2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike

[jerzdawg]

^ YEah!!! Caveman has 7 more episodes left!! [/sarcasm]

they should have plenty more... does this show actually require writers... :laugh:

[episode]

So when is everything going back to "normal?"

Spring 09.

[Rappy Veteran]

they should have plenty more... does this show actually require writers... :laugh:

Well some loony wrote it!

[Hurmoth]

Spring 09.

It should be before then. I can't imagine that this will drag on past July 08. I personally think the DGA will end this strike since they're known for taking the lowest the AMPTP is willing to offer. They've done is a lot in the past, I don't see why they'd change this time. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they strike a deal on Day 1 of negotiations personally.

[Rappy Veteran]

It should be before then. I can't imagine that this will drag on past July 08. I personally think the DGA will end this strike since they're known for taking the lowest the AMPTP is willing to offer. They've done is a lot in the past, I don't see why they'd change this time. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they strike a deal on Day 1 of negotiations personally.

I agree Spring 09 seems a bit far I mean its already gone on nearly a month or maybe just over a month and when they get back to the table I can't see it being long until they come to some deal.

[episode]

It should be before then. I can't imagine that this will drag on past July 08. I personally think the DGA will end this strike since they're known for taking the lowest the AMPTP is willing to offer. They've done is a lot in the past, I don't see why they'd change this time. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they strike a deal on Day 1 of negotiations personally.

They won't negotiate with the directors until the writers are resolved. I don't even think they CAN do that, skip over one union to negotiate with another. I would venture to say that would be illegal.

But, even if the strike ends in July, that would mean the Fall season is still effected by the catching up that the series will have to do. It wouldn't be until spring when everything would be running on normal schedules, which is what he asked.

I agree Spring 09 seems a bit far I mean its already gone on nearly a month or maybe just over a month and when they get back to the table I can't see it being long until they come to some deal.

And the estimates by people that know things (not clueless morons who THINK they know things) said it would last 8-10 months.

Both of the previous strikes by the WGA lasted 5 months. This one will be AT LEAST that.

[Hurmoth]

They won't negotiate with the directors until the writers are resolved. I don't even think they CAN do that, skip over one union to negotiate with another. I would venture to say that would be illegal.

But, even if the strike ends in July, that would mean the Fall season is still effected by the catching up that the series will have to do. It wouldn't be until spring when everything would be running on normal schedules, which is what he asked.

They can sadly. The DGA announced yesterday that they will begin negotiations in January.

"The DGA announced today that it may commence negotiations with the AMPTP in January."

I'm wondering though, since the studios are going to have to repay a lot of advertising fees back, then I'm wondering if the studios will just write off this season of television and restart next season. If they do that, then everything, excluding new shows, will be back to normal.

Edited December 14, 2007 by Hurmoth

[episode]

They can sadly. The DGA announced yesterday that they will begin negotiations in January.

"The DGA announced today that it may commence negotiations with the AMPTP in January."

Right ... but the article even says they filed charges, which will result in at least a temporary injunction until the judge hears the case.

And besides, even if the directors DO take the minimum, the WGA isn't obligated to also agree with it. They always have, yes, but if they are going to get screwed over like this then they won't.

[Hurmoth]

And besides, even if the directors DO take the minimum, the WGA isn't obligated to also agree with it. They always have, yes, but if they are going to get screwed over like this then they won't.

But that's the thing, you say they won't take it because they're being screwed, but history has already shown us that they will.

I'm not saying it will happen, but I wouldn't be surprised based on their history.

The thing that might help push this along though is that the writers are thinking of doing shows off of the internet. They could do deals with Apple (iTunes), Microsoft (Zune), Google (YouTube) and/or MySpace. If the studios see that that the writers don't need the studios, then they're going to be more willing to get the writers back at the table to hammer out a new contract.

[Rappy Veteran]

And the estimates by people that know things (not clueless morons who THINK they know things) said it would last 8-10 months.

Both of the previous strikes by the WGA lasted 5 months. This one will be AT LEAST that.

Yeah I hear ya don't think I don't I know it will last at least 6 months its inevitable but neither me or you are even close to these people to know the real facts and just live off what we hear on the net or on the news so we can all have estimates of when these things will end.

