What is Digg?75 Comments
- Flarble, on 11/09/2007, -0/+44they should picket with blank signs, it is a writers strike afterall
- hockey, on 11/10/2007, -0/+10You guys were singing a different tune a while back when you found out some information that help lead to this strike.
Here's a hint as to what's really going on: NBC tried to force Ronald D. Moore into doing the Battlestar season 3 webisodes for free. No pay, no credits in the tag line, nothing. No pay for the writers, no pay for the actors, zero, zilch nada.
The studio claimed it was "promotional material" so they had to do it for free. RDM said no thanks and NBC tried to force him anyway.
Diggers found out about and yelled to the high heavens. Hunt down the thread in the archives, it's in here somewhere.
From my understanding this is partially what the strike is about. Studios are basically inventing ways of not paying their actors and writers for their work by way of technicalities etc (while keeping all the rights to their work) - Shorties, on 11/09/2007, -1/+9Dude there are always great movies, people will always say the movies of today suck compared to the greatness of years ago. But the fact is your comparing the greatest films from years ago to the crappiest standard films of today. This year alone we have had: Ratatouille, 300, 3:10 to Yuma, The Darjeeling Limited, Superbad, Knocked Up, Once, The Bourne Ultimatum, Hairspray, The Host, Stardust. And I could go on my point is that we will always look at the greatest moves of the past and compare it to the mediocre movies of the present. Plus most of these "Rich *****" aren't rich a very select few actually make tons of money, thats what this whole strike is about, the studios screwing over the writers in their TV royalties.
- bluehouse, on 11/10/2007, -6/+14anyone else see the irony of a striking writer writing about the writing strike?
- Rbstr, on 11/09/2007, -1/+8The writers deserve to be fairly compensated for their work. No matter how much you yourself think the show sucks.
- Mudger, on 11/09/2007, -0/+6Hmm.. If I was a writer looking to break in and network, the picket lines look prime.
- inactive, on 11/09/2007, -4/+10As a writer...I am all for the writers! They need to make money off the syndication and on demand stuff too!
- BurnTees, on 11/09/2007, -0/+5but more importantly, the song WRITERS get royalties as well.
- Trocisp, on 11/09/2007, -3/+8Musicians get royalties, Actors get royalties, the whole entertainment industry is based off of royalties.
- fantasticFlan, on 11/09/2007, -2/+7No, and we didn't see it yesterday either.
- Haohmaru, on 11/10/2007, -2/+7People underestimate the importance of the writers. Even with the the best actors and directors, a movie really hinges on a quality script.
Look at some of the latest Pixar movies. They suck. Is the voice acting bad? No. Is the animation bad? No, it's top notch. Is the story boring , predictable and un-engaging? Oh yeah. - Trocisp, on 11/09/2007, -0/+4No, I'm saying that Musicians get royalties... I don't know where you got "RIAA and MPAA are good" out of that statement.
- zyl0x, on 11/10/2007, -1/+5Do you think the execs are doing anything other than sitting around with their thumbs up their asses? The writers do way more work than the ***** execs.
Think of it this way: you can have a show without execs, but you can't have a show without writers.. unless it's a REAL reality show, but those don't actually exist. - Trocisp, on 11/09/2007, -0/+4Many writers don't write for movies. More than just a few write for TV shows like Leno, Letterman, SNL, etc.
- dmadzak, on 11/12/2007, -0/+3You had me until the last line. Just because the % hasn't been updated in years means squat. Workers get a cost of living adjustment every year since there is inflation and more money is entered into the system.
There is only 100%, and that does not grow. You can't expect that number to keep going up just because. If the deal in 1985 was to low that is one thing, I have no support for you saying that you should get a bigger percentage just because we are 20 years later. That is BS. - Shorties, on 11/09/2007, -3/+6Good idea lets take all the union writers and actors out of hollywood then we can really make movies... The people who are worthless are the Executives that just sit there and treat the actors and writers like a product. This is the RIAA all over again.
- thegreathal, on 11/10/2007, -3/+6Why no writers love? Don't you guys understand--writers are the only people who do anything that requires talent in all of Hollywood/media! Rather my cash goes to Paul Haggis or merely a show's creative staff than Macaulay Culkin or Disney.
- br0ck, on 11/09/2007, -0/+3I agree with your point, but I think Pixar was a bad choice for your example because every Pixar movie made has had some of the best writing ever seen on film. The most recent, Ratatouille is at 97% positive reviews and 100% positive cream of the crop reviews at Rotten Tomatoes and most of the reviews heap glowing praise on the script. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ratatouille/ The others are The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, Toy Story, and a Bug's Life all of which had incredible writing. The only predictable movies were A Bug's Life because it remade Seven Samurai and Cars because it remade Doc Hollywood, however I suspect that most of the target viewers had seen neither of those.
- doctechnical, on 11/09/2007, -0/+3They're striking because they want to negotiate a new contract, involving media the old contract didn't cover. See how that works?
- Slick50, on 11/09/2007, -6/+9Then they should get paid less up front, no?
- doctechnical, on 11/12/2007, -1/+4You create product. The writers create intellectual property. Ergo, your analogy is as meaningful as a frog's fart underwater.
- alpha94, on 11/09/2007, -3/+6Can someone explain to me why a writer deserves profit sharing? Is this typical in the rest of the professions of the industry? Most people get paid to trade their time/work for money. Why are they so demanding of wanting royalties?
