA death-bringers”?
Comment by Ray Fusion — December 7, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
Pathetic. Do they really think we’re gonna believe them ?
Writers have absolutely no interrest by making the strike last for such a long time, so why the hell would they ?
Shame on you, “I Am pitty”….
Comment by FrenchGuy — December 7, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Apparently, the AMPTP assumes that the media and the public are utterly incapable of discerning the underlying motivations in these press releases. (I assume they know that writers are adept at such an exercise, but it’s not writers they are attempting to sway here.)
Just for fun, let’s uncover a few possible motivations. Or, to put it in simpler terms (in case any members of the non-Finke press read this), who would have reason to lie?
Perhaps one could argue that a motivation for Patrick Verrone to twist the facts would be that he actually enjoys the spotlight and doesn’t want the strike to end anytime soon. Yet in order for this argument to hold any water, one would have to also buy that the entire negotiating committee is complicit in this deception. In other words, show runners and high paid feature writers are willing to continue hemorrhaging money and risking their very careers in order to allow Verrone to prolong “his” strike. Seem the least bit logical? I don’t think so.
Now let’s consider the motivations of the AMPTP. Why would they want to lie here? Hmmm, that’s a tough one, isn’t it. Might it have something to do with certain moguls openly bragging that the strike is going to SAVE them money? Assuming they even partially believe what they are telling their investors and stockholders, I think their motivation is so evident that even a Variety reporter might be able to spot it (or so we can dream).
So, yes, it does seem glaringly evident who is lying here, Nikki. But I wonder how long it will take the non-Finke media to catch on to this?
Comment by srla — December 7, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
“The Facts
The WGA’s organizers actually spend relatively little time at the negotiating table. The WGA’s organizers sought a four-day break, and when they returned sessions that were supposed to begin at 10:00 am often did not start until after lunchtime. When they are at the negotiating site, WGA organizers typically spend as much time speaking among themselves as they do at the negotiating table.”
Wow, really? The AMPTP’s rebuttal is that the WGA organizers don’t start earlier enough and they talk to each other too much when they’re sititng at the table? It’s this a multi-billion dollar negotiation or a third grade classroom?
Gentlemen of the AMPTP, if this is the work of your new, high-powered PR firms, bravo. To them. They just took you to the fucking cleaners. No wonder you all get paid $20 million a year. You’re all clearly worth every fucking penny. What a bunch of fucking tools…
Comment by Insanerator — December 7, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
Wow. That AMPTP statement. Wow. It’s almost Clintonian in its obfuscation:
WGA Organizer Statement
The sky is blue.
The Facts
What is generally referred to as “the sky” is actually atmosphere and therefore, by definition, is colorless. Oh, and David Young eats children.
Sincerely,
The AMPTP
Comment by Marc Guggenheim — December 7, 2007 @ 1:04 pm
What? That doesn’t even make any sense.
On Thursday, December 5th, the AMPTP issued this public end-of-day statement: “We will spend the evening studying what the WGA had to say today, and we look forward to returning to the bargaining table tomorrow.”
So clearly, the WGA had responded to their proposal.
Today is the 7th. So, did they submit a new proposal yesterday? Um. No, they didn’t.
So, how are they claiming that they are waiting on the WGA? Do they really think people are that stupid?
Comment by Jimmy — December 7, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
No one believes the AMPTP.
Also, the WGA letters are detailed and specific. Truth.
AMPTP makes vague generic accusations. They’re so smug that they can obsfuscate and confuse the public. Lies.
Comment by Anonymous — December 7, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
It’s good to know the spin doctors the parties hired are hard at work. Maybe they will set an example for the negotiating teams.
The next official statements will start with the phrase “I’m rubber, you’re glue…”
Comment by Pencils up! — December 7, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
It’s time we got serious. And looked elsewhere for our answers.
This is a chance to rewrite the system.
Why do I get the sense the author of this statement lives with his mother?
Comment by Hmm — December 7, 2007 @ 1:11 pm
Yep… it’s a pissing contest and it looks like the WGA has a stronger stream. Now if it were a “sh*tting” contest the AMPTP would win by a landslide.
Comment by Urologist — December 7, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Chuck T & Bouncing Castle,
What are you guys going to do when the AMPTP lays you off? I would imagine their new PR people will suggest better ways to waste their money than hoping you two blowhards will destroy the morale of the writers reading this site.
And since writers are such “amateurs,” “fools,” and the host of other disparging names you’ve tagged them with, why don’t you post your real, full names? It’s not like writers can blackball you. C’mon. Have some balls. Stand up and let us know who you really are.
