Directors/Writers/SAG Contracts & The Effects

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

^That's horrible. You know, as a fan I'm definitely upset by the strike, but as a righteous college student (and unofficial writer) I too support the WGA. Honestly when big business/corporations are involved, how can you not go with the little guys?

I plan on checking out the picket line at Rockefeller Plaza for myself. Maybe I'll even join them. I've got nothing else planned on a Sunday...

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

i guess the point is if they arent filming shows, they arent making money, so they wont keep paying the crew. which is why i dont understand why some people are so hard on ellen for continuing her show. shes a syndicated show, so if she stops she could get dropped. plus this way all the production crew keep their jobs. the actors can support the strike, but i think its selfish of the writers to expect them to walk too. especially with so many jobs on the line.

i never agree with strikes but i do agree with the writers. they should be getting a piece of any income their work brings in. but it must be more complicated than it seems, otherwise the networks are just stupid for not giving it to them.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

*agrees with maple*

It was inevitable that people would lose their jobs as a result of the strike. No business would continue to pay people for doing nothing. If there is nothing to do, and no revenue to be made from them then really there is no reason to keep them on. I think there was a quote somewhere from Julia Louis Dreyfus (if that's the right name), where she said that she was joining the picket line and considering the fate of those people who work on her show, such as the hair and make up artists that will be facing a very bad holiday season indeed, struggling to make ends meet and that some people would be losing their homes as a result of the strike. It is often the people who are most vulnerable, and can't in any way influence the strikes that will fall first. In a way that is why it annoys me the most that those on the picket lines aren't protesting peacefully, but (and whilst I understand why it still irks me) are deliberately disrupting the shooting of other shows and berating those who dare to cross the lines. Non unionised workers, or workers in a completely different, currently not on strike union themselves, or those on shows that could still go ahead and still have episodes to shoot should be allowed to work without fear of accusations and reprisals. After all it is their livelihoods and their families that will suffer when they lose their jobs.

I have said it in the NY thread, but there is more than one story going on here. There is no way of really knowing all the issues and all the sticking points and it's easy to think that the producers and studios should just give the writers what they deserve. But what is deserved? Is asking for double the amount they currently receive for DVD sales fair or deserved? Well, what does everyone else get? And if this was agreed wouldn't it just set a precedence for the SAG negotiations and the Directors Guild negotiations in the future? So presumably in the end it is the consumer that will end up paying for it.

I don't know either way, and I know it is actually much more complex than that. The residuals payments for internet downloads etc are all important and valuable forms of revenue and it would be frustrating and unfair to not be paid fairly for those as well, but whilst the writers do essentially create our favourite characters, the actors actually bring that to life on screen, and the directors make each episode work and make it look right, and those people behind the scenes that we don't appreciate or notice who make it happen. Who 'deserves' a bigger share? No one person or sector is responsible for the shows, but they all deserve a fair share and the right to reasonable negotiation, but it is a two way thing. And it's not as simple as just giving in, in my opinion, agreeing with one side or the other. We're probably in for the long haul with this one and it'll get worse (as will both sides propaganda I'm sure) before it gets better.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

it would be interesting to know who gets how much out of the tv show profits. obviously the studios get the most, but they have to recover their costs of producing the show.

if the writers, actors, directors, producers, retailers and who knows who else all want a piece of it, how much are we really talking about here? a couple cents per dvd sold? are the writers really on strike over a few hundred dollars (depending on the popularity of the show) a year?? maybe i just dont understand the whole story, but if the networks couldnt come to a deal and the writers went on strike for that amount of money... it just seems silly.

it will be interesting to see how this whole thing follows through.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

That's true, I've been wondering why they're fighting over something so little as well. I mean, I know that it's wrong to not get credit for your work, but I still think both sides deserve a little bit of the blame here, not just the studio.

In order to have a strike both sides need to be two things: greedy and stubborn. It doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong, both sides are greedy and stubborn. And neither of them pay for it. Like was already said, it's the people that aren't as involved in it that suffer. The production crews, in this case. They're stuck between a rock and hard place, so are the actors and directors. The studios are threatening to fire them if they don't do their jobs, but if they do their jobs the writers look at them like they're traders.

And I'm sorry, but what good has rallying like they are ever done? Holding up signs and screaming at the top of your lungs isn't going to make them change their minds, they'll just get angrier and you'll lose your voice.

Basically I think this strike was a mistake to begin with and although I don't expect it to, I wish it would come to an end soon.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

The USA writers % of DVD/VCR sales is something like less than 1%, and that's after the first chunk profits has been taken. IIRC, it was a deal set up when VCR sets were only starting to be released and nobody had any idea how lucrative they'd be. Now the studios are trying to say that the 'new' media - internet etc - is untested and nobody knows if it will be profitable, so therefore the writers aren't entitled to any % of it, not even the shoddy % they were getting from DVD's. (the reality being that if the writers had agreed to it, suddenly the new media would see the most usage)

As to what other people get, well I read that in the UK the writers share of DVD profits is something like 4 or 5%. Big big difference.

If the writers hadn't downed tools, nothing would change. They'd still be stuck with the same shoddy deal. Holding up signs is a constant reminder to TPTB that they're not going anywhere any time soon.
It's really a case of what runs out first...the writers money, or the studios scripts/episodes.
I too wish it would come to an end soon.

I don't think that anybody is arguing that the studio doesn't deserve the largest cut of the profits from programs, but for them to want to cut out the writers share totally, that's just plain greedy.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

I meant the break down as in actors, studio, retailers etc... Other countries, well that's completely different, equally I wouldn't compare my pay and conditions with that of other countries as such things are very different.

I have to admit that I generally don't find myself agreeing with industrial action, so I'm never likely to support it. I have no problem with a peaceful protest, but I would never join in and don't tend to believe (at least in the UK where I am) that it works.

It greatly saddens me that people who can have no effect over the strike and are just trying to earn a living in their chosen profession are the ones immediately suffering. Although again I don't know, and it is generalising, I believe that writers are earning significantly more than many others involved in the industry. Many others who have already lost their jobs, may lose their homes and who knows what else. I'm not saying that the writers don't deserve a fair share of the revenue made from media that wouldn't previously have been considered as significant, I'm just personally finding that it is increasingly difficult to support a cause that actually directly causes so much irreparable damage to so many.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

yeah, but how much are dvd's in the UK?? Are they more expensive? I am betting if they give the writers more of a share, the prices of the DVD sets are going to increase here in North America.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

i don't know if you have the new csi boxsets where ever you are blackflag, but the new ones i have seen are repackaged in a cheaper packaging and are selling for $30 canadian. Figures, they would do that after I bought them all!

I don't support either side 100%. Some of the writers are bullying others, which is why i hate unions, but the rich keep getting richer and nothing changes that. It sounds like the writers want to strike...and they are expecting everyone to just drop their jobs and everything to support them.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

Strike: actors suspended.

 

Re: The Writers Strike - What's your opinion?

The writers have every right to profit from what they contribute to. However, the ones they signed the contracts with shouldn't try to take advantage of them by not updating the contracts with REASONABLE profits for both sides.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

Oh right, I forgot. This strike is all the actors' fault. Notice how some actors aren't out there at the picket line? Their hands are tied here, there's no reason to displace your anger, studios.

 

Re: Writers Strike - Is it going to have an effect on TV sho

i just read on perez that nbc fired 90% of the production crew on saturday night live, and that the strike will likely last into the new year.

why arent they negotiating at all? do they not care about the hundreds of people that are now unemployed? maybe its just me, but i couldnt handle being the cause of someones lost job. maybe the studios and writers care to much about their own agendas to worry about who they hurt...