Writers Strike

[Jedi Master Carr]

So it looks like the WGA of America will be going on Strike on Monday. Looks like a lot of our favorite shows Heroes, Lost, 24, etc could be on hiatus for a while if things don't get worked out.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975235.html?categoryId=18&cs=1

With all the money invovled I don't get how they can't work it out.

[JMK]

Kinda like a sports strike.

Billionaires vs millionaires...or something like that. Either way, it's 2 sides, both making buttloads of money, and they can't figure out how to share it properly.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Kinda like a sports strike.

Billionaires vs millionaires...or something like that. Either way, it's 2 sides, both making buttloads of money, and they can't figure out how to share it properly.

That is pretty much it. The bad news is the Actors and Directors contracts end in June. The directors seem like they are going to be easy to get under contract. Who knows what will happen wiith the actors.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Wheee, a writers strike and then in June we'll most likely have a SAG strike as well. What we have on TV and in theatres to watch will be... very interesting.

I know that studios have been stockpiling scripts since the strike became a threat, so our fave shows won't disappear immediately. As well as the movie studios have been working furiously to get as many mediocre sequels completed as they can before the actors go on strike. Should be a wild ride in the entertainment industry!

[Kale]

Meh... just sell movie rights for all the RPs on Fans... there, problem solved. ;)

[Tigo Kimogila]

What's that? A Star Wars film with good dialogue!? Say it ain't so! :eek

[Jedi Master Carr]

Wheee, a writers strike and then in June we'll most likely have a SAG strike as well. What we have on TV and in theatres to watch will be... very interesting.

I know that studios have been stockpiling scripts since the strike became a threat, so our fave shows won't disappear immediately. As well as the movie studios have been working furiously to get as many mediocre sequels completed as they can before the actors go on strike. Should be a wild ride in the entertainment industry!

Well I wouldn't be surprised if the Actors settled. They have been down this road several times and usually get things worked out. The writer feel they are vastly underpaid.

[CMJ]

For the most part writers are vastly underpaid.

[Jedi Master Carr]

For the most part writers are vastly underpaid.

You are probably right, I have no idea what the average writer gets. I am 100% certain they make less than the actors or directors.

[Yog]

Negotiations fell apart between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The strike has begun:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/11/05/2007-11-05_writers_walkout_as_the_wga_goes_on_strik.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN0521822120071105

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119422395261382009.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Disappointing that some talk shows (Letterman / Leno) is shut down because of this. I would have thought these guys were professionals at improvising, but apparently not.

[Rutabaga]

I read at a Heroes fan page on MySpace over the weekend that the strike has already caused them to scuttle plans for the Heroes Origins miniseries, and they're going to shoot an extra scene to tack onto the end of the December 3rd episode to make it a season finale instead of just the wrap-up of the Generations storyline, in case the strike goes on for a while. Which I'm sure it will.

:(

The writers need compensation, though, that's for sure...despite the emphasis on actors and special effects, nothing can be done without the scripts. So hopefully they'll get the compensation they deserve.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The problem is the studios don't want to give in too much to the writers because they are afraid it will hurt negoations with directors and writers. If they pay the writers what they want the actors and directors will want more because they will say we deserve the money more than they do. Hopefully, they can find some room for compromise.

[Doc Milo]

I'll cross the line and write for them :)

But seriously, why shoud the actors and directors get more that the writers?
Just from a purely artistic and logistic stand point, without the writer, the director puts an actor on a set and says action, then what happens? No storyline, no plot, no description of the set, no dialogue, what action takes place for him to direct?

The actor gets on the set and the director says action and what, we take pictures of actors looking pretty?

The only reason for the actors and directors to get more money is that their names are more well known that the writers names. So the actors and the directors name-recognition sells the product to the public. It's a big reason. A business reason. But face it, without the writers, there isn't even an idea for a story, let alone something to be filmed. Without actors, at least there is a story; without directors, at least there is a story. The story can't be filmed without actors and directors, but at least the story itself exists. Without writers, there is no story, and no reason for the position of actor or director to even exist .