[Hurmoth]

http://picasaweb.google.com/mdwarshaw/Hero...key=QhQ7TmUn6qQ <---entire photo gallery for Heroes Strike Day.

[Rappy Veteran]

Like the "Save the Writer Save the World" :laugh:

[naap51stang]

Considering the GARBAGE that is on TV today, I would love to see them stay on strike for a few years.

Nick @ Nite TV land must be doing a booming business. If you want QUALITY tv programming, try the old

TV shows on TVland. They had something that is missing with today's sitcoms.....they are FUNNY without having

to be vulgar or 3/4 nude on TV. Also, the old shows like Gunsmoke acutally have a STORY that is interesting.

The only downside to the strike, is that it will give the pinheads at the TV networks more of an opportunity to

cram down our throats more of the stupid (so called) reality shows. COPS! is the only reality show on TV.

[Pretend]

Like the "Save the Writer Save the World" :laugh:

It's true though, why should we be forced to only see crappy reality TV :), We should save the writers!, saddly we have none of the heroes :(

[Hurmoth]

^ You do realize that Cops was born out of the first writers strike back in the '80s right?

There are a lot of interesting TV shows on that have great stories today: Burn Notice, The 4400, Heroes, Lost, Psych (if you want comedy) and Monk, Law & Order is still good to an extent, CSI, etc. None of those shows have vulgar language and/or have women 3/4 nude (maybe Burn Notice due to it's location, but even then it rarely shows that).

And this strike isn't going to last for years, I'd say a year at most, but the studios will be truly hurting by then and will give up the fight. Either that or the writers will make deals with companies such as Google (YouTube) or another online video distribution host (possibly even Apple (iTunes)).

[Rappy Veteran]

The only show that shows alot of nudity is Californication.

[Pretend]

:D, I liked/like that show the nudity got less as it went though it though.

[Rappy Veteran]

:D, I liked/like that show the nudity got less as it went though it though.

True but when it started it had full frontal and everything.

[Pretend]

Yeah the first 3 episodes had like 10 sex scenes or something like that.

[Hurmoth]

Striking Writers To Speak Directly With Studios

Striking Hollywood writers say they'll bypass the producers' union and will instead negotiate directly with studios and production companies ? a move could put some TV shows back on the air quickly.

In a letter to its members, the Writer's Guild says it will no longer negotiate with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Those talks have been stalled since December 7th. The guild plans to start approaching the companies tomorrow.

The writers ? angry over compensation for programs, movies and other content streamed or downloaded over the Internet ? took to the picket lines on November 5th.

[Rappy Veteran]

^

Interesting!!!

[gigapixels Veteran]

Very very cool. Hopefully we'll have a good outcome soon.

[Mathachew Veteran]

Let's hope the studios see that shows with writers are better than these craptastic reality ones.

[Hurmoth]

Word of the Day: Collusion

col-lu-sion [kuh-loo-zhuhn]

secret agreement or cooperation between two or more parties for a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose

The New York Times reported that David Letterman is pursuing an interim agreement with the WGA that would allow his late-night talk show back on the air, even if the strike is still ongoing. As the Times article linked above states, "that could potentially put Mr. Letterman at an enormous advantage over most of his late-night colleagues."

Boy, CBS must be thrilled, right? I mean, Letterman's show, which runs second in the late-night ratings to NBC's Tonight Show, could slingshot past Leno and the Peacock due to such an advantage. Yes, Les Moonves and Co. must be jumping for joy at the mere possibility of such a competitive coup in the cutthroat world of network TV.

Guess again.

According to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily, "Letterman's network CBS felt the need (Saturday) to disassociate itself from his pending WGA deal (Saturday), obviously worried that Les Moonves' AMPTP colleagues will be miffed."

In fact, instead of releasing champagne corks at their good fortune, CBS instead released a press statement...

"Regarding David Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants, seeking an interim agreement with the WGA: We respect the intent of Worldwide Pants to serve the interests of its independent production company and its employees by seeking this interim agreement with the WGA. However, this development should not confuse the fact that CBS remains unified with the AMPTP, and committed to working with the member companies to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the WGA that positions everyone in our industry for success in a rapidly changing marketplace."

