WGA goes on strike

[2k6nats]

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

This is written on a blog, and illustrates just how bad this could get, and is not a dramatization.

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.

And yes, since this article has been written, the strike has happened.

[CALSGR8]

Yeah, I heard the writers went on strike.  That's why Leno is in reruns.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

It is going to be disastrous for the industry but at the same time, being a writer and all, I am in full support of the strike.

[spidernat]

It is going to be disastrous for the industry but at the same time, being a writer and all, I am in full support of the strike.

Speaking of that, how is your book coming along?

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Speaking of that, how is your book coming along?

It was coming along and then I hit a bit of a snag with some financial backing.  Now its been put a bit in limbo but hopefully I can get it back off the ground soon.  Luckily I have plenty of other projects to be working on to keep me going. 

UPDATE: As fate would have it, tonight I got a call that might put me right back on schedule.

[tomterp]

I've read about the strike, but so far haven't noticed any effect at all.  It is unfortunate though that lots of people end up getting hurt by such an action, that don't benefit at all by any gains the writers might get.  It's always the little guy getting stepped on.

I read the post above, the whole list of entertainment affected, and I think I'm immune in that I don't watch anything listed.  Just so long as writers on this forum don't decide to honor the strike by not posting....

[spidernat]

I read the post above, the whole list of entertainment affected, and I think I'm immune in that I don't watch anything listed.  Just so long as writers on this forum don't decide to honor the strike by not posting....

 

[Nat of the Living Dead]

If this strike drags out then you are definitely going to see its effects.  Right now TV shows are lucky to have a week left of material, if that.  Then reruns.  For the past year all the big Hollywood stars and producers have been gobbling up scripts and productions and getting them under contract so that they can keep working.  But if this drags on, even they are going to be feeling a squeeze.  I suspect anything coming out during this period would not be of the upmost quality either.

It sucks it has had to happen but the writers are right on this one and hopefully they stand strong.  Without them there would be no blueprints that directors, producers, and actors could follow.  There would be no product.  For too long the creative forces have been at the bottom of the totem pole and trampled on.  Chickens are coming home to roost.

[tomterp]

If this strike drags out then you are definitely going to see its effects. 

I know you mean folks in general as opposed to me, but I'm totally, blissfully unaffected.  I don't watch any TV dramas, sitcoms, anything besides sports or the occasional PBS documentary (WWII was GOOD).  I haven't watched the Tonight Show in years.  Bet Johnny Carson's getting pretty old to be doing that show anyhow.  It's sort of like the cab driver strike, fun to read about but who cares?  I know the effects are far reaching into the entertainment industry, but it's a snoozer for me.

[The Chief]

To be honest, they could stay on strike forever and I probably wouldn't notice...   I seriously don't watch TV anymore aside from Nats baseball and a little NFL on the side.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I'm pretty shallow when it comes to entertainment:  I watch sports.  But it has always grated on me that the Bruckheimers and Cruises make all the bucks while the creative writers wait tables to stay alive.  As a professional writer myself (albeit in a totally, TOTALLY different industry), I hope they get the studios to roll.  If there's one thing that can get the mobs moving in this country, it's having to go without new episodes of ER or House or CSI Shirlington or whatever the hell, so they probably have the national huevos in their hands...best of luck to them!

[2IPAs]

I don't blame the writers for wanting their share of new media royalties. Unfortunately, I don't believe anyone is going to notice the strike's effects until early next year, when the scripts run out, so very unlucky timing on the union's part. I also think I can live without my weekly "House" fix for a while considering the poor quality of this year's scripts--the writers on that show probably need a sabbatical!

[Nat of the Living Dead]

I don't blame the writers for wanting their share of new media royalties. Unfortunately, I don't believe anyone is going to notice the strike's effects until early next year, when the scripts run out, so very unlucky timing on the union's part. I also think I can live without my weekly "House" fix for a while considering the poor quality of this year's scripts--the writers on that show probably need a sabbatical!

Maybe the big movies are covered script wise but how many TV scripts do you think they actually have?  Television the effects are going to be seen and felt (by those who watch it) very soon.  Can you imagine all those rabid Grey's Anatomy fans going ballistic?

[natsfan1a]

I sympathize with the writers' cause, but at least a couple of the potential effects that the piece lists (more foreign films, reruns of vintage tv shows) would strike me as positive developments. Seems to me that there's a lot of dreck out there these days, which probably says more about the network and studio suits and marketing hacks than it does about the writers.

[CALSGR8]

Actually a lot of these issues have been covered.  Yep a lot of TV and Movies are going to be affected.  There was mention of one movie may not be shot because of the strike.

Then there's the stage hands strike on Broadway.  So unless the show is attached thru another union, many of those shows have gone dark also.

What this means probably is more talk and reality shows.  Reality shows?  HA, those things are somewhat scripted too.  Who thinks up all the competitions they compete in?

[2IPAs]

Reality shows?  HA, those things are somewhat scripted too.  Who thinks up all the competitions they compete in?

Actually, I read that reality shows do not use union writers, though WGA has been trying to organize them for some time. Lucky us!  As for the other shows, maybe Hollywood will just outsource the writing to India.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Say no to scabs!

[spidernat]

As for the other shows, maybe Hollywood will just outsource the writing to India.

reruns of vintage tv shows)

Like Little House on the Prairie and Star Trek?

[CALSGR8]

Somebody say Star Trek?  Which one?  The original, Next Gen, Deep Space 9, Voyager, or Enterprise?

Live long and prosper!

[spidernat]

Somebody say Star Trek?  Which one?  The original, Next Gen, Deep Space 9, Voyager, or Enterprise?

Live long and prosper!

To me there is only one, classic Star Trek.

[CALSGR8]

To me there is only one, classic Star Trek.

Not to me!  Engage!

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Nothing beats Conan O'Brien's skit back when Star Wars Episode 1 came out.  He had some guy dress up as Spock and took him to one of those late night showings of Episode 1 where everyone was outside waiting in line and all dressed up.

Conan had Spock walk down the line with his middle finger up.  Hilarious!

[CALSGR8]

Nothing beats Conan O'Brien's skit back when Star Wars Episode 1 came out.  He had some guy dress up as Spock and took him to one of those late night showings of Episode 1 where everyone was outside waiting in line and all dressed up.

Conan had Spock walk down the line with his middle finger up.  Hilarious!

But if it was a Star Wars Episode 1 why Spock which is from STAR TREK?

Actually, I think I saw something similar.  That Triumph dog was interviewing people dressed up as stormtroopers and stuff.

STAR WARS - MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.
STAR TREK - LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

But if it was a Star Wars Episode 1 why Spock which is from STAR TREK?

Actually, I think I saw something similar.  That Triumph dog was interviewing people dressed up as stormtroopers and stuff.

STAR WARS - MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.
STAR TREK - LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

Because it was Star Wars getting all the attention and in the Dork Wars, Star Wars and Star Trek have always had the larger followings.

[Dave B]

CSI Shirlington 

good one