[Jedi Master Carr]

I'll cross the line and write for them :)

But seriously, why shoud the actors and directors get more that the writers?
Just from a purely artistic and logistic stand point, without the writer, the director puts an actor on a set and says action, then what happens? No storyline, no plot, no description of the set, no dialogue, what action takes place for him to direct?

The actor gets on the set and the director says action and what, we take pictures of actors looking pretty?

The only reason for the actors and directors to get more money is that their names are more well known that the writers names. So the actors and the directors name-recognition sells the product to the public. It's a big reason. A business reason. But face it, without the writers, there isn't even an idea for a story, let alone something to be filmed. Without actors, at least there is a story; without directors, at least there is a story. The story can't be filmed without actors and directors, but at least the story itself exists. Without writers, there is no story, and no reason for the position of actor or director to even exist .
Well that is the way it has been since the 20's. I think it is more because the actors and directors are the face of the industry. Also, believe me the actors and directors are very egotistical bunch if the writers got more they would be screaming to get even more than them.

[Kale]

I don't think it's ever been a question of the writers getting more than actors or directors. As I hear it, the writers still aren't asking for all that much. I heard Jay Leno say that the average Hollywood writer earns about $30,000 a year. That's really bare living in the Los Angeles area, especially if you have a family to support. Sure, some of the big-name screenwriters pull down 250-350K, but when you consider that the actors on "Friends" were making a million an episode, can you really say there's not enough to go around?

One of the writers' demands is that they get a cut of post-release media sales, like DVDs and iTunes sales. They're asking for something like a quarter-percent, which would be a substantial benefit for them. That sounds entirely reasonable.

[Yog]

Update on 24 and other shows on Fox:


LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As the writers strike entered its third day Wednesday with no end in sight, Fox said it would not air "24" this season.

The seventh season of the hit real-time series was scheduled to begin in January, but producers had completed only about one-third of its 24-episode order as of last week.

"It's not a decision we wanted to make, but it's one based on how we feel the viewers expect us to schedule the show," said Preston Beckman, Fox's scheduling chief.

The decision to act quickly so early in the strike also was prompted by the large amounts of marketing money associated with the premieres of new series and the annual launch of "24." The network began airing promos for the upcoming season of "24" during the World Series and on a big screen in Times Square.

"Had we delayed executing and implementing of a strike schedule, it could've cost us a lot of money," Beckman said.

"24" started production late, and was affected by the recent wildfires. The show's star, Kiefer Sutherland, is also scheduled to do a stint in jail later this year in connection with a drunk-driving conviction.

The high-profile new drama "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," originally slated to run in tandem with "24," will now premiere on Sunday, January 13, and will air in "24's" Monday 9 p.m. slot, following "Prison Break" and the reality series "When Women Ruled the World."

"Women," about educated and independent women ruling over a group of unsuspecting men, is one of two reality series Fox is planning to launch midseason, along with "The Moment of Truth," a show featuring people being administered a lie detector test to be hosted by Mark L. Walberg.

With "House" running out of original episodes, "Hell's Kitchen" will land the plum post-"American Idol" Tuesday 9 p.m. slot beginning April 1.

Fox's midseason schedule also includes new scripted series "The Return of Jezebel James," "Unhitched," "New Amsterdam" and "Canterbury's Law."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071108/en_nm/fox_dc

[Jedi Master Carr]

It sucks about 24, especially for me. I think if somehow though if the strike ends before the end of the year, they will still show 24 starting in Feburary or something. Otherwise they will just push it back to the fall. About the writers average salary maybe CMJ could find some better numbers, but I read somewhere that the average is closer to 60k, while is not great but it is still better than a lot of people get. Of course I think the big screenwriters push that avg up. Most writers probably make closer to 30-40k a year.