Comment by Rob Young — December 7, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
Look at Viacom. When Viacom fired Freston and installed Daumann, they did nothing to improve their product. Instead, Daumann just cut every possible cost. They don’t even offer dental anymore!
And what has happened to Viacom’s stock? It has doubled and is now near its all-time high.
The moguls have seen this and are now following in suit. They are using this strike as a strategy to cut costs. They don’t want a deal anytime soon, as you can see from their behavior.
Sorry, WGA. You better be ready to strike for another year if you want to win this thing…
Comment by Wilson — December 7, 2007 @ 1:17 pm
Something very interesting seems to be brewing behind the scenes and between the cracks for anyone with their ear to the Golden Studio Gates: The “alliance” can’t last. How long will it take before the studios and networks - who are, after all, fierce COMPETITORS - begin to fray at the edges and eventually fall apart? Will Moonves’ ego let him go down as CEO of CBS simply to stand with Fox, WB et all, who have less invested in network dealings than he does? Surely there must be Machiavellian machinations even within this unholy “Alliance,” or this wouldn’t be Hollywood?
Nikki, you’ve hinted at this very concept; any way you can work your inside contacts to get to the heart (no matter how black) of the beast? Other writers commenting here have suggested back-door deals could be struck between the WGA and individual studios. Is this being pursued?
Work their mammoth egos against eachother and their house of cards collapses.
Comment by JB — December 7, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
It sounds like the AMPTP are trying their hardest to irritate the WGA into walking away from the table. If the AMPTP walks away, the DGA probably won’t talk. But if the WGA walks, the AMPTP can claim the moral high ground and open a dialog with the DGA.
Don’t budge. Please!
Despite their bravado, the AMPTP are scared. In their worst case scenario, the strike drags out long enough for the WGA, DGA, and SAG to unite. In so doing, the Guilds dictate the terms of the new contracts, the AMPTP companies suffer huge losses, the jackass CEO’s in charge of those companies all get canned, AND the prolonged strike brings the Government’s attention to the alarming monopolies forming in the field of media. New legislation forces them to disassemble some of their “vertically integrated” corporate structure.
They are moving toward their ‘doomsday’ and despite their chest-thumping, they will do anything to avoid it.
Comment by Writer7 — December 7, 2007 @ 1:19 pm
“What do the networks and studios provide except capital and distribution?”
The biggest thing besides those two is an existing audience and cross promotion. On a network, you can put a new show in-between two shows that already have an audience, and you’re pretty much guaranteed some people watching. TV is a habit, people tend to be lazy and intert, and often people surf between the five major networks and settle on the best of whatever’s on. Plus, the nets constantly advertise their shows during their other shows.
Capital and distribution probably aren’t yet enough to bring in a respectable audience for online content. It will happen at some point, but it will either take a long time and a gradual erosion of broadcast TV, or a major production with big name talent and major MAJOR promotion behind it (and at this point, I’d be skeptical that even that would make much of a splash).
“The problem is that the AMPTP doesn’t give a rat’s ass about their image.”
They do to the degree that bad press makes their stock holders nervous and hurts their stock price. Or at least their bosses in the even bigger corporation that owns their corporation care.
Aren’t the stock prices of most of the parent companies down since the strike started?
Comment by fred — December 7, 2007 @ 1:19 pm
There’s 2 ancient proverbs that come to mind they read
“He who upset writer, make dumbest decision in life”
-Artesian Bromwell
“The snake who walks away from negotiating with the mongoose later becomes dinner for the mongoose’s children”
-Bad Bad Leroy Brown
Comment by Wiseguy — December 7, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
The AMPTP press release indicates precisely how desperately producers need writers.
Whose idea was it to match up singular and plural so haphazardly? Who do I murder for all the dangling modifiers?
(I’m letting it slide for the writers…this time)
The AMPTP’s last, uh, “Facts” also seems poorly conceived. Refuting a present-tense statement in the past tense seems a little like calling to complain about last week’s newspaper.
I’m on strike as a viewer until:
1.) Reality television disappears altogether. If I wanted reality in my television, I’d get a job watching surveillance cameras at the local mall.
2.) Either side elegantly uses grammar to defend their arguments.
3.) Lost comes back on the air. Because let’s face it, I’m addicted.
B.
Comment by Underestimated Middle American — December 7, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
“Waaah! The writers have been tardy! And they keep whispering to each other! Waaaah!”
