2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike

By Hurmoth
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2007 Hollywood Strike  

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  1. 1. Who do you support in the strike?

    • The AMPTP
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Grand Master

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The force majeure ax has swung at ABC Studios, which today notified more than a dozen writers that it was terminating their overall deals as a result of the strike.

While all the major studios had previously suspended deals for their scribes, the ABC Studios move reps the biggest actiom yet by a major to cut ties to talent.

Among the scribes terminated: Bill Callahan (?Scrubs?), Larry Charles (?Curb Your Enthusiasm?), Sean Bailey (?Gone Baby Gone?) and the team of Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia (?That 70s Show,? ?Surviving Christmas?). Thesp Taye Diggs, who had a production deal at ABC Studios, has also had his pact terminated.

Agents were still notifying clients of Disney?s action, and more names are expected to leak out over the weekend. Other studios are said to be seriously considering taking similar action.

?The ongoing strike has had a significant detrimental impact on development and production so we are forced to make the difficult decision to release a number of talented, respected individuals from their development deals,? ABC Studios said in a statement late Friday.

Grand Master

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[Quiet on Set]

VANCOUVER ? As a trainee assistant director, Michelle Nieken's job is to keep the crew informed about the production schedule: She lets them know what scene they're on, and what they're shooting next. Now, production work is quickly drying up in Vancouver ? and Nieken has no idea what's next for her own schedule.

?It's looking pretty scary and dismal right now,? she says. Used to working non-stop on dozens of shows, Nieken has been out of work for weeks and is now juggling overdue bills and a new mortgage. ?If I don't get a job in the next few weeks, I don't know [what I'm going to do]. I really don't want to go bankrupt.?

Vancouver's film and television production industry is shutting down, a result of the U.S. screenwriters' strike, which enters its 11th week on Monday. By the end of January, all U.S. television series shooting in Vancouver will have run out of scripts and ceased production. And there is no happy Hollywood ending in sight.

The impact on the local production industry is expected to be devastating, with estimated losses in excess of $100-million and some 5,000 people thrown out of work if the strike doesn't end soon, according to Peter Leitch, president of North Shore Studios and Mammoth Studios and chair of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of B.C. ?It's not going to be pretty,? he warns.

This is usually the time when television series return from their Christmas breaks, and studios in Greater Vancouver begin buzzing. Not this year; There are just two live-action TV series still shooting here, and they are down to their final scripts. Men in Trees is scheduled to wrap on Tuesday and Smallville is slated to shut down Jan. 23. Both were originally supposed to shoot until mid-April.

Watching Vancouver's production scene fade to black has been particularly frustrating for local industry members, who have no control over the situation. ?We're what they call collateral damage,? says Crawford Hawkins, managing director of the Directors Guild of Canada, British Columbia. ?It would be different if we were involved in the negotiations, but we're not. We're just sitting on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to make up their mind.?

The lifeblood of Vancouver's production industry, which employs about 20,000 people directly and an additional 15,000 indirectly, and is estimated to have brought in to the province more than $1-billion last year, is what's known as ?service? work ? production work for foreign producers makes up about 80 per cent of the B.C. film business. ?We feed the beast in Los Angeles,? says Don Ramsden, business agent with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees local 669, which represents cinematographers and other photographers. ?It's all service industry.?

The bulk of that service work is in episodic television, which has been hit hardest by the Writers Guild of America strike. Because of Vancouver's proximity to Los Angeles ? same time zone, a three-hour flight easy on commuting stars and production executives ? it is a favourite Canadian destination for U.S. studios.

So the strike leaves Vancouver in a more vulnerable position than Toronto, which relies more heavily on feature-film production. ?Right now, it's looking pretty bleak [for Vancouver],? says Paul Bronfman, chairman and chief executive officer of William F. White, a production-equipment supplier with offices across the country. ?Vancouver's a fantastic place to shoot. But right now, we've got our backs against the wall.?

The timing is bad, as pilot season traditionally gears up in February ? a busy and important time that could lead to future, steady work. ?If we miss the boat on pilot season, then the chances of those pilots getting green-lit to become television series are nil and none, so that's going to hurt even more,? says Bronfman. ?The impact of this thing is going to be felt for many, many months.?

In November, when U.S. writers first powered down their laptops, it didn't take long for the ripple effect to reach Vancouver. Within days of writers walking off the job, production at Bionic Woman shut down. Other productions quickly followed. One, The 4400, was cancelled altogether, leading some people to wonder whether the strike was the beginning of the end for Vancouver's production industry.

In the search for new work, Nieken, 28, now finds herself up against seasoned industry veterans, people whose names she has never seen on the availability lists supplied to productions by their unions. ?It's pretty slim pickings,? she says.