If I was a designer I wouldn't getting paid commission on every patron of a restaurant I just remodeled. - doctechnical, on 11/09/2007, -1/+4You mean like a T-shirt and jeans? Yeah, I guess that would suck.
- doctechnical, on 11/09/2007, -0/+3You deserve whatever you negotiated in your contract.As I understand it, that's the crux of the strike - the contract under which the work was written didn't cover distribution of that work over the internet or some other media. So the writers are on strike until a new contract can be negotiated that both sides can live with.
I'm siding with the writers on this one. - zachlac, on 11/09/2007, -1/+4I go to work every day...I build high-end computer parts for important companies...you know how much I make extra if sales go up? I'll give you a hint...it's measured in free pens.
- cloudyprison, on 11/09/2007, -0/+2If you are dealing with a medium that is constantly repackaged and resold over and over again, then YES you should get royalties for the product.
- mywhitenoise, on 11/09/2007, -0/+2I'm just saying, he could have named off some good shows.
- jibii, on 11/09/2007, -0/+2What what I can tell, nothing.
- Rethcir, on 11/12/2007, -2/+4He thinks 65 degrees is cold? Pussy.
- fantasticFlan, on 11/09/2007, -0/+2And what do they get from digital distribution?
- hockey, on 11/09/2007, -0/+2From what I understand it boils down to extra work with no compensation. Studios are trying to force writers to do work which they are compensating them for under the guise of "promotional materials". They get no money, and no professional credits with all the rights owned by the studio. For instance take the Webisodes from last years Battlestar Galatica. NBC tried to force them to do those for free and not give them any credit for their work.
- jibii, on 11/09/2007, -1/+3A good friend of mine lives down in Hollywood. She's been taking time out of her day to bring them bagels, donuts, and beer.
I support their strike. If there's money being made on a product they had a hand in creating, they should be getting a fair share of that. - reed311, on 11/09/2007, -2/+4It's no different than a songwriter writing a song and getting his fair share of royalties from radio play, etc. I think writers deserve royalties, as they are creating intellectual property; which should always be credited with royalties or it creates less incentive to create a good product.
We just don't know how much they are being compensated and if it's "too little". I think it's probably fair as most of them probably live very comfortably. I support unions, but we really don't need them for such high paying jobs. - doctechnical, on 11/09/2007, -0/+2I thought the plural of "medium" was "media". I guess that's why I'm not a "writer".
- jibii, on 11/09/2007, -1/+3They do get some royalties already. Four cents per DVD sold.
- Shorties, on 11/09/2007, -1/+3Most? You mean 300, 3:10 to Yuma, Hairspray, and Stardust? That's not most, and adapting another medium to film is a lot harder then it sounds. If you are writing in hollywood your are lucky if your are making 30k a year to live off of, if you land job on a TV show thats great but how long will that last, and you wont be making much more then that. There is a ton of money in hollywood but its not the writers who usually get to see it.
- VeganG, on 11/09/2007, -1/+2Haha, that's cute, you think Hollywood writers are millionaires. Half the product you see on TV or film (whether it was the writing, the editing, or whatever...) was done by people that the execs found to do it for free.
- hockey, on 11/09/2007, -0/+1That's a striking comment.
- VeganG, on 11/12/2007, -2/+3It is when you don't even own appropriate clothing.
- Haohmaru, on 11/09/2007, -0/+1Yeah, I did enjoy Ratatouille. I was thinking Cars.
I'll go with MI:3 then. Bodies do not vaporize in small car explosions. - monsterofNone, on 11/12/2007, -1/+2this is the writer's strike in a nutshell. brr it's cold! wah, i'm not making enough money for typing out my stories!
- katanokichaos, on 11/10/2007, -0/+1Reality shows aside, all TV shows need writers to survive.
- chewbaccapits, on 11/10/2007, -0/+1Your stupid. What about the artists it takes to draw prime-time scripts? Moron.
- Shorties, on 11/09/2007, -0/+1No I am just pissy because in 3 years I plan to be one of those struggling in hollywood, and I don't want to see the TV and Film industry follow the footsteps and decline of the Music industry.
- MedHead, on 11/10/2007, -0/+1I get paid hourly for my job. I have made contributions to the job, whether by bringing items in (such as supplies), ideas, referrals, and new customers. When I'm not clocked in and working at the store, I don't expect to be making any money.
These writers are complaining that, when they're not working, they're not going to be receiving money. It's hard to feel sympathy for their plight. - zachlac, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1Thank you.
- DAC1138, on 11/10/2007, -0/+1Maybe this is a wakeup call for hollywood. Stop re-using the same writers and directors over and over again. Hire the underdog outsiders with no experience. They will work for less and give you the same quality work. There are lots of writers out there with talent that don't get noticed because hollywood has its doors closed to anyone not already inside the bunker.
They will get this problem solved. It will only take time. Until then hollywood will go down the ***** and realize what they need to do. - Rethcir, on 11/09/2007, -0/+1What kind of milage does the Dodge Stratus get?
- Rethcir, on 11/12/2007, -1/+265 is right on the cusp of shorts weather!
- DAC1138, on 11/10/2007, -0/+1Maybe the writers should becom execs then?
-
Show 51 - 75 of 75 discussions
Check out the new & improved 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is