Comment by K. — December 7, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
http://strikeadeal.blogspot.com
While mommy and daddy continue to fight, the below-the-line kids want the world to know what terrible parents you have become. This Sunday at 9am at Hollywood and Highland, the first below-the-line rally will be held. We want the outside world to see that this isn’t just about studio moguls, writers and actors - it’s about the hundreds of thousands of support staffers you guys (WGA & AMPTP) have put out of work. Don’t lie to us and tell us this was necessary. ABC News writers worked for THREE YEARS on their expired contract before ratifying a new contract this week. Hollywood writers worked for TWO DAYS on their expired contract before striking. Just as none of this was inevitable, a prolonged work stoppage is still avoidable. Be realistic — don’t bring new demands like reality shows into the equation this late in the game. You know that won’t fly! Find a compromise. STRIKE A DEAL! I want to be able to take my kids to Disneyland this Christmas.
Comment by SoonToBeUnemployed — December 7, 2007 @ 1:32 pm
By the way, I don’t think you can call the “New Economic Partnership” a legitimate proposal until you’ve delivered all of it.
Comment by K. — December 7, 2007 @ 1:32 pm
Haha, it just hit me what the translation of the AMPTP’s response is.
“If the WGA had simply done exactly what we’ve told them to do throughout this entire negotiaton and never said anything, none of this would have ever happened.”
lol.
Comment by JImmy — December 7, 2007 @ 1:37 pm
Seriously? This is what the AMPTP has?
All you have to do is scroll back through just this website alone to find that every one of these assertions by them is a lie. In their OWN PRESS RELEASE announcing the New Economic Partnership they said that there was more to come (it hasn’t — and if it has, where is it), we know that the Guild has counter-offered to the few things that were already in their proposal (which they’ve ignored) and, what the hell do they expect the Guild to talk about (other than reality) if they haven’t responded to the counter? Is our team supposed to negotiate against itself?
This is really sad. How much are they paying for PR?
Comment by Ed WGA — December 7, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
I live across the street from a retired writer. He said that he’s been through 4 of these strikes. He was on the negotiating committee of one of them. His words: “It’s pointless to strike. Their brains are filled with much more evil than even a writer can imagine. And they don’t care about signs or PR or picket lines.”
Then he went to play golf.
I wait for my show to come back, or a job. Got about 3 weeks of money left.
Comment by Julius Fort — December 7, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
In the past year, several groups of high-profile screenwriters have banded together to improve their lot and make special deals with the studios that improved their profit participation. These are A-list writers, heavy hitters. As a group they have tremendous clout.
Well here is what’s going to happen in the AMPTP’s stubborness pushes this strike into the Spring… one of these already-formed groups, or a new one, will make an output deal with Google/Apple to produce the spec scripts they are writing right now, and yes they will get the terms the WGA is asking for today, or better: 2.5% of internet revenue from first dollar, etc.
Then the AMPTP companies will wake up and see themselves for the dinosaurs they are rapidly becoming.
Signing off now. Got to catch the latest episode of Quarterlife.
Comment by whippersnapper — December 7, 2007 @ 1:43 pm
The Guild negotiatiors should hunker down in an RV outside AMPTP’s offices. Call it the Ready-to-Deal-Mobile. Then let the studios claim the WGA is stalling.
Comment by Spike — December 7, 2007 @ 1:43 pm
Stop the spin. Put an impartial observer in the room to keep the minutes. Otherwise, play on WGA!
Basically the AMPTP double-speak is pretty easy to follow. You know, like when they say they want to make a deal, it means they don’t. And when they call their proposal a “New Economic Partnership, it means it’s not. So now that they’re leaking it that they don’t care about the new television season, what do you think they really mean?
Godspeed, WGA
Comment by scribefire — December 7, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
Things are getting chippy. Good to know the future of my career will be determined through negotiations that resemble an old People’s Court episode. Where’s Wapner when you need him?
Comment by Guy Who Had to Join the WGA a Week Before the Strike — December 7, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
SoonToBeUnemployed -
I feel for your situation, and for that of all of us non-moguls, but I’m getting tired of the “mommy and daddy are fighting” analogy. That’s like saying that when daddy is beating mommy — or when he’s trying to and mommy is hiding behind a door — that the parents are “fighting.”
Comment by Marc Guggenheim — December 7, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
My favorite part:
The WGA says this:
“We will remain at the table every day, for as long as it takes, to make a fair deal.”
The AMPTP says this:
The WGA’s organizers refused repeated requests by the producers to begin negotiations much earlier, in the spring of 2007. Had negotiations begun when the producers wanted them to start, perhaps the industry would not now be in the midst of this strike.
