Deconstructing the WGA Strike - Prepping for SAG

[admin]

As with many things in Hollywood, there are a lot of behaviors that simply defy logic or explanation. One of those behaviors is centered around the rather unpleasant, yet common occurrence of actors, writers, directors, gaffers, electricians, beauticians, and shoe salesman striking on the day following the anniversary of contract renewals. Currently, we've just come off of a four month long strike by the Writers Guild of America which started back in November of 2007. These east and west coast unions represent just about all of the film, television and radio writers working in the United States. Like all unions, when they don't get what they want, they resort to the ridiculous practice of striking, which often results in putting thousands of other people out of work.

Discuss "Deconstructing the WGA Strike - Prepping for SAG" here. Read the article.

 

[stratman]

I have such a low opinion of Hollywood and the machine that runs it, that it wouldn't bother me if it burned up.

 

[Audioholics]

Yeah, just look what they did to your people!

 

[rnatalli]

TV sucks these days. Everything seems virtually the same. I would have fired every one of the writers and recruited some young blood from college campuses to start writing. There are plenty of talented people out there who want to write in Hollywood even for free.

 

[zipkin119]

Why the Strikes

Some ignorance of history on view here. Writers and actors were told "wait till we see what the revenue stream is" once before, at the dawn of the DVD era, then that contract was used as a precedent to lock us out of the gusher of DVD revenues over the last two decades. The "stupidity" denounced by the CEOs is a direct reaction to the studios' policy over twenty years of keeping DVD revenues away from the creatives, and what has resulted is a "never again' militancy.
As for the commenter who blamed the writers for the banality of TV, blame the execs, please. Most writers I know in TV are capable of far better than they're allowed to do, but they want to keep up payments on their mortgages, too.

 

[aberkowitz]

Some ignorance of history on view here. Writers and actors were told "wait till we see what the revenue stream is" once before, at the dawn of the DVD era, then that contract was used as a precedent to lock us out of the gusher of DVD revenues over the last two decades. The "stupidity" denounced by the CEOs is a direct reaction to the studios' policy over twenty years of keeping DVD revenues away from the creatives, and what has resulted is a "never again' militancy.

But how can you negotiate for something if you're not even sure that money will ever come out of it?? Online streaming makes NO MONEY today- and there's no guarantee it will make any money in the foreseeable future. Does it really make sense to bet all of your goodwill on the fact that one technology might emerge as the technology to make you all of the money? Why is it that the directors recognized this but the writers couldn't?

 

[Audioholics]

IF I put on my "union hat" I'd have to say that the strikers blew their... er, moment... on something that resulted in almost no gains. BECAUSE online downloads are making almost no money, the unions had no real leverage. This isn't like DVD at all in my view.

Now, this strike has to last them for a while - cause if they pull this crap in 3 years, I think the day will come when people start pulling out of the union left and right. How many times can the average writer afford to have his entire industry shut down? How about all those poor guys who were lined up to work on this season of 24? Now they have to scramble for work, all so that some writer can make another $0.05 per download... maybe... after 24 days... if the download isn't free.

Of course I'd be all over that, but I'm a known anti-union guy anyway. I think they are worthless relics made up of people willing to pay to have their jobs negotiated and protected by what amounts to some sort of legal mafia.