I wrote an article at Screen Rant (http://screenrant.com/archives/fallout-from-the-writers-strik-1132.html), so check it out.

heath

The last time the Writers Guild went on strike we ended up with reality tv.. god help us this time :)

Last strike was in 1988.

heath

The last time the Writers Guild went on strike we ended up with reality tv.. god help us this time :)

...urgh...

This Youtube video is must-viewing for anyone interested in finding out what the strike is all about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk

Based on that YouTube video and Heath's article, I support this. Take as long as is needed, writers! Good for you nipping it in the bud now.. albeit, a little late already!

Here's who is hurting the worst, not the writers, not the studios: the below-the-line guys and gals who are suddenly out of work. I have a LOT of friends in LA who just want them to settle on a deal so they can get back to work.

Otherwise, as happy as I'll be to see some friends I hardly see anymore, it'll be sad to see them come home after all the work they've done in LA, fighting the fight to become, at best, a grip (to start). They're climbing the Hollywood ladder, and this is very damaging.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/its-time-to-seriously-solve-this-strike/

The studios know this TV season stinks, so this is a great opportunity for them to take a long look at the future, so why negotiate? Writers want money from the Internet (which is STILL really making money with online entertainment, for the most part, so that's a toughie). Oh, boy...

heath

One thing that the producers can and are taking advantage of in this period is the opportunity to clean house; cancel contracts, development deals and salaried positions that have been set up over the years as part of larger deals. This is reportedly already happening all over town. The hope is that once they have cleared the brush and rediverted those expenditures back in their pockets, they will be willing to go back to the table and work out this little writer's thing...!

I've still got work through the end of the month but a number of my colleagues are on shows that have gone or are about to go dark. We're all battening down the hatches in case this thing stretches on.

Note to those thinking about launching an indie shoot in LA: wait a month or so and you will have an embarrassment of crew and services available to you, hungry for scraps!

Charles,

Thanks for the perspective and news; I figured the studios and producers were going to do something like that. I feel really bad for the crews who are out of work, and going out of work, too.

Heath

From IMDb's news section:

'WGA Strike Striking Other Workers
Anticipating a lengthy strike by the Writers Guild of America, all of the major studios in Hollywood except Sony are beginning to send suspension notices to scores of production companies, which could put hundreds of their employees out of work, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Wednesday). Companies that currently don't have shows in production are being hit first. Commenting on the situation, the Times observed: "Now, in addition to having writers going without pay, many other entertainment industry employees will have to worry about their car payments and rent. That is likely to have a broad impact beyond Tinseltown, rippling across the Los Angeles region's entire economy." And in its lede on the strike, the Hollywood Reporter commented today: "A sickening sense is spreading through Hollywood that the Writers Guild of America strike could drag on for some time, if only because the union and the studios have become so polarized."'

heath

I don't work in television, but I am a full, active member of the WGAw.

I'm spending almost all my time in Dallas these days so I'm not as plugged in as those in the thick of it in L.A., but my impression from talking to other Guild members and whatnot is also that this strike will last a long time, very possibly longer than the 22 weeks the 1988 strike lasted.

But hopefully not.

Thought I was 12 at the time, I remember when Letterman went back on the air without the writers. SHUDDER. And I think it's lame that these guys and gals rely on writers vs. their own skills.

Then again, they're likely all WGA members anyway...

Heath

Interesting article, Heath, and good responses. Nice youtube film, explains it very clear. I support the writers on this. It's only fair that they get a percent.

Thanks for the compliment. More news (showrunners' contracts are severed--Charles was right):

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/urgent-showrunners-sent-cbs-breach-of-contract-letters-pledge-solidarity/

heath

You're right about the below-the-line guys. I'm a sitcom writer, and I voted for the strike (along with 90% of the WGA) because anyone can see the future of entertainment is the Internet. I think it was the right choice for the writers, and for the industry as a whole. But the people who are going to feel it, with the holidays looming, are the grips and hair-and-makeup and first AC's, followed very quickly by the caterers, set design, ... I'm getting depressed listing them all.
The thing that worries me is that we all love what we do, even if we work on shows we might not even watch otherwise, but the studios aren't in it for love, they are in it for money, and if it goes on for months they aren't going to care about all the people who are getting hurt, they are going to be seeing big dollar signs.