So, um, their response to us saying we will stay at the table as long as it takes is… “You should’ve negotiated earlier.” They’re getting their money’s worth from those new PR guys.
Comment by dagazzi — December 7, 2007 @ 2:01 pm
Comment by The Great Zoltar — December 7, 2007 @ 2:06 pm
“While mommy and daddy continue to fight, the below-the-line kids want the world to know what terrible parents you have become.”
I don’t think the blog you linked to would appreciate being associated with your whiny comments. You’re completely misrepresenting what they stand for and what they have to say. And their blog is much more mature and even handed than what you wrote.
Comment by fred — December 7, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Dear soontobeunemployed,
You are preaching to the choir. The WGA is ready to make a deal within 24 hours, if only the AMPTP will negotiate in good faith.
Comment by writer — December 7, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
“Soontobeunemployed”: Speaking on behalf of the “Currentlyunemployed” and indeed “Usuallyunemployed”, might I suggest that if you want a speedy end to the strike… walk the line. What you’re really asking people to do (whether you intend to or not) is picket the writers for asking for a fair deal. You’re choosing a side, and frankly it’s the wrong one.
That’s assuming that you’re not “ActuallyemployedbythePRagencyoftheAMPTP”, which I allow is possible… if not likely.
Comment by Simon Jester — December 7, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
The AMPTP comes across like total liars. And lame.
But the WGA!? How dare they try to sneak Reality TV writing in there too! Now — in the middle of a strike! What? Did they think no one would notice? Did they thing the AMPTP would just roll over? Is this about a power grab or treating their membership fairly and getting the best deals for them? Reality TV writers deserve all the benefits etc. they can get but now is not the time to throw that into the negotiations (*if* they did, if that’s accurate). I mean, why doesn’t the WGA just start protesting blog writing, e-mail writing and letter writing to get control of that too!??
I for one am getting soooooo tired of the bickering.
Especially the AMPTP’s last line about how the WGA didn’t do X like X months ago! Are they for real!? Who cares!!! It comes across very childish and like tit for tat. It’s laughable that the AMPTP hired fancy new PR people and this is the best they can come up with. They have so lost the PR battle — but don’t know if they care.
Obvously — neither side really gives a rat’s a-s about ending this.
Which, at some point, will backfire on both of them.
Comment by AnonAnon — December 7, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
“SOONToBeUnemployed”? I’ve been unemployed for five weeks already.
And, why do you think the ABC news writers finally got a contract? Because the WGA strike scared management into moving.
By the way — no one I know who works for Disney can afford to go to Disneyland, strike or no strike. Certainly no one who isn’t covered by some sort of union contract.
Comment by WGA Writer — December 7, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
“How dare they try to sneak Reality TV writing in there too! Now — in the middle of a strike! What? Did they think no one would notice? Did they thing the AMPTP would just roll over? Is this about a power grab or treating their membership fairly and getting the best deals for them?”
I’m having a hard time telling if you’re being serious or sarcastic (especially when you compare writing for reality TV with writing a blog), but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.
They didn’t sneak anything in, there has been debate about jurisdiction of reality TV for months if not longer.
People are just surprised that it is being discussed now, many thought the topic wouldn’t be brought up until the whole internet and DVD rate thing was resolved first.
But they just brought it up because there was nothing else to talk about: the studios promised the other half of their proposal days ago, and never delivered. And after the writers made a counterproposal, days have passed without a response from the studios. The WGA folk are there ready to negotiate, and the studios keep saying they’re not ready to respond to the main sticking points.
Comment by fred — December 7, 2007 @ 2:31 pm
Reality writing jurisdiction has been part of the current WGA set of proposals since the beginning of negotiations. Yesterday was just the first time it was verbalized.
There are many proposals that haven’t been touched on at all yet.
Read the list of proposals on the WGA website: http://www.wga.org/contract_07/proposalsfull2.pdf
These have been in front of the AMPTP for all these months now, and it is not factual to refer any of them as “new.”
Comment by Dave — December 7, 2007 @ 2:34 pm
soontobeunemployed,
Just because Daddy beats both you and Mommy doesn’t mean that it’s Mommy’s fault.
Love,
Mommy
Comment by mommy — December 7, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
Brian Lourd, WHERE ARE YOU?
Comment by e — December 7, 2007 @ 2:39 pm
The WGA is not “sneaking in” reality jurisdiction. It’s been on the agenda the entire time. What moron didn’t think it would be brought up at some point? How foolish do you have to be to believe that the studios were offended by the WGA bringing up something that they said they would always bring up?