As a result, people are scrambling to find jobs outside the studio gates. Mike Atwater, a production assistant and extra, has hopes of driving a shuttle bus for a car-rental company. Rob Brown, prop-master for Men in Trees and father of five, thinks he might be able to get some work doing home renovations if he can't find a Canadian show to work on (Canadian writers are not on strike).

Shane Meier, who has starred in The Matthew Shepard Story, Intelligence and Call of the Wild, is selling jeans in Vancouver's Yaletown district. ?I've never, ever had a day job before,? Meier, 30, says. ?I've got a mortgage and various other payments, which is why I'm working in a clothing store now.? Prior to this period, Meier had worked steadily as an actor since he was 10 years old.

?I always thought working a 15-hour day on-set is difficult, but try working an eight-hour shift on Boxing Day,? Meier said about his introduction to the retail work force. He said he doesn't mind when customers recognize him and ask him what on earth he's doing working in a denim store. He's just glad to have an income.

Out-of-work actors also mean agents aren't making their usual commissions. ?We've probably lost a third or half of our opportunities already,? says Murray Gibson, with The Characters Talent Agency in Vancouver, who says his ?bread and butter? is episodic television. ?Certainly a third of my income is gone.?

Equipment rentals are down substantially, publicists are losing work and catering companies are competing for fewer jobs. And with more suppliers, actors and crew bidding for too few projects, there isn't much bargaining power. ?It's supply and demand,? says Gibson. ?The fact that everyone is so hungry [hurts] your ability to ? get the money you would normally.?

Even before the writers' strike, the film industry in Vancouver was on shaky ground. The rising Canadian dollar has erased one of the city's major selling points, and many suppliers are now offering to take U.S. currency at par. Things got worse in December when both Ontario and Quebec raised their tax credits for foreign productions to 25 per cent. British Columbia's remains at 18 per cent. (Ontario also raised its tax credit for domestic productions to 35 per cent while B.C.'s is 30 per cent.)

Indeed, Toronto appears to be enduring the strike far better than Vancouver. ?Touch wood, things are relatively good,? says Ken Ferguson, president of Toronto Film Studios. Ferguson says the increased tax credit helps, as does the fact that, in terms of foreign work, Toronto does more feature films than television.

Karl Pruner, president of ACTRA Toronto Performers, claims the strike impact in Toronto has been minimal. ?We haven't been affected,? he said. ?The bulk of our business is largely American features, scripted so far in advance, so they're not affected by the strike.?

However Maureen Parker, executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada, disagrees. ?With respect to the effect of the WGA strike, whatever scripts they did have stockpiled are running low at this point. And there is no end in sight for the strike. Given that spring is a busy time in the Canadian production cycle, if there isn't an end to the WGA strike soon, I believe there will be a huge impact in all of our production centres right across the country.?

In a weird twist to the tale, Ferguson says Toronto is actually seeing more activity now than it normally would at this time of year because the studios are trying to get as much in the can as possible before a potential Screen Actors Guild strike (which will focus on the same intellectual-property issue as the writers' strike). SAG's contract expires June 30, and many in the industry believe the actors will go on strike. So as bleak as things may look in Vancouver right now, they could actually get much worse.

?After March, April, if there's no deal in sight with the actors,? says Ramsden, ?then I would suggest that ? the studios will start to turn the tap off, because they can create a de facto lockout ? by simply not green-lighting pictures. So rather than looking like the evil employer locking out its employees, they simply will not take the risk of having shows green-lit that could possibly be caught behind a picket line.?

And there's one more piece to the labour puzzle: The contract for the Directors Guild of America also expires June 30. Those talks are set to begin soon and word is a settlement will be more easily reached, but if the writers don't settle and the actors walk, a Directors Guild deal certainly will not save the day for Hollywood ? or Vancouver.

What's happening, says B.C. film commissioner Susan Croome, is a good argument for bolstering the domestic production industry. ?The stronger our homegrown product is, the more stable we will be in terms of being protected from external threats,? she says. ?You don't build a healthy, sustainable industry with all your eggs in one basket, right??

There have been some good news stories circulating about increased foreign interest in Canadian product (and better promotion of Canadian shows on Canadian networks), but domestic production remains a drop in Vancouver's production-industry bucket ? at least financially. ?There's no way, no matter how much [we increase domestic production], even if we're blindingly successful: It will not replace the amount of American work that comes here as service work,? says Ramsden.

So when can audiences expect a stunning conclusion? Some of the predictions are grim. Meier's L.A. agent warned him the writers' strike would likely last six months ? a downright rosy scenario compared to Hawkins's forecast. ?I don't think [the studios] will settle with the writers until they settle with SAG,? Hawkins says. ?And that could be next fall.?

It's enough to make some people who work in the industry question whether it's worth sticking it out. ?I'd love to stay in the film industry; I've worked my whole life to be here,? says Nieken. ?I'd be really heartbroken to leave it after all this time and effort.?