And that, in a nutshell, is exactly what is so odious about the AMPTP - made up of competitors! - bargaining as a single entity against the WGA.

As Robert J. Elisberg stated in his Huffington Post column, it would be unconscionable if the major automakers - Ford, GM, Daimler-Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Nissan - banded together and bargained as one against a single, isolated division of the UAW. Yet not only is a similar situation happening in Hollywood - with six mega media corporations up teaming up against a single Guild - as the statement above reveals, it's even worse: the collusion is so bad, the individual mega-corps won't even entertain an offer that might give their company a competitive - and thus financial - leg up.

It'd be almost laughable if it wasn't so shameful.

But the competitive instincts of one - one - of the CEOs of these media mega-corps will take over, right?

Guess again, Part II says Nikki Finke...

"I find it that the moguls may not have the strength of character, the commitment to their shareholders, or, let's face it, the balls of steel necessary to go against The Club. For weeks now, I've talked to several CEOs about why they don't deal individually with the WGA. After all, the car companies have a lot in common, but they still bargain individually with the auto workers. But Hollywood studios and networks are colluding, not competing.

Sony and Paramount are primarily in the movie business. Why not get their films restarted? NBC has been in the cellar ratings-wise. Why not leap-frog other networks and ensure the Golden Globes go off without a hitch? Then there's ABC: doesn't it have the most to lose with most of its Nielsen Top 10 series in primetime not to mention the Academy Awards? And do Fox's rivals really want to cede January to May ratings to Peter Chernin?

Any network that does a deal now could save the Back 9 of scripted shows not to mention pilot season. Any movie exec could finish the 2009 slate and move on to 2010. Makes sense, right?

But when I raise this possibility, the CEO's answer is an audible shrug, followed by stammering and a simple, "I just can't." Time to upset protocol and break ranks."

Or then again, maybe it's time for Congress to take a look.

Edited December 17, 2007 by Hurmoth

[Hurmoth]

Striking writers in talks to launch Web start-ups

Dozens of striking film and TV writers are negotiating with venture capitalists to set up companies that would bypass the Hollywood studio system and reach consumers with video entertainment on the Web.

At least seven groups, composed of members of the striking Writers Guild of America, are planning to form Internet-based businesses that, if successful, could create an alternative economic model to the one at the heart of the walkout, now in its seventh week.

Three of the groups are working on ventures that would function much like United Artists, the production company created 80 years ago by Charlie Chaplin and other top stars who wanted to break free from the studios.

"It's in development and rapidly incubating," said Aaron Mendelsohn, a guild board member and co-creator of the "Air Bud" movies.

Writers walked off their jobs Nov. 5, virtually shutting down television production and throwing 10,000 people out of work. The Writers Guild is fighting the major studios over how much their members are paid when their work is distributed online.

Silicon Valley investors historically have been averse to backing entertainment start-ups, believing that such efforts were less likely to generate huge paydays than technology companies. But they began considering a broader range of entertainment investments after observing the enormous sums paid for popular Web video companies, including the $1.65 billion that Google Inc. plunked down last year for YouTube, a site where users post their own clips.

They also have been emboldened by major advertisers, which prefer supporting professionally created Web entertainment to backing user-generated content on sites such as MySpace that can be in poor taste.

"I'm 100% confident that you will see some companies get formed," said Todd Dagres, a Boston-based venture capitalist who has been flying to L.A. and meeting with top writers for weeks. "People have made up their minds."

What effect this would have on the strike is unclear. So far, the percentage of the guild's 10,000 striking writers who are in discussions with venture capitalists appears to be small. Any deal of this kind, however, could put pressure on the studios and help the writers' public relations campaign. Writers who are talking to venture investors say the studios would suffer a brain drain if high-profile talents received outside funding and were no longer beholden to them.

Mendelsohn and others said they would stick with their ventures after the strike ended.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios in negotiations, declined to comment on the issue, as did the Writers Guild.

Already this year, a handful of sites have received venture backing, including FunnyorDie.com, co-founded by comedic actor Will Ferrell, and MyDamnChannel.com, launched by former MTV executive Rob Barnett.