I just want everyone to put aside their hurt feelings, and come back to the table. The Internet is the Internet, and is still stuggling to find ways to make money (aside from ads and iTunes). But I'm sure a deal can be struck so when it DOES make big money, everyone will be happy.

I am worried about my friends who are the grips, gaffers, PAs, 1st ACs, editors, DPs, etc. They make decent money, but decent in L.A. isn't much.

Heath

Heath wrote:

"But I'm sure a deal can be struck so when it DOES make big money, everyone will be happy."

I'm sure I don't have to point out to you, that the 'creative financing' of studios, is such that a project can be shown to 'never' make money. This has ALWAYS been the bane of contract negotiations throughout the industry. So the notion that 'as soon as there is a profit, we will get a part of that' is no longer a tenable option. Fool me once, shame on me...

Interesting bit of information - ALL residuals the studios paid to ALL screenwriters for ALL movies last year:

$56 Million dollars

Figure paid to ONE high-level exec when he got fired, as a severance package?

$60 Million Dollars.


So, we're not talking about breaking the studio's banks here. We're talking about paying people for their efforts, when you USE their work for your own benefit.

When I license a piece of music or stock footage for a project, I don't say "I'll pay you if I make money with it." I pay a sliding fee, depending on WHERE and HOW I am going to use it. Profit CAN figure into a larger percentage, but NO PERCENTAGE??? Not right.

The IRS got involved with the creative ways of hiding profits in the 1980s, so that may be at an end. Don't forget that they discovered $25 million, among other things, owed to Eddie Murphy during the Coming to America lawsuit.

And Peter Jackson suing to open ALL of New Lines books over the first Lord of the Rings flick.

heath

I think it was the right choice for the writers, and for the industry as a whole. But the people who are going to feel it, with the holidays looming, are the grips and hair-and-makeup and first AC's, followed very quickly by the caterers, set design, ... I'm getting depressed listing them all.

I'm finishing up a pilot for MTV right now. But after that there aren't a whole lot of things in the pipeline because of the strike. So, even though IATSE isn't going to honor the picket lines, there simply isn't a lot of work in the pipeline, so you're right that's who really will feel the pinch.

Wayne

Reality TV!

heath

ps-ARGH!

AAArrrgh indeed. And to top it all off, 'reality TV' STILL uses 'writers'... they're just not paid as 'writers'!!!

I'm rooting for the Writers, and I know it's tough on the industry as a whole, but there are some important principles at stake.

Trivia time...

AACSLA makes as much on copy protection per Blu-ray and HD DVD disc ($0.04) as writers do on a standard DVD.

Heath, I liked your article. I didn't even know what a showrunner was until I read it. After some reflection, I found myself thinking, aren't most television shows so bad it doesn't really matter who's writing? But on the other hand I started thinking about the shows that are good and that there must be some talented people scraping by. Saying no to a paycheck for a few months . . . that's not something a person does unless they're getting a bad deal. I would not want to come home to my wife and say . . . 'Go buy some peanut butter and saltines; by the way, where's our tent at?' For you writers and showrunners out there, my hats off. Stay strong.

I am not giving anyone a pass, but I am seriously worried about not only the below-the-liners unemployed now, but also the L.A. and SoCal, and heck, California economy. Not to mention Canada, Prague, Australia, etc. All of them depend on Hollywood movies, too, in addition to their own projects.

Heath

i was a producer on According to Jim (shut up, I know it sucks), starting at the very bottom and working my way up over 5 seasons. In the last season I made about $300K, which was obviously very nice. But if you amortize that over the 6 years before, when I worked as a temp, waiter, receptionist, etc and made $20k, and then take into account that I haven't worked since January, it's not a ridiculous amount.

I read somewhere that all residuals paid by the networks last year totalled $56 million. ONE high level executive got a severance package worth $60 million. So I find it hugely insulting when the megacorporations can't find an extra 4 cents a DVD for us.

Well, According to Jim was critic-proof. I was always surprised how good it did in ratings.