As grim as it looks, most in the industry predict things will eventually bounce back, once all the contracts are settled. Some point to the acquisition, finalized this week, of a Vancouver post-production and visual-effects facility by Hollywood powerhouse Deluxe Entertainment ? clearly, Deluxe sees Vancouver as a good investment. But many warn Vancouver can only recover fully if the B.C. government levels the playing field with Ontario and Quebec by increasing the tax credits for producers.

Bronfman, who met with executives at the big studios this week in L.A., where the situation is dire (layoffs at studios, production companies and agencies have been widely reported), says people who work in a business as cyclical as showbiz have to be able to ride out the difficult times.

?I like to tell people there are two constants in our business: change and uncertainty,? he says. ?It's going to be tough, but we'll get it back. We'll get it back.?

Grand Master

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Where will "Juno" breakthrough star and Golden Globe Best Actress in a Comedy nominee Ellen Page be tomorrow afternoon at, oh, say, around 6 p.m, when the winners are annnounced?

"Well actually I?m thinking I might go to Six Flags. It?s like a huge amusement park. Like really awesome roller coasters. So when I found out the Globes was cancelled I was like, 'Well I?m gonna go to Six Flags!" So I?m probably gonna be on roller coasters - I think I have a photo shoot in the morning but then I think I?m gonna go and ride some roller coasters."

Is she disappointed?

"No. It is what it is and worse things have happened in the world. A lot more people are being hurt by the strike a lot more than I am. Its ? I can?t do anything about it. I support the writer?s? ahhh? whatever."

Yeah, whatever. But I bet she has her cell phone with her.

I feel for her :(

Grand Master

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I don't understand what this strike is all about. The Wikipedia article is too detailed.

I assume it's over money?

In the end, it's about money, but to be more accurate, it's about the lack of compensation in new and existing forms of media distribution.

Grand Master

Hurmoth

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I don't understand what this strike is all about. The Wikipedia article is too detailed.

I assume it's over money?

In short, the WGA wants to get in their new contract "new media" residuals. Money for when the network gets money for showing the episode on the internet (i.e. streaming off of NBC.com or iTunes, etc.).

Grand Master

Hurmoth

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WGA Makes Interim Deal with MRC

The following press release was just sent out by the WGA. MRC is a company focused on the opportunities in New Media, and is well known for their deal with Seth MacFarlane in which he, as a creator, retained full creative control of the project and an ownership stake in the venture.

MRC is a new kind of company for a new age in content creation. We'll have more on this deal, and MRC, very soon -- stay tuned.

LOS ANGELES ? The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and MRC, the independent film, television, and digital studio, have reached a comprehensive interim agreement that forges a new alliance between writers, producers, and financiers in the production of feature films, television shows, and digital programs.

"This is an exciting agreement that will open up opportunities for writers, especially in New Media," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East. "We know that Guild members will be eager to be a part of the MRC creative team."

"MRC operates from two basic concepts and this agreement is a natural extension of that ethos: we treat talent as our partners and we maximize distribution across all digital, film and television platforms," said MRC co-CEO?s Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk. "As with all of our partnerships, we could not have accomplished this agreement without creative talent. In this case, we especially want to thank our colleague Seth MacFarlane for helping pave the way with the WGA and also to the leaders of the Guild who worked with the utmost professionalism."

The terms of the agreement are similar to the Guild's recent deals with Worldwide Pants and United Artists. An executive summary of the Worldwide Pants agreement can be found at http://www.wga.org/contract_07/wwp_exec.pdf.

Grand Master

Hurmoth

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Strike-outs: Awards shows bomb big

The striking writers have found the networks? weak spot: awards shows.

Strike-hobbled broadcasts of the Golden Globes and the People?s Choice Awards posted historically low ratings this past week, drawing less than half their usual audience and resulting in millions of dollars of lost advertising.

And it could get much worse.

The Writers Guild of America is now targeting next month?s Grammy Awards on CBS and Academy Awards on ABC, two of the year?s most-watched awards programs, in hopes of forcing the studios to resume contract negotiations.

The numbers for the Globes were dreary.

Just 5.8 million total viewers tuned into NBC to watch Sunday night?s one-hour press conference announcing the awards, according to Nielsen, off 71 percent from the 20 million who watched last year?s three-hour ceremony.

It was the least-watched Globes since 1995, and the worst ever for NBC, which took over broadcasting rights from TBS in 1996. The network reportedly offered money back to advertisers, who last year poured some $20 million into the annual telecast.

The People?s Choice Awards last Tuesday were similarly stricken.

Last year the awards show, which allows viewers to vote on who should win, averaged a healthy 11.3 million total viewers. Last week?s telecast managed just 5.96 million, the worst in the awards show?s 33-year history.

