What is Digg?185 Comments
- getoffmybridge, on 05/05/2009, -12/+118Where does Windows Genuine Advantage fit into all this?
- chocobomog, on 11/05/2007, -8/+55Yes, writers should be paid for the DVD and online royalties as mentioned in the article. But to be fair, the article doesn't go more into what else the writers want which can be a little absurd:
A. Writers want to be paid royalties before studios break even. So if someone writes a terrible movie which bombs, they still want to be paid royalties on it before the producers earn back the money they lost on the film. Basically they want to earn a profit on their bad movie while the financiers take all the losses.
B. Reality TV shows and Game show writers want the same royalties and payments as movie and tv drama writers. So the writers of the Real World and Survivor should get paid the same amount of royalties as the writers of Heroes, The Simpsons, and Oscar-winning movies.
Here is some more info on these strikes:
http://www.themovieblog.com/2007/09/understanding- ... - insllvn, on 11/05/2007, -1/+37Wow, to watch most movies or tv shows I would have thought the writers were already on strike...........
- sinmostaza, on 11/05/2007, -1/+35There is a lot of tension in Hollywood right now.
It’s been discussed for the past few months, but it looks like it just may become a reality. The Writer’s Guild of America very well may begin to strike as early as Monday. They voted by more than a 90% margin to allow their leaders to launch a walk-out. Sure, this sounds like it’s a bad thing, but I don’t think many people actually understand what is going on and how this will effect entertainment in their daily lives.
First, a bit of history. The last time the WGA went on strike was in 1988. The strike cost the entertainment industry about $500 million dollars in revenue. Considering the costs of things today, a strike now could be much, much worse.
You see, the WGA represents about 12,000 film and TV writers. They have a contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, about their wages, health benefits, and all that good stuff. The contract between the two organizations expired on October 31st. Why didn’t they discuss this before the deadline, some of you may ask. Well, they have been. For months. However, they have not been able to come to an agreement on certain things.
Apparently, the biggest problem in contract negotiations is about ‘new media content.’ For example, say one of your favorite TV shows is Heroes. You are obsessed with all things Heroes, so much so that you go to the official website every week to read the supplemental comic books and watch the webisodes, both of which are produced exclusively for the Internet. Someone wrote those things, and wants to get paid every time someone watches them, whether it be via the website or on your iPod. It’s along the same lines when a rerun of Lost is played on TV, the person who wrote it gets some sort of royalties, no matter how small. Granted, Heroes doesn’t actually HAVE webisodes, but you get the point. The same reasoning goes for DVD residuals. The writers want to get paid more when a DVD of a movie they wrote is sold. The WGA has said that they want to have a “…contract that gives us the ability to keep up with the financial success of this ever-expanding global industry.” Basically, they feel they are getting screwed over their work being viewed on the Internet. AMPTP says that new media content is too new of a medium and is too unpredictable to create some sort of compensation package.
Again, the contract officially ended on October 31st. However, “…every producer, network and studio has a contingency plan based on an Oct. 31 deadline,” says Barbara Brogliatti, spokeswoman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. However, studios did not reveal their plans on how to deal with the strike, because they wanted to keep their strategies secret from other companies.
So, again, the question is asked: What exactly does this mean for the average American entertainment viewer? People who watch TV will begin to notice a change next week, most likely. But because movies have a longer production time than TV shows, we may have to wait until late 2008 to feel the effects of the strike. Here are a few examples:
Late Night Talk Shows – Expect those hilarious monologue jokes and bit segments to disappear for awhile. With no one to write the jokes, the hosts will have to amp up their celebrity interviews to fill up the time. Not really a problem for Conan and Letterman, where a bulk of the show is made up of celebrity guests. But what about Stewart and Colbert? Their shows are based mostly around ‘funny’ news, written by a team of writers. With them gone, will production be halted?
New Shows – Usually when a new show is aired on TV, it is given a few weeks to find its ‘niche’ before networks decide whether to keep it on or axe it. With no one writing mid-season replacement shows, these failing new shows will be given a second life. Networks could air all the filmed episodes, even if the show is failing, due to lack of new content to take its place. Remember that show Daybreak that ABC used to fill its Wednesday night timeslot when Lost went on hiatus last year? Yeah, well, crap like that would continue to be shown.
