About that WGA strike --

[alfreda89]

This strike is about four cents, and decent health benefits. Four lousy cents. That's how much of an increase they are asking for: four cents on DVD, Internet, new technologies, etc. So they can eventually retire, they can feed their kids and maybe even help them go to college.

It is VERY hard to be creative when you are either sweating health costs or money flow. I promise you this, from personal experience.

The WGA has been patient for far too long. I, for one, say Strike On!

I'm going to read, write novels and visit with friends. And catch up on the stuff on the DVR.

PS: Remember that long baseball strike. The numbers still don't match pre-strike numbers. All those writers work in multiple dimensions. But TV and movie producers are still producing, no matter where the medium is shown. Give them their 4 cents and get back to work!

Comments

[cabin77.livejournal.com]

Actually, the WGA took the 4 cents off the table to try to get the AMPTP to come back and negotiate. They haven't. The strike is now just about internet. The producers sell advertising for the webisodes and for full episode downloads. The writers don't see even a fraction of a cent of any of that revenue. That sucks.

Thanks for the support! (I say that like I'm a member of the WGA! Actually, one of my dearest friends from college is walking the lines every day and I thank you on his behalf.)

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

The four cents wasn't unreasonable, and since the producers ducked, I hope they put it back in.

This is like publishing house contracts. I almost lost the sale on NIGHT CALLS to HarperCollinsPublishers when they returned the already signed contract to say that the editor did not have the authority to sign the contract! They wanted all the Internet rights. My agent said no -- they had to pay extra for that. Turns out all they were afraid of was someone putting up a text version to compete with their mass market release. So, we sold them the rights, with properly divided royalties, and that was that.

Nervy for a while, though...

[cabri729.livejournal.com]

Since the AMPTP had made it clear that DVD residuals were the sticking point and then they reneged on continuing negotiations afterwards, the writers decided to stick it right back onto the table.

There's an excellent blog post (http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2007/11/albatross.html) by John Rogers (Transformers screenwriter) on why a writers' union is a necessity in Hollywood. I sort of knew most of the points he makes, but it's kind of horrifying to see it all in one piece.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Good on sticking it back on the table! Thanks for the link, I'll check it out tomorrow.

I spent a few months in Hollywood trying to sell scripts, a long time ago. The place is a nightmare. For a fantasy-flavored visit to old Hollywood, read BRIDE OF THE RAT GOD by Barbara Hambly. It's my favorite of hers, and is about the silent screen era, among other things. You see several reasons why unions became necessary out there.

[cabri729.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I meant to add about the loss of fans -- the networks lost 10% of their viewers over the strike in 1988, and that was a very different world back then. If this goes on longer than a couple of months, I think 25% would be a conservative number.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

If this goes on longer than a couple of months, I think 25% would be a conservative number.

Yes, I should have used this instead of the baseball analogy -- but the results hold true. I have more than enough things to demand my time, including blogging and LJ. I'd miss Eureka and some others, but I can live without them.

So can a lot of us.