Anyway, back on topic, I hope everyone can put aside their feelings, and get something settled. Now there's a Broadway labor union strike, but that's a WHOLE different can of worms.

Here are some good vibes to everyone involved, so a nice deal can be struck, and everyone can start working again ASAP!

Heath

ps-I think this strike affects us indie guys and gals in a bad way, too.

There's no question it will be settled. What will the studio's do without writers? They NEED these guys. (Only... WHEN will it be settled?)

And to get a bit off-topic, if we are talking about studios and internet and artists... look at Radiohead's new cd. Of course it takes a lot more money to produce a show or a movie then making a cd, but Radiohead's move (I know they weren't the first to do such thing, but such a well known group doing it on such a large schale is pretty new) pretty much eliminates the need for the record labels.
As a customer you can pay 5 dollar for the new Radiohead cd, you have payed less then you did before, and Radiohead probably received more, then they did before...

Although it's of course very different to produce a 100 million dollar movie, and then coming up with another 100 million to promote it.
I know maybe my comparison isn't completely wright, but I did make the association.

I hope a good deal for the writers AND the studios.

P.s. the whole Peter Jackson/New Line affair was really not correct.
It's so obvious that New Line cheated, else they would have just let him see the open books...
Is that settled already?

Well, consider that the MySpaceTV show Roommates is red hot, and Ed Zwick and company's Quarterlife is premiering there, too. The strike may push making money on the Internet.

heath

Just wondering if writers for cartoons and video games are part of the guild?

I don't think so, esp. video game writers.

Heath

Some animation writers are, but not all of them. (I think Simpsons, Family Guy and such ARE.)

Videogame 'writers' are generally not part of the guild. There is some talk of unionizing the gaming industry... but that's another thread.

There is a pretty good wikipedia article about the strike. It's got a list of all the shows effected.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Writers_Guild_of_America_strike#Impact_on_television

And just out of curiosity... Does any one think that this will create a small window of opportunity for Indy productions? I'm wondering if studios and networks will start scooping up some non-union/low budget films to make up for the lull in production.

I thought about that, too. I don't know; there may be a bigger shot for projects doing well on the web (never thought I'd say that) and/or in fests to get picked up.

Heath

That would be ethically difficult for an Indy production to get picked up during the strike. To know, and everyone else know, that you made it while others were striking would be a shakey way to enter the show. And yet it might be your only chance. I hope I would say no but I'm glad I don't have the temptation.

It's a slippery slope, that's for sure. Older projects, sure.

I'm not sure how I'll proceed with two projects right now, one with a script that's 90% there, the other with a script that needs a lot of work. None of this is union, but we'd like to have one or two SAG actors onboard. But if SAG strikes next July, that will throw a wrench in things.

Besides, if you're making $20,000 movies, maybe up to $100,000, and if it's non-union, I can't imagine it would be even a small blip on the radar. But, like I said, it's a slippery slope; we want to get into Hollywood desperately (at least the major filmmaking and TV production part of it, if not moving to L.A.), yet it's hard to get in.

Heath

And to get a bit off-topic, if we are talking about studios and internet and artists... look at Radiohead's new cd. Of course it takes a lot more money to produce a show or a movie then making a cd, but Radiohead's move (I know they weren't the first to do such thing, but such a well known group doing it on such a large schale is pretty new) pretty much eliminates the need for the record labels.
As a customer you can pay 5 dollar for the new Radiohead cd, you have payed less then you did before, and Radiohead probably received more, then they did before...
It might eliminate the need for record labels for bands that are already so popular and profitable that they can be self-sustaining, if you will. But for the vast majority of other, lessor known bands that don't have global name recognition and don't have the funds to spend millions for marketing then I don't think the ball game changes too much in the foreseeable future.

Even when you can set your own price, the most popular is apparently $0.00.

http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1883


-A

It's like TV then, free TV: everything is paid by ads aired. Speaking of Internet, check this out:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/11/mediabusiness.google

Heath

It might eliminate the need for record labels for bands that are already so popular and profitable that they can be self-sustaining, if you will. But for the vast majority of other, lessor known bands that don't have global name recognition and don't have the funds to spend millions for marketing then I don't think the ball game changes too much in the foreseeable future.