Reality Shows – How would you like it if American Idol were on EVERY night? Well, some people might enjoy that, but I think the rest of the nation can only take some much Seacrest and Cowell. Expect a ton of terrible reality and game shows to fill up the programming void that will be left behind when the scripted shows disappear.
Hit TV Shows – Want to know just what the hell is going on with Lost? Some of your questions may be answered for the first few episodes, but most episodic TV scripts are written as the season goes along. The second half of the season for most shows haven’t even been thought about yet, let alone written. The strike will halt production on many, many shows, leaving the viewers with quite a number of cliffhangers to deal with.
Re-Runs – It’s very likely that all those old TV shows you used to love five years ago will be coming back. Nothing is better than watching The Golden Girls in primetime on ABC, eh?
Foreign Films & Shows – International writers aren’t covered by the Writer’s Guild of America (obviously). Because of this little loophole, expect to see an upsurge of foreign films pouring into theatres. Also, BBC shows may make their way over to major network television. Not necessarily a bad thing, but most Americans just don’t get that British sense of humor.
Bad Movies – You know all those scripts that studios stockpile in their back rooms? They get written, but are so terrible that they usually collect dust for years? Well, they might just wind up getting made after all. Movies that would usually be released directly to DVD may be playing on a big screen near you. That’s very good news for Uwe Boll when he’s looking to sell Alone In The Dark 2.
So there you have it, folks. Will the industry suffer as badly as it did the last time? Who knows…it very well might. WGA members were instructed to go to work Friday, do their jobs, and wait for the phone call before they strike. Hopefully the WGA and AMPTP will meet over the weekend and work out their differences, and Hollywood won’t be faced with picket lines Monday morning. - nubnub, on 11/07/2007, -11/+43Oh this isn't about the Windows Genuine Advantage.
- morguth, on 11/04/2007, -0/+31I was with you until you said writers for Survivor worked just as hard as the ones on the Simpsons or House...
- wageslaven, on 11/05/2007, -1/+25A) Why should the workers be held responsible for the failures of managment? It is wholly outside their control, and they've delivered their part of the bargain. Why should they be held hostage to some kind of financial fiction they call "profit". They do the work, they deserve their pay.
B) As a viewer, you're confusing what "Reality TV" is. Please dont make value decisions about their work, I wouldnt bother to say that a plumber's work is more valuable than an accountant. They are both necessary an honourable employment. Dont try and argue that someone's labour is without value. All labour is worthwhile.
I worked in Managment (non union)in a CAW (Canadian UAW) Auto Company, I am very well versed in Union rhetoric and mangment propaganda. I am incredibly sympathetic to Unions after watching the cluster-frack that constitutes American corporate managment. - sockpuppets, on 11/08/2007, -6/+28Windows Genuine Advantage went on strike? Awesome.
- Phocion55, on 11/05/2007, -2/+24People need to strike against that too.
- inactive, on 11/06/2007, -2/+19That's what I thought when I read the title too.
- bamfer23, on 11/04/2007, -1/+17Hey. I wrote the article. Thanks for reading! :)
I didn't go into that other stuff, I was only hitting the main points that were popping up in most news stories. Those were the main issues in their talks.
Regardless, you are right, those other things they want ARE pretty ridiculous. However, I think they are things that they have come to terms with in their talks, and wasn't an issue anymore.
They are part of the movie making process, and there is no reason why THEY should make money even if the money bombs. They wrote it, so its partially their fault that it did bad to begin with.
Also, Reality/Game show writers getting paid as much as other writers? Give me a break. They've got to be kidding. - taylooooor, on 11/05/2007, -0/+14I work on an ABC television show. I'll be out of a job on Monday. I'd like nothing more than for this strike not to happen. That said, your first point is very misleading. The AMPTP is proposing the writers be reimbursed on 'net profits.' The problem is, the way the studios do their accounting, NOTHING ever makes a profit. New Line Cinema was sued for more than 100 million dollars because, according to their accounting, Lord Of The Rings has never made a profit. When the AMPTP proposed residuals on net profits, they were doing nothing more than saying "***** you, how'd you like nothing?" to the WGA, after the WGA asked to increase their residuals to 0.6%, from a paltry 0.3%. (The actors who sued New Line were promised 5%)
As for point B--yes, it's ridiculous, but it's not without reason--if the cost of producing blockbuster reality programs suddenly starts to rise towards the cost of producing quality written television, one hopes we'll see less reality and more quality. - jonnyeuchre, on 11/03/2007, -2/+15
Directors, producers, actors would be no-where without the writers. They make $0.04 on the dollar now. Granted, some make a lot of dollars, but it's only because they wrote stuff that people saw. I hate the fact that people know the actors, producers and directors, but not the writers. Sideways, for example, was written by the same guys who did Election. They should get the same $$ as Witherspoon does, cause those films would be nothing without the great scripts (granted, the sideways writer also directed it). Anyway, GO WRITERS!! Nail those ***** producers to the wall! - chrishumphreys, on 11/05/2007, -6/+19Reality TV shows have writers?