Crap. Absolute crap. What business man is offended by ANY negotiation demand that does not involve his wife? Seriously, how you people can buy this crap is amazing.
Dear AMPTP, FACT: I know some writers who are out of work and you guys really need some.
Comment by DA in LA — December 7, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
“Also, highly placed executives have been telling some of our writers that the companies are preparing to abruptly cut off negotiations. They say the companies plan to accuse the WGA of stalling and being unwilling to negotiate, and that the companies will use that as an excuse to walk out.”
I noticed that the AMPTP has responded to most statements in the WGA release except this one. And frankly I find this the most telling omission of all.
Comment by sidelinedactor — December 7, 2007 @ 2:47 pm
Julius,
instead of whining about how much money you got left why didn’t you budget yourself better? stop taking shots at the guild. if you’re a writer you know you’re gonna have to budget and plan ahead.
Comment by Talk Show Wrtier Jack — December 7, 2007 @ 2:48 pm
anonanon –
The reality proposal has been on the table the whole time, from the beginning. I personally don’t think it’s worth it, but there’s no subterfuge there.
Comment by reply to anonanon — December 7, 2007 @ 2:49 pm
Sounds way too much like a playground fight to me and that they are far apart.
Comment by HK — December 7, 2007 @ 2:49 pm
Comment by Writer — December 7, 2007 @ 2:50 pm
Dear SoonToBeUnemployed,
the writers went on strike two days after their contract went out precisely so the studios couldn’t stockpile tons of episodes and then have a much more prolonged strike in the spring. while it may not feel this way now, it actually helps the below the line people that the strike happened so quickly as it means they are much more likely to go back to work for the long haul sooner.
not that being unemployed doesn’t completely suck, and i do feel for you (having had long stretches of it, too, and so am very familiar with the incredible emotional and financial strain it brings) but to think writers should have continued making work that would only prolong a strike seems shortsighted.
let’s hope for everyone’s sake it a reasonable deal is made soon so there can be work for all and the studios can go to making their shareholders a huge profit.
Comment by George Glass — December 7, 2007 @ 2:50 pm
Remember, ignorant AMPTP, Enron thought they were invincible, too.
Unbelievable.
Comment by StandingBehindMyUnion — December 7, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Stop focussing on who’s right, or who’s fair, or who’s behaving badly, and start focussing on who has the power, and try to guess how it will be used. The rest is babytalk. Money and time, which side can afford to lose more of either or both — that determines everything else, and opinions aren’t in it. So can we drop the whining and puerile name-calling?
Comment by Richard Smoker — December 7, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
Writing three years of television shows and films that will be repeated, sold, and distributed in 7 or 8 separate media (film, TV, print, radio, toys, DVD, Ipod, streaming) for the rest of time is nothing like news copy that usually stops making money the moment it exits a reporter’s lips or goes to print once. The above point about ABC News writers working in lieu of a contract assumes that those circumstances mirror the WGA’s, but also neglects to realize that their action undermines contracts and negotiations in the first place. The logic that working around or without prevailing rules and orders is just, in lieu of renegotiation or compromise, also rationalizes our delightful President’s ham-fisted signing statements. It devalues the letter, the intent, the very existence of agreements among all parties involved. Further it devalues contracts between the studio/corporation and ANYONE else working for or with it; if ABC shifts around its terms for person X, what incentive has it to respect its terms for person Y? Saying “Person Y is paid less than person X anyway” only proves my point to the extent that these arguments don’t exist in a vacuum. There are no more or less luxurious ways of waiting for a check, or asking for health insurance coverage. Unless you’ve got a gold infection in your leg. (We at the sports desk can neither confirm nor deny that Mr. Moonves has such an infection, nor that he paid $500,000 out of pocket to have it drained before selling the liquid gold pus at Sotheby’s for $5 mil.)
And while I’m frothing, covering written “reality” shows and taking some time to address DVD residuals isn’t some out-of-the-blue novel concept. These are two more holes in which working writers have been pump-and-dumped for literal years. SoonToBeUnemployed addresses writers and producers as mothers and fathers - where the writers are really your brothers and sisters, and the producers the slow cousins no one likes, because they hog all the pie and ice cream at family get-togethers. Except now the slow cousins banded together and own the companies that make pie and ice cream ingredients. These people own cows (or are them)! Don’t be selectively lactose-intolerant and say you don’t like ice cream, because in that crappy example ice cream represents your entire livelihood stemming from your creative work - whether that’s writing a script or setting up a lighting rig. You’re myopic to the point of willful ignorance if you don’t recognize this as part of a pattern of corporate repression against employees playing out all over our nasty little slice of land.
