strike

[newb]

As a work stoppage becomes reality, Hollywood would be wise to listen to Jeff Zucker.

"A strike will happen at everyone's peril," the NBC Universal chief told a breakfast of industry insiders last week. It's a sentiment shared by many in the Hollywood community.

Yet after three-plus months of acrimonious negotiations, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers remained far apart at the bargaining table when their contract expired at midnight on Oct. 31, and a strike began on Monday at 12:01 a.m.

In a last-ditch attempt to avert a stoppage, the writers and their employers were prodded by a federal mediator to meet for another round of negotiations on Sunday. But, after ten-plus hours of closed-door session talks, the two sides failed to reach any kind of solution.

"It is unfortunate that they choose to take this irresponsible action,” said Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, in a statement after Sunday’s negotiations broke down.

Hollywood’s scribes said the union had agreed to withdraw its proposal to double DVD residuals, which Counter had cited as a stumbling block during last week’s talks, but that their employers refused to make concessions in other vital areas.

Still at issue: how writers should be compensated when their work appears on new media platforms like the Web. The guild, which represents about 12,000 writers, wants residual compensation, while the studios and networks argue that the online arena is still too new to establish any kind of payment formula.

Hollywood’s scribes are also adamant that they be better compensated for content on DVD, looking to receive what amounts to about 8 cents for each disc sold rather than the current 4 cents. Producers feel differently, arguing that the revenues are criticial to moving projects out of deficit amid sharply rising costs.

Despite the deep divisions on these and other issues, there are powerful incentives to avoid a drawn-out stoppage. The last writers' strike, in 1988, resulted in a 22-week work interruption that not only delayed the TV season but crippled the industry. In addition to losing about 9% of its audience when new fare finally returned, industry-wide losses were estimated at $500 million. Nearly two decades later, the stakes are even higher for companies like General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ), News Corp. (nyse: NWS - news - people ), CBS (nyse: CBS - news - people ), Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ) and Disney (nyse: DIS - news - people ).

Television will see the most immediate impact of a strike, with late night programs hit first. Without writers on staff to create monologues, shows like CBS's The Late Show With David Letterman and Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart will likely go into repeats fairly quickly. Within a month or so, daytime soaps will probably follow suit.

Prime-time schedules would appear relatively unchanged for a couple of months, since a handful of episodes have already been prepared. But if the strike drags on the 2008 schedule will be heavy on reality shows (not covered by the current contracts) and reruns.

Like many in Tinseltown, Lisa Klink, who worked on Star Trek: Voyager and Roswell, worries that audiences will flee out of boredom or frustration as schedules fill with repeats. Television is already struggling to maintain its relevance--and viewers--in the face of new technology. "It's tricky to get them back," she said.

Emmy-winning writer, director and producer Ken Levine, whose TV credits include M*A*S*H, Cheers and Frasier, agrees. "It's like if you're a restaurant that's struggling, it's not a good idea to close on the weekends."

Though CW entertainment chief Dawn Ostroff says her network is prepared, with new reality series like Farmer Wants A Wife and Crowned waiting in the wings, she, too, sees no advantage to striking: "It's just better for everyone if habits aren't broken and if people that are getting into characters and shows are able to continue to do so."

The film side is in slightly better shape, at least in the near term, since movies have longer production timetables and major studios have reportedly readied their 2008 scripts in preparation.

But that doesn't mean a strike will have negligible impact in the coming months, remarks director/producer McG, whose film credits include We Are Marshall and Charlie's Angels. Any film he has ever been a part of has had a writer involved in every step of the process.

"I don't care how much stockpiling has been done," he says. "No one is immune."

[Roderick Usher]

1 issue - New Media

Currently the studios are making movies available for download with writers receiving exactly 0% of the profits.

It is the future of media and to be cut out of the loop at it's inception will screw writers forever. Not to mention directors, who will likely model their stake of these profits on the WGA's model.

and then there's how my pal David J Stieve (writer of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon) put it:

Time Warner:
Revenues--$44 billion
Profit--$6.53 billion
CEO Richard Parsons' 2006 pay: $12. 95 million. Five-year pay haul: $45.36 million. Stock options value: $14.2 million (at April 2007 prices)

Disney:
Revenues--$35 billion
Profit--$4.34 billion
CEO Robert Iger's 2006 pay: $29.93 million plus $8.8 million stock options

News Corp.:
Revenues--$26.74 billion
Profit--$3.34 billion
Boss Rupert Murdoch's 2006 pay: $25.91 million. Five-year pay haul: $86.42 million. Stock: since he owns the company, his stock is worth $8.7 billion

CBS:
Revenues--$14.32 billion
Profit--$1.66 billion
CEO Leslie Moonves 2006 pay: $24.86 million. Five-year pay haul: $63.43 million. Stock options: $30 million.

Murdoch's is my favorite. His stock option alone (just one guy out of all of the corporate bigwigs involved) is more than 120 times greater than the ENTIRE PACKAGE the writers are asking for. And all of these profits depend on content that writers create! Writers are the wellspring from which these corporate giants siphon their cash! As one blogger commented, "when was the last time you watched a movie written by Rupert Murdoch?"

PLEASE, PLEASE don't be fooled by the "Big Oil" mentality and spin-doctoring the corporate giants put out there. There is nothing you "don't understand" about the costs of doing business.

It is, like so many other facets of our society now, nothing more complicated that the extremely wealthy at the very very top of the buildings not wanting to give the people doing the real work their fair share. Not even a fair share, but a meek increase in pay.

There are no "complicated revenue structures or costs" that you don't understand. There is only unchecked, rampant greed.

[GorePhobia]

This strike is gonna suck. Hopefully it will end fairly quickly and they pay the writers what they deserve.

[missmacabre]

I've been following this carefully through the news so I knew that the writers getting no profit from downloads was a problem but I had no idea about the CEOs. Thats rediculous!

[Zero]

i think we should all join the strike and quit writing on hdc

[newb]

Originally Posted by Zero

i think we should all join the strike and quit writing on hdc

You already had your time off




slacker

[GorePhobia]

The computer is the only thing I am ever on so I will have to disagree with you on that one. I can't stop writing on here.

[Sharkchild]

I hope the writers milk the producers for every penny they can get because they deserve it and more than earned it.

[X¤MurderDoll¤X]

I'm glad they're striking actually, the fewer super hero movies the better.

[ManchestrMorgue]

It is very very sad when talent and creativity is able to be exploited by corporations.

I mean, who should be rewarded the greatest - those with the talent and creativity or those who are able to buy and sell it?