- Humptydank, on 11/05/2007, -0/+11I'd just like to let everyone know that I've given it quite a lot of consideration, and I've decided that I will continue posting comments to Digg during the strike.
- cthellis, on 11/04/2007, -1/+12Yes, what reputable architect would want to be paid even if the housing project goes under, or the hotel fails to make money?
- killerofkiller, on 11/03/2007, -2/+12i was hoping Windows Genuine Advantage was going on strike.. that would be sweet...
- bjornski, on 11/05/2007, -0/+10See? Bad management and incompetent people in other departments can ***** your material up and make you look bad.
He's "just" the writer. - plinstrot, on 11/05/2007, -3/+12I hate to plug, but for the most up to date news on the strike, check out: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/
P.S. Go Writers! - Enfenestrate, on 11/04/2007, -4/+13Nope. Especially not Survivor, which is totally real
- afx1, on 11/05/2007, -2/+11Looks like his CPU (quota) went on strike.
- Rndm_Tngnt, on 11/05/2007, -0/+9You have to get your royalties before the studio recoups costs, otherwise you won't ever get a dime. Accounting in Hollywood is just as a creative profession as writing. Movies always seem to just break even.
And yes, writers should be eligible for union benefits and wage guarantees no matter what program they're writing for. - Enfenestrate, on 11/04/2007, -1/+9I don't watch much TV, or even movies for that matter, so I don't think this will hurt me too much. but I guess it's too early to say. I do like the idea that some BBC stuff might make its way over here. I do love British comedy shows, and my cable company doesn't carry BBC America.
- tpv2066, on 11/03/2007, -0/+7Def since NBC Universal (who makes, but does not air House) made their writers finis this season and write 1/2 of the next one in preperation for the strike
- shadekeiko, on 11/05/2007, -0/+7taylooooor - I hope you're not referring to Pushing Daisies, as it's the best show on television right now and it'd be a shame if it were to go under due to the strike. I'm an aspiring television writer myself, and while I am sympathetic to some of the needs of the writers, I feel bad for the innocents caught in the crossfire. Including the viewers.
- joessandwich, on 11/05/2007, -2/+9You don't think you're actuallly watching reality, do you? The basic principal is the same, any reality show has elements of a narrative.
- RCourtney, on 11/03/2007, -3/+10What does it mean for us? It means we get to see that Jay Leno, David Letterman and all the other late night shows who's hosts think they are the cat's meow will be running reruns because they will no longer have writers to create the stuff for them that we laugh at and they take credit for.
- joessandwich, on 11/03/2007, -1/+8Do you really think they come up with 45 minutes of material, five days a week, forty weeks a year, all by themselves?
- LetsGoHokies, on 11/03/2007, -3/+9People laugh at Jay Leno?
- lava, on 11/03/2007, -0/+6"A. Writers want to be paid royalties before studios break even. So if someone writes a terrible movie which bombs, they still want to be paid royalties on it before the producers earn back the money they lost on the film. Basically they want to earn a profit on their bad movie while the financiers take all the losses."
How is that unreasonable? Writers are employees, even if they receive royalties. If you're the boss (investors, producers) you shouldn't make any money until you've completely paid off your investment (paying the writers you hired). - Shorties, on 11/04/2007, -2/+8What this means is no more Jon Stewart and no more colbert or SNL or Tonight Show, or really any daily entertainment show until the end of the srike!
- drtyfrnk, on 11/03/2007, -1/+7damn it, that was the comment I was going to make!
Damn you internet tubes! - akashra, on 11/03/2007, -0/+6Oh great, more ammunition for the MAFIAA to justify a price hike on DVDs.
- bamfer23, on 11/04/2007, -0/+6I didnt create the site, I just work for it
- inactive, on 11/05/2007, -1/+7Colbert and Stewart too.