MyDamnChannel pays for the production of original content by a handful of artists and splits ad revenue with them.

Under the Hollywood system, writers, in most cases, are employed by the studios to create and manage TV shows and movies. The studios own the copyrights and pay writers for the initial use of the material and a small percentage of the licensing fees they collect when the work is rerun or sold on DVD.

With television viewership and DVD revenue declining in the digital age, writers have sought bigger rewards when their work is distributed online. There have been isolated successes, such as Viacom Inc.'s agreement in August to give the co-creators of "South Park" 50% of a new online entertainment venture based on the TV program.

For the most part, however, the studios have argued that Web economics are still too uncertain for them to give a larger share of the proceeds to writers.

Most writers who have been talking with venture capitalists declined to discuss their plans on the record, saying it was too early to provide details. Yet an array of strategies have emerged from interviews with writers, investors and others involved in the process.

The groups modeled after United Artists (which eventually was bought by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and recently was revived with the help of Tom Cruise) envision creating and distributing programming for the Web and recouping their investments by selling rights to the most successful properties to TV networks or movie companies.

The initiative would change the career paths of many writers. They would be leaving well-paying jobs in television and film for the Internet, which often has been viewed as a steppingstone to Hollywood.

Some high-profile writers and technologists are trying to create a collaborative studio they hope would be officially sanctioned by the Writers Guild. They want to build on the popularity of strike-related videos on the guild-inspired blog UnitedHollywood, YouTube and elsewhere.

"We are uniquely positioned to take our case and new business model directly to consumers," said a leader of that effort, the primary writer on a TV show that was a blockbuster a decade ago. "This will be the officially sanctioned Hollywood union portal."

Others seek to create a privately owned studio that would develop episodic series for the Web. The studio could turn a profit even without cutting movie or TV deals if it developed an audience coveted by advertisers.

Dagres said he had met with one group focused on developing material for potential theatrical distribution and another concentrating on Web series.

At least two additional groups plan to create companies that would distribute material on Facebook or other online gathering places where they might quickly become popular.

Facebook director Jim Breyer, a partner at Silicon Valley venture firm Accel Partners, said he was weighing deals that would rely on Facebook's platform. "It is likely we will make investments in Los Angeles screenwriter/content-oriented companies in 2008," he said.

Accel and Dagres' Spark Capital are among four venture firms that have been meeting with writers since the strike began. Hedge funds are also interested in investing, writers who have met with them said.

The screenwriters have been consulting with writer-entrepreneurs who say they earn their living from their work online by running low-cost operations.

"I basically give them a 'Come on in, the water's grand,' " said news website owner Andrew Breitbart, the coauthor of a 2004 book on celebrity culture who worked on the Drudge Report and Huffington Post websites.

"There is no one answer about what works," Breitbart said. "The great thing about online is you can adapt to the changes."

Another common stop on the educational tour is Kent Nichols, co-creator of the profitable "Ask a Ninja" franchise, a two-man Web operation.

His advice is, "You have to think like Jerry Bruckheimer," the television and movie producer who keeps ownership of everything he makes and tries to wring profit from every revenue stream, including merchandise, advertising and licensing.

Even before the strike, changes were afoot that made the recent ventures possible.

The spread of broadband access has allowed more Americans to watch video online. That has prompted the big entertainment companies and a host of others to put more clips on the Web, which in turn has brought in more viewers.

Among broadband users, the proportion who watch videos at least weekly has risen to 61% from 45% a year ago, market research firm Horowitz Associates Inc. reported this month.

"I think it's a great opportunity," said Silicon Valley investor Gus Tai of Trinity Ventures. "This trend started prior to the strike and is only accelerating."

Some of the writers who are drafting business plans said that if the strike had lasted only a week, they would have just gone back to work. But now they've had time to plot strategy -- and to realize that a prolonged strike with reruns and reality shows filling the airwaves might allow them to grab a wandering audience.

"The companies are pushing us into the embrace of people that are going to cut them out of the loop," marveled one show runner who is tracking the start-up trend but not participating.

"We are one Connecticut hedge-fund checkbook, one Silicon Valley server farm and two creators away from having channels on YouTube, where the studios don't own anything."