Writer's Strike Thread

[bellcurve]

Hey Bernard and Lynn...Pencils Down Mean Pencils Down!

That sucks! Because y'all know Disney is raking in the dough from that stuff.

[Khan]

Jay Leno: "Without [my writers] I'm not funny."

Heck, Jay, even with them you're not funny.

>> Had it come from a struggling young writer, it would've made a bigger impact imo.

Yeah, but the truth is, not every writer/producer in Hollywood receives those jaw-dropping development deals. For every hyphenate who does, there are probably 5-10 who make no more or less than many in this country do.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

^LMAO, Khan, so true!

[bellcurve]

PLEASE do, and do it soon. I enjoy your commentary!

[Sylph]

Leslie Nipkow:

[Sylph]

Mark St. Germain:

[Khan]

That girl on her cell phone looks REAL enthused to be receiving that flier from St. Germain.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

^LOL! That's New York for you.

[Sylph]

Be sure to check Leslie Nipkow on the 13th page.

[bellcurve]

LOL.

No wonder why NBC sent Ann, Matt, and Al to the ends of the earth! I just noticed the writers are picketing outside of NBC's Today lot. Also noticed why there were a lot of far away shots instead of shots of the people and their signs upclose.

This makes perfect sense now...and it makes me an idiot for not putting it together sooner.

[Sylph]

Writers Guild of America - a Brief Profile from The New York Times

The Writers Guild of America, West and East divisions, represents more than 12,000 movie and television writers in their contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Among the Writers Guild's members are television writer-producers who take home up to $5 million a year. On the other extreme are junior writers who ­ if they work at all ­ make $50,000 or less.

About 48 percent of West Coast members are unemployed, according to guild statistics. (No such statistics exist for East Coast members.)

The union went on strike on Nov. 5, 2007, after three months of acrimonious negotiations. It was the first industrywide strike since writers walked out in 1988. That strike lasted five months and cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million.

The strike centered on, among other things, writers’ demands for a large increase in pay for movies and television shows released on DVD, and for a bigger share of the revenue from such work delivered over the Internet. Producers argue that companies like the News Corporation's Fox studio and network or General Electric's NBC and Universal Pictures operations must use new revenue to cover rising costs.

The result of this standoff was expected to be a gradual halt in the production of all television shows, except for reality and news programs, and of new movies. The first affected are entertainment talk shows like "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," "The Colbert Report," "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" and "the Tonight Show With Jay Leno," which depend on current events to provide material for monologues and other entertainment.

Daytime TV, including live talk shows such as ''The View'' and soap operas, which typically tape about a week's worth of shows in advance, are next on the list.

The strike will not immediately have an impact on the production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.

Under the contract that expired on Oct. 31, the six major film studios must pay a minimum of $106,000 for an original screenplay, while networks must pay at least $20,956 for a teleplay or a prime-time comedy show and $30,823 for a prime-time drama.

But many writers earn much more. The writer of a major film studio release can expect a paycheck of at least $1 million, according to union members, while “name” screenwriters might earn in the $4 million range per picture. The average working writer in Hollywood takes home about $200,000 a year, according to the studios and networks, which are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

But everything is relative. Writers compare their paychecks with those of many actors, directors and studio executives and see a need for a major re-alignment. According to the Writers Guild, guild-covered writer earnings have risen at less than half the rate of entertainment industry profits. —Nov. 5, 2007

[Sylph]

Could you write it explicitly, just to check that I'm thinking the same thing you're thinking?

[stenbeck212]

If I had a digital camera I'd go down to Rockefeller Center and take shots of the picketing.

[Khan]

Five million? Well, shut my mouth, lol.

But, the fact that junior writers make as much as they do, IMO, justifies the strike.

[Sylph]

It's becoming a readability issue for me. Sometimes I just skip through what is a valuable post just because of ">>" and so forth.