Doesn't matter how good a writer you are, no one is going to write original material for a 5 day a week show on their own. - MacNyce, on 11/03/2007, -0/+5Don't forget that a lot of other people will be forced to stop working as well, that includes, editors, graphic designers,producers, directors, chyron operators, cameramen, sound mixers, lighting, carpenters, accountants, production assistants, researchers, actors, and many others. They don't have strike pay, and will get nothing when its all over. A long strike will cripple many families. Many other people contribute creatively and just get their paycheck and are happy with that. Please consider all people involved before judging on if they should strike or not.
- BenWang, on 11/03/2007, -1/+6I don't know how the people running WGA can live with themselves. They probably are sadists who deactivate a random copy of Windows whenever the realitiy of what they are doing occurs to them.
- NocturnVitae, on 11/04/2007, -1/+6What it means for us is that there will be a lot of unemployed writers messing around on the Internet all day. Get ready for some long and dramatic Digg posts. Ok, ok, I mean longer and more dramatic posts.
- jktress, on 11/03/2007, -0/+5I think you mean 'affect'. Apparently you won't be going on strike.
- fatdog789, on 11/05/2007, -0/+5Ah. Sounds like the parent is unfamiliar with Hollywood accounting, wherein a $25 million film can earn $200 million at the box office and yet somehow fail to earn a profit.
Also recommend that parent look into Peter Jackson's suit against New Line Cinema exploring the nebulous world of movie profit calculations. - akkibaba, on 11/03/2007, -0/+5Writers are paid a set amount for their jobs. Royalties are the icing on the cake. So if a movie makes a loss, the writers still get paid, but don't receive royalties. What's wrong with this system?
- joessandwich, on 11/03/2007, -0/+5It was sad to see the writers leaving our office tonight with boxes of their possesions.
- Shorties, on 11/03/2007, -0/+5But it's writer free and thats all that matters in hollywood.
- Humptydank, on 11/05/2007, -0/+4But what if I don't particularly like my family very much? In my situation, a longshoreman or airline pilot's strike doesn't have nearly the effect of the writer's strike. Now I'm going to have to talk to these people.
Hey, maybe we could hire all the out-of-work writers to give us things to say to our families. - carpespasm, on 11/03/2007, -0/+4staplez, a TV is like a computer that can only stream videos where you have a (usually) lower resolution, no comments, the content is interrupted by several minutes of unskippable ads every 10 minutes or so, and you can't pick what you're watching except to change which stream of video you want to watch. The only problem is about 4 corporations own most of the the streams and sync their ads, so there's not much choice other than to shut off the machine to miss out on the ads.
- RoninBic, on 11/03/2007, -0/+4The plug was already pulled on Thursday's night episode
- catalysis, on 11/03/2007, -3/+7Goodbye Colbert 2008
- JigoroKano, on 11/03/2007, -0/+4Yeah that's pretty much how Sony and Marvel screwed Stan Lee out of his Spider Man money. They promised to give him royalties on profit and not revenues and he got nothing. Movie Studios always do this. No movie ever makes a profit.
- bigstinky, on 11/03/2007, -1/+5Many years ago, in the late 80's-early 90's I had the great fortune(?) of co-starring on probably the worst TV show ever created. I was in SAG, and I made a truckload of money. Towards the end of this masterpiece's run, a writers strike was looming.
Now, people that have never been part of the Hollywood work force rarely consider that there's alot of other people besides high paid actors working. It's like My hometown of Detroit and the auto industry. EVERYTHING is tied to movies and TV. Everything.
For example, when my illustrious acting career came to an abrupt halt, I had to pay my 2000 dollar a month studio apt rent somehow, so I worked as a production assistant, which is akin to being a slave. You make a decent enough wage but you put in 14 to 18 hours a day sometimes and still have to make 5am calls. Now, when the writers strike, Hollywood shuts down. There's no backup scripts for TV shows, commercials etc, so a ton of folks suddenly lose their jobs. Unemployment is a joke. So what do these folks do? they go to work at restaurants and bars and delis and furniture stores, but those jobs fill so quick that you have a whole city that's virtually unemployed. And that sucks for everyone.
Check out the rolling credits sometime, read the names of those in craft services, and Production. all those people... Man, That strike will suck, for a lot of people. I'm glad I became a chef. - Humptydank, on 11/03/2007, -0/+4Plus, they need the money to buy their souls back.
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