Comment by Seth — December 7, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
There’s my full name.
Here’s the challenge:
Directors, if you think the writer’s are getting shafted, you’re next.
Actors, if this is a sign of things to come, you’re right.
Now’s it up to you
Stop Directing
Stop Acting
Shut it all down, until everyone settles
No pay, no work.
Cowards!
The big six media CEO’s are laughing all the way to the bank.
God Bless Corporate America.
Shame on all of you.
Comment by Mark Andresen — December 7, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
Congrats to the WGA for the pre-emptive strike. Bravo! Time to show some teeth!
This would also be a good time to turn up the heat and here are a few suggestions:
- Start picketing Wall Street, as well as big media HQ in L.A. and New York.
A large group of fans and writers shouting “collusion” and “funny accounting” might upset the New York suits. Not to mention cheers of selling CBS (CBS Corp), TWX (Time Warner Inc), DIS (Walt Disney Co.), SNE (Sony Corp.), VIA (Viacom), NWS (Fox), and GE (NBC/Universal). I’m sure Jeff Immelt wouldn’t be pleased to find fans of The Office, ER, Heroes picketing the Fairfield, CT HQ.
- Ask A-list actors to show up for petition drives against the FCC’s media consolidation plan on the picket lines.
Why not ask for petition drives to local Congressmen (and maybe the Presidential candidates) to look into the funny accounting. It sure would stop lawsuits against the studios for not paying and/or shorting residuals. Just ask Peter Jackson.
- Remain at the negotiating tables, EVERY DAY!
Hold a press conference. Issue a press release every day, reminding people that the WGA showed up and was ready to receive the second half of the AMPTP proposal and continue negotiating, but the AMPTP were absent. They can spend millions on PR, but actions reveal character. Are you listening Les Moonves?
- Keep a running tab on what the AMPTP is spending on PR and remind shareholders with weekly press conferences.
Shareholders should be upset that their investments are losing value because a couple of dozen guys in expensive suits are in a pissing match with writers, and losing. They might as well piss in the wind.
I wonder what the folks running CalPERS would say? By the way, CalPERS owns big media in a big way: CBS-4.8 million shares; DIS-10.8 million shares; GE-53.9 million shares; NEWS-18 million shares (class A & B); VIA-4.2 million shares; and SNE-2.6 million shares. Doesn’t CalPERS have something in their bylaws about investing in ethical companies?
- Keep producing clear, concise, short, and entertaining videos distributed on the internet.
Let’s face it, the AMPTP and the suits they represent SUCK! They are not funny, nor are they creative (unless it comes to financing a feature). They can’t even lie in a convincing manner. The only thing they seem to prove is that they’re assholes. The writers, on the other hand, are proving where the laughs are day after day. And, apparently they’re on YouTube.com (a Google owned company).
I’ll leave you with some words from Vince Lombardi:
“It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.
“And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.
To the WGA negotiating committee, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and show the AMPTP that you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.
Comment by Jack Burton — December 7, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
The Facts Were These:
At this very moment the Writers Strike of 2007 was 33 days, 16 hours, and 19 minutes old.
Anyone else wish the next statement were “and not a minute older”?
I’m bored. Seriously, can the AMPTP put their PR firm away already? We all understand labor disputes mean compromise, and they aren’t going to break the union, so there is NO POINT to all these shenanigans.
I’m going to go back to my $9/hour assistant job while I still have it.
Comment by Wanna-Writer-Be — December 7, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
Isn’t it so sad how uncreative the AMPTP are when they are lying — which seems to be all the time? It’s astounding to me that every time the WGA tells us what to expect from these “people,” they deliver. Why do they want to prolong this strike? Which, by the way, had to happen and would have happened anyway, so to look back at the Spring is ridiculous. Not only that but the WGA didn’t have the same bargaining chip at that time they did in October and I think our leadership wanted their best to avoid a strike so how could they have avoided it if they didn’t have anything to make the AMPTP nervous about?
Either way, I think it’s a stretch, even if you got a 400 on your S.A.T.’s, for you to think you’re right to blame the writers for the strike. That’s a problem — that it’s called The Writer’s Strike. Not that it shouldn’t be. I suppose that’s accurate, but writers are not to blame for its existence.