Even when you can set your own price, the most popular is apparently $0.00.

http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1883


-A

I was dumbfounded by the commentators who said that having 40% of the downloaders pay was a good sign. That seems pretty low to me. It's depressing to think that 60% of the people downloading are scumbags who feel they are entitled to free music.

Dave,

To depress you further, they say the amount of people who downloaded it from P2P sites, illegally, rivaled that of those who went to www.inrainbows.com.

Okay, back on topic: the agents may be bringing everyone back to the table. It's a "glimmer of hope."

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/glimmer-of-hope-that-agents-bringing-wga-amptp-back-in-touch/

heath

I found this video extremely interesting viewing. Remember, the AMPTP is claiming there is no money to be had yet in digital entertainment. To US that is...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a37uqd5vTw

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2007/sb20071112_509882.htm

The average person doesn't realize how many small businesses support these entertainment productions. A mid-budget film costs about $17 million to produce, generates $1.2 million in state and local taxes, and employs more than 300 contractors and subcontractors to support it. A big-budget film costs an average of $70 million and employs an estimated 928 direct and indirect contractors. The bulk of those are independent, small contractors doing lighting, wardrobe, catering, and many other niche jobs.

This is what I'm worried about, Boyd. Thanks for posting that.

Heath

The strike is going to be disruptive, and is going to cause a lot of people to lose a lot of money, but I have to support their call for fairer residuals.

Writing is the backbone of film/tv content creation, that has to be worth something.

I'm sensing a backlash in the general community, similar to that of how fans felt when sports stars went on strike over the years, most recently with hockey. If actors go on strike, that may cripple EVERYONE, because of the reaction.

Heath

The actors and writers are seeking essentially the same thing in their contracts (there are some creative rights that the WGA is interested in that don't apply to SAG or the DGA), so if we get to the end of the SAG contract without a deal, it would also mean that the writers hadn't come to a deal.

I certainly don't want the WGA strike to go on that long (eight months or so).

I hear 3-6 months from various sites, interviews, etc. Fingers crossed!

Heath

The big problem is the longer the strike continues the more it hurts the crews working on the projects. Most people I know don't have things that they can really "fall back on"... I have a couple of degrees and can always find short term contract work doing something outside the film/video industry, but that's not the case with a lot of the crew members.

I certainly support what they want, but outsiders have a hard time understanding how things really are in this business. If they were asking for a lot more than they are, I might not be as supportive, but the writers are simply asking for what is fair.

Wayne

Yup. I'm down to one day of work this week, and I have perhaps 4 more days scheduled between now and early December and that may be it for a long time. And having been in this business since I was 18, I'm not really qualified to do much else. But believe me, I'm thinking long and hard about it!

I have talked to a number of my fellow crew members who were expecting to keep working full time through the end of TV season in early summer; an amazing number of them live paycheck to paycheck, so they will become early casualties.

Hey Charles,

I know a guy who makes $50,000 a year in TV out in L.A. That's barely enough to get by. I'm very worried about a lot of people out there.

With the housing market in Florida in the dumps, indie film production collapsed, plus TV and Video production haven't been doing great at all. I have a bad feeling that if the strike stretches on, many former Florida residents will move back from L.A., creating the classic supply-demand scenario. Huge supply, low demand=lower pay, fewer jobs.

Heath

I have talked to a number of my fellow crew members who were expecting to keep working full time through the end of TV season in early summer; an amazing number of them live paycheck to paycheck, so they will become early casualties.

Back in 2001 I was a "casualty", if you will, of the threatened strike and later 9/11. I had just moved out to LA from college so all I had was savings and some small stuff here and there for income. Needless to say I didn't last long and since then my perspective has changed about a couple of things. Namely, I always have a "rainy day fund" that is at least 6 months of living expenses and I'll take whatever work I can get (industry or not) to keep at least some money coming in if need be.

I've heard rumors that the studios might wait until the SAG contract is set to expire so they can "kill two birds w/one stone" and not give SAG a chance to say, "Well you gave the WGA X so we want X+Y". Has anyone else heard this?


-A