That show was also presented in a modified magazine-style format following objections from the WGA. Members of the Screen Actors Guild, in solidarity with the writers, refused to show up to collect their awards, and without the stars, there was no reason for viewers to tune in.

And that may yet be the case for more upcoming awards programs. Yesterday the WGA began taking aim at the Grammys.

The guild said the show?s producers have not yet applied for a waiver allowing writers to script the program. Even if they do apply, the guild said, it?s not inclined to grant the waiver.

At the same time, the union began lobbying Grammy nominees and potential presenters who are also SAG members, such as Justin Timberlake and Queen Latifah, to skip the ceremony. That could have a devastating effect on viewership for the CBS special, which averaged 20 million viewers last year and drew an average $557,300 per 30-second spot.

Meanwhile, producers continue to insist that ABC's Academy Awards will air as planned in late February, though the WGA seems unlikely to grant a waiver for that telecast, either. Last year?s Oscars drew nearly 40 million viewers.

With primetime broadcast viewership still relatively unaffected by the strike, knee-capping the awards shows has been by far the writers? most effective tactic for drawing attention to their cause. It could be one way to force producers back to the bargaining table, which they walked away from last month.

Grand Master

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Hugh Jackman among studio axe casualties

Hollywood's major television studios have invoked force majeure contract clauses, laying off dozens of writers and producers, as the WGA strike shows no sign of coming to an end.

Among the more high-profile casualties of the axe include Hugh Jackman at CBS Paramount. Jackman's Seed Productions, which produced the short-lived US version of Viva Blackpool, had signed a long-term deal with the studio earlier this year.

Other writers and producers cut from CBS Paramount's books include Medium's Rene Echevarria and Without a Trace's Jennifer Levin.

Over at Fox, K-Ville writer Larry Kaplow and Journeyman creator Kevin Falls have been let go.

Each of the studios blamed the continuing WGA strike for the layoffs. In a statement, CBS Paramount said: "Production companies in the entertainment industry continue to feel the impact of the ongoing writers strike. As a result of this change in development and production activity, we have made a difficult decision to discontinue overall deals with a number of writers and producers whose talents we greatly value and respect."

Universal Media Studios concurred: "The duration of the WGA strike has significantly affected our ongoing business. Regretfully, due to these changed business circumstances, we've had to end some writer-producer deals."

Grand Master

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The Writers Guild of America (WGA) said Monday (Jan. 14) that it won't grant a waiver for the CBS telecast, according to Variety. And it told the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) that attendees will have to cross a picket line on Feb. 10 at Los Angeles' Staples Center to attend the event, if the strike is still on.

As SOHH previously reported, a strike may cause the WGA's musical allies to pull out of the show.

"The WGA has informed us that this is struck work, and they expect to have a picket line in place," a SAG spokesman said. "In those circumstances, our members have been unwilling to cross a picket line, and we anticipate that solidarity will continue."

This year's Grammys may have to go on without some of it's biggest stars. Beyonce, T.I., 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Usher, Queen Latifah, Fergie, Justin Timberlake and Fantasia are among those nominated musicians who have appeared in films and on TV. On top of that the gala usually features a substantial amount of actors presenting awards. The show will have have to go on without them as well.

The Grammys could claim the same fate as last Sunday's Golden Globes. That show didn't receive a waiver either and all nominees in acting categories vowed they would not cross a WGA picket line. The event was relegated to basic news conference status, nixing the celeb jokes and banter and whittling the show down to little more than reading the nominees and winners.

The WGA has already cancelled its own awards show scheduled for Feb. 9 and the Feb. 24 Oscar's is still uncertain, but the guild indicated last month that it wouldn't grant a waiver if requested.

Another one gone :(

Grand Master

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September 2008 will not be the start of the new seasons?!?

Yesterday, four of the major studios - CBS Paramount, 20th Century Fox Television, NBC Universal, and Warner Brothers Television - canceled the contracts of dozens of writers and put an end to over 65 development deals, which basically means that there are no new scripts to choose from to start filming pilots for next fall's schedule. This will save the production companies millions, since they won't have to keep paying the writers for the deals.

And that's not the end of it. One studio exec says that if the strike lasts into February, there will be another round of contract terminations. I think this all means that in September of 2008, we're all going to be watching American Gladiators: The Apprentice, infomercials, and whatever DVDs we have piled up on our coffee tables.

Grand Master

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If I don't get 24 this year I'm going to go on a rampage. I can't stand watching any more reality shows.

Well expect to go on a rampage then because its doubtful we won't see it till Jan 2009 :(

Grand Master

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If I don't get 24 this year I'm going to go on a rampage. I can't stand watching any more reality shows.

You will not see 24 in 2008.

Its non stop season means it must start in Jan.

I told you all this when the strike first started.

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