In my humble opinion, it’s unfortunate the AMPTP wanted a strike and is relying upon its usual tactics to make our leadership out to be idiots and to attempt manipulating our membership, in order to prolong it. God forbid they actually end the strike by giving writers a fair deal which they could do tonight. But to them, I surmise, that is unthinkable. And when I use the word “fair” it’s almost unbearable what “fair” would cost these studios. Take for instance, CBS. It would cost CBS 4.44 million dollars to end this thing with their contribution and instead they’re spending their cash on some new Spin Dicks. Doesn’t that infuriate the people who are upset about their money running out? Doesn’t that infuriate the other unions? Instead of them hiring Spin Doctors to weave more annoying and infuriating tales, how about getting their leaders into that room and ending this thing? Is that unthinkable? Are they really all Grinch’s? My God.
Whether the reason is eradicating dead deals, swiping out a season, or a strategy they think will ensure the WGA takes a crappier deal than even they could have dreamed up, I can’t say. But it’s the studios that are keeping this thing going. Not the WGA. I don’t care how “people” try to paint our leadership, our leadership wants this thing to end. They actually have lives they’d like to get back to. Ruining other’s lives is not fun for them.
And one more thing that bothers me from some of these comments: Stop picking on fellow writers if you want this thing to end. Unify. It’s really funny how the simplest answer to this problem hasn’t dawned on some of the membership. If you’re a writer, come out to the line and for crying out loud, stop pointing fingers at your fellow writers. Figure out what you can do for your own union and put the onus on you to help end this thing by simply SHOWING UP. You are the face of this strike. And red looks good on pretty much anybody. xoxo
Comment by Cynthia — December 7, 2007 @ 3:24 pm
The AMPTP was losing the PR war disastrously so they brought in outside advisors. Problem is that their new PR team doesn’t know this industry at all and their work already bears the mark of amateurism.
Is this the old Clinton hands deciding that the way to make us look bad is to call us “organizers”? The same Clinton hands who took all that money and support from unions for eight years? That’s odd. But then again, these were the same geniuses who were unable to spin Clinton’s adultery in a way that got him off the hook — instead they got their boss impeached. Let’s hope they do as good a job for their new employers.
And guys, if you want to be mean to us, why pull punches? Don’t call us “organizers” — call us “Communists.” You know you want to.
Comment by Anon writer — December 7, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
So just because WGA says makes it true and the bad men of the amptp are liars…
“baah baaah baaah” says the sheep
Shame on all those who ASSume to know the truth.
Comment by Not a Sheep — December 7, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
Even if we lose the strike and get crushed like bugs, Les Moonves still has a girl’s name.
Comment by HaHaLeslieHaHa — December 7, 2007 @ 3:35 pm
Another thought:
No, I’m not making my living writing, I make my living recording the words writers write. I support the goals of the WGA, I even joined a picket line the other day. So stop with the financial advice.
Comment by Julius Fort — December 7, 2007 @ 3:46 pm
When you tell the truth - you don’t need a 100k per month PR firm. If you’re Big Tobacco or the AMPTP - well, you need all the help you can get. And these guys already “own” the media! They still need more help?
Lies, lies, lies, and the lying liars who tell them.
Comment by Lou DiMaggio — December 7, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
The problem that the AMPTP is going to run into sooner or later is this: their failures to curb the damage done by the strike will be highly visible and highly embarrassing. They can pretend to be able to weather the storm all they want, but when the abysmal ratings hit the fan during the networks’ quixotic spring/summer schedules, they will face ridicule from the public and revolt from the advertisers and shareholders.
I mean, come on. Les Moonves’s best idea is to cut all the objectionable material out of “Dexter” and “Weeds” and show them on CBS? There are fewer than ten reality shows that garner a respectable audience, and people are going to get mighty sick of even those if they’re crammed down their throats for months on end. It’ll be the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? effect writ large.
And there’s no need to waste any time dissecting the PR war. All the WGA has to do is keep reiterating to the public what they want and how easy it is for the companies to give it to them, and the public will believe them and be more and more infuriated at the companies who are simultaneously depriving them of their entertainment and the writers of a fair wage.
Comment by Nick — December 7, 2007 @ 4:05 pm
Bring back Sidney Korshak!!!
Comment by OutofworkIAmember — December 7, 2007 @ 4:05 pm
“This is where the clout of the tenpercenters, the Big Guns could really come to play. Bring them to the table. Close the damn doors and get it done without these childish conflicting “facts” being casually tossed out the door into the wind.
Would the Big Guns add to the confusion? Too many players and more verbal parsing?
