Writers Guild Strike explained
Quite handy to learn...I wasn't very clued up on the reasons behind the USA strike.
edit: fixed
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thiswasmyclone, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 13:52,
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linky no worky
:(
Edit: YAY! Well done twmc!
Edit 2: That's actually pretty fascinating. They're not the bunch of whingeing hacks I'd assumed them to be.
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mrlogic is copying your beard, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 13:54,
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Pfft
"The url contained a malformed video id."
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mrlogic is copying your beard, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 13:57,
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Malformed spacks.
*pisses self giggling*
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mrlogic is copying your beard, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 14:07,
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This is bollocks.
IMHO.
2.5% royalties is pretty damn good compared to the equivalent in the games or music industry.
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a username Tue 30 Mar 1971 til, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 14:16,
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.. and another thing!
.. while I'm arguing with myself, if they truly loved their art they'd be more worried about trying to get noticed for their talents rather than becoming "those gits that did that protest"
Whinging bastards.
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a username Tue 30 Mar 1971 til, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 14:30,
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"if they truly loved their art they'd be more worried about trying to get noticed for their talents rather than becoming "those gits that did that protest""
That's a terrible arguement on so many levels I don't know where to begin. Why can't someone who loves their art demand fair renumeration for their work? Just because someone enjoys their labour doesn't make it worth any less.
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thiswasmyclone, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 14:42,
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because the best art comes from being in the worst circumstances.
(until you're about 40, in which case you should have found a way to make proper money by then)
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a username Tue 30 Mar 1971 til, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 14:44,
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Is that a rule you just made up?
because I'm pretty sure it's bullshit.
What exactly are you saying? Pay artists less so they make better work?
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thiswasmyclone, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 14:47,
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Yes, I did just make it up.
.. but you don't see any "well known" writers on that picket line because they all have better deals.
In other words, I think they should suck it up until they can actually bargain with the studios to get better deals on their merits, not on what some "union" thinks.
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a username Tue 30 Mar 1971 til, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 14:53,
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Oh, come on.
Are they not the writers from some of USA's biggest and most popular shows?
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thiswasmyclone, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 14:56,
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No, they're not.
.. or if they are, the studios obviously think they're the replaceable writers.
Its not as if this is the blue-collar industry, these people have jobs that have potential wages going into the millions.
I think they should think more about their CVs rather than about making a point.
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a username Tue 30 Mar 1971 til, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 15:06,
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They haven't been fired, so I don't know why you think the studios see them as replacable.
In fact, many shows have grinded to a halt without them. Jon Stewart offered to pay his writers out of his own pocket just to stay on the air.
Potential wages mean nothing. Just because you earn a percentage of sales and doesn't mean you will earn millions. Sure, if many many millions of people bought your dvd then fine, but that's not really likely. There are many things involved beyond the script including the actors/marketing budgets/editing etc.
To be honest, it sounds to me like you know nothing about this and you're basing your opinion on pretty naive assumptions
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thiswasmyclone, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 15:16,
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A half decent screenwriter in america will get around $100,000 per year if they keep churning work out
only a very select few can earn significantly more than that, most earn less.
It's buggered up the season 7 premiere of '24' though, grrrrrrrr
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The Great Architect is still waiting for his account to be deleted on, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 15:20,
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Actually Jon Stewart's production company is paying them..
When I say the writers could potentially make millions, I mean long term. ie. when they've been working full time for 10-20 years, after they have a few well known shows under their belt etc.
I don't mean DVD sales now, I mean they should be aiming for their basic writing fee in years to come to be worth millions. Picketing now isn't going to help that an ounce.
My opinion isn't based on assumptions, its based on what I've seen before and its always ended in a dull thud and a list of names to avoid.
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a username Tue 30 Mar 1971 til, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 15:33,
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*ahem* Paul Haggis is out on strike, and has gone down to the picket line, and I'd say he was fairly well known for his work...
www.imdb.com/name/nm0353673/
judging by the first few film entries alone...
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The Great Architect is still waiting for his account to be deleted on, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 15:07,
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I didn't see that..
and I agree that kind of shits on my argument, but still...
I think the principle of what I'm saying is sound, ie. striking is not going to make them money in the long term.
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a username Tue 30 Mar 1971 til, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 15:12,
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Your argument is that the collective action of a group of workers withdrawing their work will not lead to them getting better working conditions? Nope, I reckon it's still a pretty flawed argument.
Why shouldn't a writer get substantial residuals for their work? I don't think you understand the situation very
Great video, very informative.
(, Fri 9 Nov 2007, 17:31, Reply)
and while we're at it
ron.d.moore (Battlestar Galactica), Damon Lindelof (co-creator of Lost), Marc Cherry, (creator Desperate Housewives), Peter Casey(Frasier creator), Bruce Helford (Drew Carey creator) and Carol Mendelsohn(CSI)..
to name but a few
so not many "well known" people then..
*edit*
and last time they went on strike, all of those years ago, it made a difference. after all, they went from being paid nothing to being paid something.
(, Thu 8 Nov 2007, 21:16, Reply)
Hahahahaha whinging Americans amuse me
with their crappy healthcare.
(Disclaimer: I'm sure I'd sympathise if I investigated further, but I can't be arsed)
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Peregr1n @peregr1n, Fri 9 Nov 2007, 21:16,
Reply)
as a plumber*
i want residuals on all the plumbing i've ever done
if you've had a sink installed by me, i want a cash fee for every time you've used that sink. if i've installed a toilet, i want money for every flush.
what bollocks, you do the work you get paid for it. Residuals actually divert money away from reinvestment in new progamming.
*i'm not a plumber
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mictoboy shitting in your cunt since, Fri 9 Nov 2007, 21:17,
Reply)
That analogy doesn't work
Because each flush of the toilet is free, whereas the studio makes money for each re-run etc of the movie or TV show.
I figure the point is that the movie etc is being sold for money, so the writers want a bit since they had a hand in creating it. Fair enough.
Unless they get paid a LOT when they first write it in the understanding that there will be no residual (thus the studio is taking the risk).
Oh well - who cares.
(, Sat 10 Nov 2007, 3:17, Reply)
Huh?
Maybe my maths aren't what they used to be, but an 80% cut on 2.5% of a $19.99 dvd works out to $0.09995, not $0.04...
(, Sun 11 Nov 2007, 3:01, Reply)