Or could they provide firm hands pushing both sides to a realistic goal-driven agreement?
Let’s play an improved version of “24″ but in real time and see what happens. Adults could get it done.
pb”
Dear pb,
YES YES YES YES YES YES…PLEASE!!!
Comment by Pete Aronson — December 7, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
I have a question: why aren’t SAG and DGA members (read: movie stars, A-List helmers) boycoting filming to give the congloms a blow when the WGA so desperately needs it? I assume their union contracts forbid it. I guess that’s it. Just stings knowing in June this will be coming around again.
As a non-union writer with a foot in both worlds, I read these posts daily. I’d just like to begin a new movement, like a national TV black-out day to hit at advertisers, or perhaps a strategic effort just to picket big films during December and January. After the new year, let’s face it, feature film production will be exploding. (I’ll say it again, come January, take a ride by Panavasion Hollywood, you’ll see what I mean.)
And where are the crop of young writer-directors? These guys and gals have clout within the community and with audiences. The Kasdans, the Weitzs, all those Andersons (PTA, Wes and Brad), Todd Phillips, Mark Forster, Zack Helm, the Carnahan bros, the Superbad posse… we need THESE writer-directors (plus the fifty I didn’t mention) to fold their director’s chairs and say no. If they did, studios would feel a world of hurt.
Until a new strategy is employed, beyond striking studios, we are going to be spending a lot of time nursing raw throbbing knuckles — because as much as I care and picket and blog, I am, like most of us, invisible to the masses who will actually TURN the tide and apply the pressure needed to end this strike.
Speechless campaign was solid.
But now we need to get loud.
Comment by My Question — December 7, 2007 @ 4:31 pm
It made me actually LOL when the AMPTP kept saying “FACT” in their statement…
They’re such a bunch of liars, it’s nothing but more wind. Half-truth and misrepresentations.
I wonder how many trolls their spiffy new PR people are paying. BTW, they’re paying these PR people $200,000 a MONTH, but they criticize writers’ salaries? Vomit.
We’re winning this thing, Writers. Hang in there and don’t let the bullshit you read from trolls or the lying shitbags at the AMPTP get you down.
Fight on.
Comment by LB — December 7, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
Where’s Gavin?
Comment by Urologist — December 7, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
“Well here is what’s going to happen in the AMPTP’s stubborness pushes this strike into the Spring… one of these already-formed groups, or a new one, will make an output deal with Google/Apple to produce the spec scripts they are writing right now, and yes they will get the terms the WGA is asking for today, or better: 2.5% of internet revenue from first dollar, etc.”
Can someone tell this idiot that Steve Jobs (who still rules Apple) is a heavyweight on the Board of Disney.
There’s no way that he is going to destroy Disney.
Also if the writers are going to think they will be happy working for computer industry moguls think again.
Anyone remember the first thing Jobs did when he returned to Apple… fired fired and fired. Where does he make his computers now… China.
Comment by Reality check — December 7, 2007 @ 5:56 pm
This sucks because this is the bottom line:
The AMPTP is being really tough and not budging because whatever deal they make with the WGA will apply to the DGA and SAG in the spring. So they’re protecting themselves.
I don’t know the motives for the WGA though.
Comment by Kev — December 7, 2007 @ 8:47 pm
I just read the AMPTP statement here and it is clear that they don’t get negotiations. When you do any type of negotiating like this, it is common to caucus. What happened last week is that the WGA made a proposal and the AMPTP asked for a 4 day break so that they can discuss it among themselves and finalize the second half of one offer. All that didn’t happen and the AMPTP is stalling so that they can cut deals and have their Christmas goose.
Comment by Jessy S. — December 7, 2007 @ 10:42 pm
http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2000/01/11/blacklist/index2.html
This is a Great article from salon.com about the Hollywood Blacklist and the early
days of Hollywood Unionism, especially the Screenwriters Guild. Learn from the past: The employers play HARDball, and unfairness is simply part of their playbook.
During times of Labor Strife in Hollywood I also like to dust off my
copy of “The Hollywood Writers’ Wars - How the formation of the Screen
Writers Guild - and the political passions it aroused among Hollywood’s
wrtiers, actors, directors, and producers in the 1930’s and 40’s -
shattered the closely knit movie community and led to the blacklist years”
Available at Amazon Used and New: *http://tinyurl.com/26bngr
Comment by robert mnd — December 8, 2007 @ 3:46 am
It’s going to be a very looooong winter.
Comment by Francine — December 9, 2